Software Project Planning

Project Planning

• Project planning involves five major activities:
  • Project estimation
  • Project scheduling
  • Risk analysis
  • Quality management planning
  • Change management planning

Project Estimation

• Software estimation begins with a description of the scope of the software product
• The scope must be bounded to develop a meaningful project
• The problem is decomposed into smaller problems, which are estimated using historical data and previous experience
• Two important issues considered before final estimation are problem complexity and risk

Time and Effort Estimation

• Techniques for time and effort estimation involve process and project metrics to provide historical perspective and input for quantitative estimates
• Estimation requires experience, access to good historical information, and the courage to commit to quantitative predictions
• Variability in software requirements means instability in cost and schedule

Risk Monitoring

• Risk monitoring involves monitoring:
  • Team members' behavior under pressure
  • Teamwork spirit
  • Cooperation among team members
  • Types of problems occurring
  • Job availability
• The objective of risk monitoring is to:
  • Check if predicted risks occur
  • Ensure mitigation steps are applied properly
  • Gather information for risk analysis

Risk Management

• The project manager performs risk management when risks become a reality
• The product of effort multipliers results in the "effort adjustment factor" (EAF)
• Cost drivers include:
  • Product attributes (software reliability, application database size, complexity)
  • Hardware attributes (run-time performance, memory constraints)
  • Personnel attributes (analyst capability, software engineer capability)
  • Project attributes (use of software tools, development schedule)

COCOMO Model

• The formula for effort calculation is: E = ai (KLOC)bi EAF person-months
• Values for ai and bi vary for different classes of software projects (organic, semi-detached, embedded)

Project Scheduling

• The project manager separates the total work into small activities and determines the time required for each
• Activities may be conducted in parallel for efficient performance
• The project manager should be aware of potential problems, such as:
  • People leaving or being absent
  • Hardware failure
  • Unavailability of software resources

Defining Task Network

• A task is a small unit of work
• The task network or activity network is a graphical representation of dependencies between tasks
• Nodes correspond to activities, and tasks are linked if there is a dependency between them

Error Tracking Metrics

• Errors per component can be tracked at different levels (code, requirement analysis, architectural design, component level design)
• The project manager calculates current values and compares them with past projects
• If the current result differs by more than 20% from the average, investigation is needed

RMMM Plan

• A risk management strategy can be included in the software project plan or organized into a separate risk mitigation, monitoring, and management plan (RMMM)
• The RMMM plan documents all work performed as part of risk analysis and is used by the project manager as part of the overall project plan

Learn about the key activities involved in software project planning, such as project estimation, scheduling, risk analysis, quality management planning, and change management planning. Understand the importance of defining the scope of the software product for successful project development.