L12 - Project Management PDF

28-Apr-19 Software project management  Concerned with activities involved in ensuring that software...

28-Apr-19 Software project management  Concerned with activities involved in ensuring that software is delivered on time and on schedule and in accordance with the requirements of the organisations developing and procuring the software. Project Management  Project management is needed because software development is always subject to budget and schedule constraints that are set by the organisation developing the software Dr. Noha Adly CS 434 - Project management 1 Dr. Noha Adly CS 434 - Project management 2 Success criteria Software management distinctions  Deliver the software to the customer at the agreed time.  The product is intangible.  Keep overall costs within budget.  Software cannot be seen or touched. Software project managers cannot see progress by simply looking at the artefact that is being  Deliver software that meets the customer’s expectations. constructed.  Maintain a coherent and well-functioning development  Many software projects are 'one-off' projects. team.  Large software projects are usually different in some ways from previous projects. Even managers who have lots of previous experience may find it difficult to anticipate problems.  Software processes are variable and organization specific  We still cannot reliably predict when a particular software process is likely to lead to development problems. Dr. Noha Adly CS 434 - Project management 3 Dr. Noha Adly CS 434 - Project management 4 1  28-Apr-19 Factors influencing project management Universal management activities  Company size  Project planning  Software customers  Project managers are responsible for planning, estimating and scheduling project development and assigning people to tasks.  Software size  Covered in Chapter 23.  Software type  Risk management  Organizational culture  Project managers assess the risks that may affect a project, monitor these risks and take action when problems arise.  Software development processes  People management  These factors mean that project managers in different  Project managers have to choose people for their team and organizations may work in quite different ways. establish ways of working that leads to effective team performance. Dr. Noha Adly CS 434 - Project management 5 Dr. Noha Adly CS 434 - Project management 6 Management activities  Reporting  Project managers are usually responsible for reporting on the progress of a project to customers and to the managers of the company developing the software.  Proposal writing Risk management  The first stage in a software project may involve writing a proposal to win a contract to carry out an item of work. The proposal describes the objectives of the project and how it will be carried out. Dr. Noha Adly CS 434 - Project management 7 Dr. Noha Adly CS 434 - Project management 8 2  28-Apr-19 Risk management Risk classification  Risk management is concerned with identifying risks and  There are two dimensions of risk classification drawing up plans to minimise their effect on a project.  The type of risk (technical, organizational,..)  Software risk management is important due to inherent  what is affected by the risk: uncertainties in software development stemming from  Project risks affect schedule or resources;  loosely defined requirements,  Product risks affect the quality or performance of the  requirements changes due to changes in customer needs, software being developed;  difficulties in estimating the time and resources required for software development  Business risks affect the organisation developing or procuring the software.  differences in individual skills.  You have to anticipate risks, understand the impact of these risks on the project, the product and the business, and take steps to avoid these risks. Dr. Noha Adly CS 434 - Project management 9 Dr. Noha Adly CS 434 - Project management 10 Ex of project, product, and business risks The risk management process Risk Affects Description  Risk identification / anticipation Staff turnover Project Experienced staff will leave the project before it is  Identify project, product and business risks; finished. Management change Project There will be a change of organizational  Risk analysis / impact  Assess the likelihood and consequences of these risks; management with different priorities. Hardware unavailability Project Hardware that is essential for the project will not be delivered on schedule.  Risk planning  Draw up plans to avoid or minimise the effects of the risk; Requirements change Project and product There will be a larger number of changes to the requirements than anticipated. Specification delays Project and product Specifications of essential interfaces are not  Risk monitoring available on schedule. Size underestimate Project and product The size of the system has been underestimated.  Monitor the risks throughout the project; CASE tool Product CASE tools, which support the project, do not underperformance perform as anticipated. Technology change Business The underlying technology on which the system is built is superseded by new technology. Product competition Business A competitive product is marketed before the system is completed. Dr. Noha Adly CS 434 - Project management 11 Dr. Noha Adly CS 434 - Project management 12 3  28-Apr-19 The risk management process Risk identification  May be a team activities or based on the individual project manager’s experience.  A checklist of common risks may be used to identify risks in a project  Technology risks.  Organizational risks.  People risks.  Requirements risks.  Estimation risks. Dr. Noha Adly CS 434 - Project management 13 Dr. Noha Adly CS 434 - Project management 14 Examples of different risk types Risk analysis Risk type Possible risks  Assess probability and seriousness of each risk. Estimation The time required to develop the software is underestimated. (12)  Probability may be very low, low, moderate, high or very high. The rate of defect repair is underestimated. (13) The size of the software is underestimated. (14)  Risk consequences might be catastrophic, serious, Organizational The organization is restructured so that different management are responsible for the project. (6) tolerable or insignificant. Organizational financial problems force reductions in the project budget. (7) People It is impossible to recruit staff with the skills required. (3) Key staff are ill and unavailable at critical times. (4) Required training for staff is not available. (5) Requirements Changes to requirements that require major design rework are proposed. (10) Customers fail to understand the impact of requirements changes. (11) Technology The database used in the system cannot process as many transactions per second as expected. (1) Reusable software components contain defects that mean they cannot be reused as planned. (2) Tools The code generated by software code generation tools is inefficient. (8) Software tools cannot work together in an integrated way. (9) Dr. Noha Adly CS 434 - Project management 15 Dr. Noha Adly CS 434 - Project management 16 4  28-Apr-19 Risk types and examples Risk types and examples Risk Probability Effects Organizational financial problems force reductions in the Low Catastrophic project budget (7). Risk Probability Effects It is impossible to recruit staff with the skills required for the High Catastrophic The time required to develop the software is High Serious project (3). underestimated (12). Key staff are ill at critical times in the project (4). Moderate Serious Software tools cannot be integrated (9). High Tolerable Faults in reusable software components have to be repaired Moderate Serious Customers fail to understand the impact of requirements Moderate Tolerable before these components are reused. (2). changes (11). Changes to requirements that require major design rework Moderate Serious Required training for staff is not available (5). Moderate Tolerable are proposed (10). The rate of defect repair is underestimated (13). Moderate Tolerable The organization is restructured so that different High Serious management are responsible for the project (6). The size of the software is underestimated (14). High Tolerable The database used in the system cannot process as many Moderate Serious Code generated by code generation tools is inefficient (8). Moderate Insignificant transactions per second as expected (1). Dr. Noha Adly CS 434 - Project management 17 Dr. Noha Adly CS 434 - Project management 18 Risk planning  Consider each risk and develop a strategy to manage that risk.  Avoidance strategies  The probability that the risk will arise is reduced;  Minimization strategies  The impact of the risk on the project or product will be reduced;  Contingency plans  If the risk arises, contingency plans are plans to deal with that risk; Dr. Noha Adly CS 434 - Project management 19 Dr. Noha Adly CS 434 - Project management 20 5  28-Apr-19 What-if questions Strategies to help manage risk  What if several engineers are ill at the same time? Risk Strategy Organizational financial Prepare a briefing document for senior management showing  What if an economic downturn leads to budget cuts of problems how the project is making a very important contribution to the goals of the business and presenting reasons why cuts to the 20% for the project? project budget would not be cost-effective.  What if the performance of open-source software is Recruitment problems Alert customer to potential difficulties and the possibility of delays; investigate buying-in components. inadequate and the only expert on that open source Staff illness Reorganize team so that there is more overlap of work and software leaves? people therefore understand each other’s jobs. Defective components Replace potentially defective components with bought-in  What if the company that supplies and maintains components of known reliability. software components goes out of business? Requirements changes Derive traceability information to assess requirements change impact; maximize information hiding in the design.  What if the customer fails to deliver the revised Organizational Prepare a briefing document for senior management showing requirements as predicted? restructuring how the project is making a very important contribution to the goals of the business. Database performance Investigate the possibility of buying a higher-performance database. Underestimated Investigate buying-in components; investigate use of a program Dr. Noha Adly CS 434 - Project management 21 development Dr. Noha Adly time generator. CS 434 - Project management 22 Risk monitoring Risk indicators  Assess each identified risks regularly to decide whether or not it is becoming less or more probable.  Also assess whether the effects of the risk have Risk type Potential indicators changed. Estimation Failure to meet agreed schedule; failure to clear reported defects.  Each key risk should be discussed at management Organizational Organizational gossip; lack of action by senior management. progress meetings. People Poor staff morale; poor relationships amongst team members; high staff turnover. Requirements Many requirements change requests; customer complaints. Technology Late delivery of hardware or support software; many reported technology problems. Tools Reluctance by team members to use tools; complaints about CASE tools; demands for higher-powered workstations. Dr. Noha Adly CS 434 - Project management 23 Dr. Noha Adly CS 434 - Project management 24 6  28-Apr-19 Managing people  People are an organisation’s most important assets.  The tasks of a manager are essentially people-oriented. Unless there is some understanding of people, management will be unsuccessful. Managing people  Poor people management is an important contributor to project failure. Dr. Noha Adly CS 434 - Project management 25 Dr. Noha Adly CS 434 - Project management 26 People management factors Motivating people  Consistency  An important role of a manager is to motivate the people  Team members should all be treated in a comparable way working on a project. without favourites or discrimination.  Motivation means organizing the work and the working  Respect environment to encourage people to work effectively.  Different team members have different skills and these  If people are not motivated, they will not be interested in the work differences should be respected. they are doing. They will work slowly, be more likely to make  Inclusion mistakes and will not contribute to the broader goals of the team or the organization.  Involve all team members and make sure that people’s views are considered.  Motivation is a complex issue but it appears that their are different types of motivation based on:  Honesty  Basic needs (e.g. food, sleep, etc.);  You should always be honest about what is going well and what is going badly in a project.  Personal needs (e.g. respect, self-esteem);  Social needs (e.g. to be accepted as part of a group). Dr. Noha Adly CS 434 - Project management 27 Dr. Noha Adly CS 434 - Project management 28 7  28-Apr-19 Human needs hierarchy Need satisfaction  In software development groups, basic physiological and safety needs are not an issue.  Social  Provide communal facilities;  Allow informal communications e.g. via social networking  Esteem  Recognition of achievements;  Appropriate rewards.  Self-realization  Training - people want to learn more;  Responsibility.  The needs hierarchy is almost certainly an over- simplification of motivation in practice. Dr. Noha Adly CS 434 - Project management 29 Dr. Noha Adly CS 434 - Project management 30 Personality types Motivation balance  Motivation should also take into account different personality types:  Individual motivations are made up of elements  Task-oriented people: of each class. Who are motivated by the work they do.  The balance can change depending on personal The motivation for doing the work is the work itself; circumstances and external events.  Interaction-oriented people Who are motivated by the presence and actions of co-workers.  However, people are not just motivated by personal People go to work because they like to interact. factors but also by being part of a group and culture.  Self-oriented people  People go to work because they are motivated by the Who are principally motivated by personal success and recognition. The work is a means to an end which is the achievement of people that they work with. individual goals - e.g. to get rich, to travel etc.; Dr. Noha Adly CS 434 - Project management 31 Dr. Noha Adly CS 434 - Project management 32 8  28-Apr-19 Teamwork  Most software engineering is a group activity  The development schedule for most non-trivial software projects is such that they cannot be completed by one person working alone. Teamwork  A good group is cohesive and has a team spirit. The people involved are motivated by the success of the group as well as by their own personal goals.  Group interaction is a key determinant of group performance  Flexibility in group composition is limited  Managers must do their best they can with available people Dr. Noha Adly CS 434 - Project management 33 Dr. Noha Adly CS 434 - Project management 34 Group cohesiveness The effectiveness of a team  In a cohesive group, members consider the group to be  The people in the group more important than any individual in it.  You need a mix of people in a project group as software  The advantages of a cohesive group are: development involves diverse activities such as negotiating with clients, programming, testing and documentation.  Group quality standards can be developed by the group members.  The group organization  Team members learn from each other and get to know each  A group should be organized so that individuals can contribute to other’s work; Inhibitions caused by ignorance are reduced. the best of their abilities and tasks can be completed as  Knowledge is shared. Continuity can be maintained if a group expected. member leaves.  Refactoring and continual improvement is encouraged. Group  Technical and managerial communications members work collectively to deliver high quality results and fix  Good communications between group members, and between problems, irrespective of the individuals who originally created the design or program. the software engineering team and other project stakeholders, is essential. Dr. Noha Adly CS 434 - Project management 35 Dr. Noha Adly CS 434 - Project management 36 9  28-Apr-19 Selecting group members Assembling a team  A manager or team leader’s job is to create a cohesive  May not be possible to appoint the ideal people to work on group and organize their group so that they can work a project together effectively.  Project budget may not allow for the use of highly-paid staff;  This involves creating a group with the right balance of  Staff with the appropriate experience may not be available; technical skills and personalities, and organizing that  An organisation may wish to develop employee skills on a group so that the members work together effectively. software project.  Managers have to work within these constraints especially when there are shortages of trained staff. Dr. Noha Adly CS 434 - Project management 37 Dr. Noha Adly CS 434 - Project management 38 Group composition Group organization  Group composed of members who share the  The way that a group is organized affects the decisions same motivation can be problematic that are made by that group, the ways that information is  Task-oriented - everyone wants to do their own thing; exchanged and the interactions between the  Self-oriented - everyone wants to be the boss; development group and external project stakeholders.  Interaction-oriented - too much chatting, not enough work.  Key questions include:  An effective group has a balance of all types. Should the project manager be the technical leader of the group? Who will be involved in making critical technical decisions, and how  This can be difficult to achieve software engineers are will these be made? often task-oriented. How will interactions with external stakeholders and senior company management be handled?  Interaction-oriented people are very important as they How can groups integrate people who are not co-located? can detect and defuse tensions that arise. How can knowledge be shared across the group? Dr. Noha Adly CS 434 - Project management 39 Dr. Noha Adly CS 434 - Project management 40 10  28-Apr-19 Group organization Informal groups  Small software engineering groups are usually organised  The group acts as a whole and comes to a consensus informally without a rigid structure. on decisions affecting the system.  For large projects, there may be a hierarchical structure  The group leader serves as the external interface of the where different groups are responsible for different sub- group but does not allocate specific work items. projects.  Rather, work is discussed by the group as a whole and  Agile development is always based around an informal tasks are allocated according to ability and experience. group on the principle that formal structure inhibits  This approach is successful for groups where all information exchange members are experienced and competent. Dr. Noha Adly CS 434 - Project management 41 Dr. Noha Adly CS 434 - Project management 42 Group communications Group communications  Good communications are essential for effective group  Group size working.  The larger the group, the harder it is for people to communicate with other group members.  Information must be exchanged on the status of work,  Group structure design decisions and changes to previous decisions.  Communication is better in informally structured groups than in  Good communications also strengthens group cohesion hierarchically structured groups. as it promotes understanding.  Group composition  Communication is better when there are different personality types in a group and when groups are mixed rather than single sex.  The physical work environment  Good workplace organisation can help encourage communications Dr. Noha Adly CS 434 - Project management 43 Dr. Noha Adly CS 434 - Project management 44 11  28-Apr-19 Key points  People management involves choosing the right people to work on a project and organizing the team and its working environment.  People are motivated by interaction with other people, the recognition of management and their peers, and by being given opportunities for personal development.  Software development groups should be fairly small and cohesive. The key factors that influence the effectiveness of a group are the people in that group, the way that it is organized and the communication between group members.  Communications within a group are influenced by factors such as the status of group members, the size of the group, the gender composition of the group, personalities and available communication channels. Dr. Noha Adly CS 434 - Project management 45 12