Lecture 5 - Work Plan PDF

System Analysis and Design By Dr. Marwa Hussien Mohamed Information Systems dept. Faculty of Computer Science and Information Systems  Lecture 5 The Project Plan Learning Objectives Explain how projects are selected in some organizations. Become familiar with project estimation. Be ab...

System Analysis and Design By Dr. Marwa Hussien Mohamed Information Systems dept. Faculty of Computer Science and Information Systems  Lecture 5 The Project Plan Learning Objectives Explain how projects are selected in some organizations. Become familiar with project estimation. Be able to create a project work plan. Describe project staffing issues and concerns. Describe and apply techniques to coordinate and manage the project. Explain how to manage risk on the project. The Project Plan Once the project is launched by being selected by the approval committee, it is time to carefully plan the project. The project manager follow a set of project management guidelines, sometimes referred to as the project management life cycle, as he or she organizes, guides, and directs the project from inception to completion. The project management phases consist of initiation, planning, analysis, design, and implementation. In large organizations or on large projects, the project manager is a professional specialist in project management. In smaller organizations or on smaller projects, the systems analyst may fill this role. The project manager must make decisions regarding the project, including determining the best project methodology, developing a work plan for the project, determining a staffing plan, and establishing mechanisms to coordinate and control the project. 4 Estimating the Project Time Frame Estimation is the process of assigning projected values for time and effort. The numbers used to calculate these estimates can come from several sources. Projects with similar tasks and technologies, experienced developers. One of the greatest strengths of systems consulting firms is the past experience that they offer to a project; they have estimates and methodologies that have been developed over time and applied to hundreds of projects. 5 Estimating Project Time Using Industry Standards The simplest method uses the amount of time spent in the planning phase to predict the time required for the entire project. The idea is that a simple project will require little planning, and a complex project will require more planning; so using the amount of time spent in the planning phase is a reasonable way to estimate overall project time requirements. Industry standards suggest that a “typical” business application system spends 15% of its effort in the planning phase, 20% in the analysis phase, 35% in the design phase, and 30% in the implementation phase. Limitation of this approach is that it can be difficult to take into account the specifics of your individual project, which may be simpler or more difficult than the “typical” project. So, it is not an accurate method. 6 Estimating Project Time Using Industry Standards 7 Developing the Work Plan Work plan: is a dynamic schedule that records and keeps track of all of the tasks that need to be accomplished over the course of the project. The project manager first must assemble important details about each task to be completed. To create a work plan, the project manager identifies the tasks that need to be accomplished and determines how long each one will take. Then the tasks are organized within a work breakdown structure. 8 Developing the Work Plan - Identify Tasks Using an existing methodology is the most popular way to create a work plan, because most organizations have a methodology that they use for projects. A project manager can take the methodology, select the steps and deliverables that apply to the current project, and add them to the work plan. A work breakdown structure: First: high-level tasks are defined and then broken down into subtasks. Each step is then broken down in turn and numbered in a hierarchical fashion, and it is the backbone of the project plan. 9 10 The Project Work Plan The project work plan is the mechanism used to manage the tasks that are listed in the work breakdown structure. Using it, the project manager can tell whether the project is ahead of or behind schedule, how well the project was estimated, and what changes need to be made to meet the project deadline. Basically, the work plan is a table that lists: all tasks in the work break-down structure, people who are assigned to perform the tasks, actual hours that the tasks took (duration of the task), variances between estimated and actual completion times. current statuses of the tasks (i.e., open, complete), task dependencies, which occur when one task cannot be performed until another task is completed. Key milestones, or important dates. 11 Project Plan Example 12 Project Plan Techniques Gantt Chart: is a visual project management tool used to plan, schedule, and track the progress of tasks over time. It displays tasks or activities as horizontal bars along a timeline. The length of each bar representing the duration of the task. It helps teams understand the sequence of tasks, deadlines, and dependencies between activities. Project Plan Techniques PERT (Program Evaluation and Review Technique): is a flowchart system that shows tasks as a network diagram. It is highlighting the relationships and dependencies between them. Staffing the Project Goals: Determine how many people are required Match skill sets to required activities Motivate the team to meet the objectives Minimize conflicts Deliverable—The staffing plan, which includes: Number & kind of people assigned Overall reporting structure The project charter (describes the project’s objectives and rules) 15 Staffing Plan Calculate the number of people needed: Lines of communication increase exponentially as people are added to a project Create a reporting structure for projects with large numbers of people assigned Form sub-teams as necessary Assign the Project Manager, Functional leader & Technical leader Pay attention to technical and interpersonal skills 16 Increasing Complexity with Larger Teams 17 Project Plan 18 Motivating People Motivation is the greatest influence on performance 19 Handling Conflict Preventing conflicts among group members: Clearly defining roles and holding team members accountable for their tasks Establish work & communications rules Clearly define plans for the project Make sure the team understands the importance of the project Develop detailed operating procedures Forecast other priorities and their possible impact on project. 20 Timeboxing Time boxing: ensures that project teams don’t get hung up on the final “finishing touches” that can drag out indefinitely, and it satisfies the business by providing a product within a relatively fast time frame. Techniques for timeboxing: 1. Set the date for system delivery. 2. Prioritize the functionality that needs to be included in the system. 3. Build the core of the system (the functionality ranked as most important). 4. Postpone functionality that cannot be provided within the time frame. 5. Deliver the system with core functionality. 6. Repeat steps 3 through 5, to add refinements and enhancements. 21 Managing Risks Risk management: the process of assessing and addressing the risks that are associated with developing a project. Many things can cause risks: weak personnel, scope creep, poor design, and overly optimistic estimates. The project team must be aware of potential risks so that problems can be avoided or controlled well ahead of time. Risk assessment: a document that tracks potential risks along with an evaluation of the likelihood of the risk and its potential impact on the project. 22 Risk Assessment Example 23 Tune Source – Case Study Jason Wells was very excited about managing the Digital Music Download project at Tune Source, but he realized that his project team should move rapidly to deliver at least some parts of the system because of the company’s desire to bring the application to market as quickly as possible. Therefore, he decided that the project should follow a RAD iterative development methodology, combined with the time-boxing technique. In this way, he could be sure that some version of the system would be operational within several months, even if the final system was delivered at a later date. Jason knew that Carly Edwards and Tune Source’s top managers wanted at least general ranges for a product delivery date. He expected to spend three weeks planning the project. Therefore, using industry standard percentages, he estimated that the entire project should be complete in 20 weeks (3 weeks/15%). Jason’s initial plan was to develop the basic music download purchase capability in the first version of the system. The second version will add the subscription purchase capability, and the third version will add the gift card purchase capability. 24 Tune Source – Case Study For the Staffing Plan, first he created a list of the various roles that he needed to fill. He thought he would need several analysts to work with the analysis and design of the Digital Music Download system, as well as an infrastructure analyst to manage the integration of the system with Tune Source’s existing technical environment. Jason also needed people who had good programming skills. Kenji, Ming, and Maria are three analysts with strong technical and interpersonal skills, and Jason believed that they were available to bring onto this project. He wasn’t certain whether they had experience with the actual Web technology that would be used on the project, but he decided to rely on vendor training or an external consultant to build those skills later when they were needed. Because the project was so small, Jason envisioned all of the team members reporting to him because he would be serving as the project’s manager. 25 Project Work Plan (Gantt Chart ) 26 Project Work Plan (Gantt Chart ) 27 Project Staffing Plan 28 Project Charter Tasks to do this week Hand on the feasibility analysis(Technical, Economical, Organizational), which include: Executive summary page of the feasibility study. A report 1-2 pages long, to provide additional detail and supporting documentation. Prepare: Estimating Project Time Using Industry Standards (example: slide 7) The Project Work Plan using a Project Management tool (Gantt chart). Project Staffing Plan - (example: slide 28). Risk Assessment (at least 3 risks) - (example: slide 23). Project Charter - (example: slide 29). 30