Project Management

Project management is the process of planning and controlling the development of a system within a specified timeframe at a minimum cost with the right functionality. A project manager has the primary responsibility for managing the hundreds of tasks and roles that need to be carefully coordinated.

Four Key Steps in Managing Projects :

• Identifying project size
• Creating and managing the workplan
• Staffing the project
• Coordinating and controlling project activities

Identifying Project Size

Project Manager’s Balancing Act - Project Management involves making trade-offs…

Modifying one element requires adjusting the others.

Project Estimation

• The process of assigning projected values for time and effort
• Sources of estimates (Methodology in use, Actual previous projects, Experienced developers)
• Estimates begin as a range and become more specific as the project progresses

Creating The Workplan

Identifying Tasks :

• Methodology (Using standard list of tasks)
• Top-down approach (Identify highest level tasks, Break them into increasingly smaller units, Organize into work breakdown structure)

List of all tasks in the work breakdown structure, plus :

• Duration of task
• Current task status
• Task dependencies
• Key milestone dates

Tracking Project Tasks :

• Gantt Chart (Bar chart format, Useful to monitor project status at any point in time)
• PERT Chart (Flowchart format, Illustrate task dependencies and critical path)

example :

• Tracking Tasks Using Gantt Chart

• Tracking Tasks Using PERT Chart

Staffing The Project

Staffing Attributes

• Staffing levels will change over a project’s lifetime
• Adding staff may add more overhead than additional labor
• Using teams of 8-10 reporting in a hierarchical structure can reduce complexity

Controlling Project Activities

CASE Tools :

CASE Components :

Standards Examples :

• Formal rules for naming files
• Forms indicating goals reached
• Programming guidelines

Documentation :

• Project binder
• Table of contents
• Continual updating

Managing Risk :

• Risk assessment
• Actions to reduce risk
• Revised assessment

Classic Mistakes :

• Overly optimistic schedule
• Failing to monitor schedule
• Failing to update schedule
• Adding people to a late project