Lecture 624/9/15

Project … is a planned undertaking

that has a beginning and an end and that produces a desired result or product • Organized activities • Defined (expected) outcome• Timeline, schedule

• SDLC (stages or phases and their sequence) • Methodology (models, techniques, tools,

guidelines)

activities &outcome

What is Project Management?

• …the process of planning, directing, and controlling the development of an acceptable system at a minimum cost within a desired time-frame

What does Project Management do?

• The classic SDLC must be monitored and managed• excessively long, drawn out process• leads to schedule and cost overruns

• Techniques such as FTS, JAD (Joint Appl. Dev.), prototyping, RAD (Rapid Appl. Dev.), and CASE • should be used to accelerate the life-cycle and • keep it under control within • the proven problem-solving framework of the SDLC

Features of a project• A start and a finish • Is a unique activity with a visible output• May involve uncertainty and risk• Involves a team coming together specifically for the

project• A budget• Non repetitive tasks, sequential order• Use of resources (including human resources)• A single point of ultimate responsibility• Clearly defined team roles• Clear aims, objectives, goals

Terms often confused with ‘project’• Process – a series of steps needed to perform a routine

activity (e.g. purchasing). A project may contain many processes.

• Programme – work performed towards achieving a long term goal (e.g. a health awareness programme). Programmes may never achieve all their goals, and may comprise a series of projects.

Examples of types of project and their size• Individual – decorating your bedroom• Group – organising a wedding• Organisation – construction company, building

the Millennium bridge in London• Project Organisation – creation of a separate

independent organisation specifically for accomplishing a particular project, e.g. the Olympic games committee• Multinational – design construction of Concorde

Why Project Management?

• Project mismanagement can deter or render ineffective the best analysis and design methods

• Many projects suffer from poor leadership and management

Four common results („symptoms”) of mismanaged projects

• Unfulfilled or unidentified requirements

• Uncontrolled change of project scope

• Cost overruns

• Late delivery

What can go wrong !

Causes of Failed Projects

• Unreasonable estimates of costs before projects begin• lack of proper preliminary/feasibility study• poor estimating techniques• estimates will change as the project progresses• schedule delays• analysts are overly optimistic

Causes of Failed Projects

• Mismanagement of expectations • failure to identify key (or all potential) stakeholders • failure to set project scope leads to

creeping requirements syndrome • budgets and schedules rarely modified

• Most contemporary companies modify (release) content

Causes of Failed Projects• Misunderstanding the nature of software • Flexible • No real physical appearance – only behaviour

• you can not touch a software component • `you may see the code and the result what it does (or not)• Difficult to estimate

=> Mythical man-month• assign more people to the project team

• Only leads to more confusion • Complexity increases on the management side