solution for software project management · solution for software project management december 2015...
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Mumbai University I.T (Semester -VII)
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Solution for Software Project Management
December 2015
Index
Q.1)
a) …………………………………………………………………………. 2
b) …………………………………………………………………………. 3
c) …………………………………………………………………………. 3-4
d) …………………………………………………………………………. 4-5
e) …………………………………………………………………………. 6-8
Q.2)
a) …………………………………………………………………………. N.A
b) …………………………………………………………………………. 8-12
Q.3)
a) …………………………………………………………………………. 13-15
b) …………………………………………………………………………. 16-18
Q.4)
a) …………………………………………………………………………. 18-21
b) …………………………………………………………………………. 22
Q.5)
a) …………………………………………………………………………. 23-25
b) …………………………………………………………………………. 25-27
Q.6)
a) …………………………………………………………………………. 27-28
b) ………………………………………………………………………….28-29
c) ………………………………………………………………………….29
d) ………………………………………………………………………….30
e) …………………………………………………………………………. N.A
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Q1)
(a) Define project management.
Ans: Project management is the application of processes, methods,
knowledge, skills and experience to achieve the project objectives. General.
A project is a unique, transient endeavour, undertaken to achieve planned
objectives, which could be defined in terms of outputs, outcomes or benefits.
The core components of project management are:
defining the reason why a project is necessary;
capturing project requirements, specifying quality of the deliverables,
estimating resources and timescales;
preparing a business case to justify the investment;
securing corporate agreement and funding;
developing and implementing a management plan for the project;
leading and motivating the project delivery team;
managing the risks, issues and changes on the project;
monitoring progress against plan;
managing the project budget;
maintaining communications with stakeholders and the project organisation;
provider management;
closing the project in a controlled fashion when appropriate
Project management is concerned with managing discrete packages of work to
achieve objectives. The way the work is managed depends upon a wide variety
of factors.
The scale, significance and complexity of the work are obvious factors:
relocating a small office and organising the Olympics share many basic
principles but offer very different managerial challenges.
A good distinguishing factor is often to look at the nature of the objectives.
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(b) Explain the need of project management.
Ans:
(c) Explain Business Case.
Ans:
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(d) Explain formal and informal organization.
Ans: Formal organization
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Informal organization
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(e) What is project? What are the attributes of a project?
Ans: A project is a temporary endeavour undertaken to accomplish a
unique product, services or result. Project management is the application
of knowledge ,skills ,tools and techniques to project activities to meet
project requirements.
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Q2)
(a) Explain four P’s with respect to project management.
(i)Product (ii) People (iii) Process (iv) Project
Ans: N.A
(b) Explain various project scheduling techniques .Explain the difference
between CPM and PERT.
Ans: Project Scheduling
Project scheduling is concerned with the techniques that can be employed to
manage the activities that need to be undertaken during the development of a
project.
Scheduling is carried out in advance of the project commencing and involves:
• identifying the tasks that need to be carried out;
• estimating how long they will take;
• allocating resources (mainly personnel);
• scheduling when the tasks will occur.
Once the project is underway control needs to be exerted to ensure that the plan
continues to represent the best prediction of what will occur in the future:
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• based on what occurs during the development;
• often necessitates revision of the plan.
Effective project planning will help to ensure that the systems are delivered:
• within cost;
• within the time constraint;
• to a specific standard of quality.
Two project scheduling techniques will be presented, the Milestone Chart (or
Gantt Chart) and the Activity Network.
Milestone Charts
Milestones mark significant events in the life of a project, usually critical
activities which must be achieved on time to avoid delay in the project.
Milestones should be truly significant and be reasonable in terms of deadlines
(avoid using intermediate stages).
Examples include:
• installation of equipment;
• completion of phases;
• file conversion;
• cutover to the new system
Gantt Charts
A Gantt chart is a horizontal bar or line chart which will commonly include the
following features:
• activities identified on the left hand side;
• time scale is drawn on the top (or bottom) of the chart;
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• a horizontal open oblong or a line is drawn against each activity indicating
estimated duration;
• dependencies between activities are shown;
• at a review point the oblongs are shaded to represent the actual time spent
(an alternative is to represent actual and estimated by 2 separate lines);
• a vertical cursor (such as a transparent ruler) placed at the review point
makes it possible to establish activities which are behind or ahead of schedule.
Activity Networks
The foundation of the approach came from the Special Projects Office of the US
Navy in 1958. It developed a technique for evaluating the performance of large
development projects, which became known as PERT - Project Evaluation and
Review Technique. Other variations of the same approach are known as the
critical path method (CPM) or critical path analysis (CPA).
The heart of any PERT chart is a network of tasks needed to complete a project,
showing the order in which the tasks need to be completed and the
dependencies between them. This is represented graphically:
EXAMPLE OF ACTIVITY NETWORK
The diagram consists of a number of circles, representing events within the
development lifecycle, such as the start or completion of a task, and lines, which
represent the tasks themselves. Each task is additionally labelled by its time
duration. Thus the task between events 4 & 5 is planned to take 3 time units.
The primary benefit is the identification of the critical path.
The critical path = total time for activities on this path is greater than any other
path through the network (delay in any task on the critical path leads to a delay
in the project).
Tasks on the critical path therefore need to be monitored carefully.
The technique can be broken down into 3 stages:
1. Planning:
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• identify tasks and estimate duration of times;
• arrange in feasible sequence;
• draw diagram.
2. Scheduling:
• establish timetable of start and finish times.
3. Analysis:
• establish float;
• evaluate and revise as necessary
BASIS FOR COMPARISON
PERT CPM
Meaning PERT is a project management technique, used to manage uncertain activities of a project.
CPM is a statistical technique of project management that manages well defined activities of a project.
What is it? A technique of planning and control of time.
A method to control cost and time.
Focus on Event Activity
Model Probabilistic Model Deterministic Model
Estimates Three time estimates One time estimate
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BASIS FOR COMPARISON
PERT CPM
Appropriate for High precision time
estimate
Reasonable time estimate
Management of Unpredictable Activities Predictable activities
Nature of jobs Non-repetitive nature Repetitive nature
Critical and Non-
critical activities
No differentiation Differentiated
Suitable for Research and Development
Project
Non-research projects like
civil construction, ship
building etc.
Crashing concept Not Applicable Applicable
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Q3)
(a) Describe the five phases of IT project methodology.
Ans:
Phase 1: Conceptualize and Initialize
Phase 2: Develop the project Charter and detailed project plan
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Phase 3: Execute and control the project
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Phase 4: Close project
Phase 5: Evaluate project success
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(b) Describe the five scope management processes.
Ans: Scope planning:
Project scope definition:
Create work break down structure:
The decomposition or dividing of the major project deliverables
into smaller and more manageable components.
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Project scope verification
Scope change control:
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Q4)
(a) Explain project leadership and ethics.
Ans:
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Some modern approaches to leadership
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Ethics in project
More practical view that can help you understand and apply several
principles of ethics in a project setting
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(b) List and explain the steps involved in terminating a project.
Ans: Regardless whether a successful project is completed by inclusion,
integration, or extinction, a plan must be developed to terminate it. An
organization that is project-oriented may have a "termination manager" whose
primary responsibility is to effectively and efficiently end projects. The steps
involved for termination of the project that a termination manager may include
the following :
* Ensure the project is complete.
* Ensure delivery and client acceptance.
* Prepare a final report.
* Ensure that all bills have been paid and that the final invoice has been sent to
the client.
* Redistribute personnel, materials, equipment, and any other resources.
* Determine what records (manuals, reports, and other paperwork) are to be
kept and place them in storage.
* Assign responsibility for product support, if necessary.
* Oversee the closing of the project's books.
It is equally as important that team members not be penalized for participating
in what may turn out to be an unsuccessful project. If team members are
penalized, they will be less willing to end a project or will become risk averse.
This brings us to the human side of the termination process. Senior management
and the team leader must recognize and reward the accomplishments of the
project team. Doing so creates a corporate culture that encourages success and
the motivation to do well. Acknowledging the dedication and achievements of
the project team will enable team members to proceed to their next assignment
with a more loyal and positive attitude (Stevens, 1992). Unfortunately, near the
end of a project it is easy to neglect these kinds of important details because
most of the team is looking forward to the next project, or worse, do not want
the project to end..
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Q5)
(a) What is project risk management? What are the RM processes?
Ans:
Process risk management includes the processes concerned with conducting
risk management planning, identification analysis Reponses and
monitoring and control of a project ;most of these processes are updated
throughout the project .The objectives of project risk management are to
increase the probability and impact of positive events, and decrease the
probability and impacts of events to the projects
Risk Planning
Project risk management process
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Risk identification
Risk assessment
Risk strategies
In addition ,triggers or flags in the form of metrics should be
identified to draw attention to a particular risk when it occurs
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.This system requires that each risk have an owner to monitor
the risk appropriately .
Risk monitoring and control
Risk response
Risk evaluation
(b) Distinguish resource loading from resource levelling .Why is levelling
of resources preferred to large fluctuations?
Ans:
Resource Loading
Resource loading mainly involves your manpower or employees. In resource
loading, each employee is assigned a task or a percentage of a project (X
percent of the whole). Usually, it's 25 percent of the whole. Then the employee
is assigned other tasks until he or she reaches 100 percent booked. This would
then mean that the employees cannot take on any additional work.
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With resource loading, a project manager can predict an employee's hours for
the year and see how tasks can be assigned. This also allows the project
manager to decide whether or not additional employees or contractors are
needed to complete the scheduled projects.
The downside to resource loading is that employees cannot be 100 percent
booked. Other things may arise to take away their time, such as unexpected
problems that need to be fixed. An employee should always be under 100
percent booked. Resource loading increases the chance that a project will not be
completed on time because employees are overloaded with projects.
Resource Levelling
While resource loading mainly deals with manpower, resource levelling deals
with both time (project starting and ending date) and resources, including
manpower and budget. Resource levelling tries to balance the conflicting
interests of projects with the available resources.
Resource levelling generally breaks things down into two categories: time and
available resources. Some projects need to be finished within a certain time
frame. These projects will use all the available resources (money and
manpower) to complete the project by a certain date. For a complete overview
of resource levelling, read my article "What is Resource Levelling?"
Projects that aren't as pressing can be spread out for an indefinite period of time
until resources do become available. These projects are usually ones that are not
on the critical path and will not affect the project completion date.
Like resource loading, resource levelling also has its problems. It is hard to
determine in the beginning which tasks will be on the critical path. Also,
delaying a task could cause the entire project to fall behind schedule.
Fluctuation in demand is a real world phenomenon and when the demand of
goods vary, the demand of resources required to produce these items also vary.
But fluctuation in demand of resources comes at a cost. Fluctuation in demand
of resources is undesirable because the resources are utilized in some time
periods and in others its underutilized which means we have idle costs in some
time periods. Thus, fluctuation in demand for any resource either result in over
stocking or capital lock or stock out or loss of business resources. So Resource
levelling is a technique in project management that overlooks resource
allocation and resolves possible conflict arising from over-allocation. When
project managers undertake a project, they need to plan their resources
accordingly.
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This will benefit the organization without having to face conflicts and not
being able to deliver on time. Resource levelling is considered one of the
key elements to resource management in the organization. Resource
levelling helps an organization to make use of the available resources to the
maximum. The idea behind resource levelling is to reduce wastage of
resources i.e., to stop over-allocation of resources.
Q6)
(a) What is a milestone? Why are they useful
Ans:
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(b) What is projectitis? How can an organization minimize its likelihood
of its occurrence?
Ans: In project management context, projectitis is kind of behaviour or feeling
that an individual suffers from due to deep attachment with a project.
For example, a project team member work on a project for reasonably long and
enjoyed working a lot. Now project comes to an end and the team has to be
dismantled, the psychological depression this member goes through is called
projectitis. rojectitis is just another manifestation of fragmentation. And
fragmentation is the enemy of high performance; it’s the essence of anti-
synergy, where the whole is less than the sum of the parts.Process is the
antidote to fragmentation. A well designed and executed process links
disconnected bits of work into a coherent whole, where the result is of higher
value than the inputs. Process brings discipline to chaos, order to anarchy, and
method to madness.So, in practical terms how do organizations tame
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Projectititis? The answer for many companies is a Project Optimization Process.
More than a Project Management Office (PMO), more than just a prioritization
pool, and more than a chartering protocol, a Project Optimization Process is a
set of activities that link together to create the right result. And for this
particular governing process, the perfect outcome is optimally balanced
portfolio of process improvement projects.
(c) Explain the difference between –AON and PERT.
Ans:
Activity on the Node (AON) is a project network diagramming tool that
graphically represents all of the project activities and tasks, as well as
their logical sequence and dependencies. Using AON, activities are
represented as boxes (i.e. nodes) and arrows indicate precedence and
flow. AON uses the activities defined in the WBS at its nodes. The time
estimate for these activities may be obtained from estimation techniques
like PERT or CPM.
PERT uses the project networking diagramming tools to create a visual
representation of the scheduled activities that expresses both their logical
sequence and interrelationships. PERT is a method to analyse the
involved tasks in completing a given project, especially the time needed
to complete each task, and to identify the minimum time needed to
complete the total project. PERT also uses a statistical distribution that
provides probability for estimating when the project and its associated
activities will be completed. This probabilistic estimate is derived by
using three estimates for each activity: optimistic, most likely, and
pessimistic.
An optimistic estimate is the minimum time in which an activity or task
can be completed. This is a best-case scenario where everything goes well
and there is little or no chance of finishing earlier. A most likely estimate,
as the name implies, is the normally expected time required to complete
the task or activity. A pessimistic estimate is a worse- case scenario and
indicates the maximum time the activity can take.
Thus, while AON is a network diagramming tool, PERT is a time
estimation tool. Both tools are used to together to find the critical path
and estimate the maximum time required to complete the project in
project scheduling.
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(d) Why is effective and efficient communication vital to a project?
Ans:
(e) How can a system be a technical success but an organization failure?
Ans: N.A