Managing Software Development Projects

- CT067-3

Introduction

Prepared by: PDK First Prepared on: 01-02-2010 Last Modified on: 30-07-2010
Quality checked by:
Copyright 2010 Asia Pacific UCTI
 MSPD-MODULE TOPICS

This module covers the following topics:

1. Introduction
2. Commencing Project and Scope Management
3. Work Breakdown Structure
4. Scheduling
5. Resource Utilization and Maximization
6. Risk Management
7. Quality Management and Software Testing
8. Communication Management
9. Procurement Management
10. Earned Value Management
11. Project Management Skills/Methodologies (Tailoring and
Hybrids)
 TOPIC AND STRUCTURE

• Project vs Project Management

• Project Triangle
• PMBOK Knowledge Areas
• Agile Methodologies (SCRUM, etc.)
• Project Life Cycle/SDLC
• Management Functions
• Project Organization Structure
 LEARNING OUTCOMES

At the end of this module, YOU should be able to:

• Explain the difference between a project

and projects management
• Identify and Explain Knowledge Areas
• Discuss the types of Agile Methodologies
• Identify Organizational Structures
 KEY TERMS

If you have mastered this topic, you should be able to use

the following terms correctly in your assignments and
exams:

• Project Triangle (Triple Constraints)

• Knowledge Areas
• Agile
• Methodologies
• Lifecycle
• Organization Structure
 MAIN TEACHING POINTS

• Project vs Project Management

• Project Triangle
• PMBOK Knowledge Areas
• Agile Methodologies (SCRUM, etc.)
• Project Life Cycle/SDLC
• Management Functions
• Project Organization Structure
 GENERAL MANAGEMENT
FUNCTIONS
In general ….. management functions involve 4 main
areas ………… more so in projects (see Project
Management Life cycle discussion later)

• Plan
• Organise
• Direct
• Control
• Note: If you can’t measure it you can’t manage it
Managing Project Quality, 2008, Stacy Golf, PMP , Project Experts

Slide 7 of 10
 ATTRIBUTES OF PROJECTS

• Goal, objective,
• Distinct start & finish
• Resources:
• People,
• Money,
• Tools & Equipment,
• Administration
• Co-ordination
• Temporary structure

Note: identify an important attribute missing in the above list

Slide 8 of 10
 WHY IT PROJECT MANAGEMENT?

IT Projects have a terrible track record

2016 CHOAS Report on IT Project Performance

 WHY IT PROJECT MANAGEMENT?

IT Projects have a terrible track record

• 80 -145 billion per year is spent on failed and cancelled projects (The Standish
Group International, Inc.)
• 25% - 40% of all spending on projects is wasted as a result of re-work
(Carnegie Mellon)
• 50% are rolled back out of production (Gartner)
• 40% of problems are found by end users (Gartner)
• Poorly defined applications have led to a persistent miscommunication
between business and IT. This contributes to a 66% project failure rate for
these applications, costing U.S. businesses at least $30 billion every year
(Forrester Research)
• 60% - 80% of project failures can be attributed directly to poor requirements
gathering, analysis, and management (Meta Group)
• Nearly two thirds of all IT projects fail or run into trouble. (See Figure for the
results of the 2015 CHAOS Survey.)
 WHY IT PROJECT MANAGEMENT?

STRATEGIC VALUE THAT PROJECT MANAGEMENT

OFFERS TO AN ORGANISATION
• provides a controlled way to rapidly respond to changing market
conditions and new strategic opportunities
• maximises the innovation and creative capabilities of the organisation
by creating environments of focus and open communication
• allows organisations to accomplish more with less costs
• enables better leverage of both internal and external expertise
• provides key information and visibility on project metrics to enable
better management decision-making
• increases the pace and level of stakeholders acceptance for any
strategic change
• reduces financial losses by ‘killing off’ poor project investments early in
their life cycles

Absolute Beginner’s Guide – Gregory M. Horine - Pg. 12-13

 WHY IT PROJECT MANAGEMENT?

STRATEGIC VALUE THAT PROJECT MANAGEMENT

OFFERS TO AN INDIVIDUAL AT A PERSONAL LEVEL
• ensures all work is put to the best use for the organisation and properly
recognised
• a unique career path, with challenging opportunities on each new project
• a career path that requires all our abilities and knowledge, including our
management, business, people and technical skills
• a career path that is high in demand and generally, an increase in income
• a career path that prepares you for organisational leadership positions
• a career path that is recognised more each year as excellent preparation
for CxO positions
• a career path that allows you to be on the front lines of strategic
organisational initiatives and have a major impact on the organisational’s
future.

Absolute Beginner’s Guide – Gregory M. Horine - Pg. 12-13

WHAT MAKES A GOOD PROJECT?

• Teams of 4 or 5
• Challenging but achievable
• Clearly identifiable outcomes
• Obviously put lots of effort in
• Used time available well
• Take ownership of the project
• Demonstrate problem solving skills, creativity
and initiative
• Good Team Report
 PROJECT SUCCESS AND PROJECT
EFFICIENCY
• Why are we in this mess?
• Traditional constraints (iron triangle) – scope/time/cost
• Projects end when they are delivered to the customer
• Project managers do not look at the long term, the big
picture
• They must look at and understand the business
environment.
• They must look at the struggle for competitive advantage
• Measure of success must be at the impact of the
organisation and just not the triple constraints

But the measurement is NOT straightforward

 PROJECT LIFE CYCLE vs. PROJECT
MANAGEMENT LIFE CYCLE

The ”project management life cycle” is different from the project life
cycle. But the terms are often confused.

The project life cycle refers to the development phases that a

project can go through. For example:
• Evaluate – Design – Build – Test – Launch
• Design – Code – Test – Train – Release

The phases that a project goes through are determined by the

nature of the project. The project life cycle is tailored to suit
individual project needs.

In contrast, the project management life cycle stays the same

for all projects.
 A PROJECT MANAGEMENT OVERVIEW
WHAT IT IS, THE CHALLENGE, THE VALUE, THE
DEMAND AND THE TRENDS

Absolute Beginner’s Guide – Gregory M. Horine - Pg. 19

 DIFFERENCES BETWEEN
PROJECTS AND OPERATIONS

PROJECTS ARE … OPERATIONS ARE …

Unique Repetitive
Finite Eternal
Revolutionary Change Evolutionary Change
Disequilibrium Equilibrium
Unbalanced Objectives Balanced Objectives
Transient Resources Stable Resources
Flexibility Stability
Effectiveness Efficiency
Goals Roles
Risk & Uncertainty Experience
 IN-COURSE ASSESSMENT

In-course Assessment

• One Case Study

• Project Documentation - 6000 words
– Recovery – 5000 word (80%)
– Reflection – 1000 words (20%)

• 10 Power-point slides to summarise your

documentation
• 8 weeks duration
 ADVICE FROM PREVIOUS STUDENTS

• The contacts can be difficult to get hold of so phone

them ASAP to arrange a meeting
• Arrange a definite meeting time and place and make
sure every one attends
• Get everyone to write down major course work hand-
ins, etc. before you start so that you can work around
this
• Be realistic about what you are going to achieve or
your team will feel de-motivated
 ADVICE FROM PREVIOUS STUDENTS

• Do as much as you can at the beginning of the

assignment as you’ll definitely run out of time at the end
• Write down who has agreed to do what a make sure you
follow it up (or you’ll forget)
• Work out peoples strengths in your first meeting
• Don’t waste time being overly polite to each other you
need to get on with the assignment –
discussions/disagreement can help get things moving
 TUTORIAL PREPARATION

WHY THERE IS A NEED TO USE AN IT

PROJECT MANAGEMENT METHODOLOGY

Research and review the Standish Group Report – CHAOS

in the Internet to discuss the following:-
– a review of the statistics in terms of cost and time
overruns caused by restarts and the content
deficiencies in projects
– the success/failures profiles to ascertain why projects
fail and to avoid these pitfalls
 CLOSING THOUGHT

Each men and women must find in himself or herself that

occupation in which hard work and long hours make him or
her happy.

Contrariwise, if you are looking for shorter work hours and

longer vacations and early retirement, you are in the wrong
job. Perhaps you need to take up bank robbing or even
politics.

Jubal Harshaw – TO SAIL BEYOND THE SUNSET

 TEXTBOOKS

 Death March (2nd Edition)

Edward Yourdon

 Kathy Schwalbe, Information

Technology Project Management,
Thompson Course Technology
 TEXTBOOKS

 Graham McLeod & Derek Smith,

Managing Information Technology
Projects, Course Technology

 Kathy Schwalbe, Information

Technology Project Management,
Thompson Course Technology
 TEXTBOOKS

• Office of Government Commerce

(OGC) - Managing Successful
Projects with PRINCE 2 - 2009. The
Stationary Office (TSO) Books.

• A Guide to the Project Management

Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) - 2008.
4th Edition - PMI.
(These texts include two PM methods that are
found in industry, making an knowledgeable
evaluation and comparison possible in an IT
environment).
 OTHER TEXTBOOKS

• Phillips, D. and O’Bryan, R. (2003) It

Sounded Good When we Started: a
Project Manager’s Guide to Working
With People on Projects. John Wiley
and Sons Inc.
(This text examines the human factors of PM and
the role of people in projects).
 PROJECT SUCCESS AND PROJECT
EFFICIENCY
• How do we measure project success?
• Tangibles
• Who is the best stakeholder to judge a project
success?
• Project Sponsor
• Why does this stakeholder later become
irrelevant?
• Resource constraints later become less
important
• Who become more relevant?
• Customer and customer satisfaction
 SUMMARY AND REVIEW

• Why IT Project Management Methodology is

required?
• IT Projects have a terrible success track record
• Module Details and Expectations
• Useful Textbooks
• Advice from previous students
Q&A
Backup Slides
 GENERAL MANAGEMENT
FUNCTIONS
In general ….. management functions involve 4 main
areas ………… more so in projects (see Project
Management Life cycle discussion later)

• Plan
• Organise
• Direct
• Control
• Note: If you can’t measure it you can’t manage it
Managing Project Quality, 2008, Stacy Golf, PMP , Project Experts

Slide 31 of 10
 PROJECT MANAGEMENT
FUNCTIONS
Five stages to the project management life cycle:

The five stages usually occur in sequence. If the project is relatively simple
and there is no need to rethink or re-plan the project, the sequence of
stages may be as simple as that depicted above.

If there are problems with the original project plan, then the controlling
function leads back to planning.

Execution may be delayed while additional planning takes place or may

continue during re-planning. The new or modified project plan is then
executed. During execution controlling processes are undertaken to ensure
that the correct work results are being achieved.
An Introduction to PMI’s Project Management Life Cycle : Brian Denis Egan, Global Knowledge Instructor, PMP
Slide 32 of 10
 PROJECT MANAGEMENT
FUNCTIONS
Below is a project management life cycle that has been forced by
problems to return to planning.

During large complex projects it is often necessary to return to planning

several times. In this case, the project management life cycle can
become very complex with multiple repeats of planning and even
initiating processes.

An Introduction to PMI’s Project Management Life Cycle : Brian Denis Egan, Global Knowledge Instructor, PMP
Slide 33 of 10
 PROJECT MANAGEMENT
FUNCTIONS

Below is an illustration of a complex project management life cycle

involving multiple returns to the drawing board

An Introduction to PMI’s Project Management Life Cycle : Brian Denis Egan, Global Knowledge Instructor, PMP
Slide 34 of 10
 PROJECT MANAGEMENT
FUNCTIONS

An Introduction to
PMI’s Project
Management Life
Cycle : Brian
Denis Egan,
Global Knowledge
Instructor, PMP
 PROJECT MANAGEMENT
FUNCTIONS

An Introduction to
PMI’s Project
Management Life
Cycle : Brian
Denis Egan,
Global Knowledge
Instructor, PMP