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Risk Management Concepts Ever wondered why people insure their lives, their homes, their cars, or their valuables? Suppose your house, along with all the valuables, is burgled. You will be definitely disheartened. However, you will suffer less if all your valuables are insured. At times such as these, you realize the importance of planning in [...]

Risk and Change Management Risk is defined as the possibility of loss. It is the inability to achieve program objectives within defined cost, schedule, and technical constraints. Risk management is a set of actions that helps the project manager plan an approach to deal with uncertain occurrences. A software project encounters two types of risks, [...]

Scheduling Understanding Schedule i. Salient Features: Fred Brooks, the well-known author of The Mythical-Man-Month [BRO95], was once asked how software projects fall behind schedule. His response was as simple as it was profound: “One day at a time.” The reality of a technical project (whether it involves building a hydroelectric plant or developing an operating [...]

WBS Implementation i. Implementation Strategy When you set up a project WBS, think about how you will be using it later in the project. Consider how you will organize the WBS, schedule format, manager assignments, and charge numbers, in your early project planning. It will be helpful if you can map the charge numbers, managers, [...]

WBS- A Mandatory Management Tool i. WBS as a Project Management Tool A WBS is a valuable management tool that is used throughout all life-cycle phases to: a. Manage Risk It helps in managing risk by providing insight into technical aspects of program management. b. Manage Costs A WBS can be used to help make [...]

TEAM DEVELOPMENT Team development includes both enhancing the ability of stakeholders to contribute as individuals as well as enhancing the ability of the team to function as a team. Individual development (managerial and technical) is the foundation necessary to develop the team. Development as a team is critical to the project’s ability to meet its [...]

Traditional Structures of Business Organization i. Functional Structure Most business organizations start out with a functional structure, or a small variation of this structure. This is the basic “building block” for other structures. In this structure, there is a central office which oversees various departments or major functions, e.g., human resources, finances, sales, marketing, engineering, [...]

ORGANIZATION Basic Definition Basically, an organization is a group of people intentionally organized to accomplish an overall, common goal or set of goals. Business organizations can range in size from two people to tens of thousands. How you interpret each of the above major parts of an organization depends very much on your values and [...]

Guidelines for successful Planning A common failure in many kinds of planning is that the plan is never really implemented. Instead, all focus is on writing a plan document. Most of the following guidelines help to ensure that the planning process is carried out completely and is implemented completely or, deviations from the intended plan [...]

Scheduling Any project can be completed, given an infinite amount of time and resources. Realistically, the amount of time available for project development is always finite. In fact, in most cases it is less than the project manager considers sufficient. Few projects are completed ahead of time; many projects overrun their schedule. The project schedule [...]

Planning Documents You (the PM) need to choose which documents are appropriate. Documents do not have to be lengthy. The requirements phase produces one main product document: • The software requirements specification document And two Project Planning Documents: 1. The Project Development Plan • The Software Test Plan The requirements phase formally concludes with the [...]

The Software Development Plan (SDP) The project development plan is one of the first formal documents produced by the project. Within this document, the project manager describes in detail: How the project will be developed? What resources will be required? How these resources will be used? The project development plan assures that the development of [...]

Planning Puzzle And Primary Planning Steps Planning is one of the most important management activities and includes the preparation of good estimates, the maintenance of the development schedules and the efficient assignment of personnel. i. Scope Planning Scope planning is the process of progressively elaborating and documenting the project work (project scope) that produces the [...]

PLANNING Planning is one of the most important management activities and is an ongoing effort throughout the life of the project. Software project management begins with a set of activities that are collectively called Project Planning. Preliminary planning starts on day one even in the pre-project phase It should not be conducted “in secret” It [...]

Problems in Software Projects ⇒ Product-related Problems III-defined scope: You need to define the scope of the software product in the initial stages of a software project. The scope of a software product is defined in terms of the functionality requirements, the performance requirements, the assumptions, and the constraints on the product. If the product [...]

Problems in Software Projects Software projects are similar to traditional projects in the sense that the same types of problems affect them both. However, the difference in managing these problems lies in the approach that you take to the specific issue. For example, a technology-related problem for a software project might be the low degree [...]

Project Management Myths In most cases, you learn the skills required to manage a software project while on the job. As a result, most software project managers practice a lot of management techniques that are of doubtful authenticity. Many software project managers learn about the so-called management skills and concepts that are actually myths. ⇒ [...]

Project Execution ⇒ Product Implementation Product implementation activities involve defining processes related to the implementation of the software product at the customer site. Some of the tasks that you perform for product implementation are mentioned below: Implementation plan creation: An implementation plan defines the duration of implementation and the hard and software perquisites for implementing [...]

Project Execution You already learned in the beginning of the chapter that a software project is divided into different phases. This division is done on the basis of the activities performed in each phase. Similarly, project management activities are also arranged in phases. As a project manager, you perform the activities that map to each [...]

Managing Processes ⇒ Managing the Project Plan Preparing it project plan for a software project helps you ensure that the specified requirements and objectives are met successfully. It is a collation of all planning activities that have happened for a software project. This includes activities such as design and analysis, activity definition, risk planning, and [...]

Managing Processes As a software project manager, you become the key player in a software project. You not only manager the day-to-day activities of the project but also ensure that the software product is delivered on time. What makes your role challenging is the performance of project-related activities within a specified budget and time constraint. [...]

Organizational Issues and Project Management Organizational issues have a deep influence on a software project, its progress, and the role of the project manager. The policies of an organization can affect the way the organization handles the customer, different types of technologies, and different software projects. The organizational issues that can influence a software project [...]

ETHICAL ISSUES IN RESEARCH Ethics are norms or standards of behavior that guide moral choices about our behavior and our relationships with others. The goal of ethics in research is to ensure that no one is harmed or suffers adverse consequences from research activities. This objective is usually achieved. However, unethical activities are pervasive and [...]

Software Project Management Framework You all know that a project is much more than a collection of methodologies, tasks, resources, and reviews. A project is a synchronized event where there is perfect harmony and understanding between the participants. The participants are equipped with the essential skills of planning, cooperating, helping, and communicating. However, the most [...]

Project Execution Fundamentals Tracking For the project manager, it is essential to be constantly informed of the true status of the project. This is achieved by assuring the regular flow of accurate information from the development teams. Many of the methods of acquiring information are not objective and rely on the accuracy of the reports [...]

Leaders and Managers Although it is common to use the terms ‘leader’ and ‘manager’ interchangeably, nowadays many writers point to a difference between the two. The difference is that to function as a leader, a person must exercise influence over another person in the attainment of organizational goals, as described in the definition above. Managerial [...]

Project Management Skills The role of the Leader in project management is one of great responsibility. It’s the project manager’s job to direct and supervise the project from beginning to end. Here are some other roles: (a) Leadership (b) Communications (c) Problem Solving (d) Negotiating (e) Influencing the Organization (f) Mentoring (g) Process and technical [...]

Trade-Off Triangle Good project management deals with three factors: time, cost and performance. Projects are successful if they are completed on time, within budget, and to performance requirements. In order to bring the many components of a large project into control there is a large toolkit of techniques, methodologies, and tools. These techniques provide the [...]

Project Success Project success is correlated with thorough analyzes of the need for project deliver ables. Our research has shown that when a project results in deliver ables that are designed to meet a thoroughly documented need, then there is a greater likelihood of project success. So managers should insist that there is a documented [...]

PROBLEM DEFINITION AND RESEARCH PROPOSAL The research process consists of a number of steps. The first step in any research is selecting the topic, which could start from the broad area of interest. There is no set formula for the identification of a topic of research. The best guide is to conduct research on something [...]