Project- Project Management
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PROJECT QUESTIONS & TASKS |
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1. Provide a project objective associated with the Astin Martin Electronics project. Include a list of assumptions about the project.
The purpose of this project is to develop a specific message service for Astin Martin Electronics.
The project objectives are:
· Develop a specific message service that will be incorporated into electronic instrument interface.
· To provide software engineering support for designing, developing, and unit testing of the software (specific message software).
· Project deliverables must be completed on 15th November 2021.
· To achieve customer satisfaction.
· Deliver project in source and binary version.
· Deliver the project in a manner that meets all approved acceptance criteria, associated design documents (system and development level).
· Deliver the project within the approved budget.
The project assumptions are:
· All resources are available.
· Project will be awarded on 15th May.
· All estimates regarding schedule and cost are correct, i.e., with minimal variation.
· Personnel costs will not change, i.e., the per hour rates will remain uniform throughout the project.
· All stakeholders are supportive of the project.
· The team members have the required skills.
2. What is a work breakdown structure? What is a responsibility matrix? Using the Astin Martin Astin Martin Electronics project activity list and activity duration schedule, create a WBS and RAM.
Work Breakdown Structure (Should provide hierarchical graph)
Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) is a “is a hierarchical decomposition of the total scope of work to be carried out by the project team to accomplish the project objectives and create the required deliverables.”.
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Work Break Down Structure Outline |
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No. |
Task Name |
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1 |
UML Design For Interface |
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1.1 |
Create Outline of UML |
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1.2 |
Derive Requirements Artifacts |
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1.3 |
Assistance of Software Engineering |
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1.4 |
Provide quality checks |
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2 |
System/Software Design |
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2.1 |
Appropriate software components |
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2.1.1 |
Design appropriate software components |
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2.2.2 |
Peer Review |
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2.2 |
Assistance of Software Engineering |
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2.3 |
Provide quality checks |
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3 |
Approve Design |
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3.1 |
Component Level Requirements |
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3.1.1 |
Derive Component Level Requirements |
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3.1.2 |
Designing and Coding |
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3.1.3 |
Unit test |
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3.1.4 |
System and Enterprise Test |
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3.2 |
Assistance of Software Engineering |
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3.3 |
Sell-off Acceptance Criteria |
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3.3.1 |
Derive sell-off Acceptance Criteria |
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3.3.2 |
Peer review |
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3.3.3 |
Customer Approval |
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3.3.4 |
Provide quality checks. |
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4 |
Approve Content S/W Component Design |
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4.1 |
Design artifacts |
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4.1.1 |
Provide appropriate level design artifacts |
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4.1.2 |
Peer review |
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4.2 |
Sell-off Acceptance Criteria |
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4.2.1 |
Derive sell-off Acceptance Criteria |
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4.2.2 |
Peer Review |
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4.3.3 |
Customer Approval |
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4.3.4 |
Provide quality checks. |
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5 |
Code and Unit Test |
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5.1 |
Testing Software Modules |
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5.2 |
Collecting Software requirements from System Engineering |
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5.3 |
Requirement Analysis |
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5.4 |
Collect Additional Requirements (If Required) |
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5.5 |
Test Planning |
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5.6 |
Test Case Designing & Development |
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5.7 |
Test Environment Setup |
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8.8 |
Overhead Cost (July) |
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5.9 |
Development of Software Module |
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5.1 |
Test Execution |
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5.11 |
Implement Changes (If Required) |
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5.12 |
Match Changes with Scope |
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5.13 |
Code Test Software Module |
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5.14 |
Unit Test Software Module |
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6 |
Provide quality checks |
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7 |
Function Test |
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7.1 |
Assistance of System Engineering to software engineering |
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7.2 |
Check the Function |
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7.3 |
Provide quality checks |
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8 |
Design Test Artifacts |
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8.1 |
Consultation and support from other Software and System engineers |
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8.2 |
Derive System Level Test Cases |
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8.3 |
Derive Enterprise Level Test Cases |
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8.4 |
Peer Review |
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8.5 |
Provide quality checks |
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9 |
Perform Environment Level Tests |
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9.1 |
Consultation and support from other Software and System engineers |
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9.2 |
Overhead Cost (September) |
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9.3 |
Execute Test Cases |
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9.4 |
Provide quality checks |
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10 |
Approve Test Services |
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10.1 |
Assistance from System Test Engineering for Quality Engineering |
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10.2 |
Quality Check |
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10.2.1 |
Design Review |
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10.2.2 |
Pre-Ship Review |
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11 |
Run Test on Live Environment |
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11.1 |
Assistance from System Test Engineering for Quality Engineering |
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11.2 |
Quality Check |
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11.3 |
Final Acceptance Test |
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12 |
Deploy to Operational Environment |
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12.1 |
Work with Customer facility |
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12.2 |
Overhead Cost (October) |
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12.3 |
Use of approved installation instructions |
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12.4 |
Deployment of software into operational environment |
The hierarchical WBS is below:
Responsibility Assignment Matrix
Responsibility Assignment matrix also known as RAM or RACI matrix is the chart that describes the participation of people of various role to accomplish any task in the project. A responsibility matrix shows the human resources assigned to the work package. A work package is referred to as the smallest unit of work that a project can be divided into in the WBS.
Below is the RAM Chart:
3. (Major) List all activity costs. From the project activity list and activity duration schedule, estimate the cost of each activity. Then, determine the Total Budgeted Cost (TBC) for the Astin Martin Electronics project. Provide the information in table format by month. Objective evidence of derived costs is required for credit. Use labor and overhead rates as provided in your derived calculations.
The total budgeted cost of the project is calculated using MS Project. Where activities are added along with the resources. Then the given per hour labor rate of each resource is added in the resource sheet to calculate TBC. Total budgeted cost is then divided by the total working hours (8 hours shift from 15th May 2021 till 15th November 2021 – this excludes weekends) required to complete the project. This is done to calculate per hour rate to incorporate overhead rates into total budgeted cost.
The given total hour of each overhead is then multiplied with per hour rate which gives following values.
Finance: 6.4% of total hours = $14691.588
Planning & Scheduling: 5.1% of total hours = $11706.147
Management (Contracts/Senior Management): 2.2% of total hours = $5050.233
Facility: 1.9% of total hours = $4361.565
HR/Staffing: 0.62% of total hours = $1423.248
The above overhead expenses are then equally distributed in all 6 months from 15th May 2021 till 15th November 2021.
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Major Tasks |
May |
June |
July |
August |
September |
October |
November |
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UML Design for Interface |
18269.64 |
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System/Software Design |
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16368.40 |
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Approve Design |
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15478.88 |
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Approve Content S/W Component Design |
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7462.04 |
7868.56 |
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Code and Unit Test |
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39203.96 |
37087.12 |
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Function Test |
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14059.96 |
797.20 |
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Design Test Artifacts |
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19963.76 |
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Perform Environment Level Tests |
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11410.36 |
4839.36 |
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Approve Test Services |
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16544.40 |
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Run Test on Live Environment |
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18944.56 |
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Deploy to Operational Environment |
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17031.88 |
20390.20 |
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Total Budgeted Cost |
18269.64 |
39309.32 |
47072.52 |
51147.08 |
32171.32 |
57360.20 |
20390.20 |
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Management Reserves |
13286.01 |
3. Provide a cumulative budgeted cost curve and monthly budget curve for the Astin Martin Electronics project. Provide in appropriate graph format. This should represent both monthly budget and TBC over the period of performance of the project.
The graph showing cumulative budgeted cost and monthly budget curve.
4. Astin Martin Electronics wants to know if you plan to use a management reserve for their project. Explain what the term reserve means and why you will use contingency reserve in the project or not. Be sure and consider the implications of using or not using the reserve. Provide appropriate detail in your response.
JBB will use the management reserve. It refers to the amount that is reserved for unforeseen or unplanned work. Usually, this work is within the project scope. This reserve is not within the project manager’s control. Instead, its control lies with JBB’s senior management. They will decide whether to release the reserve. The purpose of adding a management reserve is to deal with unplanned work. The term reserve in project management means additional financial resources that can be utilized when required. Usually, reserves are limited to managing risks in project management.
Management reserve is 5%.
The project cost is $265720.28.
After adding the management reserve, the budgeted cost is $279,006.29.
JBB uses contingency reserves for the project. They are added to manage the identified risks. For instance, a resource is not available during a critical activity. The project manager has foreseen this risk and has made the calculations for hiring an additional resource. Thus, if the resource is not available, the project manager can use the contingency reserve to pay for a temporary resource. It will ensure that the project is not impacted by the resource’s absence. The contingency reserve is calculated based on past experiences, best project management practices, and other factors. All projects must include the contingency reserve as it is considered a vital risk management response. A common misconception is that the reserve can be used at any time. For instance, if a project is over budget, contingency reserve can be used.
However, that is not the case. The contingency reserve can only be used for the identified risks and nothing else. If the reserves are not added to the project, it can cause problems. For instance, if an identified risk occurs, how will the project manager manage it? Indeed, managing the risk requires resources. Without allocated resources, the project manager will find it challenging to deal with the risk. Resultantly, the project will suffer. Thus, projects must use contingency reserves.
5. Astin Martin Electronics wants to know how JBB Software plans to employ cost management and earned value (EV) in their project. Explain to Astin Martin Electronics why it is necessary to calculate the earned value of work performed and how you plan to execute this task.
Cost management is a vital part of any project. The best practices mentioned in the PMBoK and the organization’s lessons learnt register will be used for cost management. The Figure below details the processes mentioned in the PMBoK for cost management.
Source: (PMI, 2017)
In order to estimate the costs, JBB has planned to use several techniques which improves the quality of the estimates. The techniques include analogous estimation, bottom-up, and expert judgement. A vital part of cost management is monitoring and controlling the costs. For this purpose, JBB will use different tools including the earned value (EV). The EV shows how much work has actually been performed in a project compared to the planned work. As Astin wishes to know about the cost, EV will be explained from the cost perspective. An example will help explain how JBB will use the earned value in cost management.
Example
Let us assume that the budget for the project is $1000. The total duration is 30 days. After 15 days, 40% of the project is completed. The actual cost is $650. Now, EV will be calculated as:
EV = Total Project Cost * Percentage Project Completed
= 1000 * 40%
= $400
The above EV shows the value of work performed. The actual cost incurred is $650. It means that the project is going over budget.
The purpose of calculating the earned value is to assess whether the work performed is as per the plan. For instance, is it on budget, over budget, or under budget? If there are considerable variations, it means that the project manager must take appropriate action. Otherwise, the project might get out of hand. If the project is considerably under budget, it indicates problems with the estimates.
6. Astin Martin Electronics is concerned about how JBB Software will manage risks. Describe what JBB Software plans to do to manage risk on the Astin Martin Electronics project and if a risk assessment matrix will be employed and why. Provide appropriate level of detail in your response.
All projects face risks. It is why organizations undertake formal risk management processes to manage those risks. The purpose of these processes is to prevent risks from occurring or at least mitigate their impacts on the project. For example, in a construction project, bad weather is a considerable risk. Irrespective of what the project manager does, bad weather cannot be avoided. Instead, the project manager works to mitigate its impact. The manager might schedule the activities in parallel to complete them before bad weather impacts the project or the activities might be scheduled when the weather conditions improve.
The Astin Martin project is no exception when it comes to risks. It is why JBB Software will use several risk management tools & techniques to manage the risks. For this project, the risk management process mentioned in the PMBoK 6th Edition will be used. It is shown in the Figure below.
Source: (PMI, 2017)
As the above picture shows, the first step is plan risk management. Here, the project manager and the team will utilize different documents, tools, and techniques to develop the risk management plan. This plan will tell how ‘risk management activities will be structured and performed’. In this project, the project manager is ultimately responsible for managing the risks. The manager will take help from the project team. Each risk will be assigned a risk owner that is responsible for that particular risk.
As mentioned earlier, risk management is an iterative process. Thus, new risks might be identified, while existing ones might be removed. As the project is complex, JBB will perform both, qualitative and quantitative risk assessments. The purpose is to ensure that risks are effectively managed. Another benefit of undertaking both types is to bridge the shortcomings in each other. As said before, various tools and techniques will be used. One of them is the risk assessment matrix. The matrix can be tailored according to organizational or project needs. The purpose of risk assessment matrix such as the one shown below is to provide the project manager and the team with a visual representation of the risks.
Source: (Becker, 2004)
Once the severity and likelihood are determined for each risk, they are represented on the matrix based on their score. It can help the project manager in prioritizing the risks based on their score. The matrix can be tailored based on organizational requirements.
References
Becker, G. M. (2004). A practical risk management approach. Retrieved 2 April 2021, from Project Management Institute website: https://www.pmi.org/learning/library/practical-risk-management-approach-8248
PMI. (2017). PMBOK® Guide (6th ed.). PMI. Retrieved from https://www.pmi.org/pmbok-guide-standards/foundational/pmbok
Astin Martin LLC
UML Design For Interface
Create Outline of UML
Derive Requirements Artifacts
Assistance of Software Engineering
Provide quality checks
System/Software Design
Appropriate software components
Design appropriate software components
Peer Review
Assistance of Software Engineering
Provide quality checks
Approve Design
Component Level
Requirements
Derive Component Level Requirements
Desiging and Coding
Unit test
System and Enterprise Test
Assistance of Software Engineering
Sell-off Acceptance Criteria
Derive sell-off Acceptance Criteria
Peer review
Customer Approval
Provide quality checks
Approve Content S/W Component Design
Design artifacts
Provide appropriate level design artifacts
Peer review
Sell-off Acceptance Criteria
Derive sell-off Acceptance Criteria
Peer Review
Customer Approval
Provide quality checks
Code and Unit Test
Testing Software Modules
Collecting Software requirements from System Engineering
Requirement Analysis
Collect Additional Requirements (If Required)
Test Planning
Test Case Designing & Development
Test Envrionment Setup
Develpoment of Software Module
Test Execution
Implement Changes (If Required)
Match Changes with Scope
Code Test Software Module
Unit Test Software Module
Provide quality checks
Function Test
Assistance of System Engineering to software engineering
Check the Function
Provide quality checks
Design Test Artifacts
Consultation and support from other Software and System engineers
Derive System Level Test Cases
Derive Enterprise Level Test Cases
Peer Review
Provide quality checks
Perform Environment Level Tests
Consultation and support from other Software and System engineers
Overhead Cost (September)
Execute Test Cases
Provide quality checks
Approve Test Services
Assistance from System Test Engineering for Quality Engineering
Quality Check
Design Review
Pre-Ship Review
Run Test on Live Environment
Assistance from System Test Engineering for Quality Engineering
Quality Check
Final Acceptance Test
Deploy to Operational Environment
Work with Customer facility
Overhead Cot (October)
Use of approved installation instructions
Deployment of software into operational environment
Cost
May 2021 June 2021 July 2021 August 2021 September 2021 October 2021 November 2021 19389.53 41549.11 49312.31 53049.67 34748.31 46796.86 34160.51 Cumulative Cost
May 2021 June 2021 July 2021 August 2021 September 2021 October 2021 November 2021 19389.533563218392 60938.640689655171 110250.94781609197 163300.61494252874 198048.9220689655 244845.78068965516 279006.28999999998
Cost
May 2021 June 2021 July 2021 August 2021 September 2021 October 2021 November 2021 19389.53 41549.11 49312.31 53049.67 34748.31 46796.86 34160.51 Cumulative Cost
May 2021 June 2021 July 2021 August 2021 September 2021 October 2021 November 2021 19389.533563218392 60938.640689655171 110250.94781609197 163300.61494252874 198048.9220689655 244845.78068965516 279006.28999999998
10
WBS Activities
Poject managerChief Engineer
System Engineer |
System Engineer ||
System Engineer |||
Lead System Engineer
Software Engineer |
Software Engineer ||
Software Engineer |||
Lead Software Engineer
System Test Engineer |
System Test Engineer ||
System Test Engineer |||
Lead System Test Engineer
Quality Engineer |
Quality Engineer ||
Quality Engineer |||
Lead Quality Engineer
UML Design for InterfaceIARRRRCCCCCCCC
Create Outline of UMLIARRRRCCCCCCCC
Derive Requirements ArtifactsIARRRRCCCCCCCC
Assistance of Software EngineeringARRRR
Provide quality checksIRRRA
System/Software DesignIRRRACCCCCCCC
Appropriate software componentsIRRRACCCCCCCC
Design appropriate software componentsIRRRACCCCCCCC
Peer ReviewARRRRCCCCCCCC
Assistance of Software EngineeringARRRR
Provide quality checksIRRRA
Approve DesignICRRRACCCCCCCC
Component Level RequirementsIRRRACCCCCCCC
Derive Component Level RequirementsIRRRACCCCCCCC
Designing and CodingIRRRACCCCCCCC
Unit testIRRRACCCCCCCC
System and Enterprise TestIRRRACCCCCCCC
Assistance of Software EngineeringARRRR
Sell-off Acceptance CriteriaIRRRACCCC
Derive sell-off Acceptance CriteriaIRRRA
Peer reviewARRRR
Customer ApprovalARRRR
Provide quality checks.IRRRA
Approve Content S/W Component Design ICCCCRRRACCCC
Design artifactsICCCCRRRACCCC
Provide appropriate level design artifactsICCCCRRRACCCC
Peer reviewACCCCRRRRCCCC
Sell-off Acceptance CriteriaIRRRACCCC
Derive sell-off Acceptance CriteriaIRRRA
Peer ReviewARRRR
Customer ApprovalARRRR
Provide quality checks.IRRRA
Code and Unit Test ICCCCRRRACCCC
Testing Software ModulesICCCCRRRACCCC
Collecting Software requirements from System EngineeringICCCCRRRACCCC
Requirement AnalysisICCCCRRRACCCC
Collect Additional Requirements (If Required)ICCCCRRRACCCC
Test PlanningICCCCRRRACCCC
Test Case Designing & DevelopmentICCCCRRRACCCC
Test Environment SetupICCCCRRRACCCC
Development of Software ModuleICCCCRRRACCCC
Test ExecutionICCCCRRRACCCC
Implement Changes (If Required)ICCCCRRRACCCC
Match Changes with ScopeICCCCRRRACCCC
Code Test Software ModuleICCCCRRRACCCC
Unit Test Software ModuleICCCCRRRACCCC
Provide quality checksIRRRA
Function TestICCCCRRRACCCC
Assistance of System Engineering to software engineeringARRRR
Check the FunctionICCCCRRRACCCC
Provide quality checksIRRRA
Design Test ArtifactsCCCCCCCCCRRRACCCC
Consultation and support from other Software and System engineersARRRRRRRR
Derive System Level Test CasesCCCCCCCCCRRRACCCC
Derive Enterprise Level Test CasesCCCCCCCCCRRRACCCC
Peer ReviewCCCCCCCCCRRRACCCC
Provide quality checks RRRA
Perform Environment Level TestsICCCCCCCCRRRACCCC
Consultation and support from other Software and System engineersARRRRRRRR
Execute Test CasesICCCCCCCCRRRACCCC
Provide quality checksIRRRA
Approve Test ServicesICCCCCCCCRRRACCCC
Assistance from System Test Engineering for Quality EngineeringARRRR
Quality CheckIRRRA
Design ReviewIRRRA
Pre-Ship ReviewIRRRA
Run Test on Live EnvironmentICCCRCCCCRRRACCCR
Assistance from System Test Engineering for Quality EngineeringARRRR
Quality CheckIRRRA
Final Acceptance TestAACCCRCCCCRRRRCCCR
Deploy to Operational EnvironmentARCCRRRRC
Work with Customer facility IRCCRRRRC
Use of approved installation instructionsARCCRRRRC
Deployment of software into operational environmentARCCRRRRC
Responsibility Assignment Matrix (RAM)/RACI Matrix