System analysis and design

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Chapter 2: Project Management

Learning Objectives  Link information systems to business needs  Learn how to create a system request  Understand system feasibility  Learn how to perform a feasibility analysis  Understand how to select a project  Become familiar with work breakdown structure, Gantt charts &

network diagrams

 Become familiar with use-case driven effort estimation  Learn how to create an interactive project workplan  Learn how to manage the scope, refine estimates and manage the

risk of a project

 Become familiar with how to staff a project  Learn how the environment and infrastructure workflows interact

with the project management workflow

Introduction  Project Management is the process of planning and

controlling system development within a specified time at a minimum cost with the right functionality

 A project is a set of activities with a specified beginning and end point meant to create a system that brings value to the business

 Project Managers monitor and control all tasks and roles that need to be coordinated

 Inception phase: generate a system request based on a business need or opportunity

 Perform a feasibility analysis; revise the system request

 Approve or decline the project

Project Identification

 Projects are driven by business needs  Identified by business people

 Identified by IT people

 (better yet) identified jointly by business and IT

 The project sponsor believes in the system and wants to see it succeed

 Normally this is a business person

 Should have the authority to move it forward

Business Value  Tangible Value

 Can be quantified and measured directly

 Example: 2 percent reduction in operating costs

 Intangible Value  We know it will add value & save time, but we may not be able

to quantify or measure its benefits

 Example: improved customer service

The System Request  A document that describes the reasons for and the value

added from building a new system

 Contains 5 elements: • Project sponsor: the primary point of contact for the project

• Business need: the reason prompting the project

• Business requirements: what the system will do

• Business value: how will the organization benefit from the project

• Special issues: Anything else that should be considered

Feasibility Analysis

 Is this project feasible?  What are the risks?

 Can these risks be overcome?

 Major components:  Technical feasibility (Can we build it?)

 Economic feasibility (Should we build it?)

 Organizational feasibility (Will they use it?)

Technical Feasibility

 Identify risks in the following areas:  The functional area: Are analysts familiar with this

portion of the business?

 The technology: Less familiarity generates more risk

 Project size: Large projects have more risk

 Compatibility: Difficult integration increases the risk

Economic Feasibility (Cost-Benefit Analysis)

 Identify the costs and the benefits

 Assign values to the costs and benefits

 Determine the cash flow

 Determine the value using one or more methods:  Net present value (NPV)

 Return on investment (ROI)

 Break-even point

Formulas for Determining Value

Example Cost-Benefit Analysis

Example Break-Even Point

Organizational Feasibility  Will the users accept the system?

 Is the project strategically aligned with the business?

 Conduct a stakeholder analysis  Project champion(s)

 Organizational management

 System users

 Others

Project Selection  Projects are approved, declined or delayed based on

value added vs. risks

 Project portfolio management  Goals:

 Maximize cost/benefit ratio

 Maintain an optimal mix of projects based on:  Risk

 Size, cost & length of time to complete

 Purpose, scope & business value

 Limited resources require trade-offs

 Selected projects enter the project management process

Project Management Tools  Aids in creating workplans

 Identify all tasks, their sequence and estimate the time to complete each one

 Work breakdown structures (WBS): a hierarchy of tasks to identify:  Duration of each task  Current status of each task  Task dependencies (shows which tasks must be completed

before others can begin)

 Gantt charts: horizontal bar chart that shows the WBS graphically

 Network diagrams: PERT and CPM

Project Effort Estimation  Estimation involves trade-offs between functionality, time

and cost

 It is the process of assigning projected values for time and effort

 Most accurate estimates come from experience

 Use-case point method; based on:  Technical complexity factors (13)

 Environmental factors (8)

Use-case Estimation Example  Actors & Use-cases:

Use-case Estimation Example  Technical complexity factors:

Use-case Estimation Example  Environmental factors & final estimate:

Creating & Managing the Workplan

 Workplan: a dynamic and sequential list of all tasks needed to complete a project

 Approaches:  Modify existing or completed projects

 Derive the tasks from the methodology being used

 Unified Process:  Iterative & incremental

 Workplan is also iterative & incremental

 Tasks and time intervals follow the phases

 Different tasks executed for each workflow

Evolutionary Work Breakdown Structures

 Organized in a standard manner across all projects

 Created in an incremental & iterative manner

 Generality supports learning from past mistakes and successes

 Unified Process:  Workflows are the major divisions

 Workflows are decomposed along the phases

 Phases are decomposed along the required tasks

 Tasks are added as each iteration is completed

Scope Management  Scope “creep”

 Occurs after the project is underway

 Results from adding new requirements to the project

 Can have a deleterious effect on the schedule

 Techniques to manage the project scope:  Identify all requirements at the outset

 Allow only those changes deemed absolutely necessary

 Carefully examine the impact of suggested changes

 Delay some changes for “future enhancements”

 Time boxing

Staffing the Project  Goals:

 Determine how many people are required

 Match skill sets to required activities

 Motivate the team to meet the objectives

 Minimize conflicts

 Deliverable—The staffing plan, which includes:  Number & kind of people assigned

 Overall reporting structure

 The project charter (describes the project’s objectives and rules)

Creating a “Jelled” Team  A team of people so strongly knit that the whole is greater

than the sum of its parts

 Characteristics of a jelled team:  Very low turnover rate

 Strong sense of identity

 A feeling of eliteness

 Team vs. individual ownership of the project

 Team members enjoy their work

The Staffing Plan  Calculate the number of people needed:

 Lines of communication increase exponentially as people are added to a project

 Create a reporting structure for projects with large numbers of people assigned

 Form sub-teams as necessary

 Assign the Project Manager, Functional lead & Technical lead

 Pay attention to technical and interpersonal skills

Motivating People  Motivation is the greatest influence on performance

 Monetary rewards usually do not motivate

 Suggested motivating techniques:  20% time rule

 Peer-to-peer recognition awards

 Team ownership (refer to the team as “we”)

 Allow members to focus on what interests them

 Utilize equitable compensation

 Encourage group ownership

 Provide for autonomy, but trust the team to deliver

Handling Conflict  Preventing or mitigating conflict:

 Cohesiveness has the greatest effect

 Clearly defining roles and holding team members accountable

 Establish work & communications rules in the project charter

 Additional techniques:  Clearly define plans for the project

 Make sure the team understands the importance of the project

 Develop detailed operating procedures

 Develop a project charter

 Develop a schedule of commitments in advance

 Forecast other priorities and their impact on the project

Environment & Infrastructure Management

 Environment—Choose the right set of tools  Use appropriate CASE tools to:

 Increase productivity and centralize information (repository)

 Utilize diagrams—more easily understood

 Establish standards to reduce complexity

 Infrastructure—Document the project appropriately  Store deliverables & communications in a project binder

 Use Unified Process standard documents

 Don’t put off documentation to the last minute

Summary

 Project Initiation

 Feasibility Analysis

 Project Selection

 Traditional Project Management Tools

 Estimating Project Effort

 Create and manage the workplan

 Staff the project

 Manage the environment and infrastructure work flows of the project