PLANNING PHASE

MODULE 1

(4) Interpersonal - analysts need to

CHAPTER 1: THE SYSTEMS ANALYST AND
communicate effectively, one-on-one with
INFORMATION SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT
users and business managers (who often
have little experience with technology) and
THE SYSTEMS ANALYST with programmers (who often have more
technical expertise than the analyst does).
● The systems analyst plays a key role in the They must be able to give presentations to
SDLC, analyzing the business situation, large and small groups and to write
identifying opportunities for improvements, reports.
and designing an IS to implement the
improvements. (5) Management - manage people with
● Systems analysts work with teams composed whom they work, and they must manage
of variety of people, including business and the pressure and risks associated with
technical experts. unclear situations
● The primary goal is to create value for the
organization, which for most companies (6) Ethical - often deal with confidential
means increasing profits. information or information that, if shared
● Many failed projects were abandoned with others, could cause harm (e.g., dissent
because the analysts tried to build a among employees); it is important for
wonderful system without clearly analysts to maintain confidence and trust
understanding how the system would support with all people.
the organization’s goals, improve business
processes, and integrate with other IS to
SYSTEMS ANALYST ROLES
provide value.
● Systems analysts must understand how to (1) Business Analyst - focuses on the business
apply technology to solve business problems. issues surrounding the system. This person
In addition, systems analysts may serve as helps to identify the business value that the
change agents who identify the system will create, develops ideas for
organizational improvements needed, design improving the business processes, and helps
systems to implement those changes, and design new business processes and policies.
train and motivate others to use the systems.
● Have business training and experience,
SYSTEMS ANALYST SKILLS plus knowledge of analysis and design.

● These skills can be broken down into six major (2) Requirements Analyst - focuses on eliciting
categories: the requirements from the stakeholders
(1) Technical - to understand the associated with the new system.
organization’s existing technical ● Understand the business well, are excellent
environment, the new system’s communicators, and are highly skilled in
technology foundation, and the way in an array of requirements elicitation
which both can be fit into an integrated techniques.
technical solution. ○ As more organizations recognize the
critical role that complete and
(2) Business - to understand how IT can be accurate requirements play in the
applied to business situations and to ultimate success of the system, this
ensure that IT delivers real business specialty has gradually evolved.
value.
(3) Infrastructure Analyst - focuses on technical
(3) Analytical - analysts are continuous issues surrounding the ways the system will
problem solvers at both the project and interact with the organization’s technical
the organizational level, and they put infrastructure (hardware, software, networks,
their analytical skills to the test regularly. and databases).
● This person ensures that the new
information system conforms to
organizational standards and helps to

1
 identify infrastructure changes that will be be built and determining how the project team will
needed to support the system. go about building it. It has two steps:
● Will have significant training and 1. Project Initiation
experience in networking, database 2. Project Management
administration, and various hardware and
software products. During project initiation, the system’s business value
● Overtime, this person may assume the role to the organization is identified—how will it lower
of software architect, who takes a costs or increase revenues? Most ideas for new
holistic view of the organization’s entire IT systems come from outside the IS area (from the
environment and guides application marketing department, accounting department, etc.)
design decisions within that context. in the form of a system request.

(4) Change Management Analyst - focuses on A system request presents a brief summary of a
the people and management issues business need and explains how a system that
surrounding the system installation. addresses the need will create business value.
● This person ensures that adequate
documentation and support are available The IS department works together with the person
to users, provides user training on the new or department making the request (called project
system, and develops strategies to sponsor) to conduct a feasibility analysis.
overcome resistance to change.
● will have significant training and The feasibility analysis examines key aspects of the
experience in organizational behavior and proposed project:
specific expertise in change management. ● Technical feasibility (Can we build it?)
● Economic feasibility (Will it provide business
(5) Project Manager - ensures that the project is value?)
completed on time and within budget and that ● Organizational feasibility (If we build it, will it
the system delivers the expected value to the be used?)
organization.
● is often a seasoned systems analyst who, Once the project is approved, it enters project
through training and experience, has management. During project management, the
acquired specialized project management project manager creates a workplan, staffs the
knowledge and skills. project, and puts techniques in place to help control
and direct the project through the entire SDLC. The
❖ There is no single typical career path through deliverable for project management is a project
these professional roles. Some people may plan that describes how the project team will go
enter the field as a more technically-oriented about developing the system.
programmer/analyst while others may enter
as a business-oriented functional specialist ANALYSIS
with an interest in applying IT to solve
The analysis phase answers the questions of:
business problems.
● who will use the system?
● what the system will do?
SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT LIFE CYCLE (SLDC) ● where and when it will be used?
The process of determining how an information
This phase has three steps:
system (IS) can support business needs, designing
1. Analysis strategy - developed to guide the
the system, building it, and delivering it to users.
project team’s efforts. Such a strategy usually
includes a study of the current system (called
Building an IS using the SDLC follows a similar set
the as-is system) and its problems, and
of four fundamental phases:
envisioning ways to design a new system
(1) Planning
(called the to-be system)
(2) Analysis
(3) Design
2. Requirements gathering - The analysis of this
(4) Implementation
information—in conjunction with input from the
project sponsor and many other people—leads
PLANNING
to the development of a concept for a new
The planning phase is the fundamental process of system. The system concept is then used as a
understanding why an information system should basis to develop a set of business analysis

2
 models that describes how the business will
operate if the new system were developed. IMPLEMENTATION
The final phase in the SDLC is the implementation
3. System proposal - The analyses, system
phase, during which the system is actually built (or
concept, and models are combined into a
purchased and installed if the design calls for a
document called the system proposal, which is
prewritten software package).
presented to the project sponsor and other key
decision makers (e.g., members of the approval
This is the phase that usually gets the most
committee) who will decide whether the project
attention, because for most systems it is the
should continue to move forward.
longest and most expensive single part of the
development process.
The system proposal is the initial deliverable that
describes what business requirements the new
The implementation phase has three steps:
system should meet.
1. System construction - The system is built and
tested to ensure that it performs as designed.
DESIGN Since the cost of fixing bugs can be immense,
The design phase decides how the system will testing is one of the most critical steps in
operate in terms of the hardware, software, and implementation. Most organizations spend
network infrastructure that will be in place; the user more time and attention on testing than on
interface, forms, and reports that will be used; and writing the programs in the first place.
the specific programs, databases, and files that will 2. Installation - the process by which the old
be needed. system is turned off and the new one is turned
on. There are several approaches that may be
The design phase has four steps: used to convert from the old to the new system.
1. Design strategy - This clarifies whether the One of the most important aspects of
system will be developed by the company’s conversion is the training plan, used to teach
own programmers, whether its development users how to use the new system and help
will be outsourced to another firm (usually a manage the changes caused by the new
consulting firm), or whether the company will system.
buy an existing software package. 3. Support - This plan usually includes a formal or
2. Architecture design - describes the hardware, informal post-implementation review, as well as
software, and network infrastructure that will a systematic way for identifying major and
be used. In most cases, the system will add to minor changes needed for the system.
or change the infrastructure that already exists
in the organization. The interface design
PROJECT IDENTIFICATION & INITIATION
specifies how the users will move through the
system (e.g., by navigation methods such as A project is identified when someone in the
menus and on-screen buttons) and the forms organization identifies a business need to build a
and reports that the system will use. system.
3. Database and file specifications - define
exactly what data will be stored and where they Business needs also can surface when the
will be stored. organization identifies unique and competitive
4. Program design - defines the programs that ways of using IT. Many organizations keep an eye
need to be written and exactly what each on emerging technology, which is technology that
program will do is in the early stages of widespread business use

This collection of deliverables (architecture design, Today, many new IS projects grow out of business
interface design, database and file specifications, process management (BPM) initiatives. BPM is a
and program design) is the system specification methodology used by organizations to continuously
that is used by the programming team for improve end-to-end business processes.
implementation.
Business Process Automation (BPA) is the
At the end of the design phase, the feasibility foundation of many information technology
analysis and project plan are reexamined and systems. In these situations, technology
revised, and another decision is made by the components are used to complement or substitute
project sponsor and approval committee about for manual information management processes
whether to terminate the project or continue. with the intent of gaining cost efficiencies.

3
In many cases, Business Process Improvement Role of Business Process Management
(BPI) results from studying the business processes, ● Define and map the steps in a business
creating new, redesigned processes to improve the process.
process workflows, and/or utilizing new ● Create ways to improve on steps in the
technologies enabling new process structures. process that add value.
● Find ways to eliminate or consolidate steps in
Projects with a goal of business process the process that don’t add value.
improvement make moderate changes to the ● Create or adjust electronic workflows to
organization’s operations, and can improve match the improved process maps.
efficiency (i.e., doing things right) and improve
effectiveness (i.e., doing the right things). These Business Process Automation, is the foundation of
types of projects involve more risk than business many information technology systems wherein
process automation projects since more significant technology components are used to complement or
changes are made to the organization’s operations. substitute for manual information management
processes with the intent of gaining cost
BPM may also reveal the need for the complete efficiencies.
revamping of the organization’s business processes,
termed Business Process Reengineering (BPR). Business Process Reengineering (BPR), is
BPR means changing the fundamental way in which changing the fundamental way in which the
the organization operates—“obliterating” the organization operates—“obliterating” the current
current way of doing business and making major way of doing business and making major changes
changes to take advantage of new ideas and new to take advantage of new ideas and new
technology. BPR projects involve substantial risk due technology.
to the significant organizational and operational
changes that result. Top management support and Project Sponsor
careful management are critical in these fairly rare ● develops the initial vision of the new system.
types of projects. ● works throughout the SDLC to make sure that
the project is moving in the right direction
Often, the project sponsor develops the initial from the perspective of the business and
vision of the new system. The project sponsor works serves as the primary point of contact for the
throughout the SDLC to make sure that the project project team.
is moving in the right direction from the perspective ● has the insights needed to determine the
of the business and serves as the primary point of business value that will be gained from the
contact for the project team. Usually, the sponsor of system, in both tangible and intangible ways.
the project is from a business function but
members of the IT area also can sponsor or In most organizations, project initiation begins by
cosponsor a project. preparing a system request.

(FROM SIR MARVIN 2ND PPT) System Request is a document that describes the
BPM is a methodology used by organizations to business reasons for building a system and the
continuously improve end-to-end business value that the system is expected to provide.
processes.
Five elements of a System Request:
Business Process Management can be applied to 1. Project Sponsor describes the person who
internal organizational processes and to processes will serve as the primary contact for the
spanning multiple business partners. project
2. Business Need presents the reasons
Benefits: prompting the project
● enhanced process agility, giving the 3. Business Requirements refer to the business
organization the ability to adapt more rapidly capabilities that the system will need to have
and effectively to a changing business 4. Business Value describes the benefits that
environment the organization should expect from the
● improved process alignment with industry system
“best practices” 5. Special Issues. this is a catchall category for
● increased process efficiencies as costs are other information that should be considered
identified and eliminated from process in assessing the project.
workflows.

4
The completed system request is submitted to the requirements will be overlooked or
approval committee for consideration. misunderstood.
● Project teams need to consider the
compatibility of the new system with the
FEASIBILITY ANALYSIS
technology that already exists in the
Once the need for the system and its business organization.
requirements have been defined, the approval
committee authorizes the systems analyst to ECONOMIC FEASIBILITY
prepare a more detailed business case to better
Economic feasibility is determined by identifying
understand the proposed IS project.
costs and benefits associated with the system,
assigning values to them, calculating future cash
Feasibility analysis guides the organization in
flows, and measuring the financial worthiness of
determining whether to proceed with the project.
the project.
Feasibility analysis also identifies the important
● Attempts to answer the question “should we
risks associated with the project that must be
build the system?”
managed if the project is approved.
● As a result of this analysis, the financial
opportunities and risks of the project can be
TECHNICAL FEASIBILITY
understood.
The first issue in the feasibility analysis is to assess ● The more expensive the project, the more
the technical feasibility of the project, the extent rigorous and detailed the analysis should be.
to which the system can be successfully designed,
developed, and installed by the IT group. ORGANIZATION FEASIBILITY
● Technical feasibility analysis is, in essence, a
Organizational feasibility of the system answers
technical risk analysis that strives to answer the
how well the system ultimately will be accepted by
question: “Can we build it?”
its users and incorporated into the ongoing
● Many risks can endanger the successful
operations of the organization.
completion of the project. First and foremost is
● Attempts to answer the question “If we build it,
the users’ and analysts’ familiarity with the
will they come?”
application. When analysts are unfamiliar with
● One way to assess the organizational feasibility
the business application area, they have a
of the project is to understand how well the
greater chance of misunderstanding the users
goals of the project align with business
or missing opportunities for improvement. The
objectives. Strategic alignment is the fit
risks increase dramatically when the users
between the project and business strategy—the
themselves have limited knowledge of the
greater the alignment, the less risky the project
application. If the project involves a new
will be, from an organizational feasibility
business innovation, neither the users nor the
perspective.
analysts may have any direct knowledge or
● A second way to assess organizational
experience of the proposed new application. In
feasibility is to conduct a stakeholder analysis.
general, the development of new systems is
A stakeholder is a person, group, or
riskier than extensions to an existing system,
organization that can affect (or can be
because existing systems tend to be better
affected by) a new system.
understood.
● Familiarity with the technology is another
Important Stakeholders for Organizational
important source of technical risk. When a
Feasibility:
system will use technology that has not been
1. Project Champion
used before within the organization, there is a
The champion is a high-level executive and is
greater chance that problems and delays will
usually, but not always, the project sponsor
occur because of the need to learn how to use
who created the system request. The
the technology.
champion supports the project by providing
● Project size is an important consideration,
time and resources (e.g., money) and by
whether measured as the number of people on
giving political support to the project by
the development team, the length of time it will
conveying its importance to other decision
take to complete the project, or the number of
makers.
distinct features in the system. Larger projects
- More than one champion is preferable
present more risk, because they are more
because if the champion leaves the
complicated to manage and because there is a
organization, the support could leave as well.
greater chance that some important system

5
 2. Organizational Management
PROJECT SELECTION
Ideally, the management should encourage
people in the organization to use the system The steering committee must provide oversight and
and to accept the many changes that the governance to the entire set of projects that are
system will likely create. undertaken by the IT organization.

3. System Users The individual projects that are accepted by the

System users ultimately will use the system steering committee are temporary endeavors
once it has been installed in the organization. undertaken to create a unique product or service.
Too often, the project team meets with users
at the beginning of a project until after the CREATING THE PROJECT PLAN
system is created.
Once the project is launched by being selected by
The final feasibility study helps organizations make the approval committee, it is time to carefully plan
wiser investments regarding IS because it forces the project.
project teams to consider technical, economic, and
organizational factors that can affect their projects. The project manager will follow a set of project
It protects IT professionals from criticism by keeping management guidelines, sometimes referred to as
the business units educated about decisions and the project management life cycle, as he or she
positioned as the leaders in the decision-making organizes, guides, and directs the project from
process. Remember—the feasibility study should be inception to completion.
revised several times during the project at points
where the project team makes critical decisions In large organizations or on large projects, the role of
about the system (e.g., before the design begins). The project manager is commonly filled by a professional
final feasibility study can be used to support and specialist in project management. In smaller
explain the critical choices that are made throughout organizations or on smaller projects, the systems
the SDLC. analyst may fill this role.

CHAPTER 2: PROJECT SELECTION AND PROJECT METHODOLOGY OPTIONS

MANAGEMENT A methodology is a formalized approach to
implementing the SDLC (i.e. list of tasks, steps, and
deliverables).
PROJECT PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT
A process of selecting, prioritizing, and monitoring There are many different systems development
project results. It has become a critical success methodologies, and they vary in terms of the
factor for IT departments facing too many progression that is followed through the phases of
potential projects with too few resources the SDLC.
Project characteristics that will affect the
Once selected, a systems development project methodology selection decision:
undergoes project management, the process of ● Clarity of User Requirements: How well do
planning and controlling the project within a the users and analysts understand the
specified time frame, at minimum cost, with the functions and capabilities needed from the
desired outcomes. new system?
● Familiarity with Technology: How much
A project manager has the primary responsibility experience does the project team have with
for managing the hundreds of tasks and roles that the technology that will be used?
need to be carefully coordinated. ● System Complexity: How much complexity is
anticipated in the new system? Does the new
Portfolio management takes into consideration the system include a wide array of features? Will
different kinds of projects that exist in an the system have to integrate with many
organization— large and small, high risk and low existing systems? Does it span multiple
risk, strategic and tactical. organizational units, or even multiple
organizations?
● System Reliability: Will this system need to
be highly reliable or is some downtime
tolerable?

6
 ● Short Time Schedules: Is the project time ○ The approach still suffers from problems
frame tight? caused by voluminous deliverables. It also
● Schedule Visibility: Are the project sponsors, adds a new problem: If the subprojects are
users, or organizational managers anxious to not completely independent, design
see progress? decisions in one subproject may affect
another, and at the project end,
WATERFALL DEVELOPMENT integrating the subprojects may be quite
challenging
With waterfall development methodologies, the
project team proceeds sequentially from one phase
to the next. The key deliverables for each phase are
typically voluminous and are presented to the
approval committee and project sponsor for
approval as the project moves from phase to phase.

Once the work produced in one phase is approved,

the phase ends and the next phase begins. As the
project progresses from phase to phase, it moves
● V-model is another variation of waterfall
forward in the same manner as a waterfall. While it is
development that pays more explicit attention
possible to go backward through the phases (e.g.,
to testing.
from design back to analysis), it is quite difficult.
○ the development process proceeds down
the left-hand slope of the V, defining
requirements and designing system
components.
○ At the base of the V, the code is written.
On the upward-sloping right side of the
model, testing of components, integration
testing, and, finally, acceptance testing
are performed.
Waterfall development methodologies have the ○ A key concept of this model is that as
advantages of identifying requirements long before requirements are specified and
programming begins and limiting changes to the components designed, testing for those
requirements as the project proceeds. The key elements is also defined. In this manner,
disadvantages are that the design must be each level of testing is clearly linked to a
completely specified before programming begins, a part of the analysis or design phase,
long time elapses between the completion of the helping to ensure high quality and relevant
system proposal in the analysis phase and the testing and maximize test effectiveness.
delivery of system, and testing is treated almost as ○ The V-model is simple and straightforward
an afterthought in the implementation phase. and improves the overall quality of
systems through its emphasis on early
There are several important variants of waterfall development of test plans.
development:
● Parallel development methodologies
evolved to address the lengthy time frame of
waterfall development.
○ a general design for the whole system is
performed. Then the project is divided into
a series of subprojects that can be
designed and implemented in parallel.
○ Once all subprojects are complete, there is
a final integration of the separate pieces,
and the system is delivered.
○ Parallel development reduces the time
required to deliver a system, so changes in
the business environment are less likely to
produce the need for rework.

7
RAPID APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT (RAD) ● System prototyping performs the analysis,
design, and implementation phases
Rapid application development (RAD) is a
concurrently in order to quickly develop a
collection of methodologies that emerged in
simplified version of the proposed system and
response to the weakness of waterfall development
give it to the users for evaluation and
and its variations.
feedback.
○ The system prototype is a “quick and
RAD incorporates special techniques and computer
dirty” version of the system and provides
tools to speed up the analysis, design, and
minimal features. Following reaction and
implementation phases in order to get some
comments from the users, the developers
portion of the system developed quickly and into
reanalyze, redesign, and reimplement a
the hands of the users for evaluation and feedback.
second prototype that corrects
deficiencies and adds more features. This
While RAD can improve the speed and quality of
cycle continues until the analysts, users,
systems development, it may also introduce a
and sponsor agree that the prototype
problem in managing user expectations. As systems
provides enough functionality to be
are developed more quickly and users gain a better
installed and used in the organization.
understanding of information technology, user
System prototyping very quickly provides
expectations may dramatically increase and
a system for users to evaluate and
system requirements may expand during the
reassures users that progress is being
project (sometimes known as scope creep or
made.
feature creep).

RAD may be conducted in a variety of ways:

● Iterative development breaks the overall
project into a series of versions that are
developed sequentially. The most important
and fundamental requirements are bundled
into the first version of the system. This
version is developed quickly by a
mini-waterfall process, and once
implemented, the users can provide valuable
● Throwaway prototyping includes the
feedback to be incorporated into the next
development of prototypes, but uses the
version of the system
prototypes primarily to explore design
○ Iterative development gets a preliminary
alternatives rather than as the actual new
version of the system to the users quickly
system (as in system prototyping).
so that business value is provided. Since
○ Throwaway prototyping has a fairly
users are working with the system,
thorough analysis phase that is used to
important additional requirements may be
gather requirements and to develop ideas
identified and incorporated into
for the system concept.
subsequent versions. The chief
○ Many of the features suggested by the
disadvantage of iterative development is
users may not be well understood,
that users begin to work with a system
however, and there may be challenging
that is intentionally incomplete.
technical issues to be solved.
○ Each of these issues is examined by
analyzing, designing, and building a
design prototype.
○ A design prototype is not intended to be
a working system. It contains only enough
details to enable users to understand the
issues under consideration.

AGILE DEVELOPMENT
Agile development is a group of
programming-centric methodologies that focus on
streamlining the SDLC.

8
Much of the modeling and documentation overhead AGILE VERSUS WATERFALL
is eliminated; instead, face-to-face communication
Agile development practices were created in part
is preferred.
because of dissatisfaction with the sequential,
inflexible structure of waterfall- based approaches.
Cycles are kept short (one to four weeks), and the
development team focuses on adapting to the
Presently, agile development has made inroads into
current business environment. There are several
software development organizations, and studies
popular approaches to agile development, including
show an even split between agile and waterfall
extreme programming (XP), Scrum, and dynamic
users.
systems development method (DSDM)

SELECTING DEVELOPMENT METHODOLOGY

The first challenge faced by project managers is to
select which methodology to use. Choosing a
methodology is not simple, because no one
methodology is always best.

You will find that organizations may have one

“approved” methodology, several methodology
options, or have no formal policies at all.
● Extreme Programming (XP) emphasizes
customer satisfaction and teamwork. Many of the RAD and agile development
○ Communication, simplicity, feedback, and methodologies require the use of new tools and
courage are core values. techniques that have a significant learning curve.
○ Developers communicate with customers Often, these tools and techniques increase the
and fellow programmers. complexity of the project and require extra time for
○ Designs are kept simple and clean. earning. Once they are adopted and the team
○ Early and frequent testing provides becomes experienced, the tools and techniques can
feedback, and developers are able to significantly increase the speed in which the
courageously respond to changing methodology can deliver a final system.
requirements and technology.
○ Project teams are kept small.
○ XP project begins with user stories that
describe what the system needs to do.
○ XP works well in projects with highly
motivated, cohesive, stable, and
experienced teams.

● Scrum has some similarities with XP, including

small teams, a series of iterations (called
sprints), and a focus on building the system
one small piece at a time.
○ Scrum teams obtain requirements at the ESTIMATING THE PROJECT TIME FRAME
start of a project or a sprint, then Estimation is the process of assigning projected
self-organize and form backlogs values for time and effort. Estimation can be
containing their planned approach to the performed manually or with the help of an
project. estimation software package.
○ The scrum master plays an important role
in guiding the team’s progress through the The estimates developed at the start of a project
backlogs with repeated sprints. are usually based on a range of possible values
○ The most essential features are built and (e.g., the design phase will take 3–4 months) and
delivered in the first sprint; additional gradually become more specific as the project
features are included in subsequent moves forward (e.g., the design phase will be
sprints. completed on March 22).

The numbers used to calculate these estimates can

come from several sources. They can be provided

9
with the methodology that is used, taken from
projects with similar tasks and technologies, or
provided by experienced developers. Generally
speaking, the numbers should be conservative. A
good practice is to keep track of the actual time and
effort values during the SDLC so that numbers can
be refined along the way, and the next project can
benefit from real data. One of the greatest strengths
of systems consulting firms is the past experience
that they offer to a project; they have estimates and
The project work plan is the mechanism used to
methodologies that have been developed and honed
manage the tasks that are listed in the work
over time and applied to hundreds of projects.
breakdown structure.
● It is the project manager’s primary tool for
DEVELOPING THE WORK PLAN managing the project.
Once a project manager has a general idea of the ● Using it, the project manager can tell whether
size and approximate schedule for the project, he the project is ahead of or behind schedule, how
or she creates a work plan, which is a dynamic well the project was estimated, and what
schedule that records and keeps track of all of the changes need to be made to meet the project
tasks that need to be accomplished over the course deadline.
of the project.
Basically, the work plan is a table that lists all of the
To create a work plan, the project manager tasks in the work breakdown structure, along with
identifies the tasks that need to be accomplished important task information such as the people who
and determines how long each one will take. Then are assigned to perform the tasks, the actual hours
the tasks are organized within a work breakdown that the tasks took, and the variances between
structure. estimated and actual completion times.
● At a minimum, the information should include
TASK INFORMATION the duration of the task, the current statuses of
the tasks (i.e., open, complete), and the task
dependencies, which occur when one task
cannot be performed until another task is
completed.
● Key milestones, or important dates, are also
identified on the work plan.
○ Presentations to the approval committee,
the start of end-user training, a company
retreat, and the due date of the system
prototype are the types of milestones that
may be important to track.
WORK BREAKDOWN STRUCTURE
STAFFING THE PROJECT
Staffing the project includes determining how many
people should be assigned to the project, matching
people’s skills with the needs of the project,
motivating them to meet the project’s objectives,
and minimizing project team conflict that will occur
over time.

The deliverable for this part of project management

PROJECT WORK PLAN is a staffing plan, which describes the number and
kind of people who will work on the project, the
overall reporting structure, and the project charter,
which describes the project’s objectives and rules.

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STAFFING PLAN the particular project (e.g., how a Web server should
be configured on the basis of a projected number of
The first step to staffing is determining the average
hits from customers).
number of staff needed for the project. To calculate
this figure, divide the total person-months of effort
Interpersonal skills, on the other hand, include
by the optimal schedule.
interpersonal and communication abilities that are
used when dealing with business users, senior
Many times, the temptation is to assign more staff
management executives, and other members of the
to a project to shorten the project’s length, but this
project team.
is not a wise move. Adding staff resources does not
● They are particularly critical for performing the
translate into increased productivity; staff size and
requirements-gathering activities and when
productivity share a disproportionate relationship,
addressing organizational feasibility issues.
mainly because a large number of staff members is
Each project will require unique technical and
more difficult to coordinate.
interpersonal skills.
One way to reduce efficiency losses on teams is to
understand the complexity that is created in MOTIVATION
numbers and to build in a reporting structure that Motivation has been found to be the number-one
tempers its effects. influence on people’s performance, but determining
how to motivate the team can be difficult. To keep
The rule of thumb is to keep team sizes under 8–10 people motivated, you do not:
people; therefore, if more people are needed, ● Assign unrealistic deadlines
create sub-teams. In this way, the project manager ○ Few people will work hard if they realize
can keep the communication effective within small that a deadline is impossible to meet.
teams, which in turn communicate to a contact at a ● Ignore good efforts
higher level in the project. ○ People will work harder if they feel that
their work is appreciated. Often, all it takes
After the project manager understands how many is public praise for a job well done.
people are needed for the project, he or she creates ● Create a low-quality product
a staffing plan that lists the roles that are required ○ Few people can be proud of working on a
for the project and the proposed reporting project that is of low quality
structure for the project. ● Give everyone on the project a raise
○ If everyone is given the same reward, then
Typically, a project will have one project manager high-quality people will believe that
who oversees the overall progress of the mediocrity is rewarded—and they will
development effort, with the core of the team resent it.
composed of the various types of analysts. ● Make an important decision without the
A functional lead usually is assigned to manage a team’s input
group of analysts, and a technical lead oversees ○ Buy-in is very important. If the project
the progress of a group of programmers and more manager needs to make a decision that
technical staff members. greatly affects the members of her team,
she should involve them in the
decision-making process
● Maintain poor working conditions
○ A project team needs a good working
environment, or motivation will go down
the tubes. This includes lighting, desk
space, technology, privacy from
interruptions, and reference resources.

HANDLING CONFLICT
When you make assignments, remember that people The third component of staffing is organizing the
have technical skills and interpersonal skills, and project to minimize conflict among group members.
both are important on a project. ● Group cohesiveness (the attraction that
members feel to the group and to other
Technical skills are useful for working with technical members) contributes more to productivity
tasks (e.g., programming in Java) and in trying to
understand the various roles that technology plays in

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 than do project members’ individual ● For example, most CASE tools will warn you if
capabilities or experiences. you place a field on a screen design that does
● Clearly defining the roles on the project and not exist in your data model. As the project
holding team members accountable for their evolves, project team members perform their
tasks is a good way to begin mitigating tasks by using CASE and have access to each
potential conflict on a project. project team member’s additions to the CASE
● Some project managers develop a project repository.
charter that lists the project’s norms and
ground rules. STANDARDS
● For example, the charter may describe when
Standards are created to ensure that team
the project team should be at work, when staff
members are performing tasks in the same way
meetings will be held, how the group will
and following the same procedures.
communicate with each other, and the
procedures for updating the work plan as tasks
Standards can range from formal rules for naming
are completed.
files to forms that must be completed when goals
are reached to programming guidelines.
COORDINATING PROJECT ACTIVITIES
When a team forms standards and then follows
Coordinating project activities continues
them, the project can be completed faster because
throughout the entire project until a system is
task coordination becomes less complex. Standards
delivered to the project sponsor and end users.
work best when they are created at the beginning of
each major phase of the project and well
These activities occur over the course of the entire
communicated to the entire project team.
SDLC, but it is at this point in the project that the
project manager needs to put them in place.
DOCUMENTATION
Ultimately, these activities ensure that the project Another technique that project teams put in place
stays on track and that the chance of failure is kept during the planning phase is good documentation,
at a minimum. which includes detailed information about the tasks
of the SDLC.
COMPUTER-AIDED SOFTWARE ENGINEERING
(CASE) TOOLS Often, the documentation is stored on a file server
available to the entire team—a sort of electronic
CASE is a category of software that automates all
project binder. Stored in this location are all
or part of the development process.
deliverables and all internal team notes and
communication—the history of the project.
Some CASE software packages are primarily used
during the analysis phase to create integrated
The project team should not wait until the last minute
diagrams of the system and to store information
to create documentation. This typically leads to an
regarding the system components (often called
undocumented system that no one understands.
upper CASE), whereas others are design-phase
Good project teams learn to document the system’s
tools that create the diagrams and then generate
history as it evolves, while the details are still fresh in
code for database tables and system functionality
their memory.
(often called lower CASE).

Integrated CASE, or I-CASE, contains functionality MANAGING AND CONTROLLING THE

found in both upper-CASE and lower-CASE tools in PROJECT
that it supports tasks that happen throughout the
The science (or art) of project management is in
SDLC.
making trade-offs among three important
concepts: the size of the system (in terms of what it
The central component of any CASE tool is the CASE
does), the time to complete the project (when the
repository, otherwise known as the information
project will be finished), and the cost of the project.
repository or data dictionary.
● The CASE repository stores the diagrams and
Once the project begins, the project manager
other project information, such as screen and
monitors the progress of the team on the project
report designs, and it keeps track of how the
tasks. As the project team members make periodic
diagrams fit together.
status reports, the project manager updates the
project work plan.

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The Gantt chart and PERT chart are valuable tools MANAGING RISK
for the project manager to use to evaluate project
Project Risk Management is the process of
progress and, if necessary, redirect resources. As the
assessing and addressing the risks that are
project proceeds, it may be necessary for the project
associated with developing a project.
manager to revise the original estimates made for
the project. In addition, the manager must be on the
Many things can cause risks: weak personnel, scope
watch for increases in project scope, which can make
creep, poor design, and overly optimistic estimates.
completing the project on time and under budget
The project team must be aware of potential risks
very difficult.
so that problems can be avoided or controlled well
ahead of time.
REFINING ESTIMATES
The estimates that are produced during the RISK ASSESSMENT
planning phase will need to be refined as the
Typically, project teams create a project risk
project progresses.
assessment, or a document that tracks potential
risks along with an evaluation of the likelihood of
This does not necessarily mean that estimates were
the risk and its potential impact on the project.
poorly done at the start of the project; it is virtually
impossible to develop an exact assessment of the
It explains potential ways that the risk can be
project’s schedule before the analysis and design
addressed. There are many options: a risk could be
phases are conducted.
publicized, avoided, or even eliminated by dealing
with its root cause.
MANAGING SCOPE
You may assume that your project will be safe from
scheduling problems because you carefully
estimated and planned your project up front.

However, the most common reason for schedule

and cost overruns occurs after the project is
underway—scope creep.

Scope creep happens when new requirements are

added to the project after the original project scope
was defined and “frozen.”

TIMEBOXING
This technique sets a fixed deadline for a project
and delivers the system by that deadline no matter
what, even if functionality needs to be reduced.

Timeboxing ensures that project teams do not get

hung up on the final “finishing touches” that can
drag out indefinitely, and it satisfies the business
by providing a product within a relatively fast time
frame.

Steps in implementing timeboxing on a project:

1. Set the date for system delivery.
2. Prioritize the functionality that needs to be
included in the system.
3. Build the core of the system (the functionality
ranked as most important).
4. Postpone functionality that cannot be provided
within the time frame.
5. Deliver the system with core functionality.
6. Repeat steps 3 through 5, to add refinements
and enhancements.

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