ISP550

INFORMATION SYSTEMS
ENGINEERING
Topic 3: Managing Information Systems
Projects

M A RC H 2 0 2 4 – AU G U ST 2 0 2 4
Learning Objectives

 Explain the process of managing an information systems

project, including project initiation, project planning, project
execution, and project closedown
 Describe how to represent and schedule project plans using
Gantt charts and network diagrams
 Explain how commercial project management software
packages can be used to assist in representing and
managing project schedules
Introduction
• Project Management (PM) is:
– the application of knowledge, skills, tools and techniques
to project activities to meet project requirements.
• arguably the most important aspect of an information
systems development project
• Effective PM helps to ensure that systems development
projects:
– Meet customer expectations
– Are completed on time and within budget
• Focus has changed to the implementation of packaged
software or ERP solutions
Why develop systems?

• Problems, either real or anticipated, that require

corrective action
• Opportunities to improve a situation despite the
absence of complaints
• Directives to change a situation regardless of
whether anyone has complained about the current
situation
Reasons for Project Failures
 Managing the Information Systems
Project
• Project manager – systems analyst with a diverse set of
skills—management, leadership, technical, conflict
management, and customer relationship—who is
responsible for initiating, planning, executing, and closing
down a project.
• Project – planned undertaking of related activities to reach
an objective that has a beginning and an end
• Deliverable – an end product of an SDLC phase
Figure 3-1: A Project Manager Juggles
Numerous Activities

(Source: Media Bakery13/Shutterstock)

Table 3-1: Common Activities and
Skills of a Project Manager
Activity Description Skill
Leadership Influencing the activities of others Communications; liaison between management, users, and
toward the attainment of a common developers; assigning activities; monitoring progress
goal through the use of intelligence,
personality, and abilities
Management Getting projects completed through Defining and sequencing activities; communicating
the effective utilization of resources expectations; assigning resources to activities; monitoring
outcomes
Customer Working closely with customers to Interpreting system requests and specifications; site
relations ensure that project deliverables preparation and user training; contact point for customers
meet expectations
Technical Designing and sequencing activities Interpreting system requests and specifications; defining
problem solving to attain project goals activities and their sequence; making trade-offs between
alternative solutions; designing solutions to problems
Conflict Managing conflict within a project Problem solving; smoothing out personality differences;
management team to assure that conflict is not compromising; goal setting
too high or too low
Team Managing the project team for Communication within and between teams; peer evaluations;
management effective team performance conflict resolution; team building; self-management
Risk and change Identifying, assessing, and Environmental scanning; risk and opportunity identification and
management managing the risks and day-to-day assessment; forecasting; resource redeployment
changes that occur during a project
 Project Management

• Project Management – controlled process of initiating,

planning, executing, and closing down a project
• Phases of project management:
– Initiating
– Planning
– Executing
– Closing down
Initiating the Project

• Project initiation – first phase of the project management

process in which activities are performed to assess the
size, scope, and complexity of the project and to establish
procedures to support later project activities
Figure 3-2: Six Project Initiation Activities
 Planning the Project

• Project planning – second phase of the project management

process that focuses on defining clear, discrete activities and the
work needed to complete each activity within a single project
• Work breakdown structure – process of dividing the project into
manageable tasks and logically ordering them to ensure a smooth
evolution between tasks
• Gantt chart – graphical representation of a project that shows
each task as a horizontal bar whose length is proportional to its
time for completion
Figure 3-3: Ten Project Planning
Activities
Figure 3-4: Gantt Chart Showing Project
Tasks, Duration Times for Those Tasks,
and Predecessors

(Source: Microsoft Corporation)

Developing a Communication Plan
• Who are the stakeholders for this project?

• What information does each stakeholder need?

• When does the information need to be produced?

• What sources will be used to gather this information?

• Who will collect, store, and verify the accuracy of the info?

• Who will organize and package this info into a document?

• Who is the contact person for each stakeholder?

• What format will be used to package this information?

• What communication medium should be used?

Executing the Project

• Project execution – third phase of the project

management process, in which the plans created in the
prior phase (project initiation and planning) are put into
action
Figure 3-5: Five Project Execution
Activities
Figure 3.6 – The Project Life Cycle
(PLC) and the Systems Development
Life Cycle (SDLC)
Closing Down the Project

• Project closedown – final phase of the project

management process, which focuses on bringing a project
to an end
Figure 3-7: Three Project Closedown
Activities
 Using Project Management Software

• Many powerful software tools exist for assisting with

project management
• Microsoft Project is an example that can be used to:
– Establish a project starting or ending date
– Enter tasks and assign task relationships
– Select a scheduling method to review project reports

https://mopinion.com/top-20-best-project-management-software-an-
overview/#:~:text=Project%20Management%20Software%20is%20software,documentation%20exchanged%
20throughout%20a%20project.
Figure 3-8: Establishing a Project
Starting Date in Microsoft Project
Figure 3-9: Entering Tasks and Assigning
Task Relationships in Microsoft Project
Figure 3-10: Viewing Project Information as
a Network Diagram in Microsoft Project

(Source: Microsoft Corporation)

Figure 3-11: Gantt Chart Showing
Progress of Activities (Right Frame)
Versus Planned Activities (Left Frame)

(Source: Microsoft Corporation)

• In this chapter you learned to:
√ Explain the process of managing an information
systems project, including initiation, project planning,
project execution, and project closedown
√ Describe how to represent and schedule project plans
using Gantt charts and network diagrams
√ Explain how commercial project management software
packages can be used to assist in representing and
managing project schedules