Unit – 1

Introduction to So tware
Project Management
Outline
• Software Project Management
• Software Projects vs Other types of Projects
• Contract Management
• Activities Covered by SPM
• Plans, Methods & Methodologies
• Categorizing Software Projects
• Project Charter
• Stakeholders
• Setting Objectives
• Project Success & Failure
• Management Control
• Project Management Life Cycle
• Traditional vs Modern project Management Practices
Software Project Management
• Software Project Management (SPM) is a sub-field of Project
Management in which software projects are planned,
implemented, monitored and controlled.
• It consists of three terms: Software, Project and
Management.
What is Software?
• It’s a collection of Data or Computer instructions that tell the
computer how to work.
• Computer Program that when executed provide desired features,
function & performance
• Data Structure that enable programs to easily manipulate
information
• Descriptive information in both hard and soft copy that describes
the operation and use of programs

+ +
Compute Data
Documents
r Structur
Program e
What is Project?
• It is a Planned Activity.
• A project is a temporary activity undertaken to create a
unique product or service
• Characteristics of a Project
o Non-routine tasks are involved
o Planning is required
o Specific objectives are to be met or a specific product is to be
created
o The project has a predetermined time span
o Work is carried out for someone other than yourself
o Work involves several specialisms
o People are formed into a temporary work group to carry out the
task
o Work is carried out in several phases
o The resources that are available for use on the project are
constrained
o The project is large or complex
What is Management?
• Planning - deciding what is to be done
• Organizing – making arrangements
• Staffing – selecting right people for the job etc.
• Directing - giving instructions
• Monitoring – checking on progress
• Controlling – taking action to remedy hold-ups
• Innovating – coming up with new solutions
• Representing – liaising with clients, users, developers,
suppliers and other stakeholders.
Software Project Management
• Software project management is aimed to ensure that the
software is delivered on time, within budget and schedule
constraints, and satisfies the requirements of the client.
• Management of software projects is different from other
types of management because:
o Software is not tangible
o Software processes are relatively new and still
“under trial”
o Larger software projects are usually “one-off”
projects
o Computer technology evolves very rapidly
Time-Cost-Quality
• There are many constraints of the software projects but the
main and fundamental constraints includes: Time, Cost and
Quality.
 Software Project Management tasks
• Problem Identification
• Problem Definition
• Project Planning
• Project Organization
• Resource Allocation
• Project Scheduling
• Tracking, Reporting & Controlling
• Project Termination

Ms. Zarana Gajjar (IT-ICT Department)

The Management Spectrum
Effective project management focuses on four P’s (in the order):
The People: Stakeholders, the team leaders, and the software team
• Deals with the cultivation of motivated, highly skilled people and teams
• Includes recruiting, selection, performance management, training,
compensation, career development, organization and work design, and
team culture development
The Problem/ Product: before a project can be planned
• Its objectives and scope should be established; Alternative solutions should
be considered; and
• Technical and management constraints should be identified.
The Process: a software process provides the framework from which a
comprehensive plan for software development can be established.
The Project: Planning and controlling a software project is done for one
primary reason…it is the only known way to manage complexity
Software Projects versus other types of
Projects
• Invisibility – With physical artifacts, measuring progress is
easy as it can be seen/ felt. However with Software,
progress is not immediately visible.
• Complexity – Software products are, generally, more
complex than other engineering artifact of same value.
• Flexibility - It is easier to change/ modify software systems
to meet changing organizational/ product requirement as
compared to other engineering artifacts; it may not be
possible to modify a physical artifact at all.
• Conformity – Software developers have to conform to the
requirements of human clients; it is not just that individuals
can be inconsistent.
Contract management
• The client organization will appoint a project manager to
supervise the contract.
• Project manager will be able to delegate many technical
oriented decisions to the contractors.
• The project manager will not be concerned about estimating
the effort needed to write individual software components.
• The overall project is fulfilled within budget & on time.
• Supplier side-project managers are concerned with more
technical management issues.
Activities covered by SPM
• Feasibility Study
o Is it worth doing?
o It has a valid business case
• Planning
o How do we do it?
• Project Execution (Do it)
o Requirements Analysis
o Architecture Design
o Detailed Design
o Code & Testing
o Integration
o Installation
o Acceptance Support
Plans, methods & methodologies
• A plan for an activity must be based on some idea of a
method of work.
• A method relates to a type of activity in general, a plan
takes that method & converts it to real activities, identifying
for each activity:
• Its start & end dates;
• Who will carry it out;
• What tools & materials will be used.
• Materials include information, for example a requirements
document.
• With complex procedures, several methods may be
deployed, in sequence or in parallel. The output from one
method might be the input to another. Groups of methods or
techniques are often referred to as methodologies.
Categorizing Software Projects
• It is important to distinguish between the main types of
software project because what is appropriate in one context
might not be so in another.

• For example, SSADM, the Structured Systems Analysis and

Design Method, is suitable for developing information
systems but not necessarily other types of system.

• Ways of Categorizing Software Project :

o Information System Vs Embedded System
o Objective VS Product
Information System Vs Embedded System
• A traditional distinction may be made between information
systems and embedded systems.
• Very crudely, the difference is that in the former case the
system interfaces with the organization, whereas in the
latter case the system interfaces with a machine!
• A stock control system would be an information system that
controls when the organization reorders stock.
• An embedded, or process control, system might control the
air conditioning equipment in a building.
• Some systems may have elements of both so that the stock
control system might also control an automated warehouse.
• Question - Would an OS on a computer be an information
system or an embedded system?
Objective VS Product
• Projects may be distinguished by whether their aim is to produce
a product or to meet certain objectives.
• A project might be to create a product the details of which have
been specified by the client. The client has the responsibility for
justifying the product.
• Other side, the project might be required to meet certain
objectives. There might be several ways of achieving these
objectives in contrast to the constraints of the product-driven
project.
• Many software projects have two stages. The first stage is an
objectives-driven project, which results in a recommended
course of action and may even specify a new software
application to meet identified requirements. The next stage is a
project actually to create the software product.
Project Charter
• A project charter is a short document that explains the
project in clear, concise wording for high level management.
• Project charters outline the entirety of projects to help
teams quickly understand the goals, tasks, timelines, and
stakeholders.
• It is a crucial ingredient in planning the project because it is
used throughout the project lifecycle.
• The document provides key information about a project, and
also provides approval to start the project - serves as a
formal announcement that a new approved project is about
to commence.
• Contained also in the project charter is the appointment of
the project manager, the person who is overall responsible
for the project.
Project Charter cont.
The project charter typically documents:

• Reasons for the project

• Objectives and constraints of the project
• The main stakeholders
• Risks identified
• Benefits of the project
• General overview of the budget
Stakeholders
• As a PM, who do you interact with?
o Internal to Project team – team members
o External to project team but within the same
organization - Project sponsor, Executives, Functional
managers
o External to both the project team and the
organization – Customers, Contractors
Setting Objectives
• Who actually own the project?
• Objectives should define what the project team must to
achieve for project success
• These are post condition of a project
• Project authority is steering committee
o It is responsible for setting, monitoring & modifying
objectives
o Project manager is responsible runs the project on a
day to day basis
Project Success & Failure
Reasons why projects succeed
• Project team participates in planning
• Organizational structure is suited to the project team.
• Project team is committed to establishing schedules.
• Project team is committed to establishing realistic budgets.
• Project makes proper use of network planning techniques &
does not let the plan become an end at itself.
• Project team works with bureaucracy, politics & procedures
& not against them.
• Project team agrees on specific & realistic project goals.
• Target public is involved from the start of the project.
Management Control
• Management control is defined as a process that helps to
achieve organizational goals.
• The teams or an individual within a business entity is forced
to perform specific actions and avoid another set of
particular actions so that they can reach their destined
target.
• So, Management control is described as a function that is
aimed at achieving defined goals within a set timetable.
• The process has 3 major components, like taking remedial
action, measuring the actual performance, and setting
standards.
Project Management Life Cycle

Initiation
or Planning Execution/Control Closing
Concept
Definition Analysis Design|Build|Test|Accep Implement| Operation
t
20% 60%
5%
15%

Percentages and graph refer to the amount of effort (people)

In IT projects = 90-95% of cost!
Project Management Life Cycle cont.
• Initiation – on the first stage, the necessity, feasibility, scope, time,
budget and critical success factors of the project are defined along with
the approach and methods to be used to deliver the required products
and results.
• Planning – this stage includes a detailed identification of all the
project elements and matters including project team, specified
allocation of project resources and timeline, assignments of project
tasks, evaluation of risks, definition of criteria for quality and successful
completion of each deliverable, etc.
• Execution – this is the working phase where the project plan is
implemented through practical actions that lead to successful project
accomplishment. It is necessary to control performance and quality of all
the required activities to know if they match the project’s
requirements.
• Closure – this stage identifies the project completion including testing,
evaluation and formal acceptance of the final product by the customer,
learning obtained from project experience, disposing resources, etc.
Traditional vs Modern Project Management
Practices
Traditional Project Management
• Frequently referred to as the "Waterfall" method, this
project management style requires one task to be
completed before the next one can begin.
• Plans are constructed prior to the start of the project
date and the sequential phases are mapped out early to
provide clarity on the work that needs to be completed
to reach the end goal.
• It's still used by many businesses today and works well for
projects with a fixed budget or deadline.
• 3 advantages of traditional project management are:
o No surprises
o Smooth knowledge transfer
o Sets expectations internally and externally
Traditional vs Modern Project Management
Practices cont.
Modern Project Management
• Modern project management leverages automated tools
to help plan, execute, & organize work. It's also viewed
as the more flexible method of the two.
• More professional service businesses are taking on
short-term or even one-time projects, so businesses are
looking for alternative to the traditional method.
• This is where the modern project management method
flourishes - in a fast-paced environment that can handle
mid-project changes swiftly and efficiently.
• 3 advantages to modern project management are:
o Juggle more projects at once
o Minimize risk and human error
o Be more flexible with your time