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Project Management
Concepts
Mayank Singh
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Step Wise: An
Approach to Planning
Software Projects
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Activity Planning
A detailed plan for the project must also
include a schedule indicating start and
completion times for each activity.
This will enable us:
Ensure that appropriate resources will be
available when required.
Avoid different activities competing for the
same resources at the same time.
Produce a timed cash flow forecast.
Produce a detailed schedule showing which staff
carry out each activity.
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Objectives of Activity Planning
Feasibility assessment Is the project
possible within required timescales and
resource constraints?
Resource Allocation What are the most
effective way of allocating resources to the
project and show availability?
Detailed costing How much will the project
cost?
Motivation
Coordination
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Project and activities
Defining activities
Identifying activities: Three approaches to
indentifying activities or task that make up a
project.
Activity based approach
Product based approach
Hybrid approach
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Activity based approach
Creating a list of activities that may be
involve in project.
To show this we can create WBS.
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WBS
Dividing complex projects to simpler and
manageable tasks is the process identified
as Work Breakdown Structure (WBS).
Usually, the project managers use this
method for simplifying the project
execution.
In WBS, much larger tasks are broken-down
to manageable chunks of work.
These chunks can be easily supervised and
estimated.
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Product based approach
It produces product breakdown structure
and product flow diagram (PFD).
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Product based approach
It produces product breakdown structure
and product flow diagram (PFD).
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Hybrid approach
Till now, we have seen WBS which is based
on entirely on a structuring of activities.
Another is based on the projects products
which is based on a simple list of final
deliverables.
Now we can combine both WBS which shows
the structuring product and activities.
This structure is based on deliverables.

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Sequencing and scheduling activities
Throughout a project, we will require a
schedule that clearly indicates when
resources it will need.
We will create a chart which shows the
development process and the resources that
are available.
In chart, we have sequenced the tasks and
scheduled them.
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Network planning models
These project scheduling techniques model
the projects activities and their
relationships as a network.
These techniques were developed in 1950s.
Two techniques are:
CPM (Critical Path Method)
PERT (Program Evaluating Review Technique)
Recent variation of these techniques are
known as Precedence Networks.
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Formulating a network model
The first step is to represent the activities
and their interrelationships as a graph.
In CPM, this is done by representing
activities as links (Arrowed Lines) in the
graph.
Nodes (Circles) representing the events of
activities starting and finishing.
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Project activity network with a
checkpoint activity
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Project activity network as
CPM
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Constructing CPM networks
A project network may have only one start
node.
All activities coming from that node may start
immediately resources are available.
They do not have to wait for any other activities
to be completed.
A project network may have only one end
node.
The end node designates the completion of the
project.
A project may only finish once.



The first step is to represent the activities
and their interrelationships as a graph.
In CPM, this is done by representing
activities as links (Arrowed Lines) in the
graph.
Nodes (Circles) representing the events of
activities starting and finishing.
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Constructing CPM networks
A link has duration
Link represents an activity.
Activities takes time to execute.
Shows the order in which activities are to be
carried out.
Nodes have no duration.
Nodes are events and are instantaneous points in
time.
Source node is the event for ready to start.
Sink node is the event for completion.
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Constructing CPM networks




Node 3 is the event that both coding and data
take-on have been completed and activity program
testing is free to start.
Installation may be started only when event 4 has
been achieved as soon as program testing has been
completed.
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Constructing CPM networks
Time moves from left to right
Time moves from left to right.
Nodes are numbered sequentially
No precise rules about node numbering.
A network may not contain loops
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Constructing CPM networks
A network may not contain dangles
A dangling activities like Write User Manual
cannot exist.
Precedents are the immediate preceding
activities
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Example 1
State what is wrong with each of them and where
possible redraw them correctly.
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Example 1
Activity D dangles, giving the project two end
events.

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Example 2
State what is wrong with each of them and where
possible redraw them correctly.
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Example 2
Once again, this network has two end nodes, but in
this case the solution is slightly different since we
should introduce a dummy activity if we are to
follow the standard CPM conventions.

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Example 3
State what is wrong with each of them and where
possible redraw them correctly.
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Example 3
Either this one has a dangle or activity E has its
arrow pointing in the wrong direction.
We need a bit more information before we can
redraw this one correctly.

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Example 4
State what is wrong with each of them and where
possible redraw them correctly.
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Example 4
There is noting wrong with this diagram.
It is just badly drawn and the nodes are not
numbered according to the standard conventions.
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Example 5
State what is wrong with each of them and where
possible redraw them correctly.
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Example 5
This one containing a loop.
F cannot start before G has finished.
G cannot start before E has finished and
E cannot start before G has finished.
One of the arrow is wrong.
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Using dummy activities
When two paths within a network have a common
events although they are independent, gives a
logical error.
Suppose that it is necessary to specify a certain
piece of hardware before placing an order for it
and before coding the software. Before coding the
software it is also necessary to specify the
appropriate data structures, although we do not
need to wait for this to be done before the
hardware is ordered.



.
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Using dummy activities
Above model is incorrect in that it requires both
hardware specification and data structure design
to be completed before either an order may be
placed or software coding may commence.
We can resolve this problem by separating the two
independent paths and introducing a dummy activity
to link.
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Using dummy activities
Dummy activities shown as dotted lines.
It have a zero duration and use no resources.
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Representing lagged activities
If we wish to undertake two activities in parallel so
long as there is a lag between the two.
When activities can occur in parallel with a time lag
between them we represent these with pairs of
dummy activities..
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Adding the time dimension
Now we are ready to start thinking about when
each activity should be undertaken.
CPM is concerned with two primary objectives:
Planning the project so that it is completed as quickly as
possible.
Identifying those activities where a delay is likely to
affect the overall end date of the project.
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Adding the time dimension
We have an estimate of each activity duration.
Then network is analyzed by carrying out a forward
pass to calculate the earliest dates at which
activities may commence and the project be
completed.
Backward pass to calculate the latest start dates
for activities and the critical path.
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CPM Conventions
The diagram is used to record information about
the event rather than the activities.
Activities based information is generally held on a
separate activity table.
Most used convention is labeling nodes.
Nodes are divided into 4 quadrant.
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Example
An example project specification with estimated
activity durations and precedence requirements.
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Example
Draw an activity network using CPM conventions for
the project specified in above table.
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Forward pass
Forward pass is carried out to calculate the
earliest date on which each event may be achieved.
And the earliest date on which each activity may
be started and completed.
The forward pass and the calculation of earliest
start dates is calculated according to the following
reasoning.
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Forward pass
Activity A, B, and F may start immediately, so the
earliest date for event 1 is ZERO and the earliest
date for these three activities is also zero.
Activity A will take 6 weeks, so the earliest it can
finish is week 6. so the earliest can achieve event 2
is week 6.
Activity B will take 4 weeks, so the earliest it can
finish and the earliest we can achieve event 3 is
week 4.
Activity F will take 10 weeks, so the earliest it can
finish is week 10.
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Forward pass rule
The earliest date for an event is the earliest finish
date for all the activities terminating at that
event.
When more than one activity terminated at a
common event we take the latest of the earliest
finish dates for those activities.
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CPM Network Forward pass
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Activity table after Forward pass
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Backward pass rule
Second stage is to carry out a backward pass to
calculate the latest date at which each event may
be achieved, and each activity started and finished,
without delaying the end date of the project.
Latest date for an event is the latest date by
which all immediately following activities must be
started for the project to be completed on time.
We assume that the latest finish date for the
project is the same as the earliest finish date.
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Backward pass rule
The latest date for an event is the latest start
date for all the activities that may commence from
that event.
Where more than one activity commences at a
common event we take the earliest of the latest
start dates for those activities.
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Backward pass
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Backward pass