CSC 421: SOFTWARE PROJECT

MANAGEMENT
Instructor: Professor Charles O. Uwadia
Email: [email protected],
[email protected]

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Course Outline
The integration of business and technical
consideration in the design, implementation
and management of information. Topics
include: Information system planning and
development; business, management,
executive and strategic information systems,
software project evaluation, Cost and size
estimation, planning and scheduling, risk
management, configuration and quality
management, performance tracking and
monitoring, team management. Case studies
and selected large-scale systems.
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Recommended
Textbooks/Reading materials
Information Technology Project
Management by Kathy Schwalbe,
Third Edition.
Software Engineering by Ian
Sommerville, Ninth Edition.

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Introduction to Project
Management
After this lecture, you will be able to:
1. Understand the growing need for better
project management, especially for
information technology projects
2. Explain what a project is and provide
examples of Information Technology projects
3. Describe what Project Management is and
discuss key elements of the Project
Management framework
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Introduction
Until the 1980s, project management primarily
focused on providing schedule and resource data
to top management in the military and
construction industries. This tracking of a few key
project parameters is still an important element,
but today's project management involves much
more, and people in every industry manage
projects.
Today, new technologies have become a
significant factor in many businesses. Computer
hardware, software, networks, and the use of
interdisciplinary and global work teams have
radically changed the work environment. The
following statistics demonstrate the significance
of project
management in today's society:
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September 9, 201
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 The world as a whole spends nearly $10 trillion of its

$40.7 trillion gross product on projects of all kinds.
More than sixteen million people regard project
management as their profession
On average, a Project Manager earns more than
$82,000 per year
Millions of new information technology (IT) application
development projects are initiated annually
Today's corporations, governments, and non-profit
organizations are recognizing that to be successful
they need to be conversant with and use modern
project management techniques.

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The following are some advantages which

project management provides:
Better control of financial, physical and
human resources
Improved customer relations
Shorter development times
Lower costs
Higher quality and increased reliability
Higher profit margins
Improved productivity
Better internal coordination
Higher worker morale
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What is a Project?

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

A Project is "a temporary endeavour undertaken

to create a unique product or service.
Examples of Information Technology (IT) Projects:
Computerising the Student records and
examination processing system
Computerising the Payroll and Human Resources
system
Developing a Library Information System
Creating a Local Area Network for the Department
of Computer Sciences, University of Lagos.
Deploying Fibre Optics infrastructure on campus
Developing Wireless Network system on campus

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Characteristics of a Project
A Project normally involves several
people performing interrelated
activities, and the owner of the
project is often interested in the
effective use of resources to
complete the project in an efficient
and timely manner. The following
attributes help define a project
further:
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 A project has a unique purpose. Every project

should have a well-defined objective
The results would provide the basis for further
discussions and projects.
A project is temporary. A project has a definite
beginning and a definite end
A project requires resources, often from
various areas. Resources include people,
hardware, software, or other assets

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 Many projects cross departmental or other

boundaries to achieve their unique purposes.
For example, in an Information Technology
collaboration project, people from Information
Technology, marketing, sales, distribution, and
other areas of the company would need to work
together to develop ideas. The company might
also hire outside consultants to provide input.
Once the project team has selected key
projects, they will probably require additional
hardware, software, and network resources.
People from other companies-product suppliers
and consulting companies-will become
resources for meeting project objectives.
Resources, however, are limited. They must be
used effectively to meet project and other
corporate goals.
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 A project should have a primary customer or sponsor.

Most projects have many interested parties or
stakeholders, but someone must take the primary role
of sponsorship. The project sponsor usually provides
the direction and funding for the project.
Sponsors of projects could be senior managers in
charge of the main parts of the company affected by
the projects. For example, if the Manager of Sales
initiates a project to improve direct product sales
using the Internet, he or she might be the project
sponsor.
If several projects related to Internet technologies
were undertaken, the organization might form a
programme. A programme is "a group of projects
managed in a coordinated way to obtain benefits not
available from managing them individually." A
Programme Manager provides leadership for the
Project managers directing those projects, and the
sponsors might come from several business areas.

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 A Project involves uncertainty. Because every

project is unique, it is sometimes difficult to
clearly define the project's objectives,
estimate how long it will take to complete, or
how much it will cost. This uncertainty is one
of the main reasons Project Management is
so challenging, especially on projects
involving new technologies.
A good Project Manager is crucial to a
project's success. Project managers work
with the project sponsors, the project team,
and the other people involved in a project to
meet project goals.
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 Every project is constrained in different ways by

its scope, time, and cost goals.
These limitations are sometimes referred to in
project management as the triple constraint.
To create a successful project, a project
manager must consider scope, time, and cost
and balance these three often competing goals.
He or she must consider the following:
Scope: What is the project trying to accomplish?
What unique product or service does the
customer or sponsor expect from the project?
Time: How long should it take to complete the
project? What is the project's schedule?
Cost: What should it cost to complete the
project?
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 Managing the triple constraint involves making tradeoffs between scope, time, and cost goals for a project.
For example, you might need to increase the budget
for a project in order to meet scope and time goals.
Alternatively, you might have to reduce the scope of a
project in order to meet time and cost goals. Because
of the uncertain nature of projects and competition for
resources, it is rare to complete many projects
according to the exact scope, time, and cost plans
originally predicted
The project's sponsor, team members, or other stake
holders might have different views of the project as
time progresses.

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 Although the triple constraint describes how the

basic elements of a project scope, time, and
cost-interrelate, other elements can also play
significant roles. Quality is often a key factor in
projects, as is customer or sponsor satisfaction.
Some people, in fact, refer to the "quadruple"
constraint of project management, including
quality along with scope, time, and cost.
Others believe that quality considerations,
including customer satisfaction, must be
inherent in setting the scope, time, and cost
goals of a project. A project team may meet
scope, time, and cost goals but fail to meet
quality standards or satisfy their sponsor, if
they have not adequately addressed these
concerns.
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 How can you avoid the problems that

occur when you meet scope, time,
and cost goals, but lose sight of
quality or customer satisfaction? The
answer is good project management,
which includes more than meeting
the triple constraint.

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What is Project
Management

Project management is "the application of

knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to
project activities in order to meet project
requirements." Project managers must not
only strive to meet specific scope, time,
cost, and quality goals of projects, they
must also facilitate the entire process to
meet the needs and expectations of the
people involved in or affected by project
activities.
.

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 Stakeholders are the people involved

in or affected by project activities and
include the project sponsor, project
team, support staff, customers, users,
suppliers, and even opponents to the
project. These stakeholders often have
very different needs and expectations.
For example, building a new house is a
well-known example of a project. There
are several stakeholders involved in a
home construction project.
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 The project sponsors would be the potential

new homeowners. They would be the people
paying for the house who also want to live
in it.
They might be on a very tight budget, so
they would expect the contractor to provide
accurate estimates of the costs involved in
building the house. They would also need a
realistic idea of when they could move in
and what type of home they could afford
given their budget constraints. The new
homeowners would have to make important
decisions to keep the costs of the house
within their budget.

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 The Project Manager in this example would

normally be the general contractor
responsible for building the house. He or
she needs to work with all the project
stakeholders to meet their needs and
expectations.
The project team for building the house
would include several construction workers,
electricians, carpenters, and so on. These
stakeholders would need to know exactly
what work they must do and when they
need to do it. Their work would need to be
coordinated since there are many
interrelated factors involved. For example,
the carpenter cannot put in kitchen cabinets
until the walls are completed.
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 Support staff might include the buyers'

employers, the general contractor's
secretary, and other people who support
other stakeholders.
Building a house requires many suppliers.
The suppliers would provide the wood,
windows, flooring materials, appliances, and
so on. Suppliers would expect exact details
on what items they need to provide, where
and when to deliver those items, and so on.

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 There may be opponents to a project. For example,

there might be a neighbour who opposes the
project because the workers are making so much
noise. If not amicably resolved, opposition to a
project may lead to litigation
As you can see from this example, there are many
different stakeholders on projects, and they all
have different needs and expectations. People's
needs and expectations are important in the
beginning and throughout the life of a project.
Successful project managers develop good
relationships with project stakeholders to
understand and meet their needs and
expectations.

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Project management knowledge

areas
1. Core knowledge areas
2. Facilitating knowledge areas

1. The four core knowledge areas of

project management include i.
project scope, ii. time, iii cost, and
iv. quality management.
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 These are core knowledge areas because they

lead to specific project objectives. Brief
descriptions of each core knowledge area are
below:
Project scope management involves defining
and managing all the work required to
complete the project successfully.
Project time management includes estimating
how long it will take to complete the work,
developing an acceptable project schedule,
and ensuring timely completion of the project.
Project cost management consists of preparing
and managing the budget for the project.
Project quality management ensures that the
project will satisfy the stated or implied needs
for which it was undertaken.
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 The four facilitating knowledge areas of project

management are i. Human resources, ii.
Communications, iii. Risk management, and iv.
Procurement management. These are called
facilitating areas because they are the processes
through which the project objectives are achieved.
Brief descriptions of each facilitating knowledge
area are below:
Project human resource management is concerned
with making effective use of the people involved
with the project.
Project communications management involves
generating, collecting, disseminating, and storing
project information.
Project risk management includes identifying,
analyzing, and responding to risks related to the
project.
Project procurement management involves
acquiring or procuring goods and services for a
project in a cost effective manner.
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 Project integration management is the ninth

knowledge area that affects and is affected
by all of the other knowledge areas. Project
managers must have knowledge and skills in
all nine of these areas.
Project management tools and
techniques assist project managers and
their teams in carrying out scope, time, cost,
and quality management. Additional tools
help project managers and teams carry out
human resource, communications, risk,
procurement, and integration management.
For example, some popular timemanagement tools and techniques include
Gantt charts, Network diagrams, and
Critical path analysis.
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 Project managers must work with key

stakeholders to define what constitutes
success for a particular project and
strive to complete their projects
successfully by applying appropriate
tools and techniques.
In many organizations, project
managers also support an emerging
business strategy of project portfolio
management, in which organizations
group and manage projects as a
portfolio of investments that contribute
to the entire enterprise's success.
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