Module : 4 Software Project Management

• Introduction, Project and Importance of Project

Management,
• Contract Management,
• Activities Covered by Software Project
Management, Plans, Methods and Methodologies,
• Some ways of categorizing Software Projects,
• Stakeholders, Setting Objectives, Business Case,
• Project Success and Failure, Management and
Management Control,
• Project Management life cycle, Traditional versus
Modern Project Management Practices.
7/15/2024 RNSIT SOFTWARE PROJECT MANAGEMENT AI&ML 1
 Introduction
• the management of software projects is really
that different from that of other projects.
• More technically oriented students can be
impatient at having to study something which
keeps them away from their code.
• why is it important to become familiar with
project management?

7/15/2024 RNSIT SOFTWARE PROJECT MANAGEMENT AI&ML 2

 why is it important to become familiar with project
management?
• A lot of money is at stake with ICT projects.
• UK during the financial year 2002–2003, spent
more on contracts for ICT projects than on
contracts related to roads.
• Mismanagement of ICT projects means that there
is less to spend on good things such as hospitals.
• projects are not always successful
• United States analysed 13,522 projects and
concluded that only a third of projects were
successful; 82% of projects were late and 43%
exceeded their budget.
7/15/2024 RNSIT SOFTWARE PROJECT MANAGEMENT AI&ML 3
 why is it important to become familiar with project
management?
• The reason for these project shortcomings is
often the management of projects.
• factors causing project failure identified as
‘lack of skills and proven approach to project
management and risk management’.

7/15/2024 RNSIT SOFTWARE PROJECT MANAGEMENT AI&ML 4

 What is a Project?
• The dictionary dentitions put a clear emphasis on
the project being a planned activity.
• Planning is in essence thinking carefully about
something before you do it
• even with uncertain projects this is worth doing as
long as the resulting plans are seen as provisional
• routine maintenance, will have been performed so
many times that everyone knows exactly what to
do. In these cases, planning hardly seems
necessary
7/15/2024 RNSIT SOFTWARE PROJECT MANAGEMENT AI&ML 5
 What is a Project?

7/15/2024 RNSIT SOFTWARE PROJECT MANAGEMENT AI&ML 6

 What is a Project?
• There is a hazy boundary between the non-
routine project and the routine job.
• The first time you do a routine task it will be
like a project.
• On the other hand, a project to develop a
system similar to previous ones that you have
developed will have a large element of the
routine.

7/15/2024 RNSIT SOFTWARE PROJECT MANAGEMENT AI&ML 7

 What is a Project?
characteristics distinguish projects
• non-routine tasks are involved;
• planning is required;
• specific objectives are to be met or a specified product is to be
created;
• the project has a predetermined time span;
• work is carried out for someone other than yourself;
• work involves several specialisms;
• people are formed into a temporary work group to carry out the task;
• work is carried out in several phases;
• the resources that are available for use on the project are constrained;
• the project is large or complex.

7/15/2024 RNSIT SOFTWARE PROJECT MANAGEMENT AI&ML 8

 What is a Project?
• Some argue that projects are especially problematic as
they are temporary sub-orga- nizations.
• A group of people is brought together to carry out a
task.
• The existence of this sub-organization cuts across the
authority of the existing units within the organi- zation.
• This has the advantage that a group containing various
specialists is focused on a single important task.
• expertise built up during the project may be lost when
the team is eventually dispersed at the end of the
project.
7/15/2024 RNSIT SOFTWARE PROJECT MANAGEMENT AI&ML 9
 Software Projects versus Other Types of Project
• Invisibility.
• Complexity.
• Conformity .
• Flexibility .

7/15/2024 RNSIT SOFTWARE PROJECT MANAGEMENT AI&ML 10

 2 Contract Management
• In-house projects are where the users and the developers of new
software work for the same organization.
• organizations contract out ICT development to outside developers.
• the client organization will often appoint a ‘project manager’ to
supervise the contract who will delegate many techni-cally
oriented decisions to the contractors.

• the project manager will not worry about estimating the effort
needed to write individual software components as long as the
overall project is within budget and on time.

• On the supplier side, there will need to be project managers who

deal with the more technical issues.

7/15/2024 RNSIT SOFTWARE PROJECT MANAGEMENT AI&ML 11

 3 Activities Covered by Software Project
Management
Usually there are three successive processes that
bring a new system into being .
The feasibility study :assesses whether a project is
worth starting – that it has a valid business case.
Planning : We create an outline plan for the whole
project and a detailed one for the first stage.
Project execution: The execution of a project often
contains design and implementation sub-phases

7/15/2024 RNSIT SOFTWARE PROJECT MANAGEMENT AI&ML 12

 The feasibility study/plan/execution cycle

7/15/2024 RNSIT SOFTWARE PROJECT MANAGEMENT AI&ML 13

 software development life cycle

7/15/2024 RNSIT SOFTWARE PROJECT MANAGEMENT AI&ML 14

 4 Plans, Methods and Methodologies
Plan : A plan for an activity must be based on
some idea of a method of work.
• Plan to test software :
• analyse the requirements for the software;
• devise and write test cases that will check that
each requirement has been satisfied;
• create test scripts and expected results for each
test case;
• compare the actual results and the expected
results and identify discrepancies.
7/15/2024 RNSIT SOFTWARE PROJECT MANAGEMENT AI&ML 15
 4 Plans, Methods and Methodologies
• method : While a method relates to a type of
activity in general, a plan takes that method
(and perhaps others) and converts it to real
activities, , identifying for each activity.
• its start and end dates;
• who will carry it out;
• what tools and materials – including
information – will be needed.

7/15/2024 RNSIT SOFTWARE PROJECT MANAGEMENT AI&ML 16

 4 Plans, Methods and Methodologies
• methodologies :The output from one method
might be the input to another. Groups of
methods or techniques are often grouped into
methodologies such as object-oriented design.

7/15/2024 RNSIT SOFTWARE PROJECT MANAGEMENT AI&ML 17

 5 Some Ways of Categorizing Software Projects

• Compulsory versus voluntary users.

• Information systems versus embedded systems.
• Outsourced projects.(Part of Product Development)
• Objective-driven development :
1 aim is to produce a product or to meet certain
objectives.
2 First is an objective-driven project resulting in
recommendations. This might identify the need
for a new software system. The next stage is a
project actually to create the software product.
7/15/2024 RNSIT SOFTWARE PROJECT MANAGEMENT AI&ML 18
 7 Setting Objectives
• Among all these stakeholders are those who actually own
the project.
• They control the financing of the project.
• They also set the objectives of the project.
• the project objectives identify the shared intentions for the
project.
• ‘customers can order our products online’ rather than ‘to
build an e-commerce website’.
• authority is often a project steering committee responsibility
for setting, monitoring and modifying objectives.
• The project manager runs the project on a day-to-day basis,
but regularly reports to the steering committee.
7/15/2024 RNSIT SOFTWARE PROJECT MANAGEMENT AI&ML 19
 7 Setting Objectives
Sub-objectives and goals:
The mnemonic SMART is sometimes used to
describe well-defined objectives:
• Specific Effective objectives
• Measurable
• Achievable
• Relevant
• Time constrained

7/15/2024 RNSIT SOFTWARE PROJECT MANAGEMENT AI&ML 20

 8 The Business Case
• A cost–benefit analysis will often be part of
the project’s feasibility study.
• The benefits will be affected by the
completion date:
• The quantification of benefits will often
require the formulation of a business model
which explains how the new application can
generate the claimed benefits.

7/15/2024 RNSIT SOFTWARE PROJECT MANAGEMENT AI&ML 21

 8 The Business Case
• Any project plan must ensure that the business
case is kept intact. For example:
1 that development costs are not allowed to rise
to a level which threatens to exceed the value
of benefits;
2 that the features of the system are not reduced
to a level where the expected benefits cannot
be realized;
3 that the delivery date is not delayed so that
there is an unacceptable loss of benefits.
7/15/2024 RNSIT SOFTWARE PROJECT MANAGEMENT AI&ML 22
 9 Project Success and Failure
• The project plan should be designed to ensure project
success by preserving the business case for the project.
• different stakeholders have different interests, some
stakeholders in a project might see it as a success while
others do not.
• The project objectives are the targets that the project team
is expected to achieve.
1 The agreed functionality
2 To the required level of quality
3 On time
4 Within budget.
• Customer relationships
7/15/2024 RNSIT SOFTWARE PROJECT MANAGEMENT AI&ML 23
 10 What is Management?

• planning – deciding what is to be done;

• organizing – making arrangements;
• staffing – selecting the 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,
developer, suppliers and other stakeholders.
7/15/2024 RNSIT SOFTWARE PROJECT MANAGEMENT AI&ML 24
 10 What is Management?

7/15/2024 RNSIT SOFTWARE PROJECT MANAGEMENT AI&ML 25

 10 What is Management?
Estimation The following project attributes are estimated.
• Cost How much is it going to cost to complete the
project?
• Duration How long is it going to take to complete the
project?
• Effort How much effort would be necessary for
completing the project?
Scheduling
Staffing
Risk Management
• Miscellaneous Plans :quality assurance plan, configu-
ration management plan, etc.
7/15/2024 RNSIT SOFTWARE PROJECT MANAGEMENT AI&ML 26
 10 Management Control

7/15/2024 RNSIT SOFTWARE PROJECT MANAGEMENT AI&ML 27

 10 Project Management life cycle

7/15/2024 RNSIT SOFTWARE PROJECT MANAGEMENT AI&ML 28

 12 Traditional versus Modern Project
Management Practices
important differences between modern project
management practices and traditional practices.
• Planning Incremental Delivery
• Quality Management
• Change Management (Change management is also
known as configuration management)

7/15/2024 RNSIT SOFTWARE PROJECT MANAGEMENT AI&ML 29

•THANK YOU
7/15/2024 RNSIT SOFTWARE PROJECT MANAGEMENT AI&ML 30