-stats show that 70% of Computer systems projects fail (i.e. cost overruns or behind schedule)

Transcription

1 CS 480 Planning and Scheduling Project Management -stats show that 70% of Computer systems projects fail (i.e. cost overruns or behind schedule) -what are some possible causes for these very poor stats? -analysts don't necessarily make good project leaders but often the career progression -often no formal training provided on project management skills - expected to pick up skills through osmosis -wrong mix of people on the team -estimates were originally too low and never adjusted -unhappy employees -lack of general direction... -project management is critical factor in success of the system's project -all of the following points, if not met, mean that the project has failed -the SDLC provides the framework for ensuring that these ultimate goals can be met (ie milestones - can detect early in the project if there are problems) -coordination of resources during the development of a process to: -produce an acceptable system (ie. meet requirements) -minimize costs (feasible solution) -meet time requirements (adjust scope or schedule if necessary as more info is available) -effectively use people and materials - in the 60's the hardware was the expensive commodity - now people are the most expensive resource - people management is critical to meeting these goals

2 Responsibilities -planning -identifying the tasks based on initial analysis -must work closely with analyst (or do both tasks) -identify initial scope and requirements -staffing -once tasks are known, need the appropriate mix of people given scope and requirements -estimating -caution against giving cost and time estimates too early in the game -one of the most difficult tasks in the whole process of project management -novice estimators tend to forget the reality that you do not have staff 100% of the time, even though they are assigned to a project -typical non-project activities include: -training -illness -corporate events (picnic, golf etc) -experience of team members - may require a learning curve -user scheduling problems -service provider backlogs (i.e. secretaries, print shop, etc.) -committee participation -personal distractions (i.e. building a house, maternity leave, etc.) -scheduling -confirming that target dates are realistic -can use tools here -directing -motivating the staff on the project -getting over the initial inertia -running interference when problems arise (on the team or with users and management) -controlling -monitoring progress and flagging problems early in the game 2

3 PERT Chart (Project Evaluation and Review Technique) -identifies: - interdependence of project tasks - shortest and longest completion times - critical path -shortcomings: -cannot show simultaneous tasks well (i.e. the start of the selection phase before the definition phase is completed) Nodes -circles representing events (milestones) -start or completion points of an task -always have a node for start and finish Tasks -directional lines joining nodes -represent activities in the project -direction of the arrow indicates order of tasks -labeled by alpha characters and a time assigned Dummy Tasks -dashed directional lines joining nodes -indicate dependencies without an activity -no time associated or label assigned Gantt Chart -very easy to draw, read and understand -bar chart representation of tasks versus timeframe -facilitates progress monitoring -shortcomings: -dependencies are lost unless you are working with a software package 3

4 Case Study I plan to build a house, but was completely overwhelmed after talking to a contractor. I had hoped to sub-contract all activities myself and save some money, but after getting a brief overview of the activities involved, and the dependencies between them, I've started to have second thoughts. Here's why. Framing is the first thing to take place and must be completed before the roofing and siding can go on. Framing should take 2 weeks to complete and the roofing will take 1 week. Siding, however takes 3 weeks on average and must be done before the Windows and Plumbing can begin. Windows take about 2.5 weeks to complete and Plumbing should be done in 1.5 weeks. This is where it starts to get complicated. Electricity can only be installed after the Roofing is done and the Windows are in. Wiring (electricity) takes 2 weeks to complete. Inside Finishing can start after the Plumbing and Electricity is installed. This is a major task, taking up to 4 weeks to complete. Oh, I forgot to mention that when the Roofing and Windows are finished, there is no reason we cannot start the Outside Painting, which takes about 3 weeks to complete. When the Outside Painting and Inside Finishing is done, I will have my new home. Do you think I can manage such a project? Where should I begin? 4

5 NUMBER TASK IMMEDIATE DURATION PREDECESSORS 0 Start Framing Roofing Siding Windows Plumbing Electricity 2,4 2 7 Inside Finishing 5,6 4 8 Outside Painting 2,4 3 9 Finish 7,8 0 5

6 PHASES ACTIVITIES SKILLS SOFTWARE Planning --assess job to be done -quantitative skills scheduling software ** -estimate the cost and -experience is the best teacher -estimating software * duration here -attempts made to bundle the -assign resources -judgement of people skills and two together -schedule against a calendar wants Implementatio -communicating the plan to -interpersonal and leadership n the players skills -ensure tools and training are available Monitoring -can be unexciting if all goes -tracking and historical -collecting historical well accounting performance and reporting -collecting costs and time -again quantitative in nature deliverables against the spent schedule -measuring against -often bundled with the scheduled deliverables scheduling software Controlling -redirecting or correcting -able to adjust to changing project team activities circumstances based on results from -able to lead others into change monitoring the project -change management 6