156
Activities Activity 9.1 (PP. 357 358) [Project planning exercise] You are required to construct a project plan for the following information system development project. Your objective is to schedule the project to run in the shortest time possible. The plan should include all activities, the estimated, elapsed and effort time and who is to perform each activity. In addition, it is necessary to indicate the sequence in which all the tasks will take place. The programs can be scheduled in any order, but for each program the design stage must come first, followed by the programming and finally the documentation. Within the context of the exercise, you can assume that the detailed systems analysis has already been carried out and that it is now necessary to perform the design, programming and documentation activities. For the purposes of this exercise, we will not include the testing and implementation phases. Present your project plan in the form of a Gantt chart (see Fig 9.12) showing each task, the sequence in which tasks will be performed, the estimated effort and elapsed time and the resource allocated to each task. We believe this is a good exercise for introducing students to project planning issues. Students may need a fair amount of guidance depending on their ability. We use it as part of a systems analysis and design course, but it could be made of more general relevance by changing the name of the activities. There are two basic approaches: 1. The students produce a matrix of how long it will take different staff to complete different tasks (see table) based on the equation given on page 355 relating work rate, availability and effort time to elapsed time. They then use the matrix as a lookup table for completing the Gantt chart (see accompanying Gantt chart on page 188). 2. The students produce a matrix based on workrate only (see table) and then allocate the staff on the Gantt chart using their availability as follows: 100% means the worker can work full time 60% means the worker can work 3 out of 5 days per week 50% means the worker can work 2 1/2 days per week (or 2 days one week, 3 the next) 40% means the worker can only work 2 out of 5 days per week This second approach is used for the solution in the accompanying diagram. It gives a slightly better solution than the first approach. The matrix below shows the length to complete different tasks based on the workrate and availability of the different staff (all figures in days). 157
Task SD1 (Factor=1) SD2 SD3 (Factor=4) (Factor=1.67) Design easy 1 1.67 4 program (1d) Design moderate 2 3.33 8 program (2d) Design difficult 4 6.66 16 program (4d) P1 (Factor=1.25) P2 (Factor=1) P3 (Factor=3.3) Program easy 1.25 1 3.3 program (1d) Program moderate 3.75 3 9.9 program (3d) Program difficult 7.5 6 19.8 program (6d) TA1 (Factor=1.6) TA2 (Factor=2) TA3 (Factor=1.25) Document easy 1.6 2 1.25 program (1d) Document moderate 3.2 4 2.5 program (2d) Document difficult program (3d) 4.8 6 3.75 The matrix below shows how long it will take to complete different tasks based on the workrate only of the different staff (all figures in days). Task SD1 (Factor=1) SD2 (Factor=0.67) SD3 (Factor=2) Design easy program (1d) 1 0.67 2 Design moderate program 2 1.33 4 (2d) Design difficult program 4 2.66 8 (4d) P1 (Factor=0.5) P2 (Factor=1) P3 (Factor=2) Program easy program (1d) 0.5 1 2 Program moderate program 1.5 3 6 (3d) Program difficult program 3 6 12 (6d) TA1 (Factor=1) TA2 (Factor=2) TA3 (Factor=0.5) Document easy program 1 2 0.5 (1d) Document moderate 2 4 1 program (2d) Document difficult program (3d) 3 6 1.5 158
ACTIVITY 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Program 1 (D) Resource SD1 P2 TA2 Program 2 (E) Resource SD3 P3 TA2 Program 3 (M) Resource SD2 P1 TA1 Program 4 (M) Resource 2 SD2 P3 P3 TA1 Program 5 (D) Resource SD1 P1 TA3 The sample Gantt chart for the project planning exercise was produced using the table above. All tasks rounded up to 0.5 days. Some principles on using the Gantt chart to assign resources should be evident to students, but may need re-iterating: the same resource may not work at the same time; as soon as a resource has finished on one task they may start on another; not all resources need to be used continuously; assume 5 days per working week only, with no overtime. What the activity illustrates: 1. Different characteristics of staff working on a project. 2. Staff often working on more than one project. Can you give them 1 day per project, or split their time through the day? The former is probably more efficient. 3. The difference between elapsed and effort time. 4. It is best to put the best staff on the most difficult tasks and start these early. 5. Project planning in detail is not straightforward. Activity 3.9 (P. 369) From the information given in the preceding section and using any relevant books, decide whether to use a formal project methodology such as PRINCE, IDEAL or EUROMETHOD or a different approach. Justify your answer, giving a brief evaluation of what you perceive as the advantages and disadvantages of the methodology. The question is intended to make students reflect on the need for a formal, structured approach to project management. Is a more informal arrangement sometimes more appropriate? In this case study, the company is of a medium size and there is quite a serious problem of time and budget overruns, although the systems do meet the needs of the users quite well. Given that, it is important that any changes introduced are not too formal and become a barrier between the system developers and the users who seem to collaborate quite well currently. 159
In the view of the authors, while deploying a structured methodology such as PRINCE will improve control, it may not address political or soft issues which may be affecting project completions. Furthermore, a structured methodology may require more quality assurance staff on a project and may mean (initially at least) that projects take longer. Some more practical changes mentioned in question 2 for Case Study 9.2, P. 351 in this chapter may be more beneficial than introducing a methodology. It could be recommended that the company implement these changes and then assess whether or not further gains could be achievable through introducing a methodology. A summary of the positive and negative features of a structured methodology is shown in the table. Advantages Clear aims and organisational responsibilities will be identified Good framework for planning and change control, e.g. need for change logging and exception plans Provides a consistent way of conducting projects in a company thus reducing the likelihood of error Should lead to better quality systems as fewer corners should be cut Disadvantages Tends to lead to a hierarchical bureaucracy with more reviewing than doing Needs training of staff May stifle flexibility and innovation May sometimes be necessary be cut corners to meet deadline Doesn t fit with RAD philosophy based more on a traditional lifecycle 160
Case Studies Case Study 9.1: Project management issues for an e-business portal (P. 349) The article states implementation of management information, decision support and data warehouse systems are littered with failures. Review the article and list the different actions it suggests that a project manager could take to avoid project failure. Thinking back to Chapter 7 on systems acquisition, relate each action to a particular stage of the systems development lifecycle. The actions to avoid project failure and the corresponding stages in the systems development lifecycle are: Identify a set of benefits that support the business (initiation); Perform analysis mapping information on to business processes (analysis); Design the system to provide quality, reliability and accessibility of information in backend systems and processes (design); Provide tools to end users to develop their own views of information (analysis/design/implementation); Education / training of end users to define the benefits of the system and how to use it (implementation); Strong project management to set realistic goals and ensure that the timescale constraints are met. Case Study 9.2: Falling at the final hurdle (P. 351) 1. What reasons does the case study indicate are responsible for project failure? 2. What steps can be taken to reduce the risk of project failure? 3. What does the experienced project manager Ervin Munir suggest that project managers should do when faced with unrealistic deadlines? What skills and attributes should the project manager possess according to Neil McEvoy? 1. Project failure is primarily blamed on inadequate management of projects with the manager failing to: specify user requirements adequately; manage the number of requested changes; limit the scope of the changes; tackle in-house politics; negotiate changes to deadlines or number of features required. 2. The following steps can be taken: managing the change which is inevitable in a systems development; build in risk management; standing up to senior management when they set unrealistic deadlines or expand the scope; detailed estimation and costing based on detailed assessments of the requirements. 3. Ervin Munir suggests with the example given that managers must stand up to senior managment. Neil McEvoy suggests that managing expectations and balancing available resources and skills against expectations are key. It is also important to know how to manage changes to make them possible. 161
Exercises (PP. 377 378) Self-assessment exercises 1. What are the main elements of the project management process? The project management process includes the following main elements: estimation which consists of identifying tasks and their duration; schedule/plan when the tasks are sequenced and resources allocated; monitoring and control during the project; documentation for quality assurance; post project review to improve the next project. 2. What are the main project aims of the PRINCE methodology? PRINCE is a project management methodology that has been developed to be compatible with the system development methodologies such as SSADM. PRINCE defines four main project aims: 1. To deliver the required end product(s). 2. To meet the specified quality. 3. To stay within budget. 4. To deliver on schedule. 3. What information is required for the construction of a critical path diagram? The following information is required for construction of a critical path diagram: Identification of project activities. Estimated duration for each activity. Relationship between project activities (i.e. their sequence). 4. What information do the Gantt chart and PERT chart convey? The Gantt chart conveys the timing of activity execution, since the start and finish date for each activity are indicated. The PERT chart identifies the relationship between activities and will indicate the critical path more effectively then the Gantt. 5. Define the term critical path. Activities on the critical path are termed critical activities. Any delay in these activities will cause a delay in the project completion time. 162
6. What is the difference between effort and elapsed time? Effort time is the total amount of work that needs to occur to complete a task. The elapsed time indicates how long in units of time (such as calendar days) the task will take, given the number of resources allocated to it. For example, 4 days effort time could be reduced to 2 days elapsed time if two resources were allocated to it. 163
Discussion questions 1. Draw a Gantt chart for the following AON network. A B C Task D E F G H 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 Time (days) The bars indicate the earliest start and earliest finish times. 2. One of the most difficult parts of project management is getting the estimates right. Discuss. This question balances the importance of estimation against the other project management activities that occur before a project commences such as scheduling, budgeting and resource allocations and those during the project. As an introduction to this issue students should give examples of project failure for context (see start of chapter). Arguments for: Estimation is difficult since it is only possible to produce accurate estimates when all the features required are known at the outset. This is unusual, and not encouraged in prototyping where the features are identified through recommendation. Without knowing the hundreds or thousands of features in a system for bottom-up estimation, a cruder top-down estimation will be needed where estimates are made for entire modules. Other reasons why initial estimation is difficult are: Changing requirements mean that initial assessments will be inaccurate until refined later in a project, but project managers tend to be held to their initial estimation. Each project tends to be unique, so past estimates are of limited relevance. Estimates based on lines of code are limited by the initial difficulty of estimating the lines of code. IS projects may use new technologies and delays are caused by learning these or solving problems caused by them. 164
It may be difficult to evaluate the speed of different programmers, particularly if contractors are used. Despite all the above, these authors believe that there are other factors that are, in total, more important (although not necessarily more difficult to achieve) to the success of a project. Before a project these are: Risk assessment identifying what may go wrong and taking steps to prevent it. Setting up quality assurance or the use of a PRINCE style methodology. Producing an effective project plan. During a project effective monitoring and control are important since it is inevitable that no matter how good the estimates, problems will arise. These need to be identified quickly and then appropriate action taken to minimise the problem, such as putting more people on to a task that is overrunning. 165
Essay questions 1. Explore the features of a project management computer package such as Microsoft Project. Evaluate its use in the project management process. The package chosen should be reviewed against the general attributes of the software which should be taken into account when purchasing software as described in Chapter 8. These include ease of use, reliability, performance and features. For features the specific aspects of a project management software should be reviewed for its contribution in the areas of: estimation; scheduling is this achieved through a PERT or Gantt view? How well is resource over allocation shown? budgeting; control how well is slippage shown? How good are the reporting facilities? How easy is it to monitor the budget? Project management software such as Microsoft Project 98 has the following main features: creating project plans and tracking progress; managing resources and costs; working with the Internet; sharing project information. 2. Compare the different alternatives that are available for the critical path method of network analysis. This answer should start with a brief example similar to the one in the chapter for each of the two main methods. Historically, there has been a greater use of the Activity-on-Arrow (AOA) method, but the Activity-On-Node (AON) method is now being recognised as having a number of advantages including: Most project management computer software uses the AON approach. AON diagrams do not need dummy activities to maintain the relationship logic. AON diagrams have all the information on timings and identification within the node box leading to clearer diagrams. 3. What is the most effective method of estimating the duration of an information systems development project? The answer can be approached in two main different ways; a good answer will explore both. (1) Top-down vs. bottom-up. Is the estimate built by producing broad estimates for each module and then refining them, or by considering the detailed tasks and then building up an overall estimate from the sum of these? It should be apparent that the second option is more timeconsuming, but more accurate. 166
(2) Review of techniques such as COCOMO which give estimates based on the number of lines of source code or function point analysis that considers the functions and numbers of inputs and outputs provided by the software. Both of these techniques can produce good answers, but only when a good data set of similar past projects is available. They are probably both inferior to, but quicker than, a bottom-up estimate. Function point analysis tends to be more detailed and accurate than COCOMO. 167
Examination questions 1. Evaluate the roles undertaken by people in a project organisation. The phrase project organisation is a specific term from the PRINCE methodology. It refers to the following types of groups and team members: Project steering team which defines the feasibility of projects and then assesses their progress and suggests action to ensure they stay on track. Senior users departments where the new system is implemented. Senior technical role an architect for the system. Project manager coordinates project and ensures management actions are taken. Quality assurance team ensures project follows appropriate stages and has the right reviews and controls. 2. What are the main elements in the project management process? The project management process includes the following main elements: Estimation which consists of identifying tasks and their duration. Schedule/plan when the tasks are sequenced and resources allocated. Monitoring and control during the project. Documentation for quality assurance. Post project review to improve the next project. 3. Evaluate the use of the PRINCE project management methodology. PRINCE is a project management methodology that has been developed to be compatible with the system development methodologies used in government IT projects such as SSADM. It has become the standard project management methodology used by the UK government and is also being increasingly used in commercial organisations in the UK. It will be evident that it offers a structure for a project which is only applicable to large projects involving teams of at least 10 people. Many of the in-built quality assurance checks are, however appropriate to smaller projects. The PRINCE methodology is built around the idea that a project is required to deliver a product(s) within the time, cost and quality constraints imposed. The products are defined not just in the sense of the technical product of the delivered IT system, but include management products such as project plans and quality products such as quality reviews. The planning process under PRINCE involves defining a list of products required to produce the end product of the project and defining the sequence in which these products must be produced. From this can be derived the activities required to generate these products in terms of management tasks, technical requirements and quality criteria. In order to ensure that the aims of cost, time and quality are met, PRINCE provides controls that enable the progress of the project management and product management activities to be monitored against plan. 168
In order to ensure user involvement in the project, PRINCE provides an organisational structure and set of job descriptions that define responsibility for activities in a project and ensure a user role in major decisions during the project. 4. Explain the difference between portraying a project plan as a Gantt chart and a PERT chart. The Gantt chart conveys the timing of activity execution, since the start and finish date for each activity are indicated. The PERT chart identifies the relationship between activities and will indicate the critical path more effectively then the Gantt. 5. What is the importance of conducting monitoring and control when managing a project? When a project is underway, the monitoring of the project objectives of cost, time and quality against targets must be closely monitored. This should occur daily for small-scale tasks or weekly for combined activities. Control or corrective action will occur if the performance measures deviate from plan. It is important to monitor and assess performance as the project progresses in order that corrective action can be taken before the project deviates from plan to a large extent. Milestones or events that need to happen on a particular date are defined, for which performance against objectives can be measured (e.g. end of analysis, production of first prototype). Computer project management packages can be used to automate the collection of project progress data and production of progress reports. 6. Why is it difficult and often impossible for a software project manager to balance the three constraints of time, budget and quality? You should relate your answer to two different aspects of the quality of the delivered information system. The project should be managed to achieve the defined objectives of time, cost and quality. The time objective is met by ensuring that the project is monitored in terms of execution of tasks within time limits. Corrective action is taken if a variance between actual and planned time is observed. The cost objective is achieved by monitoring the use of human resource and computing resource budgets and again variation between estimated and actual expenditure is noted and necessary corrective action taken. To ensure quality objectives are met it is necessary to develop a quality plan which contains a list of deliverable items to the customer. Each of these will have an associated quality standard and procedure for dealing with a variance from the required quality level defined in the quality plan. It is difficult to reconcile achieving time, cost and quality objectives, since to solve problems of time overruns it will be necessary to add more staff which will increase cost. One way of decreasing the time and cost is to reduce the quality by (1) accepting a higher number of bugs (by reducing detailed design and testing time) or (2) not implementing some of the features required in the system. 169
7. What is the difference between elapsed time and effort time? How are the two factors related in terms of the availability and workrate of different staff? Describe this in words, or using an equation or an example. Effort time is the total amount of work that needs to occur to complete a task. The elapsed time indicates how long in time (such as calendar days) the task will take, given the number of resources allocated to it. For example, 4 days effort time could be reduced to 2 days elapsed time if two resources were allocated to it. Elapsed time is inversely proportional to the number of staff allocated to a task. In other words the more people working on a task, the shorter time it should take (in theory). Elapsed time will also increase as the availability of the staff decreases or if their workrate is poor. This can be expressed as: or Elapsed Time = Effort Time * (1/Availability) * (1/Workrate) Elapsed Time = Effort Time/Number of Staff 170