Download Systems Analysis & Design Sixth Edition Toolkit Part 4

Systems Analysis & Design
Sixth Edition
Toolkit Part 4
Toolkit Objectives
● Describe project management tools and
how they are used
● Describe the steps used in project
planning, scheduling, monitoring and
controlling, and reporting
● Explain techniques for estimating task
completion times and costs
● Describe various scheduling tools,
including Gantt charts and PERT/CPM
charts
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Toolkit Objectives
● Calculate completion times, start
dates, and end dates for a project
● Explain the steps involved in software
change control
● Understand the reasons why projects
sometimes fail
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Introduction
● You will learn about project planning,
scheduling, monitoring, reporting, and
the use of project management software
● You also will learn how to control and
manage project changes that typically
occur
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Project Management Overview
● Project Management
● The goal of project management is to
deliver an information system that is
acceptable to users and is developed on
time and within budget
● Project manager or project leader
● Project coordinator
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Project Management Overview
● Project managers typically perform
four main tasks:
–
–
–
–
Project planning
Project scheduling
Project monitoring and controlling
Project reporting
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Project Planning
● Takes place at the beginning and end of
each SDLC phase
● Task or activity
● Event or milestone
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Project Planning
● The project manager leads and
coordinates the team, monitors events,
and reports progress
● Identifying Tasks
– One of the most important variables is the size
of the project, because the amount of work does
not relate directly to the size of the project
– If one project is twice the size of another project,
the larger project will take more than twice as
many resources to develop
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Project Planning
● Identifying Tasks
– Six times as many relationships can mean more
delay, misunderstanding, and difficulty in
coordinating tasks
– The capabilities of project team members also
affect time requirements
– A less experienced analyst usually will need
more time to complete a task than an
experienced team member will
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Project Planning
● Estimating Task Completion Time and
Cost
– Person-days
– Some tasks can be divided evenly so it is
possible to use different combinations of time
and people, up to a point
– In most systems analysis tasks, however, time
and people are not interchangeable
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Project Planning
● Estimating Task Completion Time and
Cost
–
–
–
–
–
Best-case estimate (B)
Probable-case estimate (P)
Worst-case estimate (W)
Weight
Expected task duration:
(B+4P+W)
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Project Planning
● Factors Affecting Time and Cost
Estimates
–
–
–
–
Project size and scope
IT resources
Prior experience with similar projects or systems
Constraints
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Overview of Project Scheduling
● Project scheduling involves the
creation of a specific timetable
● Dependent task
● Must balance task time estimates,
sequences, and personnel
assignments
● Several graphical planning aids can
help
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Project Scheduling with Gantt Charts
● Gantt Chart
● A detailed Gantt chart
for a very large project
might be quite
complex and hard to
understand
● Task groups
● Not an ideal tool for
controlling a complex
project
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Project Scheduling with PERT/CPM
Charts
● The Program Evaluation Review
Technique (PERT)
● Critical Path Method (CPM)
● The important distinctions between the
two methods have disappeared over
time, and today the technique is called
either PERT, or CPM, or PERT/CPM
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Project Scheduling with PERT/CPM
Charts
● Overview of PERT/CPM
– PERT/CPM is called a bottom-up technique
– Project tasks
– Once you know the tasks, their duration, and the
order in which they must be performed, you can
calculate the time that it will take to complete the
project
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Project Scheduling with PERT/CPM
Charts
● PERT/CPM Chart Format
–
–
–
–
–
–
Task box
T (task duration or time)
ES (earliest start)
EF (earliest finish) – expected project duration
LF (latest finish)
LS (latest start)
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Project Scheduling with PERT/CPM
Charts
● Task Patterns
– Sequential tasks
– Multiple successor tasks
• Concurrent task
• Predecessor task
• Successor task
– Multiple Predecessor Tasks
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Project Scheduling with PERT/CPM
Charts
● Complex Task Patterns
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Project Scheduling with PERT/CPM
Charts
● A PERT/CPM Example with Five Tasks
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Project Scheduling with PERT/CPM
Charts
● Critical Path
– Slack time
– If any task along the critical path falls behind
schedule, the entire project is delayed
– A critical path includes all tasks that are vital to
the project schedule
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Project Scheduling with PERT/CPM
Charts
● Transforming a Task List into a
PERT/CPM Chart
– You must develop three versions:
• Version 1: Basic Structure
• Version 2: Enter ES and EF Values
• Version 3: Add LF and LS Values
– After you enter the LS and LS figures, you
will be able to identify the critical path
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Project Scheduling with PERT/CPM
Charts
● Transforming a Task List into a
PERT/CPM Chart
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Project Scheduling with PERT/CPM
Charts
● Comparing Gantt Charts and PERT/CPM
– One significant advantage of PERT/CPM charts
is that all individual tasks and dependencies are
shown
– A PERT/CPM chart displays the critical path for
the overall project and the slack time
– A Gantt chart offers a rapid overview
– PERT/CPM and Gantt charts are not mutually
exclusive techniques
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Project Monitoring and Controlling
● Monitoring and Control Techniques
– The project manager must keep track of tasks
and progress of team members, compare actual
progress to the project plan, verify the
completion of project milestones, and set
standards and ensure that they are followed
– Structured walkthrough
– Called design reviews, code reviews, or testing
reviews
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Project Monitoring and Controlling
● Maintaining a Schedule
– Maintaining a project schedule can be a
challenging task
– The better the original plan, the easier it will be
to control the project
– If enough milestones and frequent checkpoints
exist, problems will be detected rapidly
– It is mathematically possible for a project to have
more than one critical path
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Project Reporting
● Project Status Meetings
– Most project managers schedule regular status
meetings with the entire project team
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Project Reporting
● Project Status Reports
– A project manager must report regularly to his or
her immediate supervisor, upper management,
and users
– Should explain what you are doing to handle
and monitor the problem
– Most managers recognize that problems do
occur on most projects; it is better to alert
management sooner rather than later
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Project Management Software
● Project Management Software
● Project Management Example Using
Microsoft Project
– Create a Gantt chart showing the necessary
information
– After you complete the Gantt chart, you decide
to view the data in the form of a PERT chart
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Project Management Software
● Project Management Example Using
Microsoft Project
– Network diagram
– Each task box contains the task description, task
identification number, task duration, start date,
and end date
– Project planning is a dynamic task and involves
constant change
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Software Change Control
● Software Change Control
● A procedure for processing requests
for changes to an information system’s
requirements consists of four steps:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Complete a change request form
Take initial action on the request
Analyze the impact of the requested change
Determine the disposition of the requested change
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Keys to Project Success
● Business Issues
– The major objective of every system is to
provide a solution to a business problem or
opportunity
– A system that falls short of business needs also
produces problems for users and reduces
morale and productivity
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Keys to Project Success
● Budget Issues
– Cost overruns typically result from one or more
of the following:
• Unrealistic estimates
• Failure to develop an accurate TCO forecast
• Poor monitoring of progress and inadequate reaction
to early signs of problems
• Schedule delays due to unanticipated factors
• Human resource factors
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Keys to Project Success
● Schedule Issues
– Problems with timetables and project milestones
can indicate a failure to recognize task
dependencies, confusing effort with progress,
poor monitoring and control methods,
personality conflicts among team members, or
turnover of project personnel
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Keys to Project Success
● Successful Project Management
– When problems occur, the project manager’s
ability to handle the situation becomes the
critical factor
– Sometimes, when a project experiences delays
or cost overruns, the system still can be
delivered on time and within budget if several
less critical requirements are trimmed
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Keys to Project Success
● Successful Project Management
– If a project is in trouble because of a lack of
resources or organizational support,
management might be willing to give the
project more commitment and higher priority
– A typical response is to push back the
completion date
– Option only if the original target date is flexible
and the extension will not create excessive
costs or other problems
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Toolkit Summary
● Project management is the process of
planning, scheduling, monitoring and
controlling, and reporting upon the
development of an information system
● Begins with identifying and planning all
specific tasks or activities
● Can use graphical tools such as Gantt
charts and PERT/CPM charts to assist in
the scheduling process
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Toolkit Summary
● A project manager uses a variety of techniques
to monitor, control, and report project tasks
● Software change control is concerned with
change requests that arise
● Every successful information system must
support business requirements, stay within
budget, and be available on time
● Toolkit Part 4 complete
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