Lecture 9
5/10/15
PROJECT MANAGEMENT
CROSS LIFECYCLE ACTIVITY
Learning Objective
 Consider factors affecting Project Failure
 Appreciate Project Management Tools and
Techniques
 Investigate four main stages of Project Management
 Understand what is meant by Cross Lifecycle
Activities
 Define Project Feasibility and identify the
characteristics of IS Project Feasibility
Project Management Tasks and Activities
 Project Phases
 Project Initiation
 Project Planning
 Project Execution
 Project Closedown
3-3
Project Initiation
 First phase of project management, involves
assessment of project scope, size, and complexity
and establishment of project procedures
3-4
3-5
Project initiation does
not include detailed
plans for entire
project
3-6
The Project Workbook
 An online or hardcopy repository of all project
correspondence, inputs, outputs, deliverables,
procedures, and standards
 Used as a primary communications medium for the
project team
3-7
Project workbook
grows and evolves
during project
activities
3-8
Project Planning
 Second phase of project management, focusing on
defining clear, discrete activities and the work
needed to complete each activity within a single
project
3-9
3-10
The Baseline Project Plan (BPP)
 The major deliverable from the project initiation and
planning phases, this document contains estimates
of scope, benefits, schedules, costs, risks, and
resource requirements
 BPP is updated throughout project execution and
closedown
3-11
Two Project Scheduling
Diagrams in Microsoft Project
Gantt:
Focus is on time.
These diagrams are
important components of
the BPP.
Network:
Focus is on dependencie
3-12
Cost-benefit
analysis is a key
component of the
BPP
3-13
Project Execution
 Third phase of project management, involving
putting the plans created in the previous phases into
action, and monitoring actual progress against the
BPP
3-14
3-15
3-16
Recap




Describe effective project management skills through all
phases of the systems development process.
Describe OOSAD.
Understand critical path scheduling, Gantt charts, and
Network diagrams.
Work with commercial project management software
products.
3-17
Is the IS development
project feasible?
How do we gather the
requirements to inform
system design?
What are the
alternative
approaches to
Information System
development?
What should/does the
system do?
How should the system
be designed to serve the
needs of the user (s)?
How do we manage an
IS development
project efficiently and
effectively?
Does the system
measure up?
Are the users satisfied?
Does the system do
what it is supposed to
do?
Systems Development Life Cycle –
Cross Life-Cycle Activities
 How the phases organized into pragmatic
stages
size of steps (deliverables) and activities executed
 order of the stages

 Different methodologies might be associated
with (recommend) the same (type of) SDLC
– some have their own dedicated SDLC
Cross Life Cycle Activities

Cross Life Cycle Activities


Cross life cycle activities are activities that overlap many or all
phases of the methodology – in fact, they are normally performed
in conjunction with several phases of the methodology.
Cross life cycle activities include:
 fact finding
 documentation and presentation
 estimation and measurement
 feasibility analysis
 project management
 process management.
ID
1
Task Nam e
Survey Phase
2
Study Phase
3
Definition Phase
4
Targeting Phase
5
Design Phase
6
Purchasing Phase
7
Construction Phase
8
Implementation Phase
9
10
Fact Finding
11
Documentation
12
Presentation
13
Estimation
14
Measurement
15
Feasibility Analysis
16
Project management
17
Process management
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
12/31
1/7
January
1/14
1/21
1/28
2/4
February
2/11
2/18
2/25
3/3
March
3/10
3/17
3/24
3/31
4/7
April
4/14
4/21
4/28
5/5
May
5/12 5/19
Cross Life Cycle Activities

Fact Finding

Fact finding – also called information gathering or data collection
-- is the formal process of using research, interviews, meetings,
questionnaires, sampling, and other techniques to collect
information about systems, requirements, and preferences.
Cross Life Cycle Activities

Documentation and Presentations


Communication skills are essential to the successful completion of
a project.
Two forms of communication that are common to systems
development projects are documentation and presentation.
 Documentation is the activity of recording facts and
specifications for a system.
 Presentation is the related activity of formally packaging
documentation for review by interested users and managers.
Presentations may be either written or verbal.
Cross Life Cycle Activities

Documentation and Presentations

Version control over documentation has become a critical success
factor; it involves keeping and tracking multiple versions of a
system's documentation.
 Most information systems shops want to keep documentation
for all of the following versions:
•
•
•
•
One or more previous versions of the system.
The current production version of the system.
Any version of the system going through the build and test activity.
Any version going through the life cycle to create a new version.
Cross Life Cycle Activities

Estimation and Measurement

Information systems are significant capital investments. For this
reason, estimation and measurement activities are commonly
performed to address the quality and productivity of systems.
 Estimation is the activity of approximating the time, effort,
costs, and benefits of developing systems. The term
guesstimation (as in ``make a guess'') is used to describe the
same activity in the absence of reliable data.
 Measurement is the activity of measuring and analyzing
developer productivity and quality (and sometimes costs).
Cross Life Cycle Activities

Estimation and Measurement

There are two common approaches to estimation.
 First, some analysts avoid estimation out of fear, uncertainty,
or lack of confidence.
• The analyst may resort to what are jokingly called ``guesstimates.''

Better analysts draw on experience and data (both their own
and the collective experience of others) from previous projects
to continually improve their estimates.