Chapter Three

Managing The Information Systems

Project
After studying this chapter, you should be able to

 Explain the process of managing an information systems project,

including
 Project initiation,

 Project planning,

 Project execution, and

 Project closedown

 Describe how to represent and schedule project plans using

 Gantt charts and network diagrams,

 Explain how commercial project management software packages can be

used to assist in representing and managing project schedules
Introduction
 Project management is an important aspect of the development of
information systems and a critical skill for a systems analyst.
 The focus of project management is to ensure that systems development
projects meet customer expectations and are delivered within budget and
time constraints.
 A project is a planned undertaking of a series of related activities to reach
an objective that has a beginning and an end.
 Project manager: a systems analyst with a diverse set of skills
management, leadership, technical, conflict management, and customer
relationship who is responsible for initiating, planning, executing, and
closing down a project.
 Creating and implementing successful projects requires managing the
resources, activities, and tasks needed to complete the information
systems project.
Introduction …cont’d
 To successfully orchestrate
the construction of a
complex information
system, a project manager
must have interpersonal,
leadership, and technical
skills.
 A project manager is often
thought of as a juggler
keeping a loft many balls,
which reflect the various
aspects of a project’s
development
 A project manager juggles
numerous activities shown
on the figure
Common activities and Skills of a Project Manager
Project management

 Project management: A controlled process of initiating,

planning, executing, and closing down a project.

 Project management process involves four major phases

 Initiating the project

 Planning the project

 Executing the project

 Closing down the project

 Several activities must be performed during each of these four

phases.
Initiating the project
 Project initiation: the first phase of the project management process in
which activities are performed to assess the size, scope, and
complexity of the project and to establish procedures to support later
project activities.
 The types of activities you will perform when initiating a project are:
Initiating the project …cont’d
 Establishing the project initiation team: This activity involves organizing an
initial core of project team members to assist in accomplishing the project
initiation activities.
 Establishing a relationship with the customer: A thorough understanding of
your customer builds stronger partnerships and higher levels of trust.
 Establishing the project initiation plan: This step defines the activities required
to organize the initiation team while it is working to define the goals and scope
of the project.
 Establishing management procedures: Successful projects require the
development of effective management procedures
 Establishing the project management environment and project workbook: The
focus of this activity is to collect and organize the tools that you will use while
managing the project and to construct the project workbook.
 Diagrams, charts, and system descriptions provide much of the project workbook
contents.
Initiating the project …cont’d
 Project workbook: An online or hard-copy repository for all project
correspondence, inputs, outputs, deliverables, procedures, and standards that
is used for performing project audits, orienting new team members,
communicating with management and customers, identifying future projects,
and performing post-project reviews.

 Developing the project charter: short document (typically one page) prepared
for the customer during project initiation that describes what the project will
deliver and outlines generally at a high level all work required to complete the
project.
 The project charter ensures that both you and your customer gain a common
understanding of the project.
 It is also a very useful communication tool
Project charter … cont’d
 A project charter can vary in the
amount of detail it contains, but it
often includes the following
elements:
 Project title and date of authorization
 Project manager name and contact
information
 Customer name and contact
information
 Project start and completion dates
 Key stakeholders, project role, and
responsibilities
 Project objectives and description
 Key assumptions or approach
 Signature section for key
stakeholders
Initiating the project …cont’d
 Project initiation is complete once these six activities have been
performed.
 Before moving on to the next phase of the project, the work
performed during project initiation is reviewed at a meeting attended
by management, customers, and project team members.
 An outcome of this meeting is a decision to continue, modify, or
abandon the project
 If the scope of the project is modified, it may be necessary to return
to project initiation activities and collect additional information.
 Once a decision is made to continue the project, a much more
detailed project plan is developed during the project planning phase
Planning the Project
 Project planning: The second phase of the project management
process that focuses on defining clear, discrete activities and the
work needed to complete each activity within a single project.
 It often requires you to make numerous assumptions about the
availability of resources such as hardware, software, and
personnel.
 It is much easier to plan nearer-term activities than those
occurring in the future.
 In actual fact, you often have to construct longer-term plans that
are more general in scope and nearer-term plans that are more
detailed.
Planning the Project …cont’d
 The types of activities that you can perform during project
planning are:
Planning the Project …cont’d
 Describing project scope, alternatives, and feasibility: The purpose of this
activity is to understand the content and complexity of the project.
 During this activity, you should reach agreement on the following questions:
 What problem or opportunity does the project address?
 What are the quantifiable results to be achieved?
 What needs to be done?
 How will success be measured?
 How will we know when we are finished?
 After defining the scope of the project, your next objective is to identify and
document general alternative solutions for the current business problem or
opportunity.
 You must then assess the feasibility of each alternative solution and choose
which to consider during subsequent SDLC phases.
 It is also important that any unique problems, constraints, and assumptions
about the project be clearly stated.
Planning the Project …cont’d
 Dividing the project into manageable tasks: This is a critical activity
during the project planning process.
 Here, you must divide the entire project into manageable tasks and
then logically order them to ensure a smooth evolution between tasks.
 The definition of tasks and their sequence is referred to as the work
breakdown structure
 Some tasks may be performed in parallel, whereas others must follow
one another sequentially.
 Task sequence depends on which tasks produce deliverables needed
in other tasks, when critical resources are available, the constraints
placed on the project by the client, and the process outlined in the
SDLC
Planning the Project …cont’d

 Work breakdown for these activities is can be represented in a Gantt

chart.

 A Gantt chart is a graphical representation of a project that shows

each task as a horizontal bar whose length is proportional to its time
for completion.

 Different colors, shades, or shapes can be used to highlight each kind

of task.

 Gantt charts do not (typically) show how tasks must be ordered

(precedence), but simply show when an activity should begin and end
Planning the Project …cont’d

Gantt chart showing project tasks, duration times for those tasks, and predecessors
Planning the Project …cont’d
 Most project management software tools support a broad range of task
durations, including minutes, hours, days, weeks, and months
 Defining tasks in too much detail will make the management of the
project unnecessarily complex.
 You will develop the skill of discovering the optimal level of detail for
representing tasks through experience
 What are the characteristics of a “task”? A task
 Can be done by one person or a well-defined group,
 Has a single and identifiable deliverable (the task is, however, the process
of creating the deliverable),
 Has a known method or technique,
 Has well-accepted predecessor and successor steps, and
 Is measurable so that the percentage completed can be determined.
Planning the Project …cont’d
 Estimating resources and creating a resource plan: The goal of this
activity is to estimate resource requirements for each project activity
and to use this information to create a project resource plan.
 The resource plan helps assemble and deploy resources in the most
effective manner.
 Project managers use a variety of tools to assist in making estimates
of project size and costs. The most widely used method is called
COCOMO (Constructive Cost Model)
 People are the most important, and expensive, part of project
resource planning.
 Project time estimates for task completion and overall system quality
are significantly influenced by the assignment of people to tasks.
 It is important to give people tasks that allow them to learn new skills.
Planning the Project …cont’d
 Resource estimates may need to be revised based upon the skills of the actual
person (or people) assigned to a particular activity.

 Developing a preliminary schedule: During this activity, you use the information on
tasks and resource availability to assign time estimates to each activity in the work
breakdown structure.

 These time estimates will enable you to create target starting and ending dates for
the project.

 Target dates can be revisited and modified until a schedule is produced that is
acceptable to the customer.

 The schedule may be represented as a Gantt chart, or as a network diagram

 A network diagram is a graphical depiction of project tasks and their

interrelationships.
Planning the Project …cont’d

 A network diagram illustrates tasks with rectangles (or ovals) and the relationships
and sequences of those activities with arrows
Planning the Project …cont’d

 Developing a communication plan: The goal of this activity is to outline the

communication procedures among management, project team members,
and the customer.

 The communication plan includes when and how written and oral reports will
be provided by the team,
 How team members will coordinate work,
 What messages will be sent to announce the project to interested parties,
 What kinds of information will be shared with vendors and external contractors involved
with the project.

 It is important that free and open communication occur among all parties
with respect to proprietary information and confidentiality with the customer
Planning the Project …cont’d
 When developing a communication plan, numerous questions must be
answered in order to assure that the plan is comprehensive and
complete, including the following:
 Who are the stakeholders for this project?
 What information does each stakeholder need?
 When, and at what interval, does this information need to be produced?
 What sources will be used to gather and generate this information?
 Who will collect, store, and verify the accuracy of this information?
 Who will organize and package this information into a document?
 Who will be the contact person for each stakeholder should any questions
arise?
 What format will be used to package this information?
 What communication medium will be most effective for delivering this
information to the stakeholder?
Planning the Project …cont’d
 Determining project standards and procedures: During this activity, you will
specify how various deliverables are produced and tested by you and your
project team.
 Identifying and assessing risk: The goal of this activity is to identify sources of
project risk and estimate the consequences of those risks
 Creating a preliminary budget: During this phase, you need to create a
preliminary budget that outlines the planned expenses and revenues
associated with your project.
 The project justification will demonstrate that the benefits are worth these costs.
 Developing a Project Scope Statement: Developed primarily for the customer,
this document outlines work that will be done and clearly describes what the
project will deliver.
 Is useful to make sure that you, the customer, and other project team members
have a clear understanding of the intended project size, duration, and outcomes
Planning the Project …cont’d
 Setting a Baseline Project Plan: Once all of the prior project planning
activities have been completed, you will be able to develop a Baseline
Project Plan.
 This baseline plan provides an estimate of the project’s tasks and
resource requirements and is used to guide the next project phase
execution.
 As new information is acquired during project execution, the baseline
plan will continue to be updated.
 At the end of the project planning phase, a review of the Baseline
Project Plan is conducted to double-check all information in the plan.
 As with the project initiation phase, it may be necessary to modify the
plan, which means returning to prior project planning activities before
proceeding.
Executing The Project
 Project execution puts the Baseline Project Plan into action.
 Within the context of the SDLC, project execution occurs primarily
during the analysis, design, and implementation phases.
 The activities of Executing the project are listed below:
Executing The Project …cont’d
 Executing the Baseline Project Plan: As project manager, you oversee the execution of

the baseline plan.

 This means that you initiate the execution of project activities, acquire and assign

resources, orient and train new team members, keep the project on schedule, and
ensure the quality of project deliverables

 Monitoring project progress against the Baseline Project Plan: While you execute the

Baseline Project Plan, you should monitor your progress.

 If the project gets ahead of (or behind) schedule, you may have to adjust resources,

activities, and budgets.

 Monitoring project activities can result in modifications to the current plan.

 Measuring the time and effort expended on each activity will help you improve the

accuracy of estimations for future projects.

Executing The Project …cont’d
 It is possible, with project schedule charts such as Gantt charts, to show progress

against a plan, and it is easy with network diagrams to understand the

ramifications of delays in an activity.

 Managing changes to the Baseline Project Plan: You will encounter pressure to

make changes to the baseline plan.

 Changes can be requested formally or may occur from events outside your control.

 Maintaining the project workbook: As in all project phases, maintaining complete

records of all project events is necessary.

 The workbook provides the documentation new team members require to

assimilate project tasks quickly. It explains why design decisions were made and is
a primary source of information for producing all project reports.
Executing The Project …cont’d
 Communicating the project status: The project manager is responsible for keeping all

stakeholder's system developers, managers, and customers abreast of the project

status.

 A broad variety of methods can be used to distribute information, each with

strengths and weaknesses.

 Procedures for communicating project activities vary from formal meetings to

informal hallway discussions.

 Two types of information are routinely exchanged throughout the project:

 Work results: the outcomes of the various tasks and activities that are performed to complete the
project and

 The project plan: the formal comprehensive document that is used to execute the project; it
contains numerous items including the project charter, project schedule, budgets, and risk plan
Closing down the Project
 The focus of project closedown is to bring the project to an end.
 Projects can conclude with a natural or unnatural termination.
 A natural termination occurs when the requirements of the project have been
met the project has been completed and is a success.
 An unnatural termination occurs when the project is stopped before
completion
 Regardless of the project termination outcome, several activities must be
performed:
 Closing down the project,
 Conducting post-project reviews, and
 Closing the customer contract.

 Within the context of the SDLC, project closedown occurs after the
implementation phase.
Closing down the Project …cont’d
 Closing down the project: During closedown, you perform several diverse
activities.
 When closing down the project, it is also important to notify all interested
parties that the project has been completed and to finalize all project
documentation and financial records so that a final review of the project can
be conducted.
 You should also celebrate the accomplishments of the team.
 Conducting post project reviews: Once you have closed down the project, final
reviews of the project should be conducted with management and customers.
 The objective of these reviews is to determine the strengths and weaknesses
of project deliverables, the processes used to create them, and the project
management process.
 It is important that everyone understands what went right and what went
wrong in order to improve the process for the next project.
Closing down the Project …cont’d

 Closing the customer contract: The focus of this final activity is to

ensure that all contractual terms of the project have been met.

 A project governed by a contractual agreement is typically not

completed until agreed to by both parties, often in writing.

 Closedown is a very important activity: A project is not complete until it

is closed, and it is at closedown that projects are deemed a success or
failure.

 Completion also signifies the chance to begin a new project and to

apply what you have learned.
Representing And Scheduling Project
Plans
Representing And Scheduling Project Plans
 The planning documents can take the form of graphical or textual
reports, although graphical reports have become most popular for
depicting project plans.
 The most commonly used methods are Gantt charts and network
diagrams.
 Gantt charts are often more useful for depicting relatively simple
projects or subparts of a larger project, showing the activities of a
single worker, or monitoring the progress of activities compared to
scheduled completion dates
 A network diagram shows the ordering of activities by connecting a
task to its predecessor a network diagram is preferable; other times a
Gantt chart
Representing And Scheduling Project Plans …cont’d
 Here are the key differences between these two charts:
 Gantt charts visually show the duration of tasks, whereas a network
diagram visually shows the sequence dependencies between tasks.
 Gantt charts visually show the time overlap of tasks, whereas a network
diagram does not show time overlap but does show which tasks could be
done in parallel.
 Some forms of Gantt charts can visually show slack time available within an
earliest start and latest finish duration. A network diagram shows this by
data within activity rectangles.
 Project managers also use textual reports that depict resource utilization by
task, complexity of the project, and cost distributions to control activities.
 A project manager will periodically review the status of all ongoing project
task activities to assess whether the activities will be completed early, on
time, or late. If early or late, the duration of the activity, can be updated
Representing And Scheduling Project Plans …cont’d
Representing Project Plans
 Project scheduling and management require that time, costs, and resources be

controlled.

 Resources are any person, group of people, piece of equipment, or material used

in accomplishing an activity.

 Critical path scheduling: A scheduling technique whose order and duration of a

sequence of task activities directly affect the completion date of a project.

 A network diagram is one of the most widely used and best-known scheduling

methods. You would use a network diagram when tasks

 Are well defined and have a clear beginning and end point,

 Can be worked on independently of other tasks,

 Are ordered, and

 Serve the purpose of the project

Representing Project Plans …cont’d
 A major strength of network
diagramming is its ability to represent
how completion times vary for
activities.

 Because of this, it is more often used

than Gantt charts to manage projects
such as information systems
development

 Network diagrams are composed of

circles or rectangles representing
activities and connecting arrows
showing required work flows, as
illustrated in Figure
Calculating expected time durations using Pert
 One of the most difficult and most error-prone activities when constructing a project

schedule is the determination of the time duration for each task within a work
breakdown structure.

 It is particularly problematic to make these estimates when there is a high degree of

complexity and uncertainty about a task.

 PERT (Program Evaluation Review Technique) is a technique that uses

optimistic, pessimistic, and realistic time estimates to calculate the expected time for
a particular task.

 The optimistic (o) and pessimistic (p) times reflect the minimum and maximum

possible periods of time for an activity to be completed.

 The realistic (r) time, or most likely time, reflects the project manager’s “best guess”

of the amount of time the activity actually will require for completion.
Calculating expected time durations using Pert
 Once each of these estimates is made for an activity, an expected time (ET)
can be calculated.
 Because the expected completion time should be closest to the realistic (r)
time, it is typically weighted four times more than the optimistic (o) and
pessimistic (p) times.
 Once you add these values together, it must be divided by six to determine
the ET.
 This equation is shown in the following formula:
 Where:
 ET = expected time for the completion for an activity
 o = optimistic completion time for an activity
 r = realistic completion time for an activity
 p = pessimistic completion time for an activity
Using Project Management Software
 A wide variety of automated project management tools is available to help you
manage a development project.
 Project management tools are available to run on IBM-compatible personal
computers, the Macintosh, and larger mainframe and workstation-based systems.
 These systems vary in the number of task activities supported, the complexity of
relationships, system processing and storage requirements, and, of course, cost.
 Prices for these systems can range from a few hundred dollars for personal
computer–based systems to more than $100,000 for large-scale, multi-project
systems.
 Microsoft Project for Windows is a project management system that has received
consistently high marks in computer publication reviews
 When using this system to manage a project, you need to perform at least the
following activities:
 Establish a project starting or ending date.
 Enter tasks and assign task relationships.

Using Project Management Software
 Establishing a Project Start date: Defining the general project information includes
obtaining the name of the project and the project manager, and the starting or
ending date of the project.
 Starting and ending dates are used to schedule future activities or backdate
others based on their duration and relationships with other activities.
 Entering Tasks And Assigning Task Relationships: The next step in defining a
project is to define project tasks and their relationships.
 To set an activity relationship, the ID number (or numbers) of the activity that
must be completed before the start of the current activity is entered into the
Predecessors column.
 Selecting a Scheduling Method to review Project reports: Once information about
all the activities for a project has been entered, it is very easy to review the
information in a variety of graphical and textual formats using displays or printed
reports
 Once information about all the activities for a project has been entered, it is very
easy to review the information in a variety of graphical and textual formats using
displays or printed reports
?