IilITH()DUCTIOT{ T0 SOTTWAHE

PHOIE.GT IIIIANfiGEMENT

OBJECTIVES
| ',- , cLt have completed this chapter you will be able to:
. ::ifie the scope of 'software project management';
, -'derstand some problems and concerns of software project managers;
. ::frne the usual stages of a software project;
" :rplain the main elements of the role of management;
' the need for careful planning, monitoring and control;
. =ipreciate
aentify the stakeholders of a project and their objectives;
' iefine the success criteria for a project.

: i Introduction
*::s
textbook is about 'software project management'. The first question is whether the management of
*,,.'are projects is really that different from that of other projects. To answer this, we need to look at some
,:'. ideas about the planning, monitoring and control of software projects. We will see that all projects are
i,:,ut meeting obiectives. Like any other project, a software project must satisfy real needs. To do this we
::st identify the project's stakeholders and their objectives. Ensuring that their objectives are met is the aim
: - project management. However, we cannot know that a project will meet its objectives in the future unless
. : know the present state of the project.

LZ Why is Software Project Management Important?

ftis book is for students of software engineering and computer science and also those studying business
-nformation systems. More technically oriented students can be impatient at having to study something which
keeps them away from their code. So why is it important to become familiar with project management?
 2 Software prttject Manngement

The information in this First, there is the question of money.

paragraph cqmes from
a NationalAudit Office
report, lmproving
lT Procurernent.
November 2004.
There has been some
debate aboui the
precise validity of ihe
Standish findings but
the key point about
the prevalence of lT
project failings rernains
clear.
A lot of mone,v is at stake with ICTprojects.
United Kingdom during-the financial y"u, In ri_.:
zooa-2a03, the central government spen_
more on contracts for ICTprojects than
on contracts related to roads
as opposed to f.l.4 bilrion). The iabout f2.3 billiol
biggest depart*rental spender was the
work and pensio,s. who spenr over eaod Department tb:
mrl,o, on rcr. Mi;r;r;;*enr of ICT
projects means that there is less to
spend on good things such u, frorfi?ufr.
unfortunately, projects are not always
successful. In a report published in 2003,
Standish Group in the United States the
analys ii,SZZprojects and
concluded that onlr.
athirdolprojectsweresuccessf,url g2goof"a
projectsr.vsl6 lateandJ3Toexceededtheir
budget.
The reason fcrr these project shortcomings
is often the rranasement of pr.ojects. The
National Audit office in the..uK, r*
o-o-pr", among other factors causing project
faiiure identifi ed 'lock of skilts arui proven
),pp'rAort, i p*inr} *:rrogr,r*, arui
monagentent' . risk

3
"3 What is a project?
Dictianary definitions The dictionary deflnitions put a crear
ernphasis on the project being a prcLnnecr
of 'project, include:,A activity.
specific plan or design,
'Aplannedundertak"ino'
'A planned undertaking,
'A,arge undertaking:
B Try emphasis
on being planned assu[1es we can deternrine
how to carry out a task
before ive start. Yet *ith exploratory projecrs
iJ::T,[?,:"fffl:t essence thinki,g
e.g. a public w.orks
$ trris might u, J,ni.,,t,. planning is
in
carefully about something befbre you
scheme', Longman
1"ir"*",_r-rrg;;i $ nrojects this is worth do it * even with uncefiain
Concise English rloing as.long as the reirlting prans are
"ri:,:,:;"ri:i#i
Dictionary, 1eB2_ $ activities, such as routine maintenance, seen as provisionar. other
ffi*]:5**$ will have been perfo'n.a * rnuny times that
everyone knows exactly what to do.
In these cases, planning hardly ,r"-, n"."r.u.y,
although procedures might be documented
to ensure consistency and to lielp newcomers.
Programme manage- The activities that beneflt most from conventional
ment is often used to project management are rikery to
lie between these two extremes _ see
coordinate activities on Figure l. 1 .
'urrcurrenlJobs E
concunent jobs.
There is a hazy boundary tletween the
non-routine project and the routine job.
first time you jo r;;;;"
task it wilt be like u
The
develop a system similar to previous " frq."r. on rhe orher hand, a projecr to
ones that you have developed *iit-huu"
a large element of the routine_

r-,.-l G;;,,',-l
ioutcome
of

C<C<GL)
I

\--\, // \---\
'/

FTGURE X..X. Activities most likely to benefit from project

management
 [ntroduction to Softutare Project Management g

* -ti ;:aracteristics distinguish

r;ru projects:

:_. ,t
r i ':-- _.-:e tasks are involved;
il

a: -_ . r fl,r - . - --,blectives are to be met or a specified product is to be created;

I r : t'r,-'i.-I has a predetermined time span;
a .: carTied out for someone other than yourself;
t :-i olves several specialisms;
a rr :-: ,ire formed into a temporary work group to carry out the task;
D i! !-!- t] carried out in several phases;
n t1; :->curces that are available for use on the project are constrained;
o :i: :ioject is large or complex.
Aur :' -: of these factors apply to a task, the more difficult that task wili be. project
'n1' si.ze is particuiarly
uM, * ::- The project that empioys 20 developers is likety to be disproportionarely more difflcult than
one
{$cr :'--' i0 staff because of the need for additional coordination.
ftr" examples and exercises used in
um'| :i.'|' i' usually relate to smaller projects in order to make
the techniques easier to grasp. Howeyer, the
*E-.'- : -:) and issues discussed are of equal relevance 10 Jarger projects.

-_

is
fr:in
il
1

, .:-;ider the foliowing:

EXERCISE
&-.
hher r producing an edition of a newspaper;
-L --
J 1dL o putting a robot vehicle on Mars to search for signs of life;
s.it-\ .
r getting married;
r amending a financial computer system to deal with a common European
currency;
]to r a research project into what makes a good human*computer
interface;
r an investigation into the reason why a user has a problem with a computer
system;
Ihe r a second-year programming assignment for a computing student;
:I to r writing an operating system for a new computer;
Ie. r installing a new version of a word processing package in an organization.
Some seem more like real projects than others. Put them into an order
most closely rnatching your ideas
-rf what constitutes a project. For each entry in the ordered list, describe the difference between
it and
ihe one above which makes it less worthy of the term .project,.
There is no one correct answer to this exercise, but a possible solution
to this and the other exercises
1'ou will come across raay be found at the end of the book.

l-rme argue that projects are especially problematic as thoy are temporary For example, see Rolf
sub-orga-
-:zations. A group of'people is brought together A. Lundin and Andres
to carry out a task. The existence of
:is sub-organization cuts across the ar.rthority of the existing units within the organi- Sdderholm (1995)
'A theory of the tem-
'ation. This has the advantage that a group containing various specialists is focused porary organization'
ln a single important task. However, the project is likely to be seen as disruptive to Scandinavian Journal
of Management 11(4)
437-55.
 4 Softzoare Proiect Managenrent

built up during the project may' be lost when

]|T:.}.,f$ilxpertise rhe team is evenrualry dispersed .

8.4 Software Projects versus Other Typ.r project

of
F. P Brooks (1987). Many techniques in general project management
'No silver bullet: es- also apply to softu,are pro.;
sence and accidents managerrLrllt, but Fred Brooks identified
some charact..lsti.s of software proje:
of software engineer- which rnake theln particularJy ditficult:
ing'. This essay has
been included in Ihe hvi'sibilin when a physicar artefact such as
a bridge is constructed the progress
Mythical Man-Month. actually be seen. with soffware, progress c.
Anniversary Edition, is not imrnediately
visible. Software prol;_
Addison Wesley, .1995 management can be seen as the process
of rnaking the invisible visibrc,.

,nuro,n..rffi,rl::;l:|:'ooerdollar'poundoreurospent.sofrwareproducrsconrainrnorecompleri:
ConJbrmir''+ The 'traditional' engineer
usually r.rorks with physical
sy\tems and materials like cement anc
steel' These physical systems have cornplexiti'
uot ur" gou".ni uy.orrir,.nt physical
opers have to conform to the require..nto raws. Software der.ei-
ui-iru*an clients. it is not just that individuals
organizations' because of lapses in collecti'e can be inconsisteni
memorv. in internal communication
making. can exhibit rernarkable,organizational or in effective decision
stupidity,.
Fiexibility That software is easy to change
is seen as a strength. However, where
faces with a physical or organizationai the software system inter_
slstem. it is expecteJthat the sofiware
the other cor.nponents u,ilr change to accommodare
rather than vice tersa. Thus soflware
systems are particularly subject to change.

a"s contract Management and Technicar project

Management
In-hrtttse pro'iects are where the users
and the devel.pers of new software
However increasin-ely organizations contract work for the same organization.
out ICi cle'elopment to outside developers.
organization will ofien uYp::nt a 'proiect Here. the client
m.nager' to supervise the contract who wil
cally oriented decisions to the contractors. delegate many techni-
Thus, the project manager will not worry
effort needed to write individual scflware about estimatins the
components as long as thJ overall project
time' on the supplier sicle' there will need is within budget ur-a on
to b'e pro.lect who deal with the more technical issues.
This book leans towards the concerns ,teitrnicat,pro;J.r_rrug..r.
^unig..,
o1. these

6"S Activities Covered by Software project

Management
Chapter 4 on proJect concerned
analysis and technical **:.1,:.::l::]::,]:::, lfly rs bought wirh rhe aouat writing of sofrware. rn facr.
."ri. ,l*
planning looks at some
:.T:..""::I-"re
application. ;;;,,;#";;;i.1rt'r#,i,Xli
alternative Iife cycles.
,:: :l;::
the l* :. :'j'lwith
::i1'; 3lass.ciared
other activities i:.'o "T'nt"riv u, oit,;; ;-d.1 *'. :" ;,,^;
sofrware i,ilr ,iirj u. p;;;;
,rlrTJ::::-::.::*. successive processes rhat bring a new
system inro being _ see Figure L2.
, a projectis.worrh srarting _ thar ir
I};ff:,']},,iir*Y::'::il'.In:lT: has a vaiid bu,ciness case.
:l
::::'TT::,','"i::?:
can, at reast initialv. be i,'1 "1 ir; ;*.."il ;"rdffi :'i'J,l
^'llcomprex
o
I -'r:'"ana:,.i
ainicurt.ffi.i"Iffifti,ptil'l'*#ff:'::il:t'"i1i,'fft:: y wish to
 lntroduction to Softutare Praject Management 5

e:sed at th=

ar. pro,lec:
n: projects

TSTCSS CAN
are projeet

:c,mplexln' ;f,6- qE 1.2 The feasibility study/plan/execution cycle

r --.-\ue, but not be sure about the means of achier.ement. The developmental and Chapter 2 explores
ement and some further as-
:
-rational costs, and the value of the benefits of the new system, will also have pects of programme
,'are devel-
:- be estimated. With a large system, the feasibility study could be a project in management.
consistent.
--*i own right with its own plan. The study could be part of a strategic planning
e decision
:letcise examining a range of potential software developments. Sometimes an organization assesses a
lrogramme of development made up of a number of projects.
;tem inter- Planning If the feasibility study indicates that the prospective project appears
:mmodate The PRINCE2 method,
'"'iable, then project planning can start. For larger projects, we would not do all which is described in
age. .rur detailed planning at the beginning. We create an outline plan for the whole Appendix A, takes this
project and a detailed one for the first stage. Because we will have more detailed iterative.approach to
planning. Annex 1 to
and accurate project information after the earlier stages of the project have been
this chapter has an
completed, planning of the later stages is left to nearer their start. outline of the content
an zatlon. of a plan.
r
Project execution The project can now be executed. The execution of a project
Lhe client often contains design and implementation sub-phases. Students new to project
nv techni- planning often flnd that the boundary between design and planning can be hazy. Design is making
Eting the decisions about the form of the products to be created. This could relate to the external appearance of
rt and on the sofiware, that is, the user interface, or the internal architecture. The plan details the activities tobe
al issues. carried out to create these products. Planning and design can be confused because at the most detailed
level, planning decisions are influenced by design decisions. Thus a software product with five major
components is likely to require five sets of activities to creafe them.

"--sure 1.3 shows the typical sequence of software development activities recom- Figure 1.3 suggests
:endeC in the international standard ISO 12207. Some activities are concemed with that these siages must
:. ln fact,
1: system while others relate to software. The development of software will be only be done stricflv in se'
sot-fware
:ne pa.rt of a project. Software could be developed, for example, for a project which qr.n"" - *. *ill s."
many of ,rso requires the installation of an ICT infrastructure, the design of userjobs and user
in Chapter4 that other,
iterative approaches
rarning. can be adopted.
However- the actual
o Requirements ctnalysis starts with requirements elicitation or requirements activities listed here
eis case. gathering which establishes what the potential users and their managers require would still be done-
li.-itation of the new system. It could relate to a function - that the system should do
n.ish to something. It could be a quality requirement - how weil the functions must work. An example of this is
6 Software Prcject Managemen!

0 r0r

Requirements anal g
o r
-o
C-
--c
Architecture design o I ruiil

3 'n
Requirements anal :
o
a

Architecture design

Requirements analysis

Detailed design
0) Il-
(u
.J
Code and test
o I
lntegration o
a.
o
D
f,
Qualification test o_
o 1-;n
@

E
o
lntegration _l1r
o
a
Qualification test -:'
o$=
lnstaliation tiiq
Eoq)
j$A
Acceptance support
;e
FIGURE 1.3 The lS0 12207 software development life cycle

dispatching all ambulance in resDonse to an emergency telephone

call. In this case transaction time would
be affecteri bl"iiard'rvare ancl software performance as well as
the speed of human operation. Training to
ensure that operarots use the computer system efficiently is an
exarnple of a system requ.irententfor the
project' as oppc-sed to a speci{ica)ly sctftware requirement. There would
also be resot;rce requirements
that rela-le to applicaticrn development costs.
Art'ltitettwe d"eslgru The components of the new system that fulfil each requirement
Existing components may be able to satisfy some requirements. In other
have to be identified.
cases, a new component
.P
will have to be made. These components are not only software: they could be
nerv hardware or work
processes' Although software developers are primarily concerned
wilh software components, it is very
rare that these can be de-u'eloped in isolation. They will, for example,
:- -
have to take account of existing - t--_
legacy systetns with which they will interoperate. The design oi-the
input to the softN'are recpti.wments. A second architecture aesign process
sysreri trchiiecttue is thus an .::
tiren taiies place'that maps the
soflware req uirements ta s offiu ttre c o t o trcn { s .
?.i
a::
l)
Detailed design Each software componeilt is made up of a number I -:
of software units that can be
separately coded and tested. The detailed design ofthese units is carried
out separately.
 lrLtroductian to Sofiware Proiect hlnnagement 7

- rettrs to writing code for each software unit. Initial testing to debug individuai software
, - ,- -: _:
..r,I: r , : re carried out at this stage.----
.t: I The components are tested togjther to see if the.v-. meet the overall requirements. Integration
softr'vare element
.- ,rr-
-, - -..; combining diff'erent sclftware components, or combining and testing the
l: : .iiin in conjunction with the hardware platforms and user interactious.
_ .. - ,,:, rr: testing The system, including the software components,
has to be tested carefully to
r- r-: --,:i :11 the requirements have been
fulf,lled.
- - - r: This is the process of making the new system operationai. It q,otild include activities such
,

-: c ------ up standing clata (for exampie, the details tbr employees in a payroll systern)' setting system
r*---,::.is- installing the soflware onto the hardware platfbrms and user training'
- : -.-.Le steport This is the resolving of problems with the newly installed system, including the
*:-:. 11 of any errors, and impiementing agreed extensions and improvements. Software maintenauce
r- - !i.n as a series of minor software projects. In many environments, most software development
- -.-'- maintenance.

f,XERCISE

1r-;- College is a higher education institution which used to be managed by a local govertlment
*-::,:,uth
*,. ..-. but has now become autonomous. Its payroll is still administered by the locai authority and
;- _1. and other output are produced in the locai authority's computer centre' The authority now
"--:.. :he college for this service. The college management are of the opinion that it wouid be cheaper
:-.:i an 'off-the shelf ' payioll package and do the payroll processing themselves.
L:-:-.iouid be the main stages of the project to coflvert to independent payroll processing by the
- .:: I Bearing in mind that an off-the-shelf package is to be used, how would this project differ from
:.: .' here the software was to be written liom scratch?

EXERCISE

otimewould ,.:ne that a software organization developrnent has been askeci to carry out a feasihiiity study to
Training to
r- :lop the payroll package for Brightmouth College' The develcpment organization plans to develop
wtent for the Uy customizing one of its existing products. What are the rnain steps thrcugh vririch the
'ofi*ur"
zeuirements :: _ rect manager of the organization would carry out the feasibility study'?

s identified.
.-omponent
- P1ans, Methods and Methodologies
;:r-e Of WOfk
rts. it is very - :,":i lor an activity must be based on sorne idea of a method of work" For example, if you were asked to
r of existing :..i ioroe software, you may know nothing about tire software to be tested, but you could assume that you
E is thus an " .:.d need to:
h.t maps the r analyse the requirements for the software;
r devise and write test cases that will check that each requirement has been satisfied;
i:iat can be
 8 So.ftware Project MnnngemerLt

. create test scripts and expected results

for each test ctlsei
o compare the actual resurts and the expected
results ancr identify discrepancies.
while a method rerates to a type of activirv in generar.
a prut takesfiar method (and perhaps
converrs it to real activities. identifying orh.
for each activity:
. its start and end dates:
r who rvill carry it out:
o what tools and materials
- inclucring informaticln wilr be neecred.
-
The o,tput froln one r.,ethcid might be the
inprut another. Groups of methods or techniques art
grouped intct methodologies such as _to ' I 'lll
object-orientecr cresis,.

This should idealiy'be done in groups of

about four, bur you can think about h'w you
ihis exercise oll woulcr go abt -
-Yotlr own if needs te. Ynu are probabiy in a building that has
From the p.int of view ofthis exercise. more than one store.,
the bigger the building the better.
In a group of four' lvork .ut hou' you would
obtain an accurate estimate of the height of
(If you happen to be in a single-storey building, the buildins
you can estimate the floor area instead!) plan
you would carry otlt any actions needeci hoi,
to obtarn
io_ur sf"ro 20 nrinutes on this * you mus.
esrimate
remain in the same room for this planning
phase. once planning is conrplete, implernent
tirning how iong it takes to produce you. your plan.
tirU figu.".
If there is more than one group carrying out this
exercise, after completion of
answers and aiso the approach you usecr when c.ming
the task you rd, compare
r,u can L ,l 1ect
up with ynu; on;;.

?.$ Some lthys of Categorizing Software projects

Projects may diff'er because rlf the <tifferent
technical prod,cts to be created. Thus we
need to i.entify ri.
-hich courd aflect rhe *"y in which ir should be pranned
;L1;:t:::::,:;l;.[?;,.; and managecr. oth;

Compulsory versus voluntary users

In workpiaces there are sYstems that staff -.....1.
have to use if they want to do sornething. _--l
However' use of a systerl is increasingly such as recording a sale - \l
voluntary, as in the case of computer games.
elicit precise reciui.emeuts tt'oni poteniiai users Here it is difficult rr -
i:, Jia
as u,e could with a business system. what
ivill thus depend nruch .n the infbrrned ingenuity the game will clc - : i:r-
the der.,elopers. along rvith techniques such
surveys. fbcris gr:oups and probtype evaluation. 'f as markei
: rlUt:;
: alOF,
Information systems versus embedded systems
Embedded systems A traditional distinction has been between infbrmcuion
are also cailed real- system.\ which enable staff to
time or industrial carrv out ofiice proces-ses ancl entrsetrde.tr
s.vs.Ier?r.r wrrich contror machines.
systems. control system r.vourd be an infcxrnation system. A stock Wou
An embedcred, or process contror. rn Ei
have etements of borh where, ror ixampre. ,h" ;;k ;;;;ffi; ,fi;::#;:H"jlil:ffi ilr:ilX:
:*:."r#::::^1i:'.,"T:tr,conditioningequip,nenti,,;;ildi;;.i#e"sis;#;
 Introcluction to Sofiu.tare Project Management I

t:pr othe:t
ErEBqrrE s-\
.,.@ rr-*-:--i lrstem on a computer be an information System or an embedded system?

Froiects

IEIJUeS are L

L+
ould -so
aboui
ax one store\. + i-u;ji :.rmpanies excel in executing outsourced softwale projects and have earned a fine reputation
ti * begun to focus on product devel-
- ,:.. er the world. Of 1ate, the Indian companies have slowly
I the building,
xllt Plan hoq' ri ::[s .,.-.:lopment work being handled by a company can have an impact on its profitability' For
ris - you must that has develop-ed a generic software product usually gets an uninternipted stream
of
Slll@*u - : .
=!an),
rnt Your plan. :- :eler&l years. However, outsourced projects fetch oniy one time revenue to any company'
!@l*5:ui

l Jan compare
frm"'tire - driven development
frrmc-": -' .,, be distinguished by whether their aim is to produce a product or to meet Seruice level agree-
-: r lir'.'. ments are becofiing
.mlfi:jil .-
increasingly important
as organizations
4f -r ,1.-. : to create a product, the details of which have been specifled by the
j,qhr be
contract out functions
rJ ro identify the ruu:: -ae ;lient has the responsibility for justifying the product' to external service
suppfiers.
managed. Other Ir E: :er hand, the project requirement might be to meet certain objectives which
flL' :r: =et in a number of ways. An organization might have a problem and ask a
i[rf-'---:] io recommend a solution.

,q;i: *-,ir-$.are projects have two stages. First is an objective-driven project resulting in recommendations'
to create the
recording a sale. -.r identify the need for a new software system. The next stage is a project actually
: it is difficult to *{
-;htprOduCt.
!*n:-a
will do are unciear at
rhe
-game -.1 : ,: useful where the technical work is being done by an external group and the user needs
I such as market :ri: ,-:>rI. The external gloup can produce u p..li-iru.y design at a fixed fee' If the design is acceptable the
on an agreed requirement'
s: : trs can then quote a i.i"e fo. the second, implementation, stage based
z"

r'";
:h enable staff to
nould the project, to implement an independent payroll system at the Brightmouth College described
a;hines. A stock i

process control,
rri systems may
ted u,arehouse.
 1A Stt_ftt.t,are Project Mnnngenrcnt

i "{} Stakeholders
These are peopie ra'ho have a stake or interest in the prcrject. Their early identitication is important a,r r
to sct up adequate communication channels r.vith therl. Stakeholders can be categorized as:
o Intenurl to the projeL'! tectm This mealls that they wiil be undel the direct managerial contrr
prcject ieader^
a E.tterrial to the pruj(t tt:om bri within the sutrc organilrtion For example, the project Ieader rnis - ,r|

the itssistance of the users to carry ollt systems testing. F{ere the commitrnent of the people inr o1 . .
to be negotiatecl.
c Es'ternctl ra botJt tlrc project team cmd the organi:.utiorr External stakeholders rna1, be custon-
users) rvho r.vill benefit tiom the svstem that the project implements. They may be contractors ri i
carry out work for the pro-;ect. The relationship here is usually based on a contract.

BW Boehm ard R Ditlerent types of stakeholder may have dii rent objecrives and one of the j,
the project leader is to recogn-ize these different interests and to be able 1o rec, .
ffi Ross, 'Theory W soft-
ware prgect manage- them. For exarnple. end-users may be concerned with the ease of use of the -,
rnent. principles and
examples'. in B. W.
appiication, while their managers rnay be more focused on siaff savings. The pr , .

it^,.Boenm (ed.) (1989) leader therelbre needs to be a good communicator and negotiator. Boehm and i
Software Risk lvlanage- proposed a 'Theory W' of soltware project management where the ffiirnoger c(rl--:
ment, IEEE Computer
irates on creating situations where all parties benefit from a project and thereibre : -
Society Press.
an interest in its success. (The 'W'stands for 'win-win'.)
I
}e
The role and format
- Pro.icet rt)rrlascr\ ciln \ornetimer mis: un inrirortant :takcholder group. cspeu.-
qql oT communrcatron
j olans will be explained in unfamiliar business contexts. These could be departments supplying impoi--'
in greater detail in serl,ices that are taken for granted.
Chapter 11 on nranag-
ing people rn software Grven the importance of coordinating the eflbrts of stakeholders, the recommen;-
environments. practice is fbr a comnuurit'ttiion plut to be cre'ated at the start of a prqect.

EIEBCIT_'
&
Identify the stakehoiders in the Brightmouth College payroll pro.ject

l . i {} Setting Objectives
Among all ihese stakeholders are those u,ho actrially own the project. They control the financing of tL.
project. They also set the ob.jectjves of the ;;;:oject. The objectives should define what the project teaul Inu>
achieve fbr project success. Although dil}'erent stakeholders have difTerent raotivations, the prcrject objective,
identily the sh:red intentions fbr the project.
Objectir,'es iocus on thc desired outcoines of the project rather than the tasks within it - the1, are the 'post-con-
diti,.rts'of the i,"roject. Infbrrniilly the ol;.icciivrs could be rvritten as.r set of statements following the clpenin5
.,r,crrls '/lre'prcjectirili be usuc'tes.s' i/. . . .'Thus one statement in a set of objectives might be '(ilstonters.at
ortler utr protlut'ts online'rather tlian 'to ituilti {m e-comrlet'ce w,el:tsi.te.' . There is ofien rnore than one u,,a.,r tc
rreet ;in objective and the more possible routes to success the berter.
 [ntrocluctian to Sortware Project Management L1

:r ler erill stakeholders, including users in dill'erent business areas, who might have some claim to
D: is vou i3C , -:-.hip. In such a case, a project ctuthority needs to be explicitly identified with overall authority
' :- L

L-!lntrt-)l This committee is likely

to contain user, devel-
opment and manage-
meni representatives.

i]:StOmerl ctiYes and gaals

a:itr! \\'hLa ;"][
.'- ; ,:,bjective ibr an individuai must be something that is within the control
rf
Defining sub-objectives
:i . -iual. An objective might be that the sollware appiication produced must requires assumptions
t- the jol. .r ' '-:,: bv reducing stafr costs. As an or,erall business objective this might be about how the main
objective is to be
Ie to recc,n;,* .-.- . For software developers it wouid be unreasonable as any reduction in
achieved.
se of the rs *:: . , siafi costs depends not just on them but on the operational management
is. The ProljJ lr -;:. ::red system. A more appropriate goti or sub-objective for the software
eitm and Rt"'- x ould be to keep development costs within a certain budget
fiiigef COnC-l-
therelbre h:',:
4[rr: *: ,.:rin order to achieve the objective we must achieve certain goals or sub-objectives first. These
rh&t
lffi ;ci-: rn the way to achieving an objective, just as goals scored in a footbail match are steps towards the
rdffrlmr-t : of winning the match. Informally this can be expressed as a set of statements following the words
Hrp. especis"l - . - ', objective. . ., the following must be in place. . .' ,

importa=
'ing T-,ru r-ernonic SMART is sometimes used to describe well-defined objectives:
t ::ecific Effective objectives are concrete and well defined. Vague aspirations This still leaves a prob-
r3!-Ommenda;
:ich as 'to improve customer relatiotts'are unsatisfactory" Objectives should be lem about the level at
f-t which the target should
:enned so that it is obvious to all whether the project has been successful.

+-
be set, e.g. why, say, a
t Ideally there should be measures of effectiveness which tell us how
,\f ectsurable sOV reduction in com-
;uccessful the project has been. For example, 'to reJttce customer cctmplttints' plaints and not 40% or
6A%?
,i ould be more satisfactory as an objective than '/o improve customer relatiorts' .
The measure calt, in some cases, be an answer to simple yes/uo qttestion. e.g.
'Did we install the new saftware by I June?'
a Tchievable It must be within the power of the individual or group to achieve the objective.
a Relevant 'Ihe objective must be relevant to the true pulpose of the project.
nancing of the a Time constrained The,re should be a defined point in time by which the objective should have been
riect team must achieved.
oiect objectives
EXERCISE
e rhe 'post-con-
iag the opening Bearing in mind the above discussion of objectives, comment on the appropriateness of the wording of
'ittstomers can each of the following 'objectives' for softrvare developers:
than one way to (i) to irnplement the new appXication on time and within budget;
lii) to impiement the new sottware applicatioa with the fewest possible software errors that might iead
opcratiunai f;ll
lo luresr
L2 Sofizoare Project Management

fuot,^:-; rtt
(iii) to design a system that is user-friendly; i&,ic lle ;s
i
(iv) to produce full documentation for the new system' n mS ;=.e i
a :f rS
Measures of effectiveness a
checking that an objectire
Measures of effectiveness provide practical methods of I _:ru
Thgse eoilcepts ar .Mean timetetween failures' (mtbf) might, for example, be used to
explained more fully has been met. I -- -.i:"
measure reliability. This is a performance measurement
and, as such, can only be
in.Chapter 13 qn,FEft'
ware quallty. taken once the system is operational. Project managers want to get some idea of the * l'r-:-'3i[ n
performanceofthecompletedsystemasitisbeingconstructed.Theywilltherefore :T{ErJ-ler g
found during code inspections might indicate .Ee; :or on
seekpredictive measures. For example, a large n rmber of e.rors
potential problems with reliability later. mr- :lutr'i'
}e =r'e:*
EXERCISE r:lue
:De ol
Sr-,i c-OnSil
payroll project' Whatmeasures
Identify the objectives and sub-objectives of the Brightmouth College ul1e--t deii
I
I

the objectives of the project?

of effectiveness could be used to check the success in achieving lt-e.-t olrj
I

,m n Cha,
u--,juct tre
B.}"*. The Business Case F,*ated i
Most projects need to have a justification or business case: the
effort and expense ol
of the benefiL'
n-
-0ject i
pushing ihe pro;ect through must be seen to be worthwhile in terms
The busiriess case.
should be,established project's ur*- and or
at the tirne of ihe Prol- tfrut *ilt be feil. A cost-benefit analysis will often be part of the s;enditur
"r"rtoutty and benefits' The
ecf s feasibility study. feasibility study. This will itemize and quantify the project's costs
Chapter 2'explains project is completed-
theideaofa busineEs benefits will be affected by the completion date: the sooner the S:ee argu
U" expeiienced. The quantification of benefits will often re',r' of pa
casein'rTrore detail;' the sooner the benefits
"u, the new applicatioa u-site in
require the formulation of a busiiess model which explains how
can generate the claimed benefits.
rr:tonpin
might allow customers from ail le;ause th
A simple example of a business model is that a new web-based application
sales and thus increasing revenue and r 3a)'not
over the world to order a firm's products via the internet, increasing
-'.profits. ::-,n the t
::sts on rl
Anyprojectplanmustensurethatthebusinesscaseiskeptintact.Forexample: r deplor'
exceed the value of
o that development costs are not allowed to rise to a level which threatens to :;aied by
benefits; rteiopmt
o that the f-eatures of the system a.re not reduced to a level where the expected benefits cannot be
-nefits ol
rcalized:'
:i technici
loss ofbenefits'
o that the delivery date is not delayed so that there is an unacceptable -'Jstomer
-q done s

3.}.X Project Success and Failure =quireme

: is to ret
by preserving the business case for the project'
The project plan should be designed to ensure project success
what stage do we say that a project is actually
However, every non-trivial project will have pioUi"-t, and at
interests, some stakeholders in a project might see it
a failure? Because different stakeholders have different
as a success while others do not.
 Introduction to Sortzoare Project Management 13

1* ::ll. speaking, we can distinguish between project objectives and business objec' A good introduction to
: The project objectives are the targets that the project team is expected to achieve. the issues discussed
tr :. ,-ase of software projects, they can usually be summarized as delivering: here can be found in
A. J. Shenhar and O.
r -he agreed functionality Levy {1997)'Mapping
the.dimensions of prol-
r :o the required level ofquality ect success' Projecf
that an obiective
r on time Management Joamal
ample, be used to 28(21 9*12.
such. can onlY be r ,,rithin budget.

I some idea of the , ---,iect could meet these targets but.the application, once delivered could fail to meet the business case. A
he-v will therefore .:uter game could be delivered on time and within budget, but might then not sell. A commercial website
r.ns might indicate * i: ior online sales could be created successfully, but customers might not use it to buy products, because
:c' --ould buy the goods more cheaply elsewhere.
r.$-^ L:'3r'e seen that in business terms it can generally be said that a project is a success if
:: rlue of benefits exceeds the costs. We have also seen that while project managers
. .
The assessment of
the value of project
i : considerable control over development costs, the value of the benefits of the benefits is explored
\\hat measures
r*. -..-t deliverables is dependent on external factors such as the number of customers.
in greater depth in
Chapter 2.
roject? L';ct objectives still have some bearing on eventual business success. As we will
*r u Chapter 2, increasing development costs reduce the chances of the delivered
T. iuct being profltable. A delay in completion reduces the amount of time during which beneflts can be
::--rrated and diminishes the value of the project.
[ort and exPense of
- ::oject can be a success on delivery but then be a business failure, On the other hand, a project could be
rms of the benefits
-: and over budget, but its deliverables could still, over time, generate beneflts that outweigh the initial
:art of the Project's
:':enditure.
:< and benefits. The
rc'ject is completed. i".:re argue that the possible gap between project and business concerns can be reduced by having a broader
r t'enefits will often .; of projects that includes business issues. For example, the project management of an e-commerce
the new aPPlication ', ::site implementation could plan activities such as market surveys, competitor analysis, focus groups,

r,:oryping, and evaluation by typical potential users - all designed to reduce business risks.
customers from all j,:;ause the focus of project management is, not unnaturally, on the immediate project,
i-easing revenue and ' :lv not be seen that the project is actually one of a sequence. Later projects beneflt For a wider discussion
of the refationships be-
-.r the technical skills learnt on earlier projects. Technical learning will increase tween successive proj-
-,.ii on the earlier projects, but later projects benefit as the learnt technologies can ects, see M. Engwall
(2003) 'No proiect is an
:t Jeployed mb6e quickly, cheaply and accurately. This expertise is often accom- island: linking projects
:s"-eed the value of :,-:jed by additidnal software assets, for example reusable code. Where software to history and context'
is outsourced, there may be immediate savings, but these longer-term Research Policy 32
=',:lopment 789-808.
I tenefits cannot be :t-efits of increased expertise will be lost. Astute managers may assess which areas
'- :tchnical expertise it would be beneflcial to develop.
Li.
- .srorner relationships can also be built up over a number of projects. If a client has trust in a supplier who
:1. done satisfactory work in the past, they are more likely to use that company again, particularly if the new
-:;uirement builds on functionality already delivered. It is much more expensive to acquire new clients than
: -s to retain existing ones.
: ;ase for the Project'
r a project is actuallY
a project might see it
 L4 Softzaare Project Management

g.$.3 What is Management?

We have explored some of the special characteristics of software. We now look at the 'management
software project management. It has been suggested that management invoives the following activities
o planning - deciding what is to be done;
r organizing - making affangements;
o staffing - selecting the right people for the job etc.;
o directing - giving instructions; 1-{
o monitoring - checking on progress;
plar
o controlling - taking action to remedy hold-ups;
n
o innovating - corning up with new solutions; a ve4
o representing - liaising.with clients, usersn developer, suppliers and other stakeholders.

EXERCISE
I

Paul Duggan is the manager of a software development section. On Tuesday at 10.00 a.m. he and hfo refer
I fellow section heads have a meeting with their group manager about the staffing requirements for a Estin
the coming year. Paul has already drafted a document 'bidding'for staff. This is based on the wo* a Cost
planned for his section for the next year. The document is discussed at the meeting. At 2.00 p.m. PauI
a Dura
has a meeting with his senior staff about an important project his section is undertaking. One of the
programming staff has just had a road accident and will be in hospital for some time. It is decided that a Effor
the project can be kept on schedule by transferring another team member from less urgent lyqd( tq rhir effecti
project. A temporary replacement is to be brought in to do the less urgent work but this may take a week the accu
or so to affange. Paul has to phone both the human resouries manager about getting a replacement and
the user for whom the less urgent work is being done, explaining why it is likely to be delayed.
o Scha
are ll
Identify which of the eighl management responsibilities listed above Paul was responding to at different
points during his day.
o Stafi
o Risk
Much of the project manager's time is $pent on only three of the eight identified activities, viz.,
o Misc
ratiq
planning, monitoring, and control. The time period during which these activities are carried out is indic
in Fig. 1.4. It shows that project management is carried out over three well-defined stages or tm(
irrespective of the methodology used. In the project initiation stage. an initial plan is made. As the proj of Fr
starts, the project is monitored and controlled to proceed as planned. However, the initial plan is revi I
periodically to accommodate additional details and constraints about the project as they become avail 1t neo:
Finally, the project is closed. In the project closing stage, all activities are logically completed and all contracts rd.
are formally closed.
At the sE
Initial project planning is undertaken immediately after the feasibility study phase and before starting the projecr A
requirements analysis and specification process. Figure 1.4 shows this project initiation period. Initial project gradual$ i
planning involves estimating several characteristics of a project. Based on these estimates, all subsequent risks grtr
project activities are planned. The initial projectllans are revised periodically as the project progresses and newurfu
more project data becomes available. Once the proJeqlexecution stafis, monitoring and control activities are managEr E
taken up to ensure that the project execution proceeds as planned. The monitoring activity involves monitoring showstr
the progress of the project. Controi activities are initiated to minimize any significant variation in the plan.
 Introductiott to Soffzoare Project Management 1-5

Proiect Monitoring and Control

Pro.iect Plan Revision

-<-?rcject lnitiation

;* ;* -:" 3;r project management processes

:li.iirrlli -: :n tmportfilt responsibility of the project manager. During project planning, the project
rr=rj. :. :t-lofin a few well-deflned activities that have been outlined below. Note that we have
,r- .- r: :;>cription of these activities in this chapter. We will discuss these activities in more detail
:-i.;ers. Several best pra_ctices have been proposed for software project planning activities.
r ; ; ill discuss Step Wise, which is based on the popular PRINCE2 (PRojects IN Controlled
E(& ,. r:r-ihod. While PRINCE2 is used extensively in the UK and Europe, similar software project
:r.-.Iractices have been put forward in the USA by the Project Management Institute's 'PMBOK'
L:l]. he and :-
:: 'ireir publication 'A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge.'
q::irement. ::,: r i . -*.:.,-.,; The following project attributes are estimated'
:J on the *',::, ,l - 1--'"r. much is it going to cost to complete the project?
Lr_rl) p.m. Pc:
. --', --:. ii1 Hor.v long is it going to take to complete the project?
n;. One of ri;
i. ,jecided th": t - - - Ho*' much effort would be necessary for completing the project?
::: * ork to tli,. ;:,- j.-t-,,inesS of all activities such as scheduling and staffing, which are pianned at a later stage, depends
l.i take a rveer, : :--irocv with which the above three project parameters have been estimated.
::1:.-ement an:
s:.:i:triulingBasedonestimationsofeffortandduration,thescheduiesformanpowerandotherresources
iellrr ed.
-:: Jeveloped.
ri trr at differeEl
r i:;ffng Staff organization and staffing plans are made.
r i,sl. Management This activity includes risk identification, analysis, and abatement planning.
t lliscellaneous Plans This includes making several other plans such as quaiity assurance plan, conflgu-
,::13s. v12., prole--
iation management plan, etc.
t; out is indicat;;
;1-:-! Or pIOCeSSe:- r*-':;r monitoring and control activities are undertaken after the initiation of development activities- The
aC:. As the proje; -
,l-i project
.-rf monitoring and control activities is to ensure that the software development proceeds as
[,] plan is revisE; : ,:;ed. While carrying out project monitoring and control activities, a project manager may sornetimes
i:ecome available i:j it necessary to change the plan to cope with specific situations and make the plan more accurate as more
*: ind all coiltrac-r: :r,,iect data becomes available.
r-i rhe stafi of a project, the project manager does not have complete knowledge about the details of the
belore stzrting th; :-oject. As the project progfesses through different development phases, the manager's information base
rnod. Initial projecl ;adually improves. The complexities of different project activities become clear, some of the anticipated
ri.!. all subsequeni :rsks get resolved, and new risks appear. The project parameters are re-estimated periodically incorporating
icct progresses and rew understanding and change in project parameters. By taking these developments into account, the project
onrol activities are manager can plan subsequent activities more accurately with increasing ievels of confidence. Figure 1.4
n'. olves monitoring shows this aspect as iterations between monitoring and control, and the plan revision activities.
i::ion in the plan.
16 Software Project Management

E.&4 Management Control

Management, in general, involves setting objectives for a system and then monitoring the performance of
the system. In Figure 1.5 the 'real world' is shown as being rather formless. Especially in the case of large
undertakings, there will be a lot going on about which management should be aware.

EXERCISE

An ICT project is to replace locally held paper-based records with a centrally organized database. Staff
in a large number of offlces that are geographically dispersed need training and will then have to use
the new ICT system to set up the backlog ofmanual records on the new database. The system cannot be
properly operatiorial until the last reeord has been transferred. The new system will only be successful
if new transactions can be processed within certain time cycles.
Identify the data that you would collect to ensure that during execution of the project things were going

This will involve the local managers in data collection. Bare details, such as 'location X has processed 2000
documents', will not tre very useful to higher management: data processing willbe needed to transform this
raw data into useful information. This might be in such forms as 'percentage of records processed', 'average
documents processed per day per person' and 'estimated completion date'.

FIGURE 1.5 The project control cycle

 Introductian to Sojtroare Project Management 17

Irr ourexarnple, the project management might exarnine the :estimated completion date' for completing
data transfer for each branch. These can be checked against the overall target date for cornpletion of this
brmance of phase of the project. In effect they are comparing actual performance with one aspect of the overall project
of large
iase objectives. They might find that one or two branches will fail to complete {he transfer of details in time.
They would then need to consider what to do (this is represented in Figure 1,5 by the box Making rleeisions/
plans). One possibility would be to move staff temporariiy from one branch to another. If this is done, there

!e_--
il
is always the danger that while the completion date. for the one branch is pulled back to before the overall
target date, the date for the branch from which staff are being rnoved is pushed forward beyond that date. The
Staff
Fse. project manager would need to calcuiate carefuliy wtiat the impact would be in moving staff from particular
Pe
use
to
I

I
branches. This is modelling the consequdnces of a potential solution. Several different proposals could be
Fnnotbe I modelled in this way before one was choscn for implementation.
hccessful
ll
I

Having implemented the decision, the situation needs to be kept under review by collecting and processing
further progress details. For instance, the next time that progress is reported, a branch to which staffhave been
p*soine transferred co*ld still tre behind in transferring details. This might be because the reason why the branch has
t

;
I
---' got behind in trarisferring detaiis is because the manual reco'rds are incomplete and another department, for
I whom the project.has'a low pricrity, has to be involved in providing the missing information. In this case,
pssed 2000 transferring extra staffto do data inputting wili not have accelerated data traasfer.
pnsform this
It can be seen that a project plan is dynamic and will need constant adjustment during the execution oF the
project. Courses and books on ploject management (such as this one) often focus considerable attenfion
f','averaSe
on project planning. While this is to be expected, with nearly all projects much more time is spent actually
i
doing the project rather than planning it. A good plan provides a foundation for a good project, but is nothing
without intelligenr execution. The original plan will not be set in stone but wiil be modified to take account
of changirrg circumstances.

l.AS Traditional versus Modern Proiect Management Practices

Over the last two decades, the basic approach taken by the software industry to develop software has undergone
a radical change" Hardly any software is being developed from scratch any more. Software development
projects are increasingly being based on either tailoring some existing product or reusing certain pre-built
libraries. In either case, two important goals of recent life cycle models are maximization of code reuse and
compression of project durations. Other goals include facilitating and accommodating client feedbacks and
customer participation in project delelopment work, and increrrental delivery of the producl with evolving
functionalities. Change requests from custorners are eocouraged, rather than circumvented. Clients on the
other hand, are demanding further.reductions rn product deiivery times ancl costs. These recent developments
have changed project managemenlpractices in many significant ways. In rhe foitrowing section, we will discuss
some important differences between modern project management practices and trad.itional practices.
o Planning Incremental Delivery Few decades ago, projects rvere much sinpler and therefole rnore
predictable than the present day projects. In those days, projects \vere planned with sufflcient detail,
much before the actual project execution started. Afier the project initiation, monitoring a,qd control
activities were carried out io ensure that the project execution proceeded as per plan. Now. projects
are required to be completed over a much shorter duration, and rapid application development and
depioyment are considered ke,v strategies. The traditional long-term planning has given way to adaptive
short-term plaruring. Instead of making a long-term project completion plan, the project manager now
pians ali incrementai deliveries with evolving fuactionaiities. This ty'pe of project mairagement is
18 Saftware Project Management

often called extreme project management. Extreme project management is a highly flexible approach
to project management that concentrates oft the human side of project management (e.g., managing ANNEX 1 CONTI
project stakeholders), rather than formal and complex planning and monitoring techniques.
o Quality Managemcnt Of late, customer awareness about product quality has increased significantly. o Introduction
Tasks associated with quality management have become an important responsibility of the project o Background: inch
manager. The key responsibilities of a project manager now include assessment of project progress and o Project objectives
, tracking the quality of all intermediate artifacts. We will discuss quality management issues in Chapter
o Constraintg - tttese
t3.
o Change Management Earlier, when the rdQuiremenls were signed off by the customer, aay changes
o Methods
to the requirements were rarely entertained. Customer suggestions are now actively being solicited . Projectproducts:h
and incorporated throughout the development process. To facilitate customer feedback, incremental mediate producB
delivery models are popularly being used. Product development is being carried out through a series of o Activities to be ca
product versions implementing increasingly greater functionalities. Also customer feedback is solicited
o Resources to be ust
on each version for incorporation. This has made it necessaryfor anorganization to keep track ofthe
various versions and revisions through which the product develops. Another reason for the increased
r Risks to the project
importance of keeping track of the versions and revisions is the following. Application development o Managementoffu
t}rough customization has become a popular business model, Therefore, existence of a large number of I organizatiom
versions of a product and the need to support these by a development organization has become commen. r managemetrt(
In this context, the project manager plays a key role in product base lining and version control. This has
made change management a crucial responsibility of the project manager. Change management is also
r conflguratim
known as configuration management. We will discuss change management in Chapter 9.

EXERCISE

Assume that the development of the pay roll package of Brightmouth College has been entrusted to an
l. List the problems y
these problems inar
organization who would dgvelop it by customizing one of its products. Discuss the main stages through
in which the protilo
which the organization could carry out project development?
2. Identify the main ty1
of a typical IS devd
CONCLUSION 3. Apubliclibraryiso
loans at libraries. trd
This chapter has laid a foundation for the remainder of the book by defining what is meant by various terms project and how mt
such as 'software project' and 'management'. Among some of the more important points that have been made 4. A software house ha
are the following: of the software hm
o Projects are by definition non-routine and therefore more uncertain than normal undertakings. At present, a userh
o Software projects are similar to other projects but have some attributes that present particular diffl- forthe project whi*
culties, e.g. the relative invisibility of many of their products. been completed wh
are the following:
o A key factor in project success is having clear objectives. Different stakeholders in a project, however, are
likely to have different objectives. This points to the need for a recognized overall project authority. o trainiag maEi
o For objectives to be effective there must be practical ways of testing that the objectives have been o a timetable ufl
met. o date(s) for fte
o Where projects involve many different people, effective channels of information have to be established. o the people attc
Having objective measures of success helps unambiguous communication between the various parties . rooms and cm
to a project.
 Introduction to Sofiware Project Managetnent 19

ANNEX 1 CONTENTS LIST FOR A PROJECT PLAN

a Introduction
v.
project o Background: including reference to the business case
and a Project objectives
ChaPtor a Constraints these could be includqf with project objectives
-
a Methods
changes
a Project products: both deliverable products that the client will receive and inter-
solicited
mediate products

series of o Activities to be carried out

solicited o Resources to be used
k of the o Risks to the project
increased
o Management of the project, including

number of
r organizational responsibilities
coflrmon. r management of quality
This has r configurationmanagement
is also

FURTHER EXERCTSES ffi

1. List the problems you experienced when you carried out a recent ICT-related assignment. Try to put
these problems into some order of magnitude. For each problem consider whether there was sorne way
in which the problem could have been reduced by better organization and planning by yourself.
2. Identify the main types of personnel employed in an information systems department. For each stage
of a typical IS development project, list the fypes of personnel who are likely to be involyed.
3. A public library is considering the implementation of a computer-based system to help administer book
loans at libraries. Identify the stakeholders in such a project. What might be the objectives of such a
project and how might the success of the project be measured in practical terms?
4. A software house has developed a custornized order processing system for a client. You are an employee
of the software house that has been asked to orgarize a training course for the end-users of the system.
At present, a user handbook has been produced, but no specific training rnaterial. A plan is now needed
for the project which will set up the delivery of the training courses. The project can be assumed to have
been completed when the first training course starts. Among the things that will need to be considered
are the following:
however, are o training materials will need to be designed and created;
authority.
e a timetable will need to be drafted and agreed;
have been
o date(s) for the course will need to be arranged;
o the people attending the course will need to be identified and notified;

ious parues . rooms and computer facilities for the course will need to be provided.
20 Sortu:are Project Manngeuen!

A Identify the main stakeholders for this project.

B Draw up objectives for this project.
C For the objectives, identify the measures of effectiveness.
D For each objective, rvrite down sub-objectives or goals and the stakeholders who will be respon-
sible for their achievement.

-5. A manager is in charge of a sub-project of a larger project. The sub-project require"r ihe transfer of paper
documents into a computer-based document retrieval system and their subsequent indexing so that the,r'
can be accessed via key-words. Optical character readers are to be used tbr the initial transfer but the
text then needs to be clericaliy checked and corrected by stafT. The project is cur:rentiy scheciuled to
take 12 months using permanent staff. A smal1 budget is available to hire temporary staff in the case ol
staff absences through hoiidays, sickness or temporary iransfer to other, more urgent, joi:s. Discuss the
control system that will need to he in place to controi that sub-project.
T'he idea behind a project is that students should be able to access details of available placements via
an intranet. When there is a placernent opportunity for r,,,rhich they wish to be considered, they would
be abie to apply lbr it electronically. This would cause a copy of their CY which would also be held
online, to be sent to the potentiai employer.
Detaiis of interviews ancl placement cffers would all be sent by e-maii. $,/hile some human interventiorr
would be needed, the process would be automated as far as possibie.
You are required to produce a business case repolt for such an application, rvhichjustifies the potential
deveiopment by showing that the value of its potential benefits outweighs its development and opera-
tional ccsts.
Create lists of the main benefits and costs for the project. You do not have to specify actuai fi-eures, just
the headings under which they wouid appear.
Distinguish between software product development and outsourced projects. Ex-plain the key wa_vs in
which managing an outsourcing project differs frorn a product development project.
6. Identify the impofiant characteristics of software development projects which make these harder to
manage compared to oiher types of projects. Say for example, a building construction project.
9. What is the difference betw'een a method and a methodology? What are the essential items that must be .?
p1annedbetorecarryingoutamethodormethodoiogy?
10. Identify' the main differences between managing the development of a c-onventional pro-lect and an Thi
outsourced project. ne'
1t Iilentify the key aspects in which moderu software pro.iect management practices difi'er tiom those oi org
traditionai software project mana-qement.
As
12. Expiain the raajor activities carried out by a softr,r'are projecl manager and the order in which these are exc
carried out. nol
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