Software Project Management

Lecture 1

Aamir Anwar
Lecturer Computer Science
SZABIST, Islamabad
 Books and Helping Materials
Text Book:
Software Project Management, Bob Hughes and Mike Cotterell,
McGraw-Hill Education; 5th Edition (2009).

Reference Books:
 A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge, 5th Edition

(PMBOK Guides).
 Mastering Software Project Management: Best Practices, Tools and

Techniques, Murali K. Chemuturi and Thomas M. Cagley Jr., J.

Ross Publishing, 2010.
 Effective Project Management: Traditional, Agile, Extreme, Robert

K. Wysocki, Wiley; 6th Edition, 2011.

 A Compact Guide to Lex&Yacc, Thomas Niemann

Intro. to Project Management Copyright 2014

 Course Outline
1. Introduction to Software Project
Management, Project
Management concepts, Project
Management Tools
2. PMI‘s Knowledge areas, PMI
Framework
3. PMI Process Groups
4. Understanding Organizational
influence on Project
Management
5. Project Planning
6. Project Evaluation
7. Selection of an appropriate
approach in Project
Intro. to Project Management
8. Software Effort Estimation,
Activity Planning
9. Risk Management, Evaluating
the Risks to the Schedule,
Risk Control
10. Configuration Management
and Maintenance,
Environment for Configuration
Control.
11. Resource Allocation
12. Monitoring & Control
13. Review and Evaluation
14. Challenges of Outsourcing in
Project Management
Copyright 2014
 What Is a Project?

 A Project is “a temporary endeavor undertaken to

create a unique product, service, or result”
(PMBOK® Guide, Fifth Edition, 2012)
 Operations is work done to sustain the business
 Projects end when their objectives have been reached
or the project has been terminated
 Projects can be large or small and take a short or long
time to complete

Intro. to Project Management Copyright 2014

 Examples of IT Projects
 A team of students creates a smartphone application and
sells it online
 A company develops a driverless car
 A small software development team adds a new feature
to an internal software application for the finance
department
 A college upgrades its technology infrastructure to
provide wireless Internet access across the whole
campus

Intro. to Project Management Copyright 2014

 What is a project?
Question: Which of these are projects?

1. A project team is responsible for replacing PCs over 4 years old

with the latest hardware and software. When these become 4
years old, they too will also be replaced

2. A team is working to produce analysis and design documentation

to SSADM (Structured systems analysis and design method
standards for an application that is required desperately.

3. You are asked to examine the processes of a warehouse, and

implement a more streamlined approach that is cheaper to run
and provides a better service

4. You are expected to improve programming standards this year

6
Copyright 2014
 Project Management Skills
 Leadership
 Communications
 Problem Solving
 Negotiating
 Influencing the Organization
 Mentoring
 Process and technical expertise

7
Copyright 2014
 Project Manager Positions
 Project Administrator / Coordinator
 Assistant Project Manager
 Project Manager / Program Manager
 Executive Program Manager
 V.P. Program Development

8
Copyright 2014
 Software Project Management

Management

Project
Management

Software
Project
Management

9
Copyright 2014
Advantages of Using Formal
Project Management
 Better control of financial, physical, and human
resources.
 Improved customer relations.
 Shorter development times.
 Lower costs.
 Higher quality and increased reliability.
 Higher profit margins.
 Improved productivity.
 Better internal coordination.
 Higher worker morale (less stress).

10
Copyright 2014
 Project vs. Program Management

 What’s a ‘program’?
 Mostly differences of scale
 Often a number of related projects
 Longer than projects
 Definitions vary
 Ex: Program Manager for MS Word

11
Copyright 2014
12
Copyright 2014
 Project Attributes
 A project
◦ has a unique purpose
◦ is temporary
◦ is developed using progressive elaboration
◦ requires resources, often from various areas
◦ should have a primary customer or sponsor

• The Project Sponsor usually provides the direction

and funding for the project

Intro. to Project Management Copyright 2014

 Figure 1-1 The Triple Constraint of
Project Management

Intro. to Project Management Copyright 2014

 What is Project Management?
 Project Management is “the application of knowledge,
skills, tools and techniques to project activities to meet
project requirements” (PMBOK® Guide, Fourth Edition,
2012)

 Project managers strive to meet the triple constraint

(project scope, time, and cost goals) and also facilitate
the entire process to meet the needs and expectations
of project stakeholders

Intro. to Project Management Copyright 2014

 Figure 1-2 Project Management
Framework

Intro. to Project Management Copyright 2014

 Project Stakeholders
 Stakeholders are the people involved in or affected by
project activities
 Stakeholders include
◦ the project sponsor
◦ the project manager
◦ the project team
◦ support staff
◦ customers
◦ users
◦ suppliers
◦ opponents to the project

Intro. to Project Management Copyright 2014

 10 Project Management Knowledge
Areas
 Knowledge Areas: describe the key competencies that
project managers must develop

 Project managers must have knowledge and skills in all 10

knowledge areas (project integration, scope, time, cost,
quality, human resource, communications, risk,
procurement, and stakeholder management)

Intro. to Project Management Copyright 2014

 Program and Project Portfolio
Management
 A program is “a group of related projects managed in a
coordinated way to obtain benefits and control not
available from managing them individually” (PMBOK®
Guide, Fifth Edition, 2012)
 A program manager provides leadership and direction
for the project managers heading the projects within the
program
 Examples of common programs in the IT field include
infrastructure, applications development, and user
support

Intro. to Project Management Copyright 2014

 Project Portfolio Management
 As part of project portfolio management, organizations
group and manage projects and programs as a portfolio
of investments that contribute to the entire enterprise’s
success

 Portfolio managers help their organizations make wise

investment decisions by helping to select and analyze
projects from a strategic perspective

Intro. to Project Management Copyright 2014

 The Role of the Project Manager
 Job descriptions vary, but most include responsibilities
like planning, scheduling, coordinating, and working with
people to achieve project goals
 Remember that 97% of successful projects were led by
experienced project managers, who can often help
influence success factors

Intro. to Project Management Copyright 2014

22
Copyright 2014
PM Tools: Software
 Low-end
◦ Basic features, tasks management, charting
◦ MS Excel, Milestones Simplicity
 Mid-market
◦ Handle larger projects, multiple projects, analysis tools
◦ MS Project (approx. 50% of market)
 High-end
◦ Very large projects, specialized needs, enterprise
◦ AMS Realtime (Demo: http://www.amsrealtime.com/products/demos/70%20New%20Demo%20with%20audio.htm )
◦ Primavera Project Manager
◦ Various PM Software
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_project_management_software

23
Copyright 2014
 Program (or Project) Evaluation and Review Technique

• PERT chart for a project with five milestones (10 through 50) and six activities (A
through F). The project has two critical paths: activities B and C, or A, D, and F –
giving a minimum project time of 7 months with fast tracking. Activity E is sub-
critical, and has a float of 1 month

24
Copyright 2014
 Tools: Network Diagram

network diagram for the “Build Shed” project

• The above network diagram shows the relationships

(arrows) between the main activities (rectangles) that
are required to build a shed.

25
Copyright 2014