multimedia project management jon ivins, dmu. this lecture will cover: n time management u gantt...
Post on 21-Dec-2015
214 Views
Preview:
TRANSCRIPT
This lecture will cover:
Time management Gantt Charts Critical path analysis
Managerial issues Leadership Motivation Teams
Multimedia Design Process
Covered in detail in Lecture 3 Very complex process Requires:
Scoping the project Defining the content Defining the structure Selecting the media Producing the application Testing at all stages Implementation Maintenance
Multimedia Design Process
To produce a good product we must MANAGE the process
This involves: Scheduling
Allows budgeting /costing
Gives deadline and delivery dates
Managing staff Selection Motivating Monitoring
Gantt Charts
Simple timeline plan Good for showing
sequences /overviews Very hard to show
relationships between activities
Activity
Time
Multimedia projects tend to be: Complex many staged large budgets team centred many workers
One solution is Critical Path Analysis Shows sequences relations between tasks
CRITICAL PATH ANALYSIS
CPA CONVENTIONSACTIVITIES
•Shown by arrow or line
EVENTS•Shown as a circle
Activities take time Events are points in time
Activity A Activity B
Start A Stop A - Start B Stop B
0 1 2
C. P. A. EX 1
Draw the network for the following:
ACTIVITY PREDECESSOR
A -
B -
C A
D B
E D
F C,E
G F
Sometimes two, or more, activities can take place at the same time C E A Stop A Stop B Stop C Stop E D Stop D B Start EStart A Start B Stop B Start DIt is usual to provide information on the time for an activity and the number of people A
h = 8 p = 3
h = Number of hoursp = Number of people
1 3 4
0
2
0 1
DUMMY ACTIVITIES
•Represented by dotted lines•Take zero time•Used to:
(1) Prevent activities having the same start and stop point (2) Make the chart easier to read
A B E
C
F D
In this case the dummy emphasises that both B & Dmust finish before F can start.
0 1 4
2 3
CALCULATING PROJECT TIMES
Earliest start date (ESD)
ESD
Event Number
To calculate the ESD B A d=2 d=1
C d=5 D d=2ESD is the minimum project duration
12
00
1
1
3
2
53
74
•Latest finish date (LFD) - Latest time any activitycan finish if project is to be finished as early as possible.
LFD
Event Number
LFD is calculated by working backwards
L D=5FLOAT
•Difference between time that is available andtime required for path
2
3
2510
3011
TIME AVAILABLE = LFD - ESDTIME REQUIRED = d
FLOAT = LFD - ESD - d===================
CRITICAL PATH
•Longest path in network•Float is usually zero
SUMMARY
(1) Calculate ESD by going forwards(2) Calculate LFD by going backwards(3) Calculate floats on path(4) Identify critical path
CPA EX 3 (To be completed in own time)
Draw the CPA chart for:
ACTIVITY PREDECESSOR DURATION (DAYS)
A - 1B A 2C A 1D A 1E A 3F B 2G D 2H E 5J F 1K C,F,G 1L H 1M J 2
EX 3 cont......
(1) Identify the completion date
DAY 10
(2) Identify the critical path
A E H L
(3) Calculate the float on the other paths
PATH FLOAT (DAYS)
BFJM 2C 7DG 5K 4
MANAGING EFFECTIVELY
How do you make staff work effectively ?
Coercion ?• Unlikely to gain intelligent co-operation
KEY POINTS ARE:
• Motivation What motivates people ? How to measure ? • Leadership What is it ? Are leaders made or born ?
MOTIVATION :Factors that motivate include:• Work being done• Training/Promotion prospects• Pay• Security• Interest (and many more).
LEADERSHIP
• Linked with motivation - see later in lecture
• Power/Authority may compel but is this leadership ?
• Depends on : Personalities Situation Reacting to the unforeseen
STYLES Authoritative or Democratic
• McGregor’s Theory X and Theory Y identifies a continuum of management
Authoritative Democratic
The “Task Centred” Manager or “Caring” Manager
Scientific Management
Proposed by F. W. Taylor Sometimes called
Taylorism Based on:
Managers split work into small, simple tasks
Easy to train workers Workers are easily
replaceable objects Taylorist management is
typically found in factory environments
Human Resource Management
Proposed by Mayo Came from research at the
Hawthorne Factory Mayo was a Taylorist Found that
Workers were more productive when MGT paid an interest
(Halo Effect) Promotion, responsibility
were given to workers HRM typically found in
high-tech industries
What type of Manager is best?
In the real world: Managers do not fit in to
one extreme Sometimes Taylorist
approach is necessary HRM style of
management seems to be best for: Educated workers Creative workers Technology-oriented
workers
PERSONAL STYLES
Name a leader (Political, Business, Military etc) who you would wish to emulate.
Identify the factors which makes you think madehim/her a good leader.
What strengths/weaknesses would you bring or offeras a leader ?
CONCLUSIONS
There is no “best way” to lead.
Leadership depends on:
• Situation• Inter-Personal Skills• Your Personality/Abilities• Organisational Constraints• Your Staffs’ Personality/Abilities• Goals/Targets
Motivation
All Managers must motivate staff
This implies a good manager must have Empathy A knowledge of
psychology Strong inter-personal
skills
HERZBERG Looked at factors that affect
people at work Found “Hygiene Factors”
working conditions if bad then Morale/Productivity goes down
If OK then Morale/Productivity max
If excellent Morale/Productivity static
Typical Hygiene Factors are Salary, Environment
HUNT
Identifies individual goals in eight categories:
comfort, structure, relationships, recognition/status, power, growth, autonomy & creativity.
Believes goals change during life
HUNT
Theorises that :
(a) Identify peoples’ goals (b) Hence, Predict
Behaviour (c) Create environment to
meet peoples’ goals so (d) People will be motivated
to maximum
MOTIVATION - ANSWERS?
Problem is to know the needs of staff & what makes them tick.
There is no “best way” because people are individuals with different aims/objectives/needs
Theories of motivation offer a guide - not a definitive course.
EXERCISE
Using Hunt’s categories, identify how your goals have changed in the last four years.
Have changes in your goals affected your studies, career plan etc ?
TEAM WORKING Modern industry tends to
produce “high value” goods High value goods are costly to
develop Emphasis is on reducing time
and cost of development Solution is concurrent
engineering a.k.a. multi-disciplinary teams
Most models focus on roles Most successful is Belbin
BELBIN
Simple, short psychological test
Developed over 9 years Gives predictions which
correlate very well with reality
Best for predicting failure team rather than winning team
COMMENTS ON BELBIN
Tried and tested Highest score indicates
main role Next highest indicates
back-up role Team Strengths and
weaknesses are identified
Non optimal teams can compensate
Optimum team has every role filled
TEAMS FOR REAL
Best used for tasks like: Competitive Environment Action Change Not suitable for humdrum
Teams tend to be “short-lived”
Belbin can be used to: Select members of team Select new recruits Identify areas of weakness
Current practice use design-lead, multi-disciplinary
teams
Concepts quickly assessed for practicability
Prototypes can be produced quickly
Modifications stick to design brief philosophy
Product reaches market more rapidly
Development costs reduced
MANAGING A TEAM
Groups take on an identity c/f Soccer teams, family,
politics
Have a set of needs Have a job to do,
survival, coherent, develop ideas, come to conclusions
This means: Focused objectives Finding solutions Selecting a solution All groups agree on solution Members can be replaced as
required In addition these groups have to
justify the use of resources to others as well as the members.
NB: All groups must be united in order to function.
“If we do not hang together we will assuredly hang separately”
WHAT HAPPENS IN A GROUP ?
To meet its needs a group will :
(1) Set standards of behaviour (norms) Jargon (them & us) Preserve group hierarchy Reduce anxiety/give protection
(2) Develop a belief & value system
Encourages “norm” opinions NB : The norm can be unorthodox !
Leads to a culture & “feel” (3) Select a leader
Can be one person, committee or change to suit situation.
Selected by respect replaced by respect being lost.
Very common to have a “main” leader so others may lead by consent of “the boss”
Team Exercises
Consider a sports team, an orchestra and a board of directors
How does the different task in each case modify the group ?
Summary Managing a multimedia project
is difficult Time must be managed Problems must be identified Staff must be managed Staff must be motivated
Then we can worry about the application itself! This includes:
Scoping, contracts, content, platform, media, interface design, copyright, testing, archiving, market research
top related