chapter 3 managing the information systems project 3.1

Chapter 3

Managing the Information Systems Project

3.13.1

Learning Objectives

Explain the process of managing an information systems project

Discuss skills required to be an effective project manager

Describe different phases of a project during project initiation, planning, execution and closedown

Explain Gantt and PERT charts Review commercial project management

software packages

3.23.2

Managing the Information Systems Project Project

Planned undertaking of related activities to reach an objective that has a beginning and an end

Managing Projects is an important aspect of the development of IS and a critical skill for a systems analyst.

Focus of project management To ensure that information system projects meet

customer expectations (requirements) Delivered within budget and time constraints

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Project Manager (PM) is responsible for all aspects of a system development.

PM experiences an environment of continual change and problem solving.

Senior or Junior Systems Analyst can play PM’s role.

In order to implement successful projects, a PM is required to manage Resources and Tasks needed to complete the IS projects.

Managing the Information Systems Project

3.43.4

Managing the Information Systems ProjectProject Manager is a Systems Analyst

with a diverse skillsManagementLeadershipTechnicalProblem solving (Analytical )Conflict managementCustomer RelationsTeam managementRisk and Change Management

Managing the Information Systems ProjectSystems development projects are

undertaken for three reasonsTo take advantage of business

opportunities by providing an innovative service to the customer

To solve business problems, by modifying the existing system so that more accurate or timely information is provided to the users.

To follow a directive from the management or Government or a potential customer.

Project Management Process

Systems Analyst is responsible for the project management which involves four phases:Initiating the ProjectPlanning the ProjectExecuting the ProjectClosing down the Project

Initiating the Project

During project initiation, the Project Manager perform several activities that assess the size, scope and complexity of the project and establishes procedures that support subsequent activities.

Establish project initiation team Establish relationship with customer Establish project initiation plan Establish management procedures Establish project management environment and

workbook

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Establish the project initiation team: It 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 between customer and the developing team builds stronger partnership and higher level of trust.


Establishing the project initiation plan: It involves organizing the initiation team while it is working to define the goals and scope of the project.

Translating business requirements into a written request. This requires the collection , analysis, organization and transformation of a lot of information and which finally leads to the creation of Systems Service Request form.

Initiating the Project SSR includes

name and contact information of the person requesting the system,

a statement of the problem, and the name and contact information of the liaison and sponsor.

Evaluating the SSR by the System Priority Board of the organization taking the time period and organization’s resources into account.

The board evaluates development requests in relation to the business problems or opportunities the system will solve or create.

It also considers how the proposed project helps in achieving the long term goals of the organization.


Establishing the management procedures: It involves establishing standard operating procedures such as who is reporting to whomwhat are the reporting procedures, What are the job assignments and roles, project change procedures and how project funding and billing will be

handled.


Establish the project management environment and project workbook :

• It involves collecting and organizing the tools used for managing the project and to construct the project workbook, containing diagrams, charts and system description.

• Serves as a repository for all project correspondence, inputs, outputs, deliverables, procedures and standards established by the project team.

• Can be stored as an on-line electronic document used by all team members.


Before moving on to the next phase of the project, the work performed during project initiation is reviewed at a meeting attended by the management, customers, and project team members.

An outcome of this meeting is a decision to continue the project, modify it or abandon it.

Planning the Project

Project Planning involves defining clear, discrete activities and the work needed to complete each activity within a single project.

Effective project planning means positive project outcomes.

There are varied and numerous activities performed during this phase.


Describe project scope, alternatives and feasibilityScope and Feasibility

Understand the content and the complexity of the project

What problems or opportunities are addressed?What results are to be achievedHow will success be measured ?What is the criteria to complete the project ?

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After defining the scope of the project, identify and document general alternative solutions for the current business problem or opportunity.

Assess the feasibility of each alternative solution and choose which to consider during coming SDLC phases. e.g. off-the shelf software, developing software etc.

Clearly state any unique problems, constraints and assumptions about the project.


Divide the entire project into manageable tasks.

Since phases are also too large and complex to plan and schedule, decompose phases into activities and then each activity into tasks until each task represent a manageable amount of work that can be planned, scheduled and assigned to resources.

Planning the Project -Dividing the project into manageable tasks

Logically order them to ensure smooth evolution between tasks.

The hierarchical decomposition of project into phases, activities, and tasks and their sequences is called “work breakdown structure (WBS)”.

Some tasks are performed in parallel whereas others follow one another sequentially


The tasks 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 to the SDLC.

Project Goal

PhasePhasePhase

activityactivityactivity

task tasktask

0

1 2 3

2.1 2.2 2.3

2.2.1 2.2.2 2.2.3

Primitive task

Summary tasks

In WBS , the Milestones are events that signify the accomplishment or completion of major deliverables during a project. e.g. producing requirement statement.

The WBS consists of Summary tasks : is one that consists of other tasks such as phases and activities.

Primitive tasks : is one that does not consist of any other tasks.


Planning the Project Problem :

1. Identifying the activities Define Requirements Screen design Report design Database construction User documentation creation Software programming System testing System Installation

Suppose I need to collect system requirements by interviewing users of the new system and reviewing reports they currently use to do their job. I divide the project into manageable tasks as follows:1. Define Requirements

1.1 Interviewing1.1.1 Design Interview forms1.1.2 Schedule Appointments1.1.3 Conduct interview

1.2 Review current reports1.2.1 Collect reports1.2.2 Review Reports1.2.3 Summarize results

Planning the Project Problem :


Estimating resources and creating a resource plan.

The goal of this activity is to estimate resource requirements for each project activity and use this information to create a project resource plan.

The resource plan helps assemble and organize resources in the most effective manner.

Different types of Resources

People – inclusive of all the system owners, users, analyst, designers, builders, external agents and clerical help involved in the project. Most important resource.

Facilities and equipment – inclusive of all rooms and technology that will be needed to complete the project.

Supplies and material – everything from pencils, paper, notebooks, toner cartridges etc.

Services – a service such as quality review. Money – which is used o develop the project.

Different types of Resources

Example : People are the most important and expensive part of project resource planning.

The completion of the project and overall system quality depends on the tasks assigned to people.

Assign tasks to resources in such a way so that they can learn new skills and at the same time the work is well suited to their skills.


Developing a Preliminary schedule (Estimating task duration)

Using information on tasks & on the availability of resources, assign (estimate) duration to each primitive tasks in the work breakdown structure. The task duration for all summary tasks is calculated automatically based on the estimated durations of their component primitive tasks.

Allocating duration to each tasks helps us to create target starting and ending dates for the project.

Target dates should be acceptable to the customer.

Planning the Project (Developing a preliminary schedule)

When estimating task duration, it is important to understand the concept of elapsed time.

Elapsed time takes into consideration two important

people factors.Efficiency : No worker performs at 100 %

efficiency. Most people take coffee breaks, lunch breaks, restroom breaks and time to read their e-mail, check their calendars, participate in their non project work and even engage in idle conversation. It has been calculated that the average worker is 75 % productive.


Interruptions : People experience phone calls, visitors and other unplanned interruptions that increase the time required for project work. This is variable for different workers. Interruptions can consume as little as 10 % of your day or as much as 50 %.


Estimate the minimum amount of time it would take to perform the task. This is called optimistic duration (OD). The optimistic duration assumes that event the most likely interruptions or delays such as occasional employee illnesses, will not happen.

Estimate the maximum amount of time it would take to perform the task. This is called pessimistic duration (PD).The pessimistic duration assumes that nearly anything that can go wrong will go wrong. All possible interruptions or delays such as labor strikes, illnesses, training, inaccurate specifications of requirements, equipment delivery delays and under estimation of the systems complexity are assumed to be un avoidable.


Estimate the Most Likely Duration (LD) that will be needed to perform the task. Identify interruptions or delays that are most likely to occur such as occasional employee illness, inexperienced personnel and occasional training.

Calculate the Expected Duration (D) a follows: D= (1 x OD) + (4 x LD) + (1 x PD)

6Where 1, , 4, 1 are default weights. Because the completion time should be closest to the most

likely time (LD), it is weighted 4 times than the OD and PD.

ESTIMATED TIME CALCULATION

ACTIVITY TIME ESTIMATE

OD LD PD

EXPECTED TIME

1. REQUIREMENT COLLECTION

1 5 9 5

2. SCREEN Design 5 6 7 6

3. Report Design 3 6 9 6

4. Database design 1 2 3 2

5. User Documentation 3 6 7 5.5

6. Programming 4 5 6 5

7. Testing 1 3 5 3

8. Installation 1 1 1 1


Determine the sequence of the activities and precedence relationships among all activities

Determine the order in which activities should take place which will help you to understand how the activities are related by constructing PERT chart.


Determine the critical path The critical path on a PERT network is represented by the

sequence of connected activities that produces the longest overall time period. In other words, the minimum time required to finish the project can be estimated by considering the longest path in the activity graph (the the critical path).

All nodes and activities within this sequence are referred to as being “on” the critical path.

Any activity on the critical path if delayed in completion delays the entire project.

Nodes not on critical path however can be delayed without delaying the final completion of the project.

Nodes not on the critical path contain slack time and allows the project manager some flexibility in scheduling.

Critical path Analysis

A forward pass determines the Early Finish Time (EF), which is the earliest possible time an activity can finish based on the network logic.

The project start date is equal to the early start date for the first network diagram activity. Early start plus the duration of the first activity is equal to the early finish date of the first activity. It is also equal to the early start date of each subsequent activity.

When an activity has multiple predecessors, its early start date is the latest date which occurs later of the early finish dates of those of predecessors.


A backward pass through the network diagram determines the latest Finish time for each activity, which is the latest possible time an activity can be completed without delaying the project finish date.

Slack time for each activity is equal to the difference between its latest and earliest expected completion times ( i.e. ST=LF- EF)

Slack time is zero for an activity on the critical path.


When an activity has multiple successors, its latest finish date is the earliest (minimum) which occurs early of the latest finish dates of those of successors.

Planning the Project Developing a communication plan Outline the communication procedures among

management, project team members, and the customer, which should be free and open among them.

It includes : when and how written and oral progress 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.


Determine project standards and proceduresSpecify the method how various deliverables are

produced and tested by the project team in order to assure the development of a high quality system.

Also it is much easier to train new team members when clear standard are in place.

Examples : • documentation style. • the reporting style of the status of the activities

assigned to team members,• the terminology used.

Planning the ProjectIdentify and assess risk

Identify sources of project riskEstimate the consequences of those risk

3.433.43

Risks might arise from the use of new technology, prospective users’ resistance to change, availability of critical resources, competitive reaction or changes in regulatory actions due to the construction of a system or team members’ inexperience with technology or the business area.


Create a preliminary budget Create a preliminary budget that outlines the planned expenses and revenues associated with your project. Justify that the benefits which we get from the project will be more than the cost spent in developing it. Use NPV cost benefit analysis.


Develop a statement of work It is a short document prepared for the

customer that describes what the project will deliver and outlines all work required to complete the project.

SOW is useful to make sure that the project Manager, the customer and other project team members have a clear understanding of the intended project size, duration, and outcomes.

Planning the ProjectSet a Baseline Project Plan

The Baseline Project Plan ( BPP) contains all information collected and analyzed during project initiation and planning.

The plan reflects the best estimate of the project’s scope, benefits, costs, risks and resource requirements given the current understanding of the project.

It is used to guide the next project phase i.e. execution.As the new information is acquired during project execution, the baseline plan will continue to be updated.

Executing a Project

A project will be successfully executed if a high quality project plan has been developed.

Executing a Project

Project Execution implies the actual implementation of the work that has been planned in the planning phase. The project execution is divided into five categories as follows :

1. Executing the Baseline project Plan2. Monitoring project progress against the Baseline

project Plan.3. Managing changes to the Baseline Project Plan.4. Maintaining the project workbook5. Communicating the project status.

Executing the Baseline project Plan.

Initiate the execution of project activities.Acquire and assign resourcesOrient and train new team membersStrive to keep the project on scheduleAssure the quality of project

deliverables.

Executing the Baseline project Plan.

Project Manager is responsible for initiating new team members by providing them with the resources they need and helping them assimilate into the team.

He can plan social events, Regular team project status meetings Team level reviews of project deliverables, and Other group events to mould the groups into an

effective team.

Monitor project progress against the baseline Project Plan

While executing the Baseline project Plan, monitor the project progress.

If the project goes ahead of or behind schedule, adjust resources, activities and budgets in such a way the project will be delivered in time.

Monitor project progress against the baseline Project Plan

How can the Project manager do it ? • Modifying the current plan.• Measuring the time and effort expended on each activity

which will help in improving the accuracy of estimations for future projects.

• Using project schedule charts(Gantt or PERT) showing the project progress against a possible plan.

• Evaluating and appraising each team member.• Occasionally changing work assignments or request in

personnel, based on some valid reasons.• Providing feedback to the employees’ supervisor.

Managing changes to the Baseline Project Plan

What can be the reasons for Changes? An omission in defining initial scope. A misunderstanding of the initial scope ( the desired

product is more complicated than originally communicated) An external event such as government regulations that

create new requirements. Organizational changes such as mergers and partnerships

that create new business problems and opportunities. Availability of better technology. The users or management simple wanting the system to

do more than they originally requested or agreed to. Management reducing the funding for the project or

imposing an earlier.

Managing changes to the Baseline Project Plan

The Project Manager should have a formal strategy and process to deal with change and its impact on schedule and budget.

A change request form is made by one or more stakeholders (Systems Analyst, user, designers).

These change requests are considered by a change control board that is responsible for approving or rejecting all the change request. The decision should be based on impact analysis.

Change Management

The change request form is intended to protect the Project Manager and team from being held accountable for schedule and budget overruns that were driven by changes in scope.

Maintaining a Project workbook

Maintaining complete records of all the project events is necessary.

The project workbook provides all the documentation which explains why design decisions were made and is a primary source of initiation for producing all project reports.

Communicating the Project Status

The Project Manager is responsible for keeping all team members system developers,

managers, and customers well informed of the project status for better coordination of activities.

resolving issues and keeping permanent records of information and events

Procedures for communicating project activities vary from formal meetings to informal discussions.

Closing Down the Project

The focus of project close down is to bring the project to an end.

Projects can be concluded with A natural termination : It occurs when the requirements

of the project have been met. The project has been completed and is a success.

An unnatural termination : It occurs when the project is stopped before completion, because of the following reasons:

Running out of money, Running out of time or both etc.

Closing down the project

Regardless of the project termination outcome, several activities must be performed.

Closing the projectConducting post project reviewsClosing the customer contract

Closing the Project

Assess each team member and provide a appraisal for personnel files and salary determination.

Provide career advice to team membersWrite letters to superiors praising special

accomplishments of team member.Send thank you letters to those who

helped but were not team members.

Closing the Project

Notify all the interested parties that the project has been completed.

Finalize all project documentation and financial records so that a final review of the project can be conducted.

Celebrate accomplishment of the team (the team’s effort to bring a difficult task to a successful conclusion) e.g. some teams hold a party, each team member may receive memorabilia etc.

Conducting post project review

Conducting Final reviews of the project with management and customers to understand what went right and what went wrong in order to improve for the next project.

Determine the strengths and weaknesses of project deliverables the processes used to create them the project management process

Closing the Customer Contract

Ensure that all contractual terms of the project have been met by asking both the parties to give in writing.

Representing and Scheduling Project PlansGantt Charts

Useful for depicting simple projects or parts of large projects

Show start and completion dates for individual tasks

PERT ChartsShow order of activities

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Figure 3-16Graphical diagrams that depict project plans (a) A Gantt Chart (b) A PERT chart

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Comparison of Gantt and PERT Charts Gantt

Visually shows duration of tasks

Visually shows time overlap between tasks

Visually shows slack time

PERT Visually shows

dependencies between tasks

Visually shows which tasks can be done in parallel

Shows slack time by data in rectangles

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Gantt and PERT Charts for Pine Valley FurnitureSteps

Identify each activity Requirements CollectionScreen DesignReport DesignDatabase DesignUser DocumentationSoftware Programming Installation and Testing

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Gantt and PERT Charts for Pine Valley Furniture

Determine time estimates and expected completion times for each activity

Determine sequence of activitiesDetermine critical path

Sequence of events that will affect the final project delivery date

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Project Management Software

Many systems are availableThree activities required to use:

Establish project start or end dateEnter tasks and assign task relationshipsSelect scheduling method to review project

reports

3.703.70

chapter 3 managing the information systems project 3.1

Documents

project initiation activities

project managementto

information systems

information system projects

junior systems analyst

timely information

lot of information

system development