SoftwareProjectManagement

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ThejobpatternofanITcompanyengagedinsoftwaredevelopmentcanbeseensplitintwoparts:

SoftwareCreation
SoftwareProjectManagement

Aprojectiswelldefinedtask,whichisacollectionofseveraloperationsdoneinordertoachieveagoal
f orexample, sof twaredevelopmentanddelivery.AProjectcanbecharacterizedas:

Everyprojectmayhasauniqueanddistinctgoal.
Projectisnotroutineactivityordaytodayoperations.
Projectcomeswithastarttimeandendtime.
Projectendswhenitsgoalisachievedhenceitisatemporaryphaseinthelifetimeofanorganization.
Projectneedsadequateresourcesintermsoftime,manpower,finance,materialandknowledgebank.

SoftwareProject
ASoftwareProjectisthecompleteprocedureofsoftwaredevelopmentfromrequirementgatheringtotesting
andmaintenance,carriedoutaccordingtotheexecutionmethodologies,inaspecifiedperiodoftimetoachieve
intendedsoftwareproduct.

Needofsoftwareprojectmanagement
Softwareissaidtobeanintangibleproduct.Softwaredevelopmentisakindofallnewstreaminworldbusiness
andtheresverylittleexperienceinbuildingsoftwareproducts.Mostsoftwareproductsaretailormadetofit
clientsrequirements.Themostimportantisthattheunderlyingtechnologychangesandadvancessofrequently
andrapidlythatexperienceofoneproductmaynotbeappliedtotheotherone.Allsuchbusinessand
environmentalconstraintsbringriskinsoftwaredevelopmenthenceitisessentialtomanagesoftwareprojects
efficiently.

Theimageaboveshowstripleconstraintsforsoftwareprojects.Itisanessentialpartofsoftwareorganizationto
deliverqualityproduct,keepingthecostwithinclientsbudgetconstrainanddelivertheprojectasper
scheduled.Thereareseveralfactors,bothinternalandexternal,whichmayimpactthistripleconstraintriangle.
Anyofthreefactorcanseverelyimpacttheothertwo.
Therefore,softwareprojectmanagementisessentialtoincorporateuserrequirementsalongwithbudgetand
timeconstraints.

SoftwareProjectManager
Asoftwareprojectmanagerisapersonwhoundertakestheresponsibilityofexecutingthesoftwareproject.
SoftwareprojectmanageristhoroughlyawareofallthephasesofSDLCthatthesoftwarewouldgothrough.
Projectmanagermayneverdirectlyinvolveinproducingtheendproductbuthecontrolsandmanagesthe
activitiesinvolvedinproduction.

Aprojectmanagercloselymonitorsthedevelopmentprocess,preparesandexecutesvariousplans,arranges
necessaryandadequateresources,maintainscommunicationamongallteammembersinordertoaddressissues
ofcost,budget,resources,time,qualityandcustomersatisfaction.

Letusseefewresponsibilitiesthataprojectmanagershoulders

ManagingPeople
Actasprojectleader
Liaisonwithstakeholders
Managinghumanresources
Settingupreportinghierarchyetc.

ManagingProject

Definingandsettingupprojectscope
Managingprojectmanagementactivities
Monitoringprogressandperformance
Riskanalysisateveryphase
Takenecessarysteptoavoidorcomeoutofproblems
Actasprojectspokesperson

SoftwareManagementActivities
Softwareprojectmanagementcomprisesofanumberofactivities,whichcontainsplanningofproject,deciding
scopeofsoftwareproduct,estimationofcostinvariousterms,schedulingoftasksandevents,andresource
management.Projectmanagementactivitiesmayinclude:

ProjectPlanning
ScopeManagement
ProjectEstimation

ProjectPlanning
Softwareprojectplanningistask,whichisperformedbeforetheproductionofsoftwareactuallystarts.Itisthere
forthesoftwareproductionbutinvolvesnoconcreteactivitythathasanydirectionconnectionwithsoftware
productionratheritisasetofmultipleprocesses,whichfacilitatessoftwareproduction.Projectplanningmay
includethefollowing:

ScopeManagement
Itdefinesthescopeofprojectthisincludesalltheactivities,processneedtobedoneinordertomakea
deliverablesoftwareproduct.Scopemanagementisessentialbecauseitcreatesboundariesoftheprojectby
clearlydefiningwhatwouldbedoneintheprojectandwhatwouldnotbedone.Thismakesprojecttocontain
limitedandquantifiabletasks,whichcaneasilybedocumentedandinturnavoidscostandtimeoverrun.

DuringProjectScopemanagement,itisnecessaryto

Definethescope
Decideitsverificationandcontrol
Dividetheprojectintovarioussmallerpartsforeaseofmanagement.
Verifythescope
Controlthescopebyincorporatingchangestothescope

ProjectEstimation
Foraneffectivemanagementaccurateestimationofvariousmeasuresisamust.Withcorrectestimation
managerscanmanageandcontroltheprojectmoreefficientlyandeffectively.

Projectestimationmayinvolvethefollowing:

Softwaresizeestimation

SoftwaresizemaybeestimatedeitherintermsofKLOCK iloLineof C odeorbycalculatingnumberof

functionpointsinthesoftware.LinesofcodedependuponcodingpracticesandFunctionpointsvary
accordingtotheuserorsoftwarerequirement.

Effortestimation

Themanagersestimateeffortsintermsofpersonnelrequirementandmanhourrequiredtoproducethe
software.Foreffortestimationsoftwaresizeshouldbeknown.Thiscaneitherbederivedbymanagers
experience,organizationshistoricaldataorsoftwaresizecanbeconvertedintoeffortsbyusingsome
standardformulae.

Timeestimation

Oncesizeandeffortsareestimated,thetimerequiredtoproducethesoftwarecanbeestimated.Efforts
requiredissegregatedintosubcategoriesaspertherequirementspecificationsandinterdependencyof
variouscomponentsofsoftware.Softwaretasksaredividedintosmallertasks,activitiesoreventsby
WorkBreakthroughStructureW BS .Thetasksarescheduledondaytodaybasisorincalendarmonths.

Thesumoftimerequiredtocompletealltasksinhoursordaysisthetotaltimeinvestedtocompletethe
project.

Costestimation

Thismightbeconsideredasthemostdifficultofallbecauseitdependsonmoreelementsthananyofthe
previousones.Forestimatingprojectcost,itisrequiredtoconsider

Sizeofsoftware
Softwarequality
Hardware
Additionalsoftwareortools,licensesetc.
Skilledpersonnelwithtaskspecificskills
Travelinvolved
Communication
 Trainingandsupport

ProjectEstimationTechniques
Wediscussedvariousparametersinvolvingprojectestimationsuchassize,effort,timeandcost.

Projectmanagercanestimatethelistedfactorsusingtwobroadlyrecognizedtechniques

DecompositionTechnique
Thistechniqueassumesthesoftwareasaproductofvariouscompositions.

Therearetwomainmodels

LineofCodeEstimationisdoneonbehalfofnumberoflineofcodesinthesoftwareproduct.
FunctionPointsEstimationisdoneonbehalfofnumberoffunctionpointsinthesoftwareproduct.

EmpiricalEstimationTechnique

Thistechniqueusesempiricallyderivedformulaetomakeestimation.TheseformulaearebasedonLOCorFPs.

PutnamModel

ThismodelismadebyLawrenceH.Putnam,whichisbasedonNordensfrequencydistribution
Rayleighcurve .Putnammodelmapstimeandeffortsrequiredwithsoftwaresize.

COCOMO

COCOMOstandsforCOnstructiveCOstMOdel,developedbyBarryW.Boehm.Itdividesthesoftware
productintothreecategoriesofsoftware:organic,semidetachedandembedded.

ProjectScheduling
ProjectSchedulinginaprojectreferstoroadmapofallactivitiestobedonewithspecifiedorderandwithintime
slotallottedtoeachactivity.Projectmanagerstendtodefinevarioustasks,andprojectmilestonesandthem
arrangethemkeepingvariousfactorsinmind.Theylookfortaskslieincriticalpathintheschedule,whichare
necessarytocompleteinspecificmannerbecauseof taskinterdependencyandstrictlywithinthetime
allocated.Arrangementoftaskswhichliesoutofcriticalpatharelesslikelytoimpactoverallscheduleofthe
project.

Forschedulingaproject,itisnecessaryto

Breakdowntheprojecttasksintosmaller,manageableform
Findoutvarioustasksandcorrelatethem
Estimatetimeframerequiredforeachtask
Dividetimeintoworkunits
Assignadequatenumberofworkunitsforeachtask
Calculatetotaltimerequiredfortheprojectfromstarttofinish

Resourcemanagement
Allelementsusedtodevelopasoftwareproductmaybeassumedasresourceforthatproject.Thismayinclude
humanresource,productivetoolsandsoftwarelibraries.

Theresourcesareavailableinlimitedquantityandstayintheorganizationasapoolofassets.Theshortageof
resourceshampersthedevelopmentofprojectanditcanlagbehindtheschedule.Allocatingextraresources
increasesdevelopmentcostintheend.Itisthereforenecessarytoestimateandallocateadequateresourcesfor
theproject.

Resourcemanagementincludes

Definingproperorganizationprojectbycreatingaprojectteamandallocatingresponsibilitiestoeach
teammember
Determiningresourcesrequiredataparticularstageandtheiravailability
ManageResourcesbygeneratingresourcerequestwhentheyarerequiredanddeallocatingthemwhen
theyarenomoreneeded.

ProjectRiskManagement
Riskmanagementinvolvesallactivitiespertainingtoidentification,analyzingandmakingprovisionfor
predictableandnonpredictablerisksintheproject.Riskmayincludethefollowing:

Experiencedstaffleavingtheprojectandnewstaffcomingin.
Changeinorganizationalmanagement.
Requirementchangeormisinterpretingrequirement.
Underestimationofrequiredtimeandresources.
Technologicalchanges,environmentalchanges,businesscompetition.

RiskManagementProcess
Therearefollowingactivitiesinvolvedinriskmanagementprocess:

IdentificationMakenoteofallpossiblerisks,whichmayoccurintheproject.
CategorizeCategorizeknownrisksintohigh,mediumandlowriskintensityaspertheirpossibleimpact
ontheproject.
ManageAnalyzetheprobabilityofoccurrenceofrisksatvariousphases.Makeplantoavoidorface
risks.Attempttominimizetheirsideeffects.
MonitorCloselymonitorthepotentialrisksandtheirearlysymptoms.Alsomonitortheeffectsofsteps
takentomitigateoravoidthem.

ProjectExecution&Monitoring
Inthisphase,thetasksdescribedinprojectplansareexecutedaccordingtotheirschedules.

Executionneedsmonitoringinordertocheckwhethereverythingisgoingaccordingtotheplan.Monitoringis
observingtochecktheprobabilityofriskandtakingmeasurestoaddresstheriskorreportthestatusofvarious
tasks.

Thesemeasuresinclude

ActivityMonitoringAllactivitiesscheduledwithinsometaskcanbemonitoredondaytodaybasis.
Whenallactivitiesinataskarecompleted,itisconsideredascomplete.
StatusReportsThereportscontainstatusofactivitiesandtaskscompletedwithinagiventimeframe,
generallyaweek.Statuscanbemarkedasfinished,pendingorworkinprogressetc.
 MilestonesChecklistEveryprojectisdividedintomultiplephaseswheremajortasksareperformed
milestones basedonthephasesofSDLC.Thismilestonechecklistispreparedonceeveryfewweeks

andreportsthestatusofmilestones.

ProjectCommunicationManagement
Effectivecommunicationplaysvitalroleinthesuccessofaproject.Itbridgesgapsbetweenclientandthe
organization,amongtheteammembersaswellasotherstakeholdersintheprojectsuchashardwaresuppliers.

Communicationcanbeoralorwritten.Communicationmanagementprocessmayhavethefollowingsteps:

PlanningThisstepincludestheidentificationsofallthestakeholdersintheprojectandthemodeof
communicationamongthem.Italsoconsidersifanyadditionalcommunicationfacilitiesarerequired.
SharingAfterdeterminingvariousaspectsofplanning,managerfocusesonsharingcorrectinformation
withthecorrectpersononcorrecttime.Thiskeepseveryoneinvolvedtheprojectuptodatewithproject
progressanditsstatus.
FeedbackProjectmanagersusevariousmeasuresandfeedbackmechanismandcreatestatusand
performancereports.Thismechanismensuresthatinputfromvariousstakeholdersiscomingtothe
projectmanagerastheirfeedback.
ClosureAttheendofeachmajorevent,endofaphaseofSDLCorendoftheprojectitself,
administrativeclosureisformallyannouncedtoupdateeverystakeholderbysendingemail,by
distributingahardcopyofdocumentorbyothermeanofeffectivecommunication.

Afterclosure,theteammovestonextphaseorproject.

ConfigurationManagement
Configurationmanagementisaprocessoftrackingandcontrollingthechangesinsoftwareintermsofthe
requirements,design,functionsanddevelopmentoftheproduct.

IEEEdefinesitastheprocessofidentifyinganddefiningtheitemsinthesystem,controllingthechangeof
theseitemsthroughouttheirlifecycle,recordingandreportingthestatusofitemsandchangerequests,and
verifyingthecompletenessandcorrectnessofitems.

Generally,oncetheSRSisfinalizedthereislesschanceofrequirementofchangesfromuser.Iftheyoccur,the
changesareaddressedonlywithpriorapprovalofhighermanagement,asthereisapossibilityofcostandtime
overrun.

Baseline

AphaseofSDLCisassumedoverifitbaselined,i.e.baselineisameasurementthatdefinescompletenessofa
phase.Aphaseisbaselinedwhenallactivitiespertainingtoitarefinishedandwelldocumented.Ifitwasnotthe
finalphase,itsoutputwouldbeusedinnextimmediatephase.

Configurationmanagementisadisciplineoforganizationadministration,whichtakescareofoccurrenceofany
changeprocess, requirement, technological, strategicaletc. afteraphaseisbaselined.CMkeepscheckon
anychangesdoneinsoftware.

ChangeControl

Changecontrolisfunctionofconfigurationmanagement,whichensuresthatallchangesmadetosoftware
systemareconsistentandmadeasperorganizationalrulesandregulations.
Achangeintheconfigurationofproductgoesthroughfollowingsteps

IdentificationAchangerequestarrivesfromeitherinternalorexternalsource.Whenchangerequestis
identifiedformally,itisproperlydocumented.

ValidationValidityofthechangerequestischeckedanditshandlingprocedureisconfirmed.

AnalysisTheimpactofchangerequestisanalyzedintermsofschedule,costandrequiredefforts.
Overallimpactoftheprospectivechangeonsystemisanalyzed.

ControlIftheprospectivechangeeitherimpactstoomanyentitiesinthesystemoritisunavoidable,it
ismandatorytotakeapprovalofhighauthoritiesbeforechangeisincorporatedintothesystem.Itis
decidedifthechangeisworthincorporationornot.Ifitisnot,changerequestisrefusedformally.

ExecutionIfthepreviousphasedeterminestoexecutethechangerequest,thisphasetakeappropriate
actionstoexecutethechange,doesathoroughrevisionifnecessary.

CloserequestThechangeisverifiedforcorrectimplementationandmergingwiththerestofthe
system.Thisnewlyincorporatedchangeinthesoftwareisdocumentedproperlyandtherequestis
formallyisclosed.

ProjectManagementTools
Theriskanduncertaintyrisesmultifoldwithrespecttothesizeoftheproject,evenwhentheprojectis
developedaccordingtosetmethodologies.

Therearetoolsavailable,whichaidforeffectiveprojectmanagement.Afewaredescribed

GanttChart
GanttchartswasdevisedbyHenryGantt1917.Itrepresentsprojectschedulewithrespecttotimeperiods.Itisa
horizontalbarchartwithbarsrepresentingactivitiesandtimescheduledfortheprojectactivities.

PERTChart

PERT ProgramEvaluation&ReviewTechnique chartisatoolthatdepictsprojectasnetworkdiagram.Itiscapable

ofgraphicallyrepresentingmaineventsofprojectinbothparallelandconsecutiveway.Events,whichoccurone
afteranother,showdependencyofthelatereventoverthepreviousone.

Eventsareshownasnumberednodes.Theyareconnectedbylabeledarrowsdepictingsequenceoftasksinthe
project.

ResourceHistogram
Thisisagraphicaltoolthatcontainsbarorchartrepresentingnumberofresourcesusuallyskilledstaf f
requiredovertimeforaprojecteventorphase.ResourceHistogramisaneffectivetoolforstaffplanningand
coordination.

CriticalPathAnalysis
Thistoolsisusefulinrecognizinginterdependenttasksintheproject.Italsohelpstofindouttheshortestpathor
criticalpathtocompletetheprojectsuccessfully.LikePERTdiagram,eacheventisallottedaspecifictime
frame.Thistoolshowsdependencyofeventassuminganeventcanproceedtonextonlyifthepreviousoneis
completed.

Theeventsarearrangedaccordingtotheirearliestpossiblestarttime.Pathbetweenstartandendnodeiscritical
pathwhichcannotbefurtherreducedandalleventsrequiretobeexecutedinsameorder.