Assignment No:-

CAP-412
Software
Project Ankur Singh RE3801A29

Management
Submitted to: Submitted by:
Respected Ankur Singh
Sandeep Sharma Sir Roll no:-
Re3801a29

CAP 412: SOFTWARE PROJECT MANAGEMENT

HOMEWORK - 3

Part A

Q1: How could the manager identify the activities or tasks that make up
the projects?

Ans 1:

Every project is a group of several activities. The expected project outcome can
be achieved only when all required activities are identified, planned for, and
implemented. The WBS (Work Breakdown Structure) is a useful tool that enables
the project manager to identify all the activities and put them in proper
sequence.

The WBS helps the project manager to have a clear vision of the entire project
and overall processes required to achieve project objectives. The WBS which
breaks down the project into several activities can be used both as a planning
and a reporting tool. The project manager should ensure that the WBS is flexible
and that changes can be incorporated when needed. While sequencing the
activities, the project manager can use one of two approaches: a top-down
approach or a bottom-up approach.

Q 2: Suppose you are the project manager, Frame out the steps of
planning the network model with the time dimensions constraint.

Ans 2

Ankur Singh RE3801A29

Q3: How the risk identification process can be implemented? How the
project manager plans for
risk?

Ans 3

Risk Identification is the process which seeks to understand the project,

determine which risks are likely and document the characteristics of the risks. It
is mostly concerned with opportunities and threats. Risk identification is never
really completed until the project is also completed. It is a process which is
undertaken throughout the life of the project.

The approach one must take is to gather as much relevant data as possible and
schedule a risk management meeting with the core team members. Including
the core team members is the surest way to secure support for a structured and
thorough approach to identifying risks.

b)
Ankur Singh RE3801A29

 1

Make a list of the potential risks. Start by making a list of the categories of the
project, and then assess each category for risks. For example, you might have a
budget category; determine what factors might increase the budget and list
them.

 2

Determine the high-priority risks. Prioritize the risks: list them in order of their
likelihood and how much of an impact on the project that risk will have if it
happens.
 3

List the actions you must take if a risk occurs. Have plans in place that can
reduce the chances of a risk happening as well as actions that can ease the
damage of a risk should it occur.

 4

Assign tasks to specific people or departments to undertake the planned actions

in the event the project runs into one of these risks. Create a timeframe to
complete these actions.

 5

Create a clearly-defined risk management process that you can implement

should the project become at risk. Explain how you can apply the actions and
timeframes you created earlier. Make sure all those involved in the project
understand the risk management plan, how it's utilized and each person's
function in the risk management process.

Part B

Q 1: Suppose you are working on a project .How would implement the

following terms in your project:-

(a)Risk schedule

Schedule Risk:
Project schedule get slip when project tasks and schedule release risks are not
addressed properly.
Schedule risks mainly affect on project and finally on company economy and
may lead to project failure.
Schedules often slip due to following reasons:

• Wrong time estimation

• Resources are not tracked properly. All resources like staff, systems, skills
of individuals etc.
• Failure to identify complex functionalities and time required to develop
those functionalities.
• Unexpected project scope expansions.
Ankur Singh RE3801A29

(b) PERT technique

Steps in the PERT Planning Process

PERT planning involves the following steps:

1. Identify the specific activities and milestones.

2. Determine the proper sequence of the activities.
3. Construct a network diagram.
4. Estimate the time required for each activity.
5. Determine the critical path.
 6. Update the PERT chart as the project progresses.

1. Identify Activities and Milestones

The activities are the tasks required to complete the project. The milestones are
the events marking the beginning and end of one or more activities. It is helpful
to list the tasks in a table that in later steps can be expanded to include
information on sequence and duration.

2. Determine Activity Sequence

This step may be combined with the activity identification step since the activity
sequence is evident for some tasks. Other tasks may require more analysis to
determine the exact order in which they must be performed.

3. Construct the Network Diagram

Using the activity sequence information, a network diagram can be drawn

showing the sequence of the serial and parallel activities. For the original
activity-on-arc model, the activities are depicted by arrowed lines and
milestones are depicted by circles or "bubbles".

4. Estimate Activity Times

Weeks are a commonly used unit of time for activity completion, but any
consistent unit of time can be used.

A distinguishing feature of PERT is its ability to deal with uncertainty in activity

completion times. For each activity, the model usually includes three time
estimates:

• Optimistic time - generally the shortest time in which the activity can be
completed. It is common practice to specify optimistic times to be three
standard deviations from the mean so that there is approximately a 1%
chance that the activity will be completed within the optimistic time.
• Most likely time - the completion time having the highest probability. Note
that this time is different from the expected time.
• Pessimistic time - the longest time that an activity might require. Three
standard deviations from the mean is commonly used for the pessimistic
Ankur Singh RE3801A29
time.

Expected time = ( Optimistic + 4 x Most likely + Pessimistic ) / 6

This expected time may be displayed on the network diagram.

To calculate the variance for each activity completion time, if three standard
deviation times were selected for the optimistic and pessimistic times, then
there are six standard deviations between them, so the variance is given by:

[ ( Pessimistic - Optimistic ) / 6 ]2

5. Determine the Critical Path

The critical path is determined by adding the times for the activities in each
sequence and determining the longest path in the project. The critical path
determines the total calendar time required for the project. If the critical path is
not immediately obvious, it may be helpful to determine the following four
quantities for each activity:

• ES - Earliest Start time

• EF - Earliest Finish time
• LS - Latest Start time
• LF - Latest Finish time

6. Update as Project Progresses

Make adjustments in the PERT chart as the project progresses. As the project
unfolds, the estimated times can be replaced with actual times. In cases where
there are delays, additional resources may be needed to stay on schedule and
the PERT chart may be modified to reflect the new situation.

(c)Scheduling Sequence

Software Project Scheduling

Software project scheduling is an activity that distributes estimated effort across

the planned project duration by allocating the effort to specific software
engineering tasks.

* Compartmentalization

The project must be compartmentalized into a number of manageable activities

and tasks. To accomplish compartmentalization, both the product and process
are decomposed.

* Interdependency

The interdependency of each compartmentalized activity or task must be

determined. Some tasks must occur in sequence while others can occur in
parallel. Some activities cannot commence until the work product produced by
another is available.
Ankur Singh RE3801A29

* Time allocation

Each task to be scheduled must be allocated some number of work units (e.g.
person-days of effort). In addition, each task must be assigned a start date and
an end date which is a function of the interdependencies and number of
resources.

* Effort validation

Every project has a defined number of staff members. As time allocation occurs,
the project manager must ensure that no more than the allocated number of
people has been scheduled at any given time.
 * Defined responsibilities

Every task should be assigned to a specific team member.

* Defined outcomes

Every task should have a defined outcome, normally a work product.

* Defined milestones

Every task or group of tasks should be associated with a project milestone.

Software Project Scheduling and Monitoring

Software project scheduling is the next task to be performed by the PM. It is

important to note once again that in the reasons for project failure, unrealistic
deadline and underestimate of effort involved in the project are two of the most
important reasons for project failure. Therefore, a good schedule estimate would
increase the chances of the success of the project.

Q2: Suppose XYZ project is in work. Explain how the resources can be scheduled
and published for that project so that it can be completed on time?

Ans 2

Software project scheduling is the next task to be performed by the PM. It is

important to note once again that in the reasons for project failure, unrealistic
deadline and underestimate of effort involved in the project are two of the most
important reasons for project failure. Therefore, a good schedule estimate would
increase the chances of the success of the project.

In this context, a PM has to first come up with the schedule and then monitor the
progress of the project to ensure that things are happening according to the
schedule. It would not be out of place to quote Fred Brooks at this point. He
says, “Projects fall behind schedule one day at a time.” That means a delay of a
week or a month or a year does not happen suddenly – it happens one day at a
time. Therefore, a project manager has to be vigilant to ensure that the project
does not fall behind schedule.

The reality of a technical project is that hundreds of small tasks must occur to
accomplish a large goal.

Therefore the Project manager’s objectives include:

Ankur Singh RE3801A29

* Identification and definition all project tasks

* Building a network that depicts their interdependencies

* Identification of the tasks that are critical within the network

* Tracking their progress to ensure delay is recognized one day at a time

Q 3: Suppose you are a project manager working on ABC project, Discuss the
various ways how you collect the data from various sources?

Ans 3

• Focus group: Qualitative research in which a group of people are asked

questions about what they think about certain issues. This can be done in
 your community or on a national level. You can start by gathering people
with and without disabilities from a community or an organization and ask
them what they think are some of the primary issues or themes
concerning people with disabilities and what they considered to be good
practices. Once data is gathered, you can document the meeting with
photos, tape recorder, video, and writing.

• In-person or phone interviews: It is essential to interview people face-

to-face for data collection as you can visit and observe the work they are
doing in their site. However, in-person interviews are not always feasible
so conducting phone interviews are appropriate as well. Some things to
consider before setting up the interview: Who will conduct the interviews?
The Project Coordinator or members? You may need to ask Advisory
Committee members or other colleagues and partners to assist or attend
the interview with you. To get sufficient data, conduct as many interviews
as possible. Prepare a list of questions in advance to ask your
interviewee. Set the meeting ahead of time to ensure the person you
want to interview is available and has sufficient time to answer all your
questions. Bring a tape recorder, pen, and paper to document the
information.

• Informal talks: Discussions in an informal setting can be a good start to

ask background information to learn more about the issue and good
practices. Prepare a few questions that are related to your theme and
topic in advance and see how you can use the background information to
complement your data. You can document the information in writing.

• Surveys/questionnaires: MIW is not aimed to be a statistical analysis;

instead it aims to get qualitative data. However, depending on your topic,
a short questionnaire can help you gather additional information. Before
using this approach, talk with your Steering Committee about this. Be sure
to prepare the questions in advance and that the questions being asked
are relevant to your theme and topic and will elicit the kind of information
you are looking for.

Ankur Singh RE3801A29