COMP2001 HNC Project

Project Characteristics A project must have: clear objectives planning & control resources assurance of quality

Project Definition A project is defined in terms of its: - background - objectives - scope - constraints

Project Schedule Determine project approach (buy or build) Estimate effort Prepare project plan Prepare project budget Document project progress

Project Schedule Time ordered sequence of deliverables Used for: organising work effort working towards project goals & obj. tracking the project

Tasks Smallest unit of work Each task only occurs once Suitably described Enough details to be measurable

Milestones Point in schedule to measure progress Contains a sequence of tasks

Project Management Techniques Traditional project management techniques widely used in many other industries. These include:- –Work Breakdown Structure (WBS). –Gantt chart. –PERT chart (critical path or network diagram).

Work Breakdown Structure Very useful for initial planning. Helps identify required resources. Structured list of all tasks and activities that must be carried out to complete project. Usually, sequence is unimportant. Main purpose is checklist for completeness.

WBS example: “clean bedroom” hoovering –get hoover –move furniture –hoover floor dusting –get duster –move ornaments –do dusting change bed, etc.

Gantt Chart The classic “bar-chart”. Often based on WBS, but includes time dimension. hoover floor get hoover move furniture put furniture back put hoover away time

PERT Chart or Critical Path Chart “Programme Evaluation and Review Technique”. Designed to show interdependencies between tasks: –“get hoover” must be complete before “do hoovering” starts (i.e. B depends on A); –“move furniture” can happen before or after “get hoover” (no dependency). Often derived directly from Gantt Chart.

Network Diagram A Get Hoover TM (2) B Move Furniture (3) C Hoover TM Floor (14) Activity Event Event No. Event Latest Time Slack/Float Event Earliest Time

Resource Levelling First-cut chart is not always the most efficient. It may be possible to: –reduce overall resources required, –reduce total project time. “Levelling” means: –use available float time on non-critical tasks, –move spare resources from one task to another. A matter of judgement - no one best way.

Suggested Reading Project Management for Information Systems D Yeates & J Cadle