Miguel Nunes Information Systems Project Management IS Project Resources

Aims of this Session To and discuss the concept and nature of IS Project Resource. To present a typology of IS Project Resources To present and discuss the nature of human resources and project roles.

An Information System can be defined technically as a set of interrelated components that collect, process, store and retrieve, and distribute information to support decision making, co-ordination and control in an organisation. An information system is an organisational and management solution, based on information and communication technology, to a challenge posed by the environment. 3 Information System Definition

Information System Definition A system that assembles, stores, processes and delivers information relevant to an organisation (or socio-technical environment), in such a way that the information is accessible and useful to those who wish to use it as required by their activity practices, including managers, staff, customers, suppliers, other business partners and citizens. An IS is therefore an human-activity system which may or may not involve the use of IT based systems.

IS Development Methodologies A collection of procedures, techniques, tools and documentation aids that help developers in their efforts to understand users, their socio-technical environment, their work practices and their information needs. 5

IS Development Methodologies A collection of procedures, techniques, tools and documentation aids that help developers in their efforts to understand users, their socio-technical environment, their work practices and their information needs. IS Methodologies consist of phases whish will guide the systems developers in what to do and their choice of techniques that might be appropriate at each stage. Each phase may contain subphases. These phases (or stages, or main activities) form the IS Project and help manage, control and evaluate the project. 6

Information System Development IS Methodologies consist of phases whish will guide the systems developers in what to do and their choice of techniques that might be appropriate at each stage. Each phase may contain subphases. These phases (or stages, or main activities) form the IS Project and help manage, control and evaluate the project. Question here are:  What do need to undertake these activities?  What type of roles do we need in an IS project?  What type of support do we for the people who take these roles?  How do we identify their needs?

A resource is any item or person required for the execution of the project (from clips to key technical personnel). The project manager needs to concentrate on those resources where there is a possibility that, without planning these may not be available or may not be sufficient when required. 8 IS Project Resources

Some resources (e.g. project manager) will be required for the entire duration of the project whereas others (e.g. user interface graphical designer) may be required for a single activity only. This requires careful planning as some of the team members (e.g. programmers) might be committed to working on more than one project and project managers may need to compete for their time. Moreover, the scope of the IS project may pose significant and deliberate budget and time constraints that may limit the number and commitment of team members. 9 IS Project Resources

In general resources can be categorised as follows: Labour (also known as Human Resources); Equipment; Materials; Space; Services; Time; Budgetary resources. 10 Types of IS Project Resources

Equipment Resources include all the HW necessary to undertake the work (e.g. laptops, workstations, servers, networks), all the SW necessary for analysis (e.g. wordprocessors, text analysis SW), diagram production, programming (e.g. editors, debuggers, test support SW), testing and training (e.g. e-learning authoring tools). As well as any other project specific equipment that may be required … photo cameras, video cameras, voice recorders, RFId tags and readers, etc. 11 Types of IS Project Resources

Materials are items that are consumed (also called consumables), rather then equipment. These are important for all projects and include items ranging from paper and pens to USB memory sticks and portable hardrives. Space this includes office space and everything inside that enables and supports the project work (e.g. chairs, tables, air conditioning). Space may also be needed at the user’s location, and therefore needs to be carefully planned in advance. 12 Types of IS Project Resources

Services include all specialist services that my be procured or outsourced outside the project team. These may be internally outsourced by using specialised teams within the same organisation or externally outsourced to other expert organisations. Services may range from expert graphical design to online payment software. Budgetary resources (Money, Credits, Coupons, etc) is a secondary resource that is used to buy other resources and will be consumed as resources are used. 13 Types of IS Project Resources

Labour (also known as Human Resources) will be ALL the team members of the IS project, ranging from the traditional technical staff to all required support staff as well as any staff from the customer organisation. 14 Types of IS Project Resources

These team members may take one or more of the following types of roles: 15 Types of IS Project Resources  Management:  Project Manager;  Quality Manager;  Risk Manager;  Configuration and Integration Manager;  Technical:  Analysts and Designers;  Programmers;  Graphics Designer;  Database Administrator;  Implementation Officer;  Support:  Users;  Testers;  Project Champion;  Secretaries;  Clerks;  Training Officer:  Organising:  Steering Committee;  User Group;  Risk Management Committee;  Joint Application Development Team. And more ……….

Human Resources is very expensive (typically 80% of budget of the project) and the more specialised the resources are the more scarce and expensive they become. Human resource allocation depends on:  Management Style of Project Manager.  Type and nature of the project;  IS Methodology Selected;  Constraints and Budget of the Project. 16 Types of IS Project Resources

Human resource allocation depends on:  Management Style of Project Manager.  Type and nature of the project;  IS Methodology Selected;  Constraints and Budget of the Project. Would you use the same team for SSADM, RAD, XP or UML? Would you use the same team for a small project with a local SME and a National Company? Would you use the same team to develop a stock control application and a MMORPG? 17 Types of IS Project Resources

Any project has at least 4 stages:  start-up;  development;  completion;  operational. Would you use the same roles for all the stages? Would you use the same people for all the stages? Could people have more than one role? 18 Types of IS Project Resources

Time is a resource that is very scarce and limits the use of other resources. Time allocation in the plan depends on IS methodology, effort estimation, quality standards used, risk management and the use of human resources. 19 Types of IS Project Resources

Ahh … but this is a bit boring ….

This module’s question: “ We know why projects fail, we know how to prevent their failure -- so why do they still fail?“ Cobb (1995) Old question!???

Project Management What has happened ? What is happening ? What is going to happen ? What What needs to be done ? How How are we going to do it ? When are we doing it ? Who Who is going to do it ? What is the quality of our work (product) ? What are the risks involved ?

Project Management Planning and Organising ( What and How ) Estimating ( When and Who ) Scheduling and Monitoring ( awareness of progression, remediation action, quality assurance)

Planning and Organising (What and How) 4Understanding requirements; 4Selecting a methodology; 4Determining deliverables and milestones; 4Determining verification and validation checks.

To Sum up... If If Time allocation in the plan depends on IS methodology, effort estimation, quality standards used, risk management and the use of human resources. Then Then we still have three questions to answer.