SE503 Advanced Project Management Dr. Ahmed Sameh, Ph.D. Professor, CS & IS Project Management Software

“Professional” Packages – Over $2000 cost – Very flexible, multi-project capability – Primavera Project Planner (P3) “Personal” Packages – Under $500 cost – Canned views, reports, graphics – Microsoft Project

Software Advantages Forces you to plan Re-planning, What-If Analysis Resource Management Monitoring Progress Communicating Interoperability With Other Software

Software Disadvantages Purchase Cost Time Consuming/Learning Curve Assumes Computer Skills De-Humanizes Project Management Inconsistent or Unfamiliar Terminology GIGO Rule

Software Purchase Cost Capabilities Company Reputation Technical Assistance Interoperability EASE OF USE – Other users – Demonstrations – Trial period

Software Features Scope – Work breakdown structure – Outlining/numbering/indenting – Task sorting/filtering

Software Features Schedule – Task durations and relationships – Summary tasks – Milestones, fixed dates – Calendars – Time scales – Critical task identification

Software Features Budget – Material costs – Labor costs (regular, holiday, overtime) – Cost accrual (start, end, prorated) – Sorting/filtering/subtotals – Contingency, escalation, overhead

Software Features Resource Management – Assign resources to tasks – Show allocation for project – Manual or automatic leveling – Beware of leveling algorithm

Resource Leveling Level the Demand on each Resource Approaches – Change task durations – Shift task start times – Split tasks Resource Leveling Becomes Complicated Very Quickly and can Involve Multiple Strategies

Resources - Final Comments Initial Planning often Assumes the Availability of All Necessary Resources Demands of Other Projects on Common Resources is often Unknown Software can be a Great Help in Identifying and Resolving Resource Conflicts

Software Features Graphics – Gantt chart – PERT chart – Time-scaled logic – Spending curves – Resource allocation graphs – Two-week look ahead

Software Features Reports – Tabular – Standard forms – Custom formats – Scope/schedule/budget/resource/progress Multi-Project Capability – Master/slave projects – Shared resources

Critical Chain Software

Agile Project Management Software

Both? MS Project – CC-Pulse add-in – Scrum add-in