2. What is the problem?  Any project is made up of many complex tasks and resources  Resources are limited and tasks have dependencies on one another  This makes it very difficult to manage the big picture:  How long will the project take?  What will you need to make it successful?  When are the periods of most work?  What are the consequences of something going wrong?

3. What is the problem?  Project Management is your friend  Explains to others what you are doing  Demonstrates due diligence  Can actually be useful to the project  Today will review a few genuinely useful tools

5. A Question You are a hero! You see that a heavy sign has come loose at the top of a tall building. At any moment it might fall onto the people passing in the street below What do you do?

6. Skills Audit  You are not Superman (or Superwoman)!  It is better to be Real than to be Right  Practical decisions are based on your real skills rather than the skills you think you should have  In a Project identifying skills early can:  Support decision making  Identify new things you need to learn

7. Simple Example SkillsRating (1-5) Technical Skills PHP2 JavaScript3 AJAX4 Design5 HCI4 Communication and Analysis Skills Writing3 Researching3 Evaluation1

8. Simple Example SkillsBenChloe Technical Skills PHP24 JavaScript33 AJAX41 Design53 HCI42 Communication and Analysis Skills Writing35 Researching34 Evaluation14

9. Simple Example SkillsBenChloe Technical Skills PHP24 JavaScript33 AJAX41 Design53 HCI42 Communication and Analysis Skills Writing35 Researching34 Evaluation14 STRENGTH

11. Things Go Wrong  When planning the temptation is to assume that everything will (more or less) go right  It doesn’t  We should plan for problems and failures

12. When does it Matter?  Critical Path Analysis  Plotting how activities rely on one another  In order to find the critical activities  Delays to critical activities delay the whole project PERT chart for a project with five milestones (10 through 50) and six activities (A through F). The project has two critical paths: activities B and C, or A, D, and F – giving a minimum project time of 7 months with fast tracking. Activity E is sub-critical, and has a float of 2 months. Wikipedia

13. Risk Assessment  A much lighter approach  Better suited to smaller projects with a simple structure  Simply list the significant things that could go wrong  For each, the Risk R = L* p  L is the magnitude/severity of the Loss  p is the probability it will happen

14. Risk Assessment ScenarioRisks ?  You are designing a simple Twitter App for the iPhone. Your app will show users the tweets of people located nearby, and you want to find out if that influences the phrases and #hashtags they themselves use  You are using your own MacBook for development and although you are experienced at using the Twitter API, you have never written an iPhone App before

15. Risk Assessment Scenario  You are designing a simple Twitter App for the iPhone. Your app will show users the tweets of people located nearby, and you want to find out if that influences the phrases and #hashtags they themselves use  You are using your own MacBook for development and although you are experienced at using the Twitter API, you have never written an iPhone App before Risks  MacBook may be lost or damaged  Difficulty with iPhone development  Very few people will download the App

16. Risk Assessment ProblemLossProbRiskPlan MacBook may be lost or damaged 414Code will be version managed on a separate server. If the MacBook is lost alternative Mac development machines are available in the Labs Difficulty with iPhone development 339Guidance will be sought from experts in the School. If iPhone App development proves too challenging, an alternative web-based interface will be developed instead Very few people will download the App 3515In addition to a public release a number of fellow students will be asked to try the App in order to guarantee evaluation data

18. Time is on the March  Skills and Risks are important, but your biggest challenge is one of Planning  What do you need to do  When does it need to be done  Is this project possible in the time ? www.despair.com

19. Planning with Gantt  Henry Gantt (1861–1919)  Devised a simple graphical system for planning  Based on plotting tasks and milestones against a timeline  Good for managing small projects  A variety of tools  Microsoft Project, Omnifocus, Eclipse (via Plugins)  Microsoft Excel, Vector Drawing Package

20. How do you build one? OCTNOVDECJANFEBMARAPRMA Y JUNJULAUGSEP

21. Identify Major Tasks OCTNOVDECJANFEBMARAPRMA Y JUNJULAUGSEP Background Design Implementation Testing Report Writing

22. Identify Major Tasks OCTNOVDECJANFEBMARAPRMA Y JUNJULAUGSEP Background Design Implementation Testing Report Writing

23. Identify Sub-Tasks OCTNOVDECJANFEBMARAPRMA Y JUNJULAUGSEP Background Survey Literature Review Design Requirements Specification Implementation Prototypes Iteration 1 Iteration 2 Testing Report Writing

24. Identify Sub-Tasks OCTNOVDECJANFEBMARAPRMA Y JUNJULAUGSEP Background Survey Literature Review Design Requirements Specification Implementation Prototypes Iteration 1 Iteration 2 Testing Report Writing

25. Revise If Needed! OCTNOVDECJANFEBMARAPRMA Y JUNJULAUGSEP Background Survey Literature Review Design Requirements Specification Implementation Prototypes Iteration 1 Iteration 2 Testing Report Writing

26. Revise If Needed! OCTNOVDECJANFEBMARAPRMA Y JUNJULAUGSEP Background Survey Literature Review Design Requirements Specification Implementation Prototypes Iteration 1 Iteration 2 Testing Report Writing

27. Identify Milestones OCTNOVDECJANFEBMARAPRMA Y JUNJULAUGSEP Background Survey Literature Review Design Requirements Specification Implementation Prototypes Iteration 1 Iteration 2 Testing Report Writing Completed Survey Completed Specification Beta Release Candidate Report Submitted

28. A Convenient Fiction?

29.  Gantt charts are a planning tool – they can change!  They are not a contract, or a stick to beat yourself  Use them to plan your time, but also:  Keep track of progress  Be aware of delays  Help adjust your future planning and expectations

30. Don’t be a Drunken Monkey  Small Project Management should be lightweight and practical  Fact  Be realistic about what you can achieve  A Skills Audit can help formalise decisions about what is doable  Failure  Remember that things can and will go wrong  A Risk Assessment can help you plan contingencies for likely problems  Fiction  Have a plan, but remember that plans change  Gantt Charts are an easy and flexible way of planning your time