Transcript Systems Development Life Cycle

“How to fail in project management without
really trying” –J.K. Pinto and O.P Kharbanda
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Ignore the project environment—including the stakeholders
Push a new technology to market too quickly
Don’t bother building in fallback options
When problems occur, shoot the one most visible
Let new ideas starve to death from inertia—Xerox example
Don’t bother conducting feasibility studies—ready, fire, aim
Never admit a project is a failure
Over-manage project managers and their teams
Never conduct post-failure reviews—insanity= doing the same thing
in the same way and expecting a different result
• Never bother to understand project trade-offs
• Allow political expediency and infighting to dictate crucial project
decisions
• Make sure the project is run by a weak leader
What is a project?
• A sequence of tasks with a beginning and
end
• Bounded by time, resources, and desired
results
– Has a specific desired outcome
– Must be done by a deadline
– Has a budget that limits amount of people,
supplies, and money that can be used
What is project success?
• Balance among:
– Time
– Resources
– Results
– Perceptions (customer satisfaction)
What is project management?
• The discipline of combining systems,
techniques, and people to complete a
project within established goals of time,
budget, and quality
Good project goals
•
•
•
•
•
•
Specific
Realistic
Have a time component
Measurable
Agreed upon
Responsibility for achievement identified
Project scope
• Size of the project
– Avoid “scope creep”
• Statement of work—formal project management
document
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Purpose statement
Scope statement
Project deliverables
Goals and objectives (Criteria for success)
Cost and schedule estimates
List of stakeholders
Chain of command
Assumptions and agreements
Communication plan
Risk
• Known risks
• Predictable risks
• Unpredictable risks
• Need for contingency plans
Constraints
•
•
•
•
•
The budget
The schedule
The people
The real world
Facilities and equipment
terminology
• Task—cohesive unit of work on a project
• Milestone—completion of an important set
of tasks or completion of an important
event in a project
• Deliverables—clearly defined results,
goods, or services produced during the
project or at its outcome
Work plan
• Work breakdown structure (WBS)
– A hierarchical chart used to organize tasks of a
project into related areas
•
•
•
•
Tree diagram or outline
Milestones and tasks clearly defined
Tree method or outline method
WBS organization based on functional disciplines, or on
organizational structure of the company, or on physical
location, or on systems and subsystems
• WBS should at each level provide measurable deliverables
Project diagram
• Logical representation of tasks that
defines the sequence of work in a project
– List tasks
– Establish relationship between tasks
– Identify milestones
– Lay out the tasks and milestones as a
network
– Review logic of network
– Identify critical path through project network
Potential problems
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Floating start date
There’s not enough time for everything
Too many reports, not enough communication
They always need it faster—desires to shorten the
schedule
90% done syndrome
Moving target objectives
The key person always quits
Costs spiral out of control
The staff has more enthusiasm than talent
The impossible remains impossible
Lessons to be learned
• Projects often involve risk and always
upset the organizational status quo
• Past failures should not discourage future
efforts
Project failure
• Not enough resources
• Not enough time
• Unclear expectations
– Necessary changes are not understood or
agreed upon by the stakeholders
– Disagreements among stakeholders
The 12 rules of project management
from “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Project Management
”
• Thou shalt gain consensus on project outcomes
• Thou shalt build the best team you can
• Thou shalt develop a comprehensive, viable plan and keep it up to
date
• Thou shalt determine how much stuff you really need to get things
done
• Thou shalt have a realistic schedule
• Thou won’t try to do more than can be done
• Thou will remember that people count
• Thou will gain the formal and ongoing support of management and
stakeholders
• Thou must be willing to change
• Thou must keep others informed of what you’re up to
• Thou must be willing to try new things
• Thou must become a leader
Five processes of project management
from “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Project Management
•
•
•
•
•
”
Project initiating
Project planning
Project executing
Project controlling
Project closing
• These embody the three general functions of
project management: definition, planning, and
control
Project initiating process
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Recognize that a project needs to be done
Determine what the project should accomplish
Define the overall project goals
Define general expectations of all stakeholders
Define the general project scope
Select initial members of the project team
Write and agree on a statement of work or
contract of the project
• Establish the rules for the project—levels of
authority, communication channels, chain of
command
Project planning process
• Refine the project scope (balance required
among results, time, and resources)
• List tasks and activities that will lead to
achieving the project goals
• Sequence activities in most efficient way
• Develop a workable schedule and budget
• Get the plan agreed to and approved by
the stakeholders
Project executing process
• Procure necessary resources (money,
people, equipment, time)
• Lead the team
• Meet with team members
• Secure the special talent and expertise
needed
• Communicate with stakeholders (ongoing
process)
Project controlling process
• Monitoring deviation from the plan
• Take corrective action
• Receive and evaluate project change requests from
stakeholders and team members
• Reschedule project as needed
• Adapt resource levels as necessary
• Change the project scope
• Return to planning stage when necessary to make
adjustments to goals and get them approved by
stakeholders
• Fire-fighting (conflict resolution) to resolve problems
Project closing process
• Acknowledgement of achievements and
results
• Shutting down the operation and
disbanding the team
• Learning from the project experience
• Reviewing the project process and its
outcomes with team members and
stakeholders
• Writing a final project report