Transcript Very cool title goes here and look you have plenty of room

Project Management
for
Developers
© Blackboard, Inc. All rights reserved.
About Forward-Looking Statements
»
We may make statements regarding our product
development and service offering initiatives,
including the content of future product upgrades,
updates or functionality in development. While
such statements represent our current intentions,
they may be modified, delayed or abandoned
without prior notice and there is no assurance that
such offering, upgrades, updates or functionality
will become available unless and until they have
been made generally available to our customers.
2
Introductions
»
Mary Sue Dahill
»
»
»
Sr. Project Manager within Product Development
6 year Bb Anniversary on August 14th
Why I love Project Management
3
Questions about you
Why did you choose this presentation?
» How many of you sell your Building Blocks?
» How many of you are a 1 person shop?
» How many of you have prepared a dinner party?
»
4
Description
»
You have a great idea that you want to go into
production for the next semester and the
Instructors are really excited about it. Like it or
not, you will be using project management skills to
ensure that becomes reality. I will discuss project
management techniques that will make a
difference in producing a quality product on time.
5
What is Project Management?
»
Project Management defined:
»
»
Discipline of defining and achieving targets while
optimizing the use of resources over the course of a
project.
Project defined:
»
A temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique
product or service.
6
Examples of Project Management
»
Thanksgiving dinner
Cleaning the house before the In-laws arrive
Start of a new school year
Packing for family vacation
Building a deck
»
Do not be intimidated
»
»
»
»
7
Why you should care?
»
Without it…
»
»
»
Value
»
»
»
»
»
Project takes much longer
Poor decisions due to lack of understanding
You want to be successful
You want your consumers to get what they need when they need it
Minimize the stress of delivering your product
Shorten delivery time
Tools
»
The goal of this presentation is to provide you some tools
8
No Project Management oversight
12/21
GA
7/3 - 8/11
Development
8/27 - 9/19
Test
9/26 - 10/9
Legal
10/24 - 11/11
Marketing
12/1 - 12/21
Train Support
9
With Project Management oversight
7/3 - 8/10
Development
7/15 - 7/28
Legal
8/11 - 9/3
Test
8/20 - 9/7
Marketing
9/11
GA
8/22 - 9/11
Train Support
10
Bb Example – SCORM Certification
»
Critical Path item
»
»
Paperwork!
Example of concurrent work
Legal agreement work
» Hosted site setup
» Development activities
»
11
Before you get started
»
What is your authority or level of influence?
»
»
»
Who decides what gets released?
Who decides when this gets released?
How much oversight does the project require?
»
»
»
What do I need to get out of managing this project?
How much time do I have to manage this project?
What are your goals for project management oversight?
12
Answer the Who, What, Why, When & How
»
Without it…
»
»
»
Too many people become your manager
Project becomes frustrating and demoralizing
Value
Identifies the key players
» Defines constraints of the project
» Surfaces assumed requirements or expectations
»
»
Tools to use
»
»
Project Charter
Product Requirement Document
13
Product Requirement Document
Executive review of project
» High level schedule
»
»
Usually works backwards from GA date
List of requirements
» Constraints
» Assumptions
» Signoff
»
14
Knowing when to release
»
Without it…
»
»
»
»
»
»
Value
»
»
»
»
Build too much
Don’t build enough
Chase perfection
Miss the opportunity
Process becomes a monster
Clear picture of your goal
Shared understanding of goal
Facilitates better decision making
Tools
»
»
»
Exit Criteria
Business Priority Tables
Product Requirement Document
15
Business Priority Tables
»
»
»
»
»
»
1 to 2 sentence description of feature
Marketing description
Broken down by Must Have, Scheduled and
Proximity
List EVERYTHING that is desired
Product Marketing & Product Development
agreed to list of features
Signoff
16
Exit Criteria
»
Defines handoff transactions
»
»
Eng to Test
Test to GA
Defines criteria and minimum to accept
» Reviewed with all stakeholders
» Becomes a contract between different teams
» Focus is on producing a good product
»
17
Schedule
»
Without it…
»
»
»
»
Value
»
»
»
»
Everyone thinks the project should be done now
Interruptions of work due to events that were not planned
Handoffs are not clear
Communication across functional groups is clear
Plan for events
Identifies tasks that can be completed concurrently
Tools
»
»
»
»
MS Project
MS Excel
Outlook Tasks
Mind Manager (www.mindjet.com)
18
Schedule Development Tips
Clearly define due dates for estimation
» Identify dates for reviewing the completion against
the larger schedule
»
»
»
Bb does this weekly
2 weeks is adequate with a smaller team
Identify critical path items
» Identify items that require long lead times
» Identify work that can occur concurrently
»
19
MS Project
20
Excel Schedule
Milestone
Expected Completion Date
Kick Off Meeting
23-Mar
PRD distributed for review
29-Mar
Phase I team assembly and project start
4-Apr
Test Plan distributed for review
22-Apr
Finalize Entry/Exit Criteria
25-Apr
PRD Baselined
29-Apr
Development Phase Complete
28-Jun
Requirement, Test Case and Documentation
finalized
1-Jul
Release Candidate handoff to QC
5-Jul
Maintenance Interrupt
Building Blocks Developer Conference
Test Complete
Preparation for Educause
Actual Completion Date
7/5-8/5
7/18-7/19
Late September
9/19-9/30
Educause
18-Oct
General Availability
24-Jan
21
MindManager Schedule
22
Team Mentality
»
Without it…
»
»
»
Value
»
»
»
Individuals succeed, but the project fails
No one cares about others needs
Builds collaboration
Shared goal
Tools
Share office space
» Team identity
» Shared communication space (wiki, Bb discussion
board , group email alias)
»
23
Communication
»
Without it…
Breakdowns in communication are not apparent until
the deliverable is due
» Constant requests for status
» No clear escalation path
» Too many meetings with too many participants
»
24
Communication cont…
»
Value
Stakeholders feel more comfortable knowing when they
will be updated
» Builds confidence in your ability to manage the project
» Becomes routine
» Develops communication channels for risk identification
» You must be seen as someone that helps resolve
problems
» Most important aspect of project management
»
25
Communication cont…
»
Tools
»
»
»
»
Team meetings
Status reports
Walkabouts and talking to team members
Communication Plan
26
Example Communication Plan
Item
Responsibility to
Report
Information
Member(s)
Receiving
Information
Objective
Medium used
Frequency
Team Meeting
Team Coordinator
Individual Project
Team
Communicate project
team and
release status
information
Meeting
Weekly
Steering Committee
Meeting
Release Coordinator
Steering Committee
Communicate
release status,
issues tracking,
risk tracking
and schedule
information
Meeting
Weekly
Weekly Project
Status Report
Release Coordinator
Project Teams
Communicate
release status
and schedule
information
Email
Weekly
Deliverable and
Milestone
Status Report
Release Coordinator
Project Teams
Status on schedule
and key
deliverables
Email
Tied to milestone due
dates
27
Flexibility
»
Without it…
»
»
»
Project Management becomes a hindrance
You will become part of the problem
Value
Ability to see the bigger picture
» Facilitator or part of the solution
»
»
Tools
»
»
»
Meditation 
Practice
Lessons Learned
28
Follow-up
»
Without it…
»
»
»
»
Value
»
»
»
Planning phase will feel like a total waste
Team members will not work on your project
No one will feel accountable
Team members feel like there work is important
Understand where you are towards your goal
Tools
»
»
»
Schedule
Weekly team meetings
Practice
29
Conclusion
»
»
»
»
»
Know why you need project management
oversight
Who, what, why, when
Schedule
Communication
Flexibility & Follow-up
30
Questions??
Mary Sue Dahill
[email protected]
© Blackboard, Inc. All rights reserved.