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Software Project Management

Session 6: MS-Project Intro & Mid-term Exam

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Today

• WBS Homework Review• Brief introduction to MS-Project• Exam

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WBS Review

• For process approaches– It sometimes appears that you think requirements = analysis =

design

– Or that doing a few diagrams (ERD, DFD) = requirements

• Consistency– Consistent use of verb+noun descriptions of activities

• Language– Inclusion of some phases but missing others

• Some at beginning, some at end

• Use of a spell checker (spelling counts in project plans too)

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WBS Review

• Disappearing ‘plot lines’– Like designing a network or choosing hardware but

never implementing

• Consistency across phases– If ‘Development’ includes four major modules,

typically ‘Design’ should reflect those same four

• If using a ‘process’ model, then there should be a visible ‘flow’ to the process– Not like this: Systems Engineering, Hardware &

Software, Project Management, Test, Training, Site Implementation

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WBS Review

• Some MS-Project plans had all 1 day assignments,

• That's good for this point of process

• This is prior to estimation

• Tone & Content– Some are very “generic”

• Tell me nothing about your system

• Not enough to say 'requirements, analysis, design, etc, done’

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WBS Review

• Some activities overly general 'Control Project‘• Forget things at equal level like ‘architecture

design’• Think all activities through• Aim for a consistent level of detail• Know the basic order of things: testing doesn’t

occur before development– Other details: QA is not part of ‘Rollout’

• I am lenient now but will be less so going forward

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MS-Project

• Mid-market leader• Has approx. 50% overall market share• 70-80% MS-Project users never used automated

project tracking prior (a “first” tool)• Not a mid/high-end tool for EPM (Enterprise

Project Mgmt.)

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Project Pros

• Easy outlining of tasks• Resource management• Accuracy: baseline vs. actual; various calculations• Easy charting and graphics• Cost management• Capture historical data

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Project Cons

• Illusion of control• Workgroup features ok, still in-progress• Scaling• No estimation features• Remember:

– Being a MS-Project expert does not make you an expert project manager!

– No more so than knowing MS-Word makes you a good writer.

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The MS-Project Process

• Move WBS into a Project outline (in Task Sheet)• Add resources (team members or roles)• Add costs for resources• Assign resources to tasks• Establish dependencies• Refine and optimize• Create baseline• Track progress (enter actuals, etc.)

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Project Overview

• This is a ‘quickie’ overview

• We will return to all of these steps individually over the next few weeks

• Sample project from McConnell

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Project UI

• Views– Default is Gant Chart View

• 2 panes

• Task Sheet on left (a table)

• Gantt Chart on right

– View Bar on far left

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Project UI

Indicators

Task Sheet

View Bar

Enter TasksHere

Gantt Chart

Timescale

Task Bars

Milestone

Split Bar

OutlineButtons

(Un)Link Buttons Toolbars

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Create Your Project

• File/New• Setup start date• Setup calendar

– Menu: Project/Project Information

– Often left with default settings

– Hours, holidays

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Enter WBS

• Outlining• Sub-tasks and summary tasks• Do not enter start/end dates for each• Just start with Task Name and Duration for each• Use Indent/Outdent buttons to define summary

tasks and subtasks• You can enter specific Start/End dates but don’t

most of the time

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Establish Durations

• Know the abbreviations– h/d/w/m

– D is default

• Can use partial– .5d is a half-day task

• Elapsed durations• Estimated durations

– Put a ‘?’ after duration

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Add Resources

• Work Resources– People

• Material Resources– Things

– Can be used to track costs• Ex: amount of equipment purshased

– Not used as often in typical software project

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Resource Sheet

• Can add new resources here– Or directly in the task entry sheet

• Beware of mis-spellings (Project will create near-duplicates)

• Setup costs– Such as annual salary (put ‘yr’ after ‘Std. Rate’)

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Effort-Driven Scheduling

• MS-Project default• Duration * Units = Work

• Duration = Work / Units (D = W/U)• Work = Duration * Units (W = D*U)• Units = Work / Duration (U = W/D)

• Adding more resources to a task shortens duration• Can be changed on a per-task basis

• In the advanced tab of Task Information dialog box• Task Type setting

• Beware the Mythical Man-month• Good for laying bricks, not always so for software development

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Link Tasks

• On toolbar: Link & Unlink buttons– Good for many at once

• Or via Gantt chart– Drag from one task to another

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Milestones

• Zero duration tasks• Insert task ‘normally’ but put 0 in duration

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Make Assignments

• Approach 1. Using Task Sheet– Using Resource Names column

– You can create new ones by just typing-in here

• 2. Using Assign Resources dialog box– Good for multiple resources

– Highlight task, Tools/Resources or toolbar button

• 3. Using Task Information dialog– Resources tab

• 4. Task Entry view– View/More Views/Task Entry

– Or Task Entry view on Resource Mgmt. toolbar

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Save Baseline

• Saves all current information about your project– Dates, resource assignments, durations, costs

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Fine Tune

• Then is used later as basis for comparing against “actuals”

• Menu: Tools/Tracking/Save Baseline

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Project 2002

• 3 Editions: Standard, Professional, Server• MS Project Server 2002

• Upgrade of old “Project Central”

• Includes “Project Web Access”, web-based UI (partial)

• Workgroup and resource notification features

• Requires SQL-Server and IIS

• “Portfolio Analyzer”– Drill-down into projects via pivot tables & charts

• “Portfolio Modeler”– Create models and “what-if” scenarios

• SharePoint Team Services integration

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Project 2002

• MS-Project Professional– “Build Team” feature

• Skills-based resource matching

– Resource Pools: with skill set tracking

– Resource Substitution Wizard

• “Project Guide” feature– Customizable “process component”

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Homework

• McConnell: 5 “Risk Management”, 14 “Feature-Set Control”

• Schwalbe: 10, “Project Risk Management”, Appendix A “Guide to Using Microsoft Project 2000” (447-477)

• Install MS-Project if you haven’t done so already

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Questions?