Project Planning 1

Project Planning

Overview

• Understanding the work

• Breaking the work down

• Dependences and tolerances

• Estimating

• Scheduling

Project Planning 2

What is a Project?• ‘A temporary endeavour undertaken to accomplish a

unique purpose’• Better understood by its attributes

– Time frame – Purpose – Ownership – Resources – Roles – Risks / Assumptions – Interdependent tasks – Organisational change – Operating in an environment larger than itself

Taken from Marchewka, J. T. Information Technology Management, Wiley 2003

Project Planning 3

Balancing Resources

Strategy

• Choices

Budget Timescales Human Resources

Outsource Partnership In House

ConsultantsFunction Application Integrators

Project Planning 4

Project Inception - Roles

Steering Committee

Project Board

Database Administrator

Project Manager

Quality ManagerUser Manager

Pilot (&) Acceptance Team

User(s)Team Leader(s)

Analyst(s) Programmer(s)

Business Sponsor IT Sponsor

See Cadle & Yeates Ch 3

Project Planning 5

Why Plan?

• A complex project probably won’t succeed if it’s not planned

• People need to understand what is going to happen

• A plan is a tangible demonstration that you have thought about the work

• Without a plan, how do you know you are on schedule?

Project Planning 6

Conduct Investigation

Work breakdown (1)Project

Conduct Interviews

M.D.Review Notes

Writenotes

Create DFDs

Investigateother systems

M.D.

Analyse Requiremts

Investigates/ware

Produce Report

F.D. S.D.

Yeates & Cadle Ch 6

Project Planning 7

Work breakdown (2)Project Products

ManagementProducts

SpecialistProducts

AnalysisProducts

QualityProducts

ReqsCatalogue

Interview Notes

FeasibilityReport

Package Report

DFDs

Following PRINCE Project Planning methodology

Project Planning 8

Work breakdown (3)

DFDs

Draft DFDs Reviewed DFDs

At the bottom level, precise specification, incl:•Composition of product•Derivation of product•Quality criteria

Project Planning 9

Dependences• Network Diagram

START FINISH

Conduct Interviews

Investigatehardware

Investigatepackages

Analyse requirements

Investigateother systems

Producereport

Notedotted lines and dummy activities

Project Planning 10

Dependences

• Critical Path Analysis

Investigatehardware

Producereport

START FINISH

Conduct Interviews

Investigatepackages

Analyse requirements

Investigateother systems

Conduct Interviews 8 daysInvestigate systems 4 daysAnalyse req’s 3 daysInvestigate packages 8 daysInvestigate h/ware 5 daysProduce report 5 days

8

5

5

8

3

4

Project Planning 11

Dependences

• Bar (Gantt) Charts

Conduct Interviews

Investigate hardware

Investigate packages

Analyse requirements

Investigate other systems

Produce report

days 10 15 20 255