Lecture 8 - Managing System Development Projects

What is the topic of Lecture 8?

Managing Systems Development Projects — covering project management principles, organisation, planning, monitoring, slippage, and "Death March" projects.

What is the Triple Constraint in project management?

The three primary and interdependent variables in any project: Time, Cost, and Quality/Scope. If one changes, at least one other is likely to be affected.

Who makes up the Project Organisation?

Project/Executive Sponsor (provides financial resources, accountable for business objectives), Project Manager (day-to-day management, accountable for project objectives), Project User (group using the outcome), Quality Manager (ensures quality targets are met), and Risk Manager (reduces risk in complex projects).

What is a Project Deliverable?

Any measurable, tangible, verifiable outcome, result, or item produced to complete a project or part of a project.

What is a Project Milestone?

A key date by which a certain group of activities must be performed — used to track progress through the project.

What is a Project Management Office (PMO)?

An internal department that oversees all organisational projects, providing governance and consistency across the portfolio.

What are the four characteristics of a well-defined project plan?

1. Easy to understand and read 2. Communicated to all key participants 3. Appropriate to the project's size, complexity, and criticality 4. Prepared by the team rather than by the individual project manager alone.

Where in the SDLC does project planning occur?

An initial project plan is created during the Planning phase; a more detailed project plan is developed during the Analysis phase.

What does SMART stand for in the context of project objectives?

Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound — criteria used to ensure project objectives are understandable and measurable.

What are the four steps in Project Management?

1. Estimate 2. Schedule/Plan 3. Monitoring and Control 4. Documentation.

What is a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)?

A hierarchical decomposition of the project into smaller components — from the top-level project down through second and third levels (e.g. tasks → sub-tasks → individual activities).

What is a Product Breakdown Structure (PBS)?

A hierarchical decomposition of the project's deliverable products rather than its activities (e.g. specialist products and management products such as feasibility reports, interview notes, requirements catalogues). It is more popular than WBS because it focuses on outcomes.

What tools are used to schedule and visualise a project plan?

PERT (Programme Evaluation and Review Technique) charts — showing task dependencies and the critical path — and Gantt Charts (e.g. via MS Project) — showing tasks against a timeline.

What does Monitoring and Control involve in project management?

Comparing planned versus actual time, cost, and quality; measuring where you are; evaluating where you planned to be; and correcting course to get back on track. Progress is reported through written reports and project team meetings.

What documents make up typical project documentation?

Work plan task list, requirements specification, purchase requisition forms, staffing budget, and change control documents.

What are four common reasons for project slippage?

1. Lack of clarity in the programme specification 2. The original time estimate was too low 3. Programmers' inexperience 4. Lack of access to development resources.

What is a "Death March" project (Yourdon, 2003)?

A project where parameters exceed the norm by 100% and the risk of failure is greater than 50%. They are rarely identified as such at the outset and can be hard to recognise.

What are the five typical requirements of a Death March project?

1. Done twice as fast 2. Done with half the people 3. Done at half the cost 4. Double the functionality 5. Double the performance.

What are four reasons why organisations impose Death March requirements?

1. Politics — power struggles between departments ("we do or we die") 2. Naïve promises — hysterical optimism or known lies to customers 3. Cuts in project schedules — assumption that planners pad estimates 4. Start-up mentality — belief that the project will "change the world."

What are two further reasons why Death March conditions arise?

Outside pressures (e.g. a legal deadline or system must be operational by an arbitrary date) and unexpected crises (e.g. a vendor going bankrupt or a legal dispute arising mid-project).

Why should individuals avoid participating in Death March projects?

Most are doomed to fail; health is priceless and beating the odds is not worth sacrificing wellbeing; family and personal priorities should take precedence over a company's unrealistic demands.

What are the key points of Lecture 8?

The triple constraint governs all projects; Product Breakdown Structure is preferred as it focuses on outcomes; network diagrams identify the critical path and available slack; slippage is commonplace; many corrective options exist (including doing nothing); and Death March projects should be avoided.