Software Project Management (Chapter 5)

A set of vocabulary flashcards covering key terms and concepts from the Chapter 5 lecture on Software Project Management.

Software Project Management

Discipline concerned with ensuring software is delivered on time, within budget and in accordance with specified requirements.

• Proposal Writing

• Project Planning and Scheduling

• Project Costing

• Project monitoring and reviews

• Personnel selection and evaluation

• Report writing and presentations

Management Activities

Project Planning

Continuous, time-consuming management process of devising and updating plans from concept to delivery.

Quality Plan

Document describing procedures and standards that assure product quality during the project.

Validation Plan

Plan detailing approach, resources and schedule for system validation activities.

Configuration Management Plan

Description of procedures for controlling versions and changes to project artifacts.

Maintenance Plan

Forecast of post-delivery maintenance needs, costs and required effort.

Staff Development Plan

Outline of how team members’ skills and experience will be enhanced during the project.

Project Plan

Master document specifying available resources, work breakdown and schedule.

• Introduction

• Project organization

• Risk analysis

• Hardware and software resource requirements

• Work breakdown

• Project schedule

• Monitoring and reporting mechanisms

Project Plan Structure

Milestone

End-point of an activity used to gauge project progress.

Deliverable

Tangible project result handed over to the customer.

• Feasibility study

• Requirements analysis

• Prototype development

• Design study

• Requirements specification

Milestones in Requirements Engineering Process

Project Scheduling

Process of splitting work into tasks, ordering them and assigning resources to minimize duration and dependencies.

Activity Chart (Network)

Graphical schedule showing task dependencies and critical path.

Bar Chart (Gantt)

Schedule representation mapping tasks against calendar time.

Risk

Probability that an adverse circumstance will occur during a project.

Project Risk

Threat affecting schedule or resource availability.

Product Risk

Threat impacting software quality or performance.

Business Risk

Threat influencing the organization that is developing or procuring the software.

Risk Management

Process of identifying, analyzing, planning for and monitoring project risks.

Risk Strategy: Avoidance

Action aimed at reducing the chance a risk will occur.

Risk Strategy: Minimization

Action intended to lessen the effect should the risk occur.

Risk Strategy: Contingency Plan

Pre-defined response executed if the risk materializes.

Risk Indicator: Technology

Signs such as late hardware delivery or frequent technology problems.

Risk Indicator: People

Signals like poor morale or interpersonal conflicts among team members.

Risk Indicator: Organizational

Clues including corporate gossip or inaction by senior management.

Risk Indicator: Tools

Symptoms such as reluctance to use CASE tools or complaints about tool performance.

Risk Indicator: Requirements

Frequent change requests or customer dissatisfaction pointing to unstable needs.

Risk Indicator: Estimation

Missed schedules and unresolved defects suggesting inaccurate estimates.

• Quality plan

• Validation plan

• Configuration management plan

• Maintenance plan

• Staff development plan

Types of Project Plans

Quality plan

Describes the quality procedures and standards that will be used in a project.

Validation plan

Describes the approach, resources and schedule used for system validation.

Configuration management plan

Describes configuration management procedures and structures to be used.

Maintenance plan

Predicts the maintenance requirements of the system, costs and effort required.

Staff development plan

Describes how skills and experience of team members will be developed

• The resources available to the project

• The work breakdown

• A schedule for the work

Project plan

• Split project into tasks

• Organize tasks

• Minimize task

• Dependent on project managers

PROJECT SCHEDULING

• Identify activities (software requirements)

• Identify activity dependencies

• Estimate resources for activities

• Allocate people to activities

• Create project charts (activity charts and bar charts)

PROJECT SCHEDULING PROCESS

• Project risks

• Product risks

• Business risks

Types of Risks

• Staff turnover

• Management change

• Hardware unavailability

• Requirements change

• Specification delays

• Size underestimate

• CASE tool under-performance

• Technology change

• Product Competition

Software Risks

• Risk identification

• Risk analysis

• Risk planning

• Risk monitoring

Risk Management Process

• Technology risks

• People risks

• Organizational risks

• Requirements risks

• Estimation risks

Risk Identification / Types