Learn basics of management and particularly software project management. (Part 2)

1. Software Project
Management
Four Project Dimensions
Sheikh Khawar Qayyum

2. People in Software Management
 The most important contributor to a successful software project.
 Selection of smart people is crucial.
 Associate real good people, grow good people and provide an environment in
which good people can produce.

3. The Players (People in Software
Management)
 Senior Managers (Define business issues that have significant influence on
project)
 Project Managers (Plan, organize, motivate and control the practitioners)
 Practitioners (Deliver the technical skills require to engineer a product or
application)
 Customers (Specify the requirements for the software or stakeholders who
have interest in outcomes)
 End Users (The users who interact with the software)

4. People Management Capability Maturity
Model (PM-CMM)
 It defines following key practice areas for software people
 Recruiting
 Selection
 Performance Management
 Training
 Compensation
 Career Development
 Organization & Work Design
 Team Building
 Culture Development
 Organization with high level of maturity gains effective software engineering
practices.

5. Software Process
 A roadmap to create a timely & high quality software (result).
 This process varies from software to software.
 It provides frame work to establish a comprehensive plan for software
development.
 Software plan includes requirement gathering, tasks, milestones &
deliverables.
 In last umbrella activities are also part of software process such as quality
assurance, configuration management & maintenance. Umbrella activities are
independent of any framework and occur throughout the process.

6. Product
 Pareto Principal 80/20
 80% of defects arise from 20% of the processes issues.
 20% of sales force produces 80% of your company revenue.
 80% of delays in schedule arise from 20% of your possible causes of the delays.
 Work on 20% that is really important, don’t just work, work smart on right
things.
 If something in the schedule has to slip, if something isn’t going to get done,
make sure that it is not part of that 20%.
 This rules help you to keep focus on 20% that matters. Those 20% produce 80%
of your result so identify and focus on these things.
 While gathering requirements, portioning, positioning and delivering the work
always plan as per this rule.

7. Software Project
 Divide into several phases known as software phases to improve management,
and control.
 Collectively software phases are project life cycle.
 Initiation (Vision, establishment of goals & expectations, team building & scope)
 Planning (Refine scope, identify tasks, define schedule and budgeting)
 Execution (Goal accomplishment, leading team, solving problems, engineering
project)
 Controlling (Monitor changes, corrections, adjustments in budget & schedule or
expectations & goals)
 Closing (Deliver project to end users, acknowledge results, and accessing success)
 Development point of view it is referred as software development life cycle.

8. Project Phases
 Each phases has one or more deliverables.
 Deliverable is a verifiable work product and by reviewing which a phase can be
concluded.
 Upon conclusion of each phase review of following is completed;
 Determine to move project to next phase.
 Detect & correct errors, and cost effectiveness.
 Phase end reviews are phase exits, stage gates or kill points.
 Deliverables from preceding phase are usually approved before work starts on
next phase. However sometimes subsequent phase is begun prior approval
when the risks involved are deemed acceptable. This overlapping of phases is
called fast tracking.

9. Project Life Cycle
 It defines the start and end of a project and the activities that used to link the associative
processes i.e., requirements to design, design to manufacturing, or constructions to
operations.
 It also explains;
 What should be done in each phase?
 Who should be involved in each phase?
 It’s description may be general or detailed. Detailed approaches are called Project
Management Methodologies that includes numerous forms, charts, & checklists.
 Cost, staffing level and probability of success are lower at the start.
 Cost & staffing level drop rapidly towards the end of the project. Probability to success gets
higher as the project continues.
 Risk, uncertainty, stakeholder influence on project’s product and cost is highest at start and
gets progressively lower in the end.
 Cost of changes and error correction generally increases as the project continues.

10. Software Development Life Cycle
 It may vary from organization to organization and includes following
activities;
 Concept Phase
 Requirement Phase
 Design Phase
 Development Phase
 Operation Phase