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Software Project Management
Unit - I
Introduction to SPM:
Software in project management is dedicated to the planning, scheduling, resource allocation, execution, tracking, and delivery of software and web projects. It allows project managers (PMs), stakeholders and users to control costs and manage budgeting, quality management and documentation and also may be used as an administration system. Project management software is also used for collaboration and communication between project stakeholders. 2.Software projects versus other types of projects Invisibilty : Software progress is not immediately visible. The progress is not visible unless one of the project module is completed at least. Complexity: Per dollar software products contains more complexity. The complexity of a software project is unknown at the beginning Conformity: Software developers have to conform to the requirements of clients. Flexibility: The ease with which software can accommodate changes. Software projects are more flexible than other projects. Software projects require logic and logical works.
The resources required and the cost is also low when compared to the other types of project. 3.SPM ACTIVITIES : Software Project Management consists of many activities that includes planning of the project deciding the scope of product, estimation of cost in different terms, scheduling of tasks, etc. The list of activities are as follows:
- Project planning and Tracking
- Project Resource Management
- Scope Management
- Estimation Management
- Project Risk Management
- Scheduling Management
- Project Communication Management
- Configuration Management Now we will discuss all these activities - 1. Project Planning: It is a set of multiple processes, or we can say that it a task that performed before the construction of the product starts. 2. Scope Management: It describes the scope of the project. Scope management is important because it clearly defines what would do and what would not. Scope Management create the project to contain restricted and quantitative tasks, which may merely be documented and successively avoids price and time overrun. 3. Estimation management: This is not only about cost estimation because whenever we start to develop software, but also figure out their size(line of code), efforts, time as well as cost.
From the planning to closure, communication plays a vital role. In all the phases, communication must be clear and understood. Miscommunication can create a big blunder in the project.
8. Project Configuration Management: Configuration management is about to control the changes in software like requirements, design, and development of the product. The Primary goal is to increase productivity with fewer errors. Some reasons show the need for configuration management: o Several people work on software that is continually update. o Help to build coordination among suppliers. o Changes in requirement, budget, and schedule need to accommodate. o Software should run on multiple systems. 4.Plans, Methods and Methodologies: A plan for an activity must be based on some idea of a method of work. For example, if you were asked to test some software, you may know nothing about the software to be tested, but you could assume that you would need to: ● analyse the requirements for the software; ● devise and write test cases that will check that each requirement has been satisfied; ● create test scripts and expected results for each test case; ● compare the actual results and the expected results and identify discrepancies. While a method relates to a type of activity in general, a plan takes that method (and perhaps others) and converts it to real activities, identifying for each activity: ● its start and end dates; ● who will carry it out; ● what tools and materials – including information – will be needed. The output from one method might be the input to another. Groups of methods or techniques are often grouped into methodologies such as object- oriented design.
5.Categorizing Software Projects: There are many ways to classify a project such as: By size (cost, duration, team, business value, number of departments affected, and so on) By type (new, maintenance, upgrade, strategic, tactical, operational) By application (software development, new product development, equipment installation, and so on) By complexity and uncertainty (Based on clarity and completeness of the goal and the solution) 6..Project Evaluation : Technical Assessment : o Functionality against hardware and software o The strategic IS plan of the organization o any constraints imposed by the IS plan Why? Consider whether the project is the best among other options Prioritise the projects so that the resources can be allocated effectively if several projects are underway How? Cost-benefit analysis Cash flow forecasting Various cost-benefit evaluation techniques NPV and IRR 7 Cost-benefit Analysis
The return on investment (ROI), also known as the accounting rate of return (ARR), provides a way of comparing the net profitability to the investment required.
- Net Present Value ( NPV) Net present value (NPV) is the difference between the present value of cash inflows and the present value of cash outflows over a period of time. NPV is used in capital budgeting and investment planning to analyse the profitability of a projected investment or project. - Internal Rate of Return ( IRR) The internal rate of return (IRR) is a metric used in financial analysis to estimate the profitability of potential investments. IRR is a discount rate that makes the net present value (NPV) of all cash flows equal to zero in a discounted cash flow analysis. IRR calculations rely on the same formula as NPV does. 9. Stepwise Project Planning
Planning is the most difficult process in project management. The framework described is called the Stepwise method to help to distinguish it from other methods. Step 0: Select Project Step 1: Identify project scope and objectives Step 1.1 : Identify objectives and practical measures of the effectiveness in meeting those objectives Step 1.2 : Establish a project authority Step 1.3 : Stakeholder analysis - identify all stakeholders in the project and their interests.
Step 6 : Identify activity risks Step 6.1 : Identify and quantify activity based risks damage if risk occurs likelihood if risk occuring Step 6.2 : Plan risk reduction and contingency measures risk reduction : activity to stop risk occuring contingency : action if risk does occurs Step 6.3 : Adjust overall plans and estimates to take account of risks Step 7 : Allocate resources Step 7.1 : Identify and allocate resources Step 7.2 : Revise plans and estimates to take into account resource constraints Step 8 : Review/ Publicize plans Step 8.1 : Review quality aspects of the project plan Step 8.2 : Documentr plans and obtain agreement Step 9 and 10 : Execute plan. Lower levels of planning
