Project Management(part 2)

Project Scheduling

Project scheduling is the one of the most different job for a project a manager. Project manager estimate the time and resources require to complete activities and organize them in to coherent sequence. Schedule estimation is further complicated by the fact that different project may use different design methods and implementation language.(Sommerville SE_book)

If the project is technically advanced, initial estimation will almost certainly optimism even when manager try to consider all eventualities. (coursehero) In this respect software scheduling is no different from scheduling any other type of large advanced project. Project scheduling involves separating the total work involved in a project into a separate activities and judging the time require to complete these activities. Usually, some of these activities are carried out in parallel. Manager has to co-ordinate these parallel activities and organizes the work, so that the work force is used optimally.

It is suggested that where manager is estimating scheduling he should not assume that every stage of the project will be problem free. If the project is new and technically advanced, certain parts of it may turn out to be more difficult and take longer time than original assumption. As well as time the manager have to estimate resources to complete each task.

Different stages of project scheduling process is shown in figure below:

Bar charts and activity networks

• Graphical notations used to illustrate the project schedule.
• Show project breakdown into tasks. Tasks should not be too small. They should take about a week or two.(coursehero)
• Activity charts show task dependencies and the critical path.(coursehero)
• Bar charts show schedule against calendar time.(coursehero)

Task durations and dependencies

An Activity Network

Activity bar chart(Gantt chart)

Staff allocation vs.Timechart

Risk Management

Risk management is one of the main jobs of project manager. It involves anticipating risks that might affect the project schedule or the quality of software being developed and taking appropriate action to avoid the risk.(Sommerville SE_book)

The result of risk analysis should be documented in the project plan along with an analysis of consequence of a risk occurring. Effective risk management makes it easier to cope with problem and to ensure that these do not load to unacceptable budget or schedule slippage. A risk is some things that manager prefer not to have happen. There are three related categories of risk.

1. Project risk: Project risk is risk that affects the project schedule or resource.
2. Product risk: Product risk are risk that affects quality or performance of the software being developed.
3. Business risk: Business risk is a risk that affects the organizations developing or procuring the software.

The risks may be affect a project depend on the project and the organizational environment where software is being developed.

Possible software risks:

The risk that may effects project depends on the project on the organizational environments where the software being developed risk management is particularly importance for software project because of the inherent uncertainties that must project face. These stem from loosely define requirements difficulties in estimating time and resource require for software development, dependence on individual
skill and requirements changes due to change in costumer need. Manager has to anticipate risk, understand the impact of this risk on the project, product and business and take steps to avoid this risk.

Risk Management Process

The risk that may affect the project depends on project and organizational environment where the software is being developed. Risk management is particularly important for software project because of the inherent uncertainties that must project face. These stem from loosely defined requirements, difficulties in estimating the time and resources required for the software development; dependency on individual skills and requirements changes due to changes in customers’ needs.(doc88) Manager has to anticipate risk, understand the impact of these risks on the project, product, and business and take necessary steps to avoid these risks.

Risk identification

Risk identification is the first stage of risk management. It is concerned with discovering possible risk to the project.(Sommerville SE_book) Risk identification can be carried out as a team process using a brain storming or may simply based on experience.(Sommerville SE_book) To help the process, a checklist of different types of risk may be used. There are at least six types of risk that are:

1. Technology risk: Technology risks are risks that derive from the software or hardware technologies that are
   used to develop the software.
2. Organizational Risk: Organizational risks are risk that derive from the organizational environment where the
   software being developed.
3. People Risk: People risks are risks that are associated with peoples involved in software development.
4. Tools Risk: Tools risks are risks that derive from the CASE tool and other supported software used to
   develop the software.
5. Requirement Risk: Requirement risks are risks derived from changes to the customer requirements and the
   process of managing requirement change.
6. Estimation Risk: Estimation risks are risks that derive from the management estimates of the system
   characteristics and the resources required to develop the software.

Risk Analysis

• During risk analysis process, assess probability and seriousness of each risk.(coursehero)
• Probability may be very low, low, moderate, high or very high.(coursehero)
• Risk effects might be catastrophic, serious, tolerable or insignificant.

Risk planning

The risk planning processes consider each of the key risk that have been identified and identify strategies to manage the risk. There is no simple process that can be followed to establish risk management plan. It relies on the judgement that has been identified for the risk management
plans are as follows :

1. Avoidance Strategy: Avoidance strategy means that the probability that the risk will arise will be reduced.
2. Minimization Strategy: This strategy means that the impact of the risk will be reduced.
3. Contingency plan: Contingency plan means that you are prepared for the worst case and have a strategy to deal with it.

Risk Monitoring

Risk monitoring involves regularly accessing each of the identified risk to decide whether or not that risk is becoming more or less probable and weather the effort of the risk have changed. Risk monitoring should be continuous process and at every management process review, manager should consider and discuss each of the risk repeatedly.

Reference:

• Sommerville, Ian. Software engineering. eight edition. Newyork: pearson, 2007.
• coursehero. <https://www.coursehero.com/file/10421924/Lesson3-1/>.
• coursehero. <https://www.coursehero.com/file/p6pabl1/Risk-identification-May-be-a-team-activitie-or-based-on-the-individual-project/>.
• csitprogram. <https://books.google.com.np/books?id=CDWRq0B9e5kC&pg=PA5&lpg=PA5&dq=+Software+Software+is+computer+programs+and+associated+documentation.&source=bl&ots=fuFOT7wYOS&sig=0tkbWoER8gf7RxbScRjIQc7W_d0&hl=en&sa=X&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=Software Software is%>.
• doc88. <http://www.doc88.com/p-082413273913.html>.