SOFTWARE PROJECT MANAGEMENT KEY TOPICS I. II. III. IV. V. VI. VII. VIII. IX. X. XI. XII.

Overview of Project Management Software Development Fundamentals Processes Organization Planning Estimation Work Breakdown Structure Scheduling Risk and Change Management Quality Application Tools Commissioning & Migration

Software Project Management

Software Development Fundamentals 1. Management Fundamentals 2. Technical Fundamentals 3. Quality Assurance Fundamentals

Software Project Management

1.

Management Fundamentals

Software Evolution Project Phases Core Software Project Phases Project Execution Fundamentals Tracking Software related problems Software Project Management Framework Software Development Life Cycles (SDLC) Characteristics of life cycles Standard Software process Models

Software Evolution
Multi-sessions Custom Software Development Multi-tasking Real-time Processing In-house Software Development Database Connectivity Product Software Networked Computing Micro Processors Penetration of the PC The internet Object oriented Programming Client-server Environment

1950s to Mid 60s

Mid 60 to Early 80s

80s to Mid 90s

1990s to Present

Project Phases
All projects are divided into Phases

Each phase is marked by completion of Deliverables All phases together are known as the Project Life Cycle

Core Software Project Phases

software Concept Requirement Analysis Architectural Design Detailed Design Coding and Debugging System Testing Deployment and Maintenance

Project Execution Fundamentals

Requirements Analysis Design Construction Quality Assurance Deployment

Tracking
Management Level
Tasks Lists Status Meetings & Reports Milestone Reviews Budget Reports Management By Walking Around

Technical Level

Technical Audits & Reviews Quality Gates

Tracking
Start
Ideal Project Visibility Efficient Project Visibility

End

Project Progress

Well-run Waterfall Project Visibility Typical Project Visibility

Software related problems

Inexperienced management Ineffective change control Political pressures Unrealistic deadlines

POOR PLANNING

Software Project Management Framework

A project is a synchronized event having understanding & harmony between participants. The participants are equipped with essential skills of planning, cooperation and communication. The Project Managers is to synchronize the project activities to make the project development a success.

Software Project Management Framework

To understand SW projects and their projects PM must be aware of the environment in which a SW project is executed. It further requires an understanding of the larger framework of SW project management. Both traditional & SW projects share the same methodologies, techniques, and processes. However managing SW projects requires a distinct approach.

Software Development Life Cycles (SDLC)

Development of a SW project consists of many activities spread across multiple phases. Dividing SW projects into Phases helps PM in managing the complexities and uncertainties.

An Overview of SDLC Models

Different organizations have different ways of assessing and arranging the phases in a project called PROCESS MODELS which define how a SW life cycle actually works.

Characteristics of life cycles

Cost & efforts are small to begin with but grows larger towards end of project. Initially external entities (customer & organization) play an important role to affect on the requirement, but at the end the requests for change in requirements decreases. Uncertainty is highest at the beginning of SDLC but decreases as the project progresses.

Standard Software process Models

I. The Waterfall Model: A traditional lifecycle model assuming all phases in SW project are carried out sequentially and each Phase is completed before the next is taken up. II. The Prototyping Model: A model that works on an iterative cycle of gathering customer requirements, producing a prototype based on the requirement specifications, and getting the prototype validated by the customer.

Standard Software process Models

III. The Incremental Model: The Incremental model is an evolutionary life cycle model combining Waterfall model and the iterative nature of the Prototyping model. In this model, the software product is developed in builds. A build is defined as a self-contained unit of the development activity. The Spiral Model: Another evolutionary life cycle model that combines the linear nature of the Waterfall model and the iterative nature of the Prototyping model. The project life cycle is divided into phases, and each phase is executed in all of the iteration of the Spiral Model.

I.

Summary
1. Software Evolution 2. Project Phases 3. Core Software Project Phases 4. Project Execution Fundamentals 5. Tracking 6. Software related problems 7. Software Project Management Framework 8. Software Development Life Cycles (SDLC) 9. Characteristics of life cycles 10. Standard Software process Models