Systems Analysis & Design

Sixth Edition

Toolkit Part 4
Toolkit Objectives
● Describe project management
tools and how they are used
● Describe the steps used in project
planning, scheduling, monitoring
and controlling, and reporting
● Explain techniques for estimating
task completion times and costs
● Describe various scheduling tools,
including Gantt charts and
PERT/CPM charts
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Toolkit Objectives
● Calculate completion times,
start dates, and end dates for a
project
● Explain the steps involved in
software change control
● Understand the reasons why
projects sometimes fail

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Introduction
● You will learn about project
planning, scheduling, monitoring,
reporting, and the use of project
management software
● You also will learn how to control
and manage project changes that
typically occur

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Project Management Overview
● Project Management
● The goal of project management is
to deliver an information system
that is acceptable to users and is
developed on time and within
budget
● Project manager or project leader
● Project coordinator

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Project Management Overview
● Project managers typically
perform four main tasks:
– Project planning
– Project scheduling
– Project monitoring and controlling
– Project reporting

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Project Planning
● Takes place at the beginning and
end of each SDLC phase
● Task or activity
● Event or milestone

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Project Planning
● The project manager leads and
coordinates the team, monitors
events, and reports progress
● Identifying Tasks
– One of the most important variables is the
size of the project, because the amount of
work does not relate directly to the size of
the project
– If one project is twice the size of another
project, the larger project will take more
than twice as many resources to develop

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Project Planning
● Identifying Tasks
– Six times as many relationships can mean
more delay, misunderstanding, and
difficulty in coordinating tasks
– The capabilities of project team members
also affect time requirements
– A less experienced analyst usually will
need more time to complete a task than
an experienced team member will

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Project Planning
● Estimating Task Completion Time
and Cost
– Person-days
– Some tasks can be divided evenly so it is
possible to use different combinations of
time and people, up to a point
– In most systems analysis tasks, however,
time and people are not interchangeable

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Project Planning
● Estimating Task Completion Time
and Cost
– Best-case estimate (B)
– Probable-case estimate (P)
– Worst-case estimate (W)
– Weight
– Expected task duration:
(B+4P+W)
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Project Planning
● Factors Affecting Time and Cost
Estimates
– Project size and scope
– IT resources
– Prior experience with similar projects or
systems
– Constraints

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Overview of Project Scheduling
● Project scheduling involves the
creation of a specific timetable
● Dependent task
● Must balance task time
estimates, sequences, and
personnel assignments
● Several graphical planning aids
can help

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Project Scheduling with Gantt
Charts
● Gantt Chart
● A detailed Gantt
chart for a very
large project might
be quite complex
and hard to
understand
● Task groups
● Not an ideal tool
for controlling a
complex project
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Project Scheduling with
PERT/CPM Charts
● The Program Evaluation Review
Technique (PERT)
● Critical Path Method (CPM)
● The important distinctions
between the two methods have
disappeared over time, and today
the technique is called either
PERT, or CPM, or PERT/CPM

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Project Scheduling with
PERT/CPM Charts
● Overview of PERT/CPM
– PERT/CPM is called a bottom-up technique
– Project tasks
– Once you know the tasks, their duration,
and the order in which they must be
performed, you can calculate the time that
it will take to complete the project

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Project Scheduling with
PERT/CPM Charts
● PERT/CPM Chart Format
– Task box
– T (task duration or time)
– ES (earliest start)
– EF (earliest finish) – expected project
duration
– LF (latest finish)
– LS (latest start)

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Project Scheduling with
PERT/CPM Charts
● Task Patterns
– Sequential tasks
– Multiple successor tasks
• Concurrent task
• Predecessor task
• Successor task
– Multiple Predecessor Tasks

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Project Scheduling with
PERT/CPM Charts
● Complex Task Patterns

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Project Scheduling with
PERT/CPM Charts
● A PERT/CPM Example with Five
Tasks

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Project Scheduling with
PERT/CPM Charts
● Critical Path
– Slack time
– If any task along the critical path falls
behind schedule, the entire project is
delayed
– A critical path includes all tasks that are
vital to the project schedule

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Project Scheduling with
PERT/CPM Charts
● Transforming a Task List into a
PERT/CPM Chart
– You must develop three versions:
• Version 1: Basic Structure
• Version 2: Enter ES and EF Values
• Version 3: Add LF and LS Values
– After you enter the LS and LS figures,
you will be able to identify the critical
path

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Project Scheduling with
PERT/CPM Charts
● Transforming a Task List into a
PERT/CPM Chart

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Project Scheduling with
PERT/CPM Charts
● Comparing Gantt Charts and
PERT/CPM
– One significant advantage of PERT/CPM
charts is that all individual tasks and
dependencies are shown
– A PERT/CPM chart displays the critical path
for the overall project and the slack time
– A Gantt chart offers a rapid overview
– PERT/CPM and Gantt charts are not
mutually exclusive techniques

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Project Monitoring and
Controlling
● Monitoring and Control
Techniques
– The project manager must keep track of
tasks and progress of team members,
compare actual progress to the project
plan, verify the completion of project
milestones, and set standards and ensure
that they are followed
– Structured walkthrough
– Called design reviews, code reviews, or
testing reviews

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Project Monitoring and
Controlling
● Maintaining a Schedule
– Maintaining a project schedule can be a
challenging task
– The better the original plan, the easier it
will be to control the project
– If enough milestones and frequent
checkpoints exist, problems will be
detected rapidly
– It is mathematically possible for a project
to have more than one critical path

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Project Reporting
● Project Status Meetings
– Most project managers schedule regular
status meetings with the entire project
team

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Project Reporting
● Project Status Reports
– A project manager must report regularly
to his or her immediate supervisor, upper
management, and users
– Should explain what you are doing to
handle and monitor the problem
– Most managers recognize that problems
do occur on most projects; it is better to
alert management sooner rather than
later

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Project Management Software
● Project Management Software
● Project Management Example
Using Microsoft Project
– Create a Gantt chart showing the
necessary information
– After you complete the Gantt chart, you
decide to view the data in the form of a
PERT chart

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Project Management Software
● Project Management Example
Using Microsoft Project
– Network diagram
– Each task box contains the task
description, task identification number,
task duration, start date, and end date
– Project planning is a dynamic task and
involves constant change

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Software Change Control
● Software Change Control
● A procedure for processing
requests for changes to an
information system’s
requirements consists of four
steps:
1. Complete a change request form
2. Take initial action on the request
3. Analyze the impact of the requested change
4. Determine the disposition of the requested
change

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Keys to Project Success
● Business Issues
– The major objective of every system is to
provide a solution to a business problem
or opportunity
– A system that falls short of business needs
also produces problems for users and
reduces morale and productivity

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Keys to Project Success
● Budget Issues
– Cost overruns typically result from one or
more of the following:
• Unrealistic estimates
• Failure to develop an accurate TCO forecast
• Poor monitoring of progress and inadequate
reaction to early signs of problems
• Schedule delays due to unanticipated factors
• Human resource factors

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Keys to Project Success
● Schedule Issues
– Problems with timetables and project
milestones can indicate a failure to
recognize task dependencies, confusing
effort with progress, poor monitoring and
control methods, personality conflicts
among team members, or turnover of
project personnel

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Keys to Project Success
● Successful Project Management
– When problems occur, the project
manager’s ability to handle the situation
becomes the critical factor
– Sometimes, when a project experiences
delays or cost overruns, the system still
can be delivered on time and within
budget if several less critical requirements
are trimmed

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Keys to Project Success
● Successful Project Management
– If a project is in trouble because of a
lack of resources or organizational
support, management might be willing
to give the project more commitment
and higher priority
– A typical response is to push back the
completion date
– Option only if the original target date is
flexible and the extension will not create
excessive costs or other problems

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Toolkit Summary
● Project management is the
process of planning, scheduling,
monitoring and controlling, and
reporting upon the development
of an information system
● Begins with identifying and
planning all specific tasks or
activities
● Can use graphical tools such as
Gantt charts and PERT/CPM charts
to assist in the scheduling 37
process
Toolkit Summary
● A project manager uses a variety of
techniques to monitor, control, and
report project tasks
● Software change control is concerned
with change requests that arise
● Every successful information system
must support business requirements,
stay within budget, and be available on
time

● Toolkit Part 4 complete

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