Unit

06:
Planning a Computer Project

Ms. Prabha Mihirani

MCS(Peradeniya), B.Sc. (Special) in Computer Science (Jaffna)
Lecturer
Department of Information Technology
Faculty of Engineering and Technology
E-Mail – prabha.mihirani@cinec.edu
 Unit 06
Course Summary

12/03/2023 Introduction to Project Management 2

Unit 06: Planning a Computer Project

Unit Code H/618/7407

Unit Type Core
Unit Level 4
Credit Value 15
Methodology A combination of lectures and tutorials
Scheme of Evaluation Pearson-set Assignment
Lecturer Ms. K. Prabha Mihirani
Lecturer Email prabha.mihirani@cinec.edu
Lecture Time Sunday, time may be varied

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This Year Theme

The Environmental Impact of Digital

Transformation

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Learning Outcomes
• By the end of this unit students will be able to:
• LO1 Conduct small-scale research, information gathering and data
collection to generate knowledge on an identified subject
• LO2 Explore the features and business requirements of organisations in
an identified sector.
• LO3 Produce project plans based on research of the chosen theme for an
identified organisation
• LO4 Present your project recommendations and justifications of
decisions made, based on research of the identified theme and sector.

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Recommended Reading
• Textbooks
• Costley, C., Elliot, G. and Gibbs, P. (2010) Doing Work Based Research: Approaches to Enquiry
for Insider-researchers. London: SAGE.
• Dawson, C. (2016) Projects in Computing and Information Systems: A Student’s Guide. UK:
Pearson Education.
• Flick, U. (2011) Introducing Research Methodology: A Beginner’s Guide to Doing a Research
Project. London: SAGE.
• Gray, D. (2009) Doing Research in the Real World. 2nd edn. London: SAGE.
• Guay, M., Schreiber, D. and Briones, S. (2016) The Ultimate Guide to Project Management: Learn
everything you need to successfully manage projects and get them done. Free Kindle Edition. US:
Zapier Inc.
• Lock, D. (2013) Project Management 8th edn. UK: Routledge.
• Pinto, J. K. (2015) Project Management: Achieving Competitive Advantage 4th edn. Pearson.

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Recommended Reading Cont.
• Journals
• International Journal of Quantitative and Qualitative Research (IJQQRM) – EA
• Journala Qualitative Research Journal (QRJ) – Sage Journals

• Web
• www.apm.org.uk - Association for Project Management (General Reference)
• www.gov.uk/government/publications - Department of Business Innovations and Skills,
Guidelines for managing projects – How to organise, plan and control projects. (Report)
• www.hesa.ac.uk - Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) – data collection and
analysis for higher education
• www.ons.gov.uk - Office for National Statistics (ONS) (General Reference)
• www.pmi.org.uk - Project Management Institute UK (General Reference)

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 Chapter 1
Introduction to Project Management

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Learning Outcomes
• By the end of this lesson you should be able to explain followings,
• What is project management
• Roles of Project Management
• Life cycle of PM
• Key areas of PM

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What is a Project?
• A project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to produce a unique
product or service

Temporary Characteristics of Unique

Projects

• Temporary – Definitive beginning and end

• Unique – New undertaking, unfamiliar ground

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A Tree Swing Story

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Project Success

Customer Requirements Completed within allocated

satisfied/exceeded time frame

Completed within allocated Accepted by the customer

budget

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Project Failure

Poor Requirement
Scope Creep
Gathering

Unrealistic Planning and Lack of resources

Scheduling

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What is Project Management?
• Project Management is the application of skills, knowledge, tools
and techniques to meet the needs and expectations of
stakeholders for a project.

• The purpose of project management is prediction and

prevention, NOT recognition and reaction.

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Triple Constraints
Time

Quality

Cost Scope
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Triple Constraints
• Increased Scope = increased time + increased cost

• Tight Time = increased costs + reduced scope

• Tight Budget = increased time + reduced scope.

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3 Key Players of Project Life Cycle
• Customer

• Contactor

• Project Manager

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Key Areas of Project Management
• Scope Management
• Issue Management
• Cost Management
• Quality Management
• Communications Management
• Risk Management
• Change Control Management

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Scope Management
• Primarily it is the definition and control of what IS and IS NOT
included in the project.
• Project Scope Management is the process to ensure that the
project is inclusive of all the work required, and only the work
required, for successful completion.

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Issue Management
• Issues are restraints to accomplishing the deliverables of the
project.
• Typically identified throughout the project and logged and tracked
through resolution.

Issue… already impacting the cost, time or quality

Risk… POTENTIAL negative impact to project

Rope not thick

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Issue Management Cont.
• In this section of the plan the following processes are depicted:
• Where issues will be maintained and tracked
• The process for updating issues regularly
• The escalation process for resolution
• The vehicle by which team members can access documented issues

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Cost Management
• This process is required to ensure the project is completed within
the approved budget and includes: Resource Planning & Budget

Resources Budget
people
equipment
materials
Quantities

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Cost Management Cont.
• Resource Planning - The physical resources required (people,
equipment, materials) and what quantities are necessary for the
project

• Budget
• Budget estimates
• Baseline estimates
• Project Actuals

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Quality Management
• Quality Management is the process that ensure the project will
meet the needs

What is Quality?

“conformance to requirements” - Crosby

“fitness for use” - Juran

“the totality of characteristics of an

entity that bear on its ability to
satisfy stated and implied need’ - ISO 8402:1994

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Quality Management Cont.
• Quality is,
• Customer-Based -> Fitness for use, meeting customer expectations.
• Manufacturing-Based -> Conforming to design, specifications, or
requirements. Having no defects.
• Product-Based -> The product has something that other similar products
do not that adds value.
• Value-Based -> The product is the best combination of price and features.
via:
Quality Planning, Quality Assurance, and Quality Control

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Quality Management Cont.
• Quality Management is the process that ensure the project will
meet the needs via:
• Quality Planning, Quality Assurance, and Quality Control
• Clearly Defined Quality Performance Standards
• How those Quality and Performance Standards are measured and
satisfied
• How Testing and Quality Assurance Processes will ensure standards
are satisfied
• Continuous ongoing quality control

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Communications Management
• This process is necessary to ensure timely and appropriate
generation, collection, dissemination, and storage of project
information using:
• Communications planning
• Information Distribution
• Performance Reporting

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Communications Management Cont.
• Define the schedule for the Project Meetings (Team, OSC, ESC),
Status Meetings and Issues Meetings to be implemented

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Risk Management
• Risk identification and mitigation strategy
• When/if new risks arise
• Risk update and tracking
Risk… POTENTIAL negative impact to project

Tree – location, accessibility, Weather

ownership
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Change Control Management
• Define how changes to the project scope will be executed.
• Formal change control is required for all of the following
1. Scope Change
2. Schedule changes
3. Technical Specification Changes
4. Training Changes

Scope Change
Technical Specification Changes

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Introduction changes
to Project Management 30
Change Control Management Cont.
• All changes require collaboration and buy in via the project
sponsor’s signature prior to implementation of the changes

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Project Life Cycle

Initiation Definition Planning Implementation Deployment Closing

Phase Phase Phase Phase Phase Phase

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1. Initiation Phase
• Define the need
• Return on Investment Analysis
• Make or Buy Decision
• Budget Development

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2. Definition Phase
• Determine goals, scope and project constraints
• Identify members and their roles
• Define communication channels, methods, frequency and content
• Risk management planning

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3. Planning Phase
• Resource Planning
• Work Breakdown Structure
• Project Schedule Development
• Quality Assurance Plan

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Work Breakdown Structure
• For defining and organizing the total
scope of a project
• First two levels - define a set of
planned outcomes that collectively
and exclusively represent 100% of the
project scope.
• Subsequent levels - represent 100%
of the scope of their parent node

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4. Implementation Phase
• Execute project plan and accomplish project goals
• Training Plan
• System Build
• Quality Assurance

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5. Deployment Phase
• User Training
• Production Review
• Start Using

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6. Closing Phase
• Contractual Closeout
• Post Production Transition
• Lessons Learned

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Project Management Tools
PERT Chart - designed to
analyze and represent the
tasks involved in completing a
given project

Gantt Chart - popular type of

bar chart that illustrates a
project schedule

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Gannt Chart

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PERT Chart

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Role of a Project Manager

• Project issues
• Disseminating project information • Implementing standard processes
• Mitigating project risk • Establishing leadership skills
• Quality • Setting expectations
• Managing scope • Team building
• Metrics • Communicator skills
• Managing the overall work plan

Process People
Responsibilities Responsibilities

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 Thank You

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