IPT HSC 2017 - Project management PDF

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HSC IPT Topic 1 (HSC Score 94)...

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IPT 2017 – 9.1 Project Management Techniques for managing a project Communication skills necessary for dealing with others •

Communication skills are necessary when developing large systems in a team environment. Communication is vital as it facilitates the sharing and understanding of info

The consequences for groups that fail to function as a team, including: • • •

Financial loss: the inability to function as a team (i.e. inability to meet deadlines, produce quality work or work within budget) will reduce profit levels as the organisation loses customers Employment loss: the inability to function as a team may result in a decrease of staff retention (i.e. staff being laid off) Missed opportunities: individuals suffer from poor team performance as they miss opportunities to advance in their career

Understand the need to apply project management tools to develop a system using a team approach Appreciate the need for complete documentation throughout all aspects of the system Project management tools, including: Gantt Charts

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A bar chart that indicates the time and order in which tasks need to be done - each bar represents a task (varying lengths showing sequence, timing and length of tasks), the vertical axis lists the tasks and the horizontal axis shows the time frame, good method to determine whether the project is on schedule Scheduling of tasks: tasks are scheduled using the Gantt chart, milestones should be planned to signify the completion of tasks → indicating that the project is making progress

Journals and Diaries • Diaries are in chronological order and tend to be used to record factual information. • Journals are used to record detailed analysis and reflection on events o Used to keep a record of: • Daily progress • Appointments • Events • Meetings – when the meeting is and what happened in the meeting • Task details, allocations and deadlines

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• Problems that occurred and their solutions In the evaluation period, journals/diaries are useful for identifying issues encountered and developing new ideas for future projects.

Funding management plan • Ensures project remains within budget • Specify fund allocations • Specify procedures that must be followed when purchasing good/service for project development • Specify accountability on each task’s budget • Specify procedure for reallocating funds during system development Communication management plan • Allows people in the project team to communicate effectively • Specify communication medium (e.g. email, meetings, telephone, bulletins, etc.) • Specify the lines of communication (how each party is able to obtain answers from other team members or clients) • Methods for monitoring the progress of development (e.g. meetings) • How changing or emerging requirements should be communicated to all parties throughout system development.

Identifying social and ethical issues and assess the social and ethical implications of the solution throughout the project: Machine-centred systems • Designed to simplify computer tasks at the expense of the participants (e.g. participants must follow procedures and user manuals that they might not understand) Human-centred systems • Designed to make participants work as effective and satisfying as possible – do not have to waste time struggling with IT User-Friendly Information systems • The productivity of participants increases as they do not have to waste time and effort dealing with the system. • User-friendly software has characteristics such as: o Responds/prompts the user in non-technical terms (language that can be understood by the user) o Doesn’t require commands to be precise (i.e. in terms of grammar and spelling) o Uses a similar appearance and structure for multiple applications o Menus are structured to be logical and easy to command o Provides easy way to complete tasks (e.g. templates) o Adjusts software to the ability of the user o Allows the user to import previous work Work Environment: Ergonomics Health and safety issues related to the work equipment/furniture • Furniture e.g. desk height, chair height, adjustable chairs etc. • IT e.g. monitor position, keyboard (arms parallel to floor) etc. • Environmental factors e.g. lighting, heating/cooling etc. Nature of work • New systems have an impact on work, such as:

IPT 2017 – 9.1 Project Management o o o o

Use of skills – participants may need to acquire new skills (multi-skilled) or perform work that require less skills (deskilling) Meaningful work – participants that do most of their work on the computer may not understand the importance of their work Nature of the workplace – part-time work and contracted labour may increase, raising concern of job security Social relationships – People who do most of their work with IT will tend to have less social interaction

Environment • Positive impacts: o Communication systems has the potential to reduce air pollution → less of a need for transportation as people can work from home o Communication systems enable people to access electronic services in rural areas →reducing the highdensity housing and overpopulation in urban areas • Negative impacts: o Manufacture of silicon chips → increase consumption of fossil fuels, produces toxic waste o Printers (paper consumption) → deforestation, increase consumption of fossil fuels Equity • Communication systems provides rural communities access to education • New technologies → allowed disabled people to participate in society (i.e. gain employment) • Financial inequality due to costs of IT and training • Gender equity: o Fewer women than men in IT careers o Image in society that computers are ‘technical’ hence men are more suited for it o Women are usually employed in the low-pay jobs e.g. data entry operators Security of data • Refers to the protection of data from unauthorised access and loss o Firewall o Anti-virus software o Biometric devices o Passwords o Back-up Copyright • Refers to the intellectual rights associated with original work and creation • Copyright exempts the use of work for educational purposes

Understand the communication skills required to manage a system development project, such as: • • • • •

Active listening: involves the restating and summarising of the speaker’s major ideas and feelings, often encouraging the speaker and being non-committal Conflict resolution: solves arguments and disputes; it involves the listening of other people’s views and opinions before solving the conflict. Negotiation skills: involves discussing a problem and arriving at an agreement or solution; involves listening and compromising skills. Team Building: the process of getting a group of people to work together, involves the negotiating of roles and assigning responsibilities; coordination and cooperation ensures efficiency. Interview techniques: involves careful prep, implementation and follow up. o The general rules of interviews • Questions should be open-ended to gather information

IPT 2017 – 9.1 Project Management • •

Interviewees should be aware of the purpose of the interview Interviewers should be aware of the interviewees body language as it may be communicating a different attitude or opinion.

Appreciate the advantages of groups that function as a team, including: • • •

Increased productivity: enables more to be achieved in less time Enhanced job satisfaction: working in a collaborative environment and positive atmosphere is beneficial for the team members and increase their job satisfaction The development of a quality system: producing higher quality systems which exceed expectations, have fewer bugs and easier to maintain

Understanding the Problem Approaches to identify problems with existing systems, including: •

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Interviewing/surveying users of the information system: o Interviews/surveys can be used to collect user experiences, issues with current system and identifying solution to improve system o Surveys cannot probe users for more detailed answers as they are pre-written o Interviews can provide more detailed answers but are time-consuming and expensive Interviewing/surveying participants o Participants have a better understanding of current system and can identify problems and solution more effectively than users. o System analysts perform task analysis activities with participants, this involves: • Writing down the steps involved in each task • Recording time taken for each task, • Input required, and output produced Analysing the existing system by determining: o How it works: the steps performed in each task o What it does: purpose of system, output of system o Who uses it: participants/users

Requirements reports • • • • • •

Requirements are the features/properties a system needs to achieve its purpose. A requirements report is a communication interface between the client and developer, thus it should be able to be understood by the client but also be useful for technical specification for the developer Outlines the aims and objectives of the new system. Outlines how the new system can help the organisation Provides overview of the new system (i.e. data/information, information processes, IT) Used to develop potential solutions for issues of current system but should not imply any solutions.

Interpret a requirements report which includes: • • •

The purpose of the system: What does the system achieve, how will it be used? An analysis of an existing system: data that has been collected from participants/users, identifying the issues and needs of the existing system Definition of extra requirements: is there any other needs required that need to be included in new system

Requirements prototype – a working model of an information system, built in order to understand the requirements of the system • •

A requirements prototype is a model of the software aspects of the new system that users/participants can interact with. The aim of a prototype is to confirm and clarify the requirements of the new system. Prototypes are often composed of interfaces, screen elements and menus, allowing users to enter sample data and view sample output.

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Used when the problem is not easily understood: Visual nature of prototypes enables participants to confirm their understanding and to experience the proposed system. Repetitive process of prototype modification and participants’ feedback until the problem is understood and all the participants/developers are satisfied. Can be the basis for further system development – if the prototype was created by the same software that will be utilised for the real system then the prototype can eventually evolve into the new system.

Advantages and disadvantages of prototypes Advantages

Disadvantages

Participants/developers increase their understanding of the problem

Repetitive refinement of prototype is timeconsuming

Participants are more involved in the development of Costly if prototype is not used as basis of new the system; sense of ownership system and is discarded. If the participant’s needs are clarified fewer modifications will be needed in the next stages of development

Limitations of the new system may not be discovered in a small prototype, leading to issues when full system is developed

Acts as a guide → easier to create system

Create a requirements prototype from applications packages that provide: • •

Screen generator: Creates graphical user interfaces by using programming languages at a high speed, the format is easy to understand and edits can be made easily. Report generators: Particularly used in database software and are used to organise and format specific data quickly. The data is then made available for other programs/software.

Use a prototype to clarify participants’ understanding of the problem •

Visual nature (screen elements and menus) of prototypes enables participants to clarify their understanding and to experience the proposed system.

Apply appropriate techniques in understanding the problem •

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Preliminary Investigation: Determines whether a new system is required. o Deficiencies in the current system are recorded o Information processes are examined o Collects and analyses the needs of the participants o Data is collected through interviews, surveys, observations and measurements o Data is collected to understand the problem and to develop an appropriate solution Requirements Report: Refer to above

Identify, communicate with and involve participants of the current system • •

System analysts will communicate with the system participants through interviews Participants will feel more involved in the development of the new system as they test the prototypes and provide input and feedback of their needs and issues with the current system.

Planning Feasibility Study •

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Aim: to determine the feasibility of each possible solution as well as the most suitable solution if recommended Three recommendations: o No change

IPT 2017 – 9.1 Project Management o o

Develop a new system Investigate other solutions

Conduct a feasibility study and report on the benefits, costs and risks of the project Feasibility study of proposed solutions, including:

Economic Feasibility • Determined by performing cost-benefit analysis which involves the calculation of costs in the development and implementation of the solution. Factors affecting economic feasibility • Development Costs: o Cost of staff o Consultancy fees o Purchasing or building software o Hardware costs o Infrastructure (e.g. power, buildings, communication links) o Implementation of the system o Training participants and users o Converting from old to new system • Ongoing Operation Costs: o Hardware maintenance and repairs o Software licenses and upgrades o Infrastructure maintenance o Salary/wages of staff o Ongoing training and support for users o Consumables (e.g. paper, toner) • Tangible benefits (things that can be assigned a money value): o Increased sales o Cost reductions o Increased efficiency o Increased profit on sales o More effective use of staff time • Intangible Benefits (things that cannot be assigned a money value): o Increased flexibility of the system o Higher quality of products and services o Improved customer satisfaction o Better staff morale

Technical Feasibility • Associated with the availability of the required IT, compatibility with other technology and the technical experience/expertise of participants and users to use the IT effectively Questions commonly asked to determine technical feasibility • Do we currently own the required technology? • Is the IT available? • How widely used is the technology? • Are the users of the IT happy with the quality and performance of it? • Will the IT be continuously upgraded into the future? • Will the IT be compatible with other existing and emerging IT?

Operational Feasibility • Aims to evaluate whether a solution will meet the needs of the participants and users of the system as well as the organisation's purpose for it to be operationally feasible

IPT 2017 – 9.1 Project Management Questions commonly considered when determining operational feasibility • Do the existing management and staff support the solution? • Will the solution clash with other existing systems? • Will the nature of work change for a participant? • Are the participants resistant to change? • How do the users feel about the delivery of information from the new system? • Do participants/users already possess technical skills/expertise? • Is training and support available?

Schedule Feasibility • Whether or not the solution will be completed on time, determines whether deadlines can be met and the consequences of failure to meet the deadline Questions commonly considered when determining schedule feasibility • How long will it take to obtain IT? • How long will the employment process take? • How long will it take to retrain existing staff? • Deadlines mandatory or desirable? • What are consequences if deadlines are not met? • Is it possible to implement an incomplete solution if deadlines are not met? • How can development be monitored to make sure deadlines are being met?

Choosing the most appropriate solution •

After determining the feasibility of a solution, a decision must be made as to whether the solution is to be implemented or o Smaller scale solution is implemented to the project o Discontinue the project

Choosing the appropriate development approaches Traditional • This approach involves very formal step-by-step stages. Each stage must be completed, before passing to the next stage. Relies on well thought out requirements report to work well. • Works well for projects that are large in scope and that has months to years in duration • Criticisms of SDLC: o Long timeline o Structured process o Inflexibility to changing conditions Outsourcing • Outsourcing of development tasks involves using another company to develop parts of the system or the whole system. Advantages • Save money - don't have to employ or train workers as outsourced company is more experienced in building systems • Allows business to focus on other issues without having to worry about building the system Disadvantages • Eliminates direct communication between a company and its clients → dissatisfaction on both sides • Sensitive info is more vulnerable • Delayed communications and project implementation • Problems will arise if outsource company backs out suddenly

Prototyping

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This approach involves the use of the requirements prototypes that evolves to a point where it becomes the final solution or become sufficiently detailed that they present for full scale development. This approach is particularly suited for the development of software components of information systems.

Advantages of prototyping • Reduces development time and costs • Requires user involvement and developers can receive quantifiable user feedback • Facilitates system implementation as users know what to expect • Higher user satisfaction • Exposes developers to potential future system enhancements Some Disadvantages of Prototyping • Can lead to insufficient analysis • Users expect the performance of the ultimate system to be the same as the prototype • Developers can become too attached to their prototypes • Can cause systems to be implemented prematurely • Incomplete documentation • If sophisticated software prototypes are employed, time saving benefit of prototyping can be lost

Customisation • This approach involves customising an existing system to suit specific needs/ requirements. An example of customisation is open source software in which the software and the source of programming is given to the user to freely customise the coding for their needs. Agile Methods • This approach places the emphasis on the team developing the system rather than following predefined structured development approaches. • Based on iterative/incremental development where requirements and solutions evolve through the collaboration between self-organising, cross-functional teams • Agile methods encourage: o Frequent inspection and adaption o Teamwork o Self-organisation o Accountability o Adaptability • Involves the breaking of tasks into small increment with minimal planning - does not involve long-term planning • Iterations: short-time frames (1-4 weeks), involves a team working through a full software development cycle including planning, requirements analysis, design, coding, unit testing, and acceptance testing minimises overall risk and lets the project adapt to changes • Disadvantages: o May n...