Workshop - Managementul proiectelor informatice Bucureti, 27 octombrie 2004

MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES IN THE REALISATION OF THE INFORMATICS PROJECTS Dan COLESNIUC1

Abstract: A good project consists of the functional, physical, and interface characteristics of existing or planned hardware, firmware, software or a combination thereof as set forth in technical documentation and ultimately achieved in a product. In the elaboration of a new informatics and communication project is important to have in attention the configuration management aspects and must take into account how is possible to characterize and manage the technical risks. Key-words: project, system, configuration management, optimization, risks, mitigation. Development projects shall be managed to optimize total system performance and minimize the cost of ownership. The total system includes not just the prime mission equipment, but the people who operate and maintain the system; how systems security procedures and practices are implemented; how the system operates in its intended operational environment and how the system will be able to respond to any effects unique to that environment (for instance information warfare); how the system will be deployed to this environment; the systems compatibility, interoperability, and integration with other systems; the operational and support infrastructure (including Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C4ISR)); training and training devices; any data required by the system in order for it to operate; and the systems potential impact on the environment and environmental compliance. Configuration management is supported and performed by integrated teams in an Integrated Product and Process Development (IPPD) environment. Configuration management is closely associated with technical data management and interface management. Data and interface management is essential for proper configuration management, and the configuration management effort has to include them. The project management in the informatics and communications domain shall: 1. Transform operational needs and requirements into an integrated system design solution through concurrent consideration of all life-cycle needs (i.e., development, manufacturing, test and evaluation, verification, deployment, operations, support, training and disposal). 2. Ensure the compatibility, interoperability and integration of all functional and physical interfaces and ensure that system definition and design reflect the requirements for all system elements: hardware, software, facilities, people, and data; and 3. Characterize and manage technical risks. In the elaboration of a new informatics and communications project must take into account of following application considerations: - Size and complexity of system; - Level of system definition detail; - Scenarios and missions; - Set of measures of effectiveness/metrics; - Known constraints and requirements;
1

Ministry of Defense, Bucharest, drcamc@yahoo.com

Workshop - Managementul proiectelor informatice Bucureti, 27 octombrie 2004

- Technology base; - Enterprise best practices and strengths. A good project ensures that designs are traceable to requirements, that change is controlled and documented, that interfaces are defined and understood, and that there is consistency between the product and its supporting documentation. Configuration management provides documentation that describes what is supposed to be produced, what is being produced, what has been produced, and what modifications have been made to what was produced. Configuration management is performed on baselines, and the approval level for configuration modification can change with each baseline. Allocated and product baselines can be controlled by the project office, the producer, or a logistics agent depending on the life cycle management strategy. This sets up a hierarchy of configuration control authority corresponding to the baseline structure. Since lower level baselines have to conform to a higher-level baseline, changes at the lower levels must be examined to assure they do not impact a higher-level baseline. If they do, they must be approved at the highest level impacted. When planning a project management effort it should consider the basics: what has to be done, how should it be done, who should do it, when should it be done, and what resources are required. Planning should include the organizational and functional structure that will define the methods and procedures to manage functional and physical characteristics, interfaces, and documents of the system component. It should also include statements of responsibility and authority, methods of control, methods of audit or verification, milestones, and schedules. All projects incur risks. The key is to identify and mitigate them before they can become problems. It is important for users to recognize that the pressures of cost nand schedule rarely permit the elimination of all risk, especially in government projects. Technical Risk Identification and Mitigation System (TRIMS) module of the Project Manager's WorkStation (PMWS) is a tool designed to help you identify, quantify, and track risks in your project, and then reduce or mitigate these risks to acceptable levels. It works throughout all phases of a project's transition from initial concept to full production and life cycle support. TRIMS will assist you in determining which risks you can accept and which you cannot. TRIMS incorporates three knowledge bases: (1) Systems Engineering, (2) Software Design, and (3) Testability. TRIMS is a knowledge-based system that capitalizes on past experience (reasons projects have failed) and identifies best practices. The system incorporates the factors of Probability and Effect: the probability that a problem or failure will occur, and the effect on a project if it does. (See figure 1) While most project failures are attributed to cost, schedule, technical problems, or any combination, studies have shown that the majority of these problems can be traced back to much earlier failure(s) in the engineering process(es). Because TRIMS is a knowledge-based, processoriented system, its baseline Templates are product independent. This means that it can be applied with equal effectiveness to virtually any hardware or software system/product that flows from concept through design, test, production, support, etc. On the other hand, as discussed below, users can tailor the system to incorporate product-specific data for risk assessment, tracking, and mitigation. The heart of TRIMS is the Templates. The data base consists of eight Categories (e.g., Design, Code&Unit Test, Work Environment, Resources ). Each Category is made up of multiple, process-oriented Templates (e.g., Design Reference Mission Profile, Piece Part Control).

Workshop - Managementul proiectelor informatice Bucureti, 27 octombrie 2004

The Templates relate to the areas in which past projects have experienced difficulty and/or where the potential for failure is most likely to occur (if ignored).

There are now nearly 70 Templates. Each Template incorporates a series of expert Questions, invoking best practices in its process area. In all, TRIMS includes approximately 500 baseline Questions. The tool is highly flexible and allows users to add their own Categories, Templates, and Questions tailored to specific aspects of their product; a feature which also allows TRIMS to serve as an excellent Action Item tracker. TRIMS encourages accountability by allowing assignment of individuals, by name, to areas of responsibility. The system features a continuous improvement loop that automatically notifies users when each engineering activity (e.g., Design Analysis) should begin and alerts them when due dates are breached. TRIMS provides a wide array of reporting features designed to provide individuals with the information they need, from the employee on the factory floor to the CEO of the company (or military Project Manager). Using the checklist Questions from the selected risk model and Weights determined by the user, TRIMS develops risk metrics and status indicators to identify potential problem areas. TRIMS provides a wide array of report criteria and allows the user to tailor the reports. TRIMS acts as a generic engine and allows any available risk model to be chosen as a baseline for Questions and Weights. TRIMS uses the mathematical values associated with the answers provided to Questions and their assigned Weights to generate a risk assessment for each Template (high, medium, or low). For a Question to be considered compliant (answered "Yes"), it must cite a reference to your project documentation (e.g., guidelines document, specifications, drawing, SOW, IPT meeting minutes). This reference should contain the answer or show compliance with the checklist Question. Because TRIMS is process-oriented, most Questions deal with continuing activity and do not lend themselves to one-time answers. That is, the user is asked to provide Next Action steps and projected Completion dates for each. Using these dates, the system will automatically track the status of your project documentation and notify you when you fall out of compliance by breaching a

TRIMS TECHNIC AL RISK IDENTIFI

Workshop - Managementul proiectelor informatice Bucureti, 27 octombrie 2004

date. This feature maintains accountability and, as previously stated, provides a continuous improvement loop to ensure that critical steps are not omitted. This feature is also useful for maintaining a track record (history) of your project/project. For example, each step in a Mitigation Plan can be entered as a series of Next Actions and projected Completion dates. As each Action step is accomplished, it can be checked off and the next sequential step will automatically move into place as the Next Action. The Completed Action and date of Completion will remain in the record. Although TRIMS was developed for DOD, it is applicable to the commercial sector as well because the system is process, not product, oriented. That is, TRIMS can be useful to any manufacturing project that takes a product through the concept-design-test-production process, whether it might be a missile or a washing machine. Bibliography [1] Defense Acquisition University Press - Systems Engineering Fundamentals, Fort Belvoir, Virginia, 2000 [2] Vitech Corporation - Automated Support with CORE, Virginia, 1999 [3] Program Manager's WorkStation - Best Manufacturing Practices, Center of Excellence, 2002