Software Project Management PDF

S.K.P.
Engineering College, Tiruvannamalai VIII SEM
SKP Engineering College

Tiruvannamalai – 606611
A Course Material
on
Software Project Management
By
A.KUMARESAN
Assistant Professor
Computer Science and Engineering Department
Computer Science Engineering Department 1 Software Project Management

S.K.P. Engineering College, Tiruvannamalai VIII SEM
Quality Certificate
This is to Certify that the Electronic Study Material
Subject Code: MG6088
Subject Name: SOFTWARE PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Year/Sem: IV/VIII
Being prepared by me and it meets the knowledge requirement of the University

curriculum.
Signature of the Author
Name: A.Kumaresan
Designation: Assistant Professor
This is to certify that the course material being prepared by Mr.A.Kumaresan is of the
adequate quality. He has referred more than five books and one among them is from
abroad author.
Signature of HD Signature of the Principal
Name: Mr.K.Baskar Name: Dr.V.Subramania Bharathi
Seal: Seal:

MG6088 SOFTWARE PROJECT MANAGEMENT LTPC
3 0 03
OBJECTIVES:
 To outline the need for Software Project Management

 To highlight different techniques for software cost estimation and activity
planning.
UNIT I PROJECT EVALUATION AND PROJECT PLANNING 9
Importance of Software Project Management – Activities Methodologies –

Categorization of Software Projects – Setting objectives – Management Principles –
Management Control – Project portfolio Management – Cost-benefit evaluation
technology – Risk evaluation – Strategic program Management – Stepwise Project
Planning.
UNIT II PROJECT LIFE CYCLE AND EFFORT ESTIMATION 9
Software process and Process Models – Choice of Process models - mental delivery –
Rapid Application development – Agile methods – Extreme Programming – SCRUM –
Managing interactive processes – Basics of Software estimation – Effort and Cost
estimation techniques – COSMIC Full function points - COCOMO II A Parametric
Productivity Model - Staffing Pattern.
UNIT III ACTIVITY PLANNING AND RISK MANAGEMENT 9
Objectives of Activity planning – Project schedules – Activities – Sequencing and

scheduling – Network Planning models – Forward Pass & Backward Pass techniques –
Critical path (CRM) method – Risk identification – Assessment – Monitoring – PERT
technique – Monte Carlo simulation – Resource Allocation – Creation of critical patterns
– Cost schedules.

UNIT IV PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND CONTROL 9
Framework for Management and control – Collection of data Project termination –

Visualizing progress – Cost monitoring – Earned Value Analysis- Project tracking –
Change control- Software Configuration Management – Managing contracts – Contract
Management.
UNIT V STAFFING IN SOFTWARE PROJECTS 9
Managing people – Organizational behavior – Best methods of staff selection –

Motivation – The Oldham-Hackman job characteristic model – Ethical and Programmed
concerns – Working in teams – Decision making – Team structures – Virtual teams –
Communications genres – Communication plans.
TOTAL: 45 PERIODS
OUTCOMES: At the end of the course the students will be able to practice Project
Management principles while developing a software.
TEXTBOOK:
1. Bob Hughes, Mike Cotterell and Rajib Mall: Software Project Management – Fifth
Edition, Tata McGraw Hill, New Delhi, 2012.
REFERENCES:
1. Robert K. Wysocki “Effective Software Project Management” – Wiley

Publication,2011.
2. Walker Royce: “Software Project Management”- Addison-Wesley, 1998.
3. Gopalaswamy Ramesh, “Managing Global Software Projects” – McGraw Hill

Education (India), Fourteenth Reprint 2013.

CONTENTS
S.No Particulars Page
1 Unit – I 06
2 Unit – II 26
3 Unit – III 48
4 Unit – IV 91
5 Unit – V 132

Unit – I
PART-A (2 marks)
1)What is a project? [CO1-L1]

The dictionary definitions put a clear emphasis on the project being a planned
activity. A project is a unique venture with a beginning and an end, conducted by
people to meet established goals within parameters of cost, schedule and quality.
2)What are the characteristics of a project? [CO1-L1]

 Non-routine tasks are involved
 Planning is required
 Specfic objects are to be met or a specified product is to be correct
 The project has a predetmined time span.
3) What is the different software projects and other types of project? [CO1-L2]
 İnvisibility- Software can't be rep-resented with geometric models
 Complexity- The proposed model is based on the widely known and accepted
 Confirmity- The controlling document for a software
 Flexibility- project management performance
4) Why organize an activity or job as a project? [CO1-L3]

 It allows you to better structure and organize the tasks that need to be
performed
 Well developed approaches and tools are available for managing projects
 Easy-to-use software is available for scheduling and budgeting projects.
5)Define Contract Management. [CO1-L1]

Contract management or contract administration is the management of contracts
made with customers, vendors, partners, or employees. Contract management
includes negotiating the terms and conditions in contracts and ensuring compliance
with the terms and conditions, as well as documenting and agreeing on any changes
that may arise during its implementation or execution. It can be summarized as the
process of systematically and efficiently managing contract creation, execution, and
analysis for the purpose of maximizing financial and operational performance and
minimizing risk.

6)What are the Technical Project Planning Methodologies [CO1-L2]

1. Identify different approaches to planning technical projects: rolling wave
2. Planning…stage gate process…critical chain project management
3. Common construction project life cycle
4. Common pharmaceutical project life cycle
7)What are the three successive processes that bring a new system? [CO1-L2]
 The feasibility study- Evaluate the cost of the software development against the
Software Engineering Planning- outline the structure of the project
 Project Execution- Product Implementation Product implementation activities
8)Define Feasibility Study. [CO1-L1]

It is based on an outline design of system requirements in terms of Input,
Processes, Output, Fields, Programs, and Procedures. This can be quantified in
terms of volumes of data, trends, frequency of updating, etc
9)What is meant by planning? [CO1-L2]

Planning as a process involves the determination of future course of action, that
is, why an action, what action, how to take action, and when to take action.
These why, what, how, and when are related with different aspects of planning
process
10)What are the phases in software development life cycle? [CO1-L2]

1)Requirement analysis 2)Architecture design3)Detailed design
4)Code and test 5)Integration 6)Qualification testing.7)Installation.
8)Acceptance support
11)Define Requirement Analysis. [CO1-L1]

This investigates what the potential users and their managers and employers
require as features and qualities of the new system.
12)What is meant by qualification testing? [CO1-L2]
The system, including the software components, has to be tested carefully to
ensure that all the requirements have been fulfilled.
13)What is the difference between Information systems and embedded systems?

[CO1-L2]
Information systems:-
Information System includes databases that include useful "information". Information
Systems is the discipline concerned with the development, use, application and

influence of information systems. An information system, following a definition of

Langefors, is a technologically implemented medium for recording, storing, and
disseminating linguistic expressions, as well as for drawing conclusions from such
expressions.
The technology used for implementing information systems by no means has to be
computer technology. A notebook in which one lists certain items of interest is,
according to that definition, an information system. Likewise, there are computer
applications that do not comply with this definition of information systems. Embedded
systems are an example.
Embedded Systems:-
Embedded systems include small computers that make things work, such as the
computer in your radio, television or the computer that controls your vehicle engine.
An embedded system is a computer systems that is part of a larger system.
Examples:
 Washing machine
 Car engine control
 Mobile phone
14)Differentiate Objectives Vs products. [CO1-L2]

Objectives are goals or aims which the management wishes the organization to
achieve.
These are the end points or pole-star towards which all business activities like
organizing,
staffing, directing and controlling are directed.
A project might be to create a product, the details of which have been specified by
the client.
The client has the responsibility for justifying the product.
15)What is management? [CO1-L2]

Management can be defined as all activities and tasks undertaken by one or
more
Persons for the purpose of planning and controlling the activities of others in
order
to achieve objectives or complete an activity that could not be achieved by others
acting independently.
16)What are the activities of management? [CO1-L2]
1. Planning –deciding what is to be done.
2. Organizing – making arrangements.

3. Staffing-selecting the right people for the job

4. Directing-giving instructions.
5. Monitoring – checking on progress
6. Controlling- taking action to remedy hold-ups
7. Innovating-coming up with new solutions.
8. Representing – liaising with clients, users , developers , suppliers
17)What are the problems with software project from manager’s point of view?
[CO1-L3]
1. Poor estimates and plans.
2. Lack of quality standards and measures.
3. Lack of techniques to make progress visible.
4. Lack of guidance about organizational decisions.
5. Poor role definition. 6.Incorrect success criteria
18)What are the problems with software project from student’s point of view?
[CO1-L3]
1. Inadequate specification of work.
2. Lack of knowledge of application area.
3. Lack of standards.
4. Narrow scope of technical expertise.
19)What is meant by management control? [CO1-L2]

The process of setting objectives for a system and then monitoring the systems
to see what is true performance, A change is proposed by anyone evaluating the
software
20)What are the steps involved in step wise planning? [CO1-L2]
1. Identify project scope and objectives.
2. Identify project infrastructure.3.Analyze project characteristics.
3. Identify project products and activities.
4. Estimate effort for each activity.
5. Identify activity risks.
6. Allocate resources.
7. Review / publicize plan9. Execute plan/ lower levels of planning.
21)How to identify project infrastructure? [CO1-L2]

 Establish relationship between project and strategic planning.
 Identify installation standards and procedures.
 Identify project team organization.

22)How to manage activity risks? [CO1-L2]

1. Identify and quantify activity-based risks.
2. Plan risk reduction and contingency measures where appropriate
3. Adjust plans and estimates to take account of risks.
23)Define project stake holders. [CO1-L2]

Stakeholders are the people involved in or affected by the project activities
Stake holders power-Integrate all expectations of several people
24)How to review and publicize plan? [CO1-L2]

 Review quality aspects of project plan
 Document plans and obtain agreement
25.Differentiate Objectives Vs products. [CO1-L2]

Objectives are goals or aims which the management wishes the organization to
achieve.
These are the end points or pole-star towards which all business activities like
organizing, staffing, directing and controlling are directed.
A project might be to create a product, the details of which have been specified
by the client. The client has the responsibility for justifying the product.
26.What are the characteristics that make software project differ from other
projects(AU may/june 2012) [CO1-L2]
 Invisibility
 Complexity
 Conformity
 flexibilty

PART-B(16 marks)
1.Give an overview of the “step wise planning activities” with a neat diagram(AU
MAY/JUNE 2012) [CO1-H1]
‘Step Wise’ - an overview

0.Select
1. Identify project 2. Identify project
project objectives infrastructure
3. Analyse
project
characteris tics
4. Identify products
and activities
Review
5. Estimate effort
for activ ity
For each
Lower activity
level 6. Identify activ ity
detail risks
10. Lower level
7. Allocate
planning
resources
8. Review / publiciz e
9. Execute plan plan 2
Step wise : an overview of project planning

Planning is the most difficult process in project management This chapter describes a
framework of basic steps in project planning. Many different techniques can be used but
this chapter tells the overview of the steps and activities in each step of project planning
A major step in project planning is to plan in outline first and then in more detail.
Following are the major steps in project planning
Steps in Project Planning
Step 0 : Select project
Step 1 : Identify project scope and objectives
Step 2 : Identify project infrastructure
Step 3 : Analyze project characteristics
Step 4 : Identify project products and activities
Step 5: Estimate effort for each activity.
Step 6 : Identify activity risks.
Step 7 : Allocate resources
Step 8 Review / Publicize pl\an
Step 9 & 10 : Execute plan / lower level of planning
Each step of project planning has different activities to perform. Following the
description of each step with its activities

Step 0 : Select project
This is called step 0 because in a way of project planning , it is out side the main project
planning process. Feasibility study suggests us that the project is worthwhile or not.
Step 1 : Identify project scope and objectives
The activities in this step ensure that all parties to the project agree on the
objectives and are committed to the success of the project.
Step 1.1 : Identify objectives and practical measures of the effectiveness in

meeting those objectives
Step 1.2 : Establish project authority
Step 1.3 : Stakeholders analysis – Identify all stakeholders in the project and
their interest.
Step 1.4 : Modify objectives in the light of stakeholder anaylsis.
Step 1.5 : Establish method of communication
Step 2 : Identify project infrastructure
Projects are rarely carried out in a vacuum. There is usually some kind of
infrastructure into which the project must fit. Where the project manager are new
to the organization , they must find out the precise nature of this infrastructure.
Step 2.1: Identify relationship between the project and strategic planning
Step 2.2 : Identify installation standards and procedures.
Step 2.3 : Identify project team organization.

Step 3 : Analyze project characteristics.
The general purpose of this part of planning operation is to ensure that the
appropriate methods are used for the project.
Step 3.1 : Distinguish the project as either objective- product driven
Step 3.2 : Analyze other project characteristics ( including quality –based ones)
Step 3.3 : Identify high level project risks
Step 3.3 : Take into account user requirement concerning implementation.
Step 3.4 : Select development methodology and life cycle approach.
Step 3.5 : Review overall resources estimates
Step 4 : Identify project products and activities
The more detailed planning of the individual activities now takes place. The
longer term planning is broad and in outline, while the more immediate tasks are
planned in some detail.
Step 4.1: Identify and describes project products ( or deliverables )
Step 4.2 : Document generic product flows
Step 4.3 : Record product instance
Step 4.4 : produce ideal activity network
Step 4.5 : Modify the ideal to take into account need for stages and checkpoints.

Step 5: Estimate effort for each activity.
Step 5.1: Carry out bottom-up estimates
Step 5.2: Revise plan to create controllable activities.
Step 6 : Identify activity risks.
Step 6.1 : Identify and quantify activity based risks
Step 6.2 : Plan risk reduction and contingency measures where appropriate
Step 6.3 : Adjust overall plans and estimates to take account of the risks
Step 7 : Allocate resources
Step 7.1 : Identify and allocate resources
Step 7.2 : Revise plans and estimates to take into account resource constraints
Step 8 : Review / Publicize plan
Step 8.1 : Review quality aspects of the project plan.
Step 8.2 : Document plans and obtain agreement.
Step 9 & 10 : Execute plan / lower level of planning
Once the project is underway, plans will need to be drawn up in greater detail for
each activity as it becomes due. Detailed and lower level of planning of the the later
stages will need to be delayed because more information will be available nearer the
start of the stage.

Project planning is an iterative process. As the time approaches for the particular
activities to be carried out they should be re-planned in more detail.
2. What are the problems with software projects. [CO1-H1]
Managers point of view:
 Poor estimate and plans

 Lack of quality standards and measures
 Lack of guidance about making organizational decisions;
 Lack of techniques to make progress visible;
 Poor role definition- who does what ?
 Incorrect success criteria.
Students point of view:
 Inadequate specification of work

 Management ignorance of ICT
 Lack of knowledge of application area;
 Lack of standards;
 Lack of up-to-date documentation;
 Preceding activities not completed on time-including late delivery of
equipment;
 Lack of communicating between users and technicians;
 Lack of communication leading to duplication of work;
 Lack of commitment- especially when a project is tied to one person who
then moves;

 Narrow scope of technical expertise;

 Changing statutory requirements;
 Deadline pressure;
 Lack of quality control
 Remote management
 Lack of training
3.Explain Activities covered by software project management. (AU may/june 2012)
[CO1-H1] (OR)
Explain the various SDLC activities as outlined by ISO 12207 with a neat diagram
Feasibility study
How do
we do it ?
Is it
worth plan
Do it
Project execution
A software project is not only concerned with the actual writing of software. In fact,
where a software application is bought in ‘off the shelf’ there may be no software writing

as such.This is fundamentally a software project because so many of the other

elements associated with this type of project are present.
The feasibility study :This investigates whether a prospective project is worth starting
– that it has a valid business case. Information is gathered about the requirements of
the proposed application. Requirements elicitation can, at least initially, be complex and
difficult. The client and other stakeholders may be aware of the problems they wish to
overcome and the aims they wish to pursue, but not be sure about the means of
achievement. The probable developmental
and operational costs, along with the value of the benefits of the new system, will also
have to be estimated.With a large system, the feasibility study could be treated as a
project in its own right – and have its own planning sub-phase. The study could be part
of a strategic planning exercise examining and prioritizing a range of potential software
developments. Sometimes an organization has a policy where a group of projects is
planned as a programme of development.
2. Planning :If the feasibility study produces results which indicate that the prospective
project appears viable, then planning of the project can take place. However, for a large
project, we would not do all our detailed planning right at the beginning. We would
formulate an outline plan for the whole project and a detailed one for the first stage.
More detailed planning of the later stages would be done as they approached. This is
because we would have more
detailed and accurate information upon which to base our plans nearer to the start of
the later stages.
3. Project execution :The project can now be executed. The execution of a project
often contains design and implementation sub-phases. Students new to project planning

often find it difficult to separate planning and design, and often the boundary between
the two can be hazy. Essentially, design is thinking and making decisions about the
precise form of the products that the project is to create. In the case of software, this
could relate to the external appearance of
the software, that is, the user interface, or the internal architecture. The plan lays down
the activities that have to be carried out in order to create these products. Planning and
design can be confused because at the most detailed level, planning decisions are
influenced by design decisions. For example, if a software product is to have five major
components, then it is likely that there will be five sets of activities that will create them.

REQUIREMENTS
Requirement analysis
Architecture design
Requirement analysis
DESIGN
Architecture design
Requirement analysis P
r
o
CODE c
Detailed design
AND TEST e
s
Code and test s
i
integration
m
p
Qualification test l
e
integration m
e
Qualification test n
t
a
t
installation i
o
Acceptance support n

Requirement analysis:
This starts with reuirements elicitation which investigates what the potential
users and their managers and employers require as features and qualities of the new
system.
Architecture design:
This maps the requirements to the components of the system what is to be built.
At the system level, decisions will need to be made about which processes in the new
system will be carried out by the user and computerized.
Detailed design:
Each software component is made up of a number of softwar units that can be

separately coded and tested.
Code and test:
This could refer to writing code for each software unit in a procedural language
such as C# or Java, or could refer to the use of an application-bulder suc as Microsoft
access
Integration:
The individual components are collected together and tested to see if they meet
the overall requirements. Integration could be at the level of software where different
software components are combined.

Qualification testing:
The system, including the software components, has to be tested carefully to

ensure that all the requirements have been fulfilled.
Installation:
This is the process of making the new system operational.It would include
activities like setting up standing data (such as payroll details for employees if this were
a payroll system)
Acceptance support:
This is the resolving of problems with th e newly installed system, including the
correction of any errors that might have crept into the system and any extensions and
improvments tha are required.
4)What is management? Explain the problems with software projects. [CO1-H2]
It has been suggested that management involves the following activities:
● Planning – deciding what is to be done;
● organizing – making arrangements;
● staffing – selecting the right people for the job etc;
● directing – giving instructions;
● monitoring – checking on progress;
● controlling – taking action to remedy hold-ups;

● innovating – coming up with new solutions;
● representing – liaising with clients, users, developer, suppliers and other
Stakeholders Identified the following commonly experienced problems:
● poor estimates and plans;
● lack of quality standards and measures;
● lack of guidance about making organizational decisions;
● lack of techniques to make progress visible;
● poor role definition – who does what?
● incorrect success criteria.
The above list looks at the project from the manager’s point of view. What about the
staff who make up the members of the project team? Below is a list of the problems
identified by a number of Computing and Information Systems degree students who had
just completed a year’s industrial placement:
● inadequate specification of work;
● management ignorance of ICT;
● lack of knowledge of application area;
● lack of standards;
● lack of up-to-date documentation;
● preceding activities not completed on time – including late delivery of equipment;

● lack of communication between users and technicians;
● lack of communication leading to duplication of work;
● lack of commitment – especially when a project is tied to one person who then
moves;
● narrow scope of technical expertise;
● changing statutory requirements;
● changing software environment;
● deadline pressure;
● lack of quality control;
● remote management;
● lack of training.
5)Explain stakeholders and business case. [CO1-H1]
Stakeholders:
Stakeholders are the people involved in or affected by the project actives
 In general , they could be users/clients or developers/implementers.

They could be
 within the project team
 Outside the project team, but within the same organization.
 Outside both the projects team and the organization.
Internal to the project team This means that they will be under the direct

managerial control of the project leader.
● External to the project team but within the same organization For example,
the project leader might need the assistance of the information management
group in order to add some additional data types to a database or the

assistance
of the users to carry out systems testing. Here the commitment of the people
involved has to be negotiated.
● External to both the project team and the organization External stakeholders
may be customers (or users) who will benefit from the system that the project
implements or contractors who will carry out work for the project. One feature
of the relationship with these people is that it is likely to be based on a legally
binding contract.
Business Case
Benefits of delivered project must outweigh costs. The cost include
 Development
 Operation
Benefits.
 Quantifiable
 Non-quantifiable.

UNIT II
PROJECT EVALUATION
PART-A
1) Define project Evaluation. [CO2-L1]

Project evaluation is a systematic method for collecting, analyzing, and using
information to answer questions about projects, policies and programs, particularly
about their effectiveness and efficiency
2) What is meant by programme? [CO2-L2]

D.C. Ferns defined a programme as “ a group of project that are managed in a
coordinated way to gain benefits that would not be possible were the projects to be
managed independently”
3) What is the concept of strategic programmes? [CO2-L2]

Several projects together can implement a single strategy. For example the merging
of two organizations could involve the creation of unified payroll and accounting
applications.
4) Define business cycle programmes. [CO2-L1]

The collection of projects that an organization undertakes within a particular
planning cycle is sometimes refer to portfolio. Decisions have to be made about
which projects to implement within that budget within the accounting period.
5) Define Infrastructure programmes. [CO2-L1]

Some organizations have very integrated information systems. The distinct
activities can be integrated.
6) Define Research and development programmes[CO2-L1]

Truly innovative companies especially those that are trying to develop new
product for the market, are well aware that projects will vary in terms of their risk
of failure and the potential returns .

7) Write the difference between programme managers and project managers.

[CO2-L2]
Programme manager Project manager
Many simultaneous projects One project at a time
Personal relationship with skilled Impersonal relationship with resource

resources type
Need to maximize utilization of Need to minimize demand for

resources resources
Projects tend to be similar Projects tend to be dissimilar
8) Define programme mandate. [CO2-L1]

This should include the new services or capabilities the programme should
deliver. How the organization will be improved by use of the new services or
capability. How the programme fits with corporate goals and any other initiatives
9) How the programme will brief? [CO2-L1]

A programme brief is now produced which would be the equivalent of a
feasibility study for the programme,used by achievers in all fields
10) Define vision statement. [CO2-L1]

A preliminary vision statement which describes the new capacity that the
organization seeks. Significance-When the project begins, The goal of the vision
statement is to describe what the project is expected
11) What is meant by blueprint? [CO2-L2]

The achievement of the improved capability described in the vision statement
can only come about when changes have been made to the structure and
operations of the organizations. These are detailed in the blueprint.

12) What are things to be considered in the blueprint? [CO2-L2]

 Business models outlining the new process required.
 Organization structure-The information systems
 Data and information requirements
 Costs, performance and service level requirements.
13) What are the benefits of management? [CO2-L2]

1)Mandatory compliance
2) Quality of service
3)Productivity
4)More motivated force
5)Internal management benefits
6)Risk reduction
14) Define technical assessment. (Nov/Dec2011) [CO2-L2]

Technical assessment of a proposed system consists of evaluating the required
functionality against the hardware and software available. Organizational policy
aimed at the provision of a uniform and consistent hardware/software
infrastructure is likely to place limitations on the nature of technical solutions that
might consider.
15) What are the steps in cost-benefit analysis? [CO2-L2]

 Identifying and estimating all of the costs and benefits of carrying out the
project and operating the delivered application.
 Expressing these costs and benefits in common units.

16) Define development costs. [CO2-L1]
Development costs include the salaries and other employment costs of the staff
involved in the development project and all associated costs.
• TDEV = 3 ´ (PM)(0.33+0.2*(B-1.01))
• PM is the effort computation and B is the exponent computed as
discussed above (B is 1 for the early prototyping model). This computation
predicts the nominal schedule for the project.
•
17) Define setup costs. [CO2-L1]
Setup costs include the costs of putting the system into place. These consists of
mainly the costs of the new hardware
• ESLOC = ASLOC * (1-AT/100) * AAM.

• ASLOC and AT as before.

• AAM is the adaptation adjustment multiplier computed from the costs of
changing the reused code, the costs of understanding how to integrate the
code and the costs of reuse decision making.
17) Define operational costs. [CO2-L1]

It consists of the costs of operating the system once it has been installed.
EAC = AC + ETC. Current variances are seen as a typical and the ... Fixed
Costs, Costs do not change
18) What is meant by cost flow forecasting? [CO2-L2]

As important as estimating the overall costs and benefits of a project is the
forecasting of the cash flow that will take place and their timing. A cash flow
forecast will indicate when expenditure and income will take place.
19) What are the cost-benefit evaluation techniques? [CO2-L2]

 Net profit- net profit and discounted cash flow automatically
 Payback period- projects will provide a true return-on-investment while
meeting an acceptable Return of investment- successfully complete
projects and receive a return on investment.
 Net present value- Successfull Projects Fortunately for project managers
 Internal rate of return- delegation of general management authority to the
Project Leader
20) Give the formula of Net Present Value (Nov/Dec 2011) [CO2-L3]
Ft
NPV  I o   (1  r  pt )t
where
Ft = net cash flow for period t; r = required rate of return
Ft = net cash flow for period t
R = required rate of return
21) Give the formula of payback period and ROI. (Nov/Dec2011) [CO2-L3]
I = initial cash investment
Investment
PPayback Period  rate during period t
t = inflationAnnual Cash Savings
Significance: creating a project charter to formally initiate projects
ROI= average annual profit/total investment *100

22) Define Decision tree. [CO2-L1]

Decision tree provide tools for evaluating expected outcomes and choosing
between alternate strategies.
Advantages
Assistance in upgrading, designing and developing a software.
23) What is IRR? How it is calculated? (Nov/Dec 2011) [CO2-L2]

Internal Rate of Return (IRR) – The percentage discount that will zero the NPV

PART-B
1) What are the steps involved in project evolution? [CO2-H1]

Project evaluation is a systematic method for collecting, analyzing, and using
information to answer questions about projects, policies and programs,
particularly
about their effectiveness and efficiency
‘Step Wise’ - an overview

1. Identify 2. Identify project
0.Select
project infrastructure
3. Analyse
project
Review
4. Identify
products
5. Estimate effort
Lower For each
for activity
level 6. Identify activity
activity
detail
10. Lower level
7. Allocate
planning
resources
9. Execute plan 8. Review/ publicize
plan

2.Explain cost benefit analysis. [CO2-H1]
Cost-benefit analysisThe most common way of carrying out an economic

assessment of a proposed information system or software product , is by
comparing the expected costs of development and operation of the system with
the benefits of having it in place.
Assessment focuses on whether the estimated income and other

benefits exceed the estimated costs. Additionally, it is usually necessary to ask
whether the project under consideration is the best of a number of options.There
might be more candidate projects that can be undertaken at any one time and , in
any case, projects will need to prioritized so that resources are allocated
effectively.
The standard way of evaluating the economic benefits of any project is cost-
benefit analysis, comparing of two steps.
 Identifying and estimating all of the costs and benefits of carrying out the project
and operating the delivered application These include the development costs,
the operation costs and the benefits that are expected to accrue from the new
system. Where the proposed system is replacing an existing one, these
estimates should reflect the change in costs and benefits due to the new system.
A new sales order processing system, for example, could not claim to benefit an
organization by the total value of the sales- only by the increase due to the use of
the new system.
 Expressing these costs and benefits in common units we need to evaluate the
net benefit , that is ,the difference between the total benefit and the total cost of

creating and operating the system. To do this, we must express each cost and
each benefit in some common unit, that is as money.
 Most direct costs are relatively easy to identify and quantify in approximate
monetary terms. It is helpful to categorize costs according to where they originate
in the life of the project.
 Development costs include the salaries and other employment costs of the staff
involved in the development project and all associated costs.
 Setup costs include the costs of putting the system into place. These consist
mainly of the costs of any new hardware and ancillary equipment but will also
include costs of fole conversion, recruitment and staff training.
 Operational costs consist of the costs of operating the system once it has been
installed.
3)Explain in detail strategic programme management. [CO2-H2]
A programme brief is now produced which would be the equivalent of feasibility

study for the programme Several projects together implement a single strategy. For
example, merging two organizations will involve many different activities e.g.
physical re-organization of offices, redesigning the corporate image, merging ICT
systems etc. Each of these activities could be project within an overarching
programme.
Effective programme management requires that there is a well-defined programme

goal and that all the organization’s projects are selected and tuned to contribute to
this goal. A project must be evaluated according to how it contributes to this
programme goal and its viability, timing, resourcing, and final worth can be afftected

by the programme as a whole. Successful strategic assessment of a potential

project there should therefore be a strategic plan defining the organization’s
objectivities
4)What are the different types of programme management? [CO2-H1]
D.C ferns defined a programme as ‘a group of projects that are managed in a

coordinated way to gain benefits that would not be possible were the projects to
be managed independently’.
 Strategic
 Business cycle programmes
 Infrastructure programmes
 Research and development programmes
 Innovative partnerships
Strategic
Several projects together implement a single strategy. For example, merging two
organizations will involve many different activities e.g. physical re-organization of
offices, redesigning the corporate image, merging ICT systems etc. Each of these
activities could be project within an overarching programme.
Business cycle programmes
A portfolio of project that are to take place within a certain time frame e.g. the next
financial year

Infrastructure programmes
In an organization there may be many different ICT-based applications which share

the same hardware/software infrastructure
Research and development programmes
In a very innovative environment where new products are being developed, a range
of products could be developed some of which are very speculative and high-risk but
potentially very profitable and some will have a lower risk but will return a lower
profit. Getting the right balance would be key to the organization’s long term success
Innovative partnerships
e.g. pre-competitive co-operation to develop new technologies that could be

exploited by a whole range of companies
5)Explain the benefits of management. [CO2-H1]
Explain the following concept in detail.
1) Mandatory compliance
2) Quality of service
3) Productivity
4) more motivated force
5) Internal management benefits
6) Risk reduction

7)economy
8)revenue enhancement/acceleration
9)strategic fit
Mandatory compliance
governmental or European legistation might make certain changes mandatory
Quality of service
an insurance company for example might want to settle claims by customers more
quickly
Productivity
the same or even more work can be done at less cost in staff time
More motivated workforce
this might be because of an improved rewards system, or through job enlargement or

job enrichment.
Internal management benefits
(for instance, better decision making) to take an insurance exa,ple, again, better
analysis of insurance claims could pinpoint those categories of business which are most
risky and allow an insurane company to adjust premiums to cover this.

Risk reduction
the insurance example might also be applicable here, but measures to protect an
organization’s networks and databases from intrusion and external malicious attack
would be even more pertinent.
Economy The reduction of costs other than those related to staff-procurement policies
might be put in place where encourage the consolidation of purchasing in order to take
advantage of bulk-buying at discount.
Revenue enhancement/acceleration
the sooner bilss reach customers , the sooner can pay them
Strategic fit
a change might not directly benefit a particular group within the organization but has to
be made in order to obtain some strategic advantage for the organization as a whole
Quantifying benefits
Benefits can be :
Quantified and valued- that is a direct financial benefit is experienced;
Quantified but not valued-for example, a decrease in the number of customer

complaints
Identified but not easily quantified- for example public approval of the organization in the
locality where it is based.

6)Explain cost-benefit evaluation techniques.(Nov/Dec2011) [CO2-H2]
Explain the following method with example Net profit, Payback period, Return of
investment, Net present value, Internal rate of return.
Net profit
The net profit of a project is the difference between the total costs and the total
income over the life of the project.
Project 1 and 3 each have net profit of 50,000 and therefore, according to this
selectin criterion would be equally preferable. The bulk of the income occurs late in
the life of the project1,Whereas project 3 returns a steady income throughout its
life.
Payback period
The payback period is the time taken to break even or pay back the initial
investment. Normally, the project with the shortest payback period will be chosen on
the basis that an organization will wish to minimize the time that a project is “in debt”.

Return on investment
The return on investment (ROI) also known as the accounting rate of

return(ARR), provides a way of comparing the net profitability to the investment
required. There are some variations on the formula used to calculate the return on
investment but a straightforward common version is:
ROI= avg annual profit X100
Total investment
Calculating the ROI for project1 , the net profit is 50,000 and the total investment is
100,000. the return on investment is therefore calculated as
ROI=50000/5 x100 =10%
100000
Net present Value
The calculation of net present value is a project evaluation technique that takes
into account the profitability of a project and the timing of the cash flows that are
produced. This is based on the view that receiving $100 today is better than having
to wait until next year to receive it, because the $100 next year is worth less than
$100 now.
Internal rate of return
One disadvantage of NPV as a measure of profitability is that, although it may be

used to compare projects, it might not be directly comparable with earnings from
other investments or the costs of borrowing capital.

7)Explain decision trees with examples. [CO2-H2]
 A decision tree is a diagramming analysis technique used to help select the

best course of action in situations in which future outcomes are uncertain.
 Estimated monetary value (EMV) is the product of a risk event probability and
the risk event’s monetary value.
 You can draw a decision tree to help find the EMV.
Using decision trees
 A decision tree is a diagramming analysis technique used to help

select the best course of action in situations in which future outcomes are
uncertain.

8)Explain risk evaluation. (Nov/Dec2011) [CO2-H2]
Rank the risks according to management priorities, by risk category and rated by
likelihood and possible cost or consequence.
Risk identification and ranking
Risk and Net Present value
Cost-benefit analysis
Risk profile analysis
Decision trees.
Risk identification and ranking:
In any project evaluation we should attempt to identify the risks and

quantify their potential effects. One common approach to risk analysis is to

construct a project matrix utilizing a checklist of possible risks and to classify each
risks according to its relative importance and likelihood.
High(H)
Medium(M)
Low(L) or Exceeding unlikely(_)
Risk and net present value
Where a project is relatively risky it is common practice to use a higher

discount rate to calculate net present value. This risk premium, might , for
example, be an additional 2% for a reasonably safe project or 5% for a fairly risky
one. Projects may be categorized as high, medium or low risk using a scoring
method and risk premiums designated for each category.
Cost benefit analysis

A rather more sophisticated approach to the evaluation of risk is to

consider each possible outcome and estimate the probability of its occurring and
the corresponding value of the outcome.
Risk profile analysis
An approach which attempts to overcome some of the objections to cost-benefit

averaging is the construction of risk profiles using sensitiviy analysis.
Using descision trees
 A decision tree is a diagramming analysis technique used to help select the

best course of action in situations in which future outcomes are uncertain.

Using decision trees
 A decision tree is a diagramming analysis technique used to help

select the best course of action in situations in which future outcomes are
uncertain.

9)What is meant by cash flow forecasting? Explain with example. [CO2-H2]
cash flow forecasting
As important as estimating the overall costs and benefits of a project is the forecasting
of the cash flow that will take place and their timing. A cash flow forecast will indicate
when expenditure and income will take place.Draw the diagram and explain with table.
10)Explain how a project can be evaluated against strategic, technical and

economic criteria.(Nov/Dec 2011) [CO2-L2]
Evaluation of individual projects
 Technical assessment
Consist of evaluating the required functionality against the hardware and
software availability.
 Cost benefit analysis

Two steps

1) Identifying and estimating all of the costs and benefits of carrying out
the project and operating the delivered application
2) Expressing these cost and benefits in common units
 Categories of cost
1) Development cost
2) Setup cost
3) Operational cost
 Benefits
1)Quantified and valued benefits
2)Quantified but not valued
3)Identified but not easily valued

Anna university questions
Part-A
1) Define technical assessment. .(Nov/Dec2011)

2) Give the formula of Net Present Value (Nov/Dec 2011)
3) What is IRR? How it is calculated? (Nov/Dec 2011)
Part-B
1)Explain risk evaluation. (Nov/Dec2011)
2)Explain how a project can be evaluated against strategic, technical and economic
criteria. (Nov/Dec 2011)
3)Explain cost-benefit evaluation techniques.(Nov/Dec2011)

UNIT – III
ACTIVITY PLANNING
PART - A
1. What are the steps involved in Activity Planning? [CO3-L2]

 Ensure that the appropriate resources will be available precisely when
required.
 Avoid different activities competing for the same resources at the same time.
 Produce a detailed schedules showing which staff carry out each activity.
 Produce a timed cash flow forecast.
2. What are the objectives of activity planning? [CO3-L2]

1) Feasibility assessment
2) Resource allocation
3) Detailed costing
4) Motivation
5) Co-ordination
3. Define resource allocation. [CO3-L1]

What are the most effective ways of allocating resources to the project. When
Should the resources be available? The project plan allows us to investigate the
relationship between timescales and resource availability.
4. How will you define the activities? [CO3-L2]

 A project is composed of a number of interrelated activities.
 A project may start when at least one of its activities is ready to start.
 A project will be completed when all of the activities it encompasses have been
completed.
 If an activity must have a clearly defined start and a clearly defined end-point
normally marked by the production of tangible deliverable.
5. What are the three different approaches to identifying the activities? [CO3-L2]
 Activity-based approach- constraints stemming from the relationships between
projects
 Product-based approach- instructor becomes an active member of the project
team
 Hybrid approach- Decision support system for software project management

6. Write short notes on WBS. [CO3-L2]

This involves identifying the main tasks required to complete a project and then
breaking each of these down into set of lower-level tasks.
7. Mention the five levels of WBS. [CO3-L2]

1. Project- engineering resources has been developed by TASK
2. Deliverables- term for the quantifiable goods or services
3. Components- designing the floor plane
4. Work-packages- Models for the description of software artifacts
5. Tasks- Creation and distribution of organizing software
8. How will formulate the network model? [CO3-L2]

The first stage in creating a network model is to represent the activities and their
interrelationships as a graph. Then constructing the precedence networks.
9. What are the rules for constructing precedence networks? [CO3-L2]

1. A project network should have only one start node.
2. A project network should have only one end node.
3. A node has duration. Links normally have no duration.
4. Precedents are the immediate preceding activities.
5. Times moves from left to right
6. A network may not contain loops.
7. A network should not contain dangles.
10. Define Hammock activities. [CO3-L1]

Hammock activities which, in themselves, have zero duration but are assumed to
start at the same time as the first ‘hommmocked’ activity and to end at the same time
as the last one.
11. What is meant by forward pass? [CO3-L2]

The forward pass is carried out to calculate the earliest dates on which each activity
may be started and completed.
Significane- calculation method used in Critical Path Method
12. What is meant by backward pass? [CO3-L2]
The second stage in the analysis of a critical path network is to carry out a backward
pass to calculate the latest date at which each activity may be started and finished
without delaying the end date of the project. The calculating the latest dates, we
assume that the latest finish date for the project is the same as the earliest finish date-
that is we wish to complete the project as early as possible.

13. What are the rules of activity –on-arrow rules and conventions? [CO3-L2]
1) A project network may have only one start node
2) A project network may have only one end node
3) A link has duration Nodes have no duration
4) Times moves from left to right
5) Nodes are numbered sequentially
6) A network may not contain loops.
14. Define Risk. [CO3-L1]

“an uncertain event or condition that, if it occurs has a positive or negative effect on a
project objectives”. include transferring the risk to another party, avoiding the risk,
reducing the negative effect of the risk, and accepting some or all of the consequences
of a particular risk.
15. What are the risks to business impact? [CO3-L2]

1. Affect of this product on company revenue?
2. Reasonableness of delivery deadline?
3. Number of customers who will use this product
4. interoperability constraints
5. Sophistication of end users?
6. Costs associated with a defective product?
16. What are things to be considered in risk management? [CO3-L2]

 Risk Identification- Organizations and project teams
 Risk Analysis- Includes a download demo and other decision analysis tools
 Risk Planning- assessment is an important part
 Risk Monitoring- identify Development Environment Risks.
17. Define Risk Identification. [CO2-L2]

Risk management begins with analyzing the risks involved in the project. Risk
identification is not a one-off initiative since projects are constantly evolving and new
risks arise while other risks may dissipate or reduce in importance.
18. Define risk analysis and risk monitoring. [CO3-L1]
Risk Analysis considers each identified risk and makes a judgment about the
probability and seriousness of it
Risk Monitoring involves regularly assessing each identified risk to decide whether
that risk is becoming more or less probable and whether the effect of the risk have
changed

19. Define Risk Planning. [CO3-L1]

This project will develop the high-performance, computational technology
infrastructure needed to analyze the past, present, and future geospatial distributions of
living components of Earth environments
20. What are the steps in risk planning? [CO3-L2]

1) Risk identification
2) Risk analysis and prioritization.
3) Risk planning
4) Risk monitoring.
21. Define risk assessment. [CO3-L1]

Using this formula
Risk exposure = (potential damage) * (probability of occurrence)
22. Define Hazard analysis. [CO3-L1]

A hazard analysis is a process used to assess risk. The results of a hazard analysis
are the identification of unacceptable risks and the selection of means of controlling or
eliminating them. The term is used in several engineering specialties, including avionics,
chemical process safety, safety engineering and food safety.
23. When to plan? [CO3-L2]

Planning is an ongoing processes of refinement each iteration becoming more detailed
and more accurate than the lack. Throughout project, until the final deliverable, until
reach the customer, monitoring and replanning must continue to correct any drift that
might prevent meeting time or cost targets.
24. Define critical paths. may/jun 2012[CO3-L1]

The path with zero flexibility is called the critical path, because it will have zero float
between all of its activities.
25. What are the measures of activity float? may/jun 2012[CO3-L2]

Whenever an event have slack, then activity posses float. There are two types of activity
float
1. Free float
2. Interfering float

26. List out the types of risks[CO3-L2]

 Those caused by the inherent difficulties of estimation
 Those due to assumptions made during the planning process
 Those of unforeseen events occurring
27. What is brainstorming? [CO3-L2]

Brain storming refers to the process of group of colleagues meeting and working
collaboratively to generate creative solutions and new ideas.
28. How will you managing the risks. [CO3-L2]

 Reducing the risk exposure by reducing the likelihood or impact
 Drawing up contingency plans to deal with the risk should it occur
29. What is activity-on-arrow? [CO3-L2]

One representation of network diagram put the activity information on the arrows
between the nodes are called an activity-on-arrow (AOA)
30. What is Activity-on-node? [CO3-L2]

One representation of network diagram puts the activity information on nodes and is
called as activity-on-node representation (AON)

PART-B
1. What are the objectives of activity planning? [CO3-H1]

2. Write the steps involved in project schedule. [CO3-H1]

3. Explain the approaches for identifying the activities. [CO3-H1]





4. Explain in detail formulating a network model. may/jun 2012 [CO3-H2]




5.What is the difference forward pass and backward pass explain with example.
[CO3-H2]





6. Explain free float in detail. may/jun 2012 [CO3-H1]

8. Explain the categories of risk. may/jun 2012 [CO3-H1]


9. What are the approaches in risk identification? may/jun 2012 [CO3-H1]


10. How to evaluate the pert techniques. Nov/dec 2011[CO3-H3]






10. Briefly explain constructing the precedence networks with an example. Draw
the network model with calculating forward pass, backward pass and identifying
the critical path activities. And also find out the activities float. Nov/dec 2011 [CO3
– H3]


11. Briefly explain the network analysis using CPM networks with an example.
Refer question no- 4
12. Explain in detail about the PERT technique and justify how PERT techniques
provide details in identifying the uncertainties and effort in a project. Find out the
expected duration and the standard deviation.
Refer question no- 10

13. Explain the concept behind the Risk management. Explain in detail about the
risk identification, risk assessment, risk planning with necessary example. [CO3-
H2]







Anna university questions:
PART-A
1. Define critical paths. may/jun 2012
2. What are the measures of activity float? may/jun 2012
PART-B
1.Explain in detail formulating a network model. may/jun 2012
2. Briefly explain constructing the precedence networks with an example. Draw the
network model with calculating forward pass, backward pass and identifying the critical
path activities. And also find out the activities float. Nov/dec 2011
3.What are the approaches in risk identification? may/jun 2012

UNIT – IV
MONITORING AND CONTROL
PART - A
1. Write short notes on monitoring. [CO4-L2]

Monitoring is collecting and reporting information concerning previously defined
project performance elements
2. Write short notes on control. [CO4-L2]
Control uses the information supplied by the monitoring techniques in order to
bring project actual results in line with stated project performance standards
3. What are the three steps in project control? [CO4-L2]
1. Measuring & Monitoring
 Identifying/tracking key performance metrics
2. Evaluating
 Analyzing causes of problems and potential corrective actions
3. Correcting
 Taking corrective actions to bring project performance back in line with
goals
4. What are the functions in traffic light-method? [CO4-L2]
1. Identify the key 2)Break these key elements into constituent
2. Asses each of the second-level elements on the scale green for on target
3. Review all the second-level assessments to arrive at first-level
assessments.
4. Review first- and second –level assessments to produce an overall
Assessments.
5. Define Gantt Chart[CO4-L1]
One of the simplest and oldest techniques project progress is the Gantt –
chart. This is essentially an activity bar chart indicating scheduled activity dates
and duration frequently augmented with activity floats.

6. Define slip chart. [CO4-L1]

A slip chart is a very alternative favoured by some project mangers who
believe it provides a more striking visual indication of those activities that are not
progressing to schedule the more the slip line bends, the greater variation from
the plan.
7. Write short notes on Earned Value Analysis. [CO4-L2]
o is a measure of progress
o enables us to assess the “percent of completeness” of a project using
quantitative analysis rather than rely on a gut feeling
o “Provides accurate and reliable readings of performance from as early as
15 percent into the project.”
o A technique used to help determine and manage project progress and the
magnitude of any variations from the planned values concerning cost,
schedule, and performance.
8. Define Scheduled variance. [CO4-L1]
The schedule variance is measured in cost terms as EV-PV and indicates
the degree to which the value of completed work differs from that planned.
9. What are the deciding levels of monitoring? [CO4-L2]
1) Critical path activities
2) Activities with no free float
3) Activities with less than a specified float
4) Activities using critical resources
5) High risk activities.
10. What are the steps in change control procedures? [CO4-L2]
o One or more users might perceive a need for a modification to a system
and ask for change request to be passed to the development staff.
o The user management considers the change request and, if they approve
it passes it to the development management.

11. Define managing contracts. [CO4-L1]

Contract management or contract administration is the management
of contracts made with customers, vendors, partners, or employees. Contract
management includes negotiating the terms and conditions in contracts and
ensuring compliance with the terms and conditions, as well as documenting and
agreeing on any changes that may arise during its implementation or execution.
It can be summarized as the process of systematically and efficiently managing
contract creation, execution, and analysis for the purpose of maximizing financial
and operational performance and minimizing risk.
12. What are the different types of contract? [CO4-L2]
1) Fixed price contracts.
2) Time and materials contracts.
3) Fixed price per delivered unit contracts.
13. What is meant by fixed price contracts? [CO4-L2]
 involve a fixed total price for a well-defined product or service
 may include incentives for meeting certain performance objectives or
penalties if those objectives are not met.
14. Mention the advantages and disadvantages of fixed price contracts.
[CO4-L2]
Advantages
1) Known customer expenditure
2) Supply motivation
3) Higher prices to allow for contingency
Disadvantages
1) Difficulties in modifying requirements
2) Upward pressure on the cost of changes
3) Threat to system quality.

15. Define time and materials contracts. [CO4-L1]

 hybrid of both fixed price and cost reimbursable, often used by
consultants
 the buyer pays the seller for both the time and materials required to
complete the work
i. resembles a cost-reimbursable contract because it is open-ended
and full cost of project is not predetermined
ii. but can resemble a fixed-price contract if unit rates are set
16. What are the advantages and disadvantages are time and materials
contracts? [CO4-L2]
Advantages
1) Ease of changing requirements.
2) Lack of price pressure
Disadvantages
1) Customer liability 2) Lack of incentives for supplier.
17. Define fixed per unit delivered contracts. [CO4-L2]
 require the buyer to pay the seller a predetermined amount per unit of
service
 Detailed requirements analysis done and frozen before starting the
contract
 Any change after then, need renegotiating
18. What the advantages and disadvantages are of fixed per unit delivered
contracts? [CO4-L2]
Advantages
1. Customer understanding
2. Comparability
3. Emerging functionality
4. Supplier efficiency
5. Life-cycle range

Disadvantages
1. Difficulties with software size measurements
2. Changing requirements.
19. What are the processes of evaluation need? [CO4-L2]
1) Security of the proposal documents
2) Interviewing supplier’s representatives.
3) Demonstrations.
4) Practical tests.
20. What are the services to be provided in contracts? [CO4-L2]
1. Training
2. Documentation
3. Installation
4. Conversion of existing files
5. Maintenance agreements
6. Transitional insurance agreements.
21. Define Acceptance. [CO4-L1]
When the work has been completed, the customer needs to take action to
carry out acceptance testing. The contract may put a time limit on how long acceptance
testing can take, so the customer must be organized to carry out this testing before the
time for requesting correction expires.
22. What are the various types of charts used in visualizing progress?
Gantt chart, slip chart, Bar chart, Timeline chart.
23. What are the types of cost? [CO4-L2]

* Staff cost
* Overheads
* Usage charges.

24. What is review point? [CO4-L2]

Project level progress reviews will generally takes place at particular
points during the life cycle of project is known as review point.
25. What is the role of the project board? [CO4-L2]
The overall responsibility for ensuring satisfaction progress on a project is
the roll of the project board.
26. What is the role of project manager? [CO4-L2]
The project manager is responsible for day to day administration of the
project.
27. What is closed system? [CO4-L2]
Closed systems are those that do not interact with the environment.
28. Define stake holder. [CO4-L1]
These are people who have a stake of interest in the project.
29. What is embedded system? [CO4-L2]
A system that is a part of a large system whose primary purpose is non
computational.
30. What is function point? [CO4-L2]
Function point is the unit for measuring size of a software application.
31. What are the different ways of collecting data? [CO4-L2]
o Partial completion report
o Traffic highlights report or RAG reporting
32. What are the different categories of reporting? [CO4-L2]
 Oral Formal regular
 Oral formal ad hoc
 Written formal regular
 Written formal ad hoc
 Oral informal ad hoc

33. Define a checkpoint. [CO4-L1]

Check point may be regular, tied to specific events such as the production
of a report or other deliverable.
34. What are the techniques used in visualizing progress[CO4-L2]
a) Grantt chart
b) Slip chart
c) Ball chart
d) Timeline chart
35. Write any two advantages of function point analysis. [CO4-L2]
 External input types
 External output types
 External inquires types
 Logical internal file types
 External interface file types
36. List the change control procedures? [CO4-L2]
1. User perceives a need for modification for the system
2. Development staff for change request
3. the user management consider the change request, and if they approved,
then it is passed to development management
4. One or more developers are authorized to take copies of the master
product that are to be modified
5. The copies are modified in the case of software components this would
involved modifying the code and recompiling and testing it.
37. What is earned value? [CO4-L2]
Earned value analysis is based on assigned a value to each task or work
package based on the original expenditure forecasts. Earned value analysis also
know as budgeted cost of work performed.

38. What is monitor earned value? [CO4-L2]

Monitor earned value is done by monitoring the completion of tasks,
recording EV, the actual cost of each task can be collected as actual cost (AC).
Or actual cost of work performed (ACWP).
38. List the methods for assigning earned value in earned value analysis.
[CO4-L2]
 0/100 technique
 50/50 technique
 75/25 technique
 The milestone technique
 Percentage complete
39. List the various prioritizing levels to monitor the project? [CO4-L2]
 Critical path activities
 Activities with no free float
 Activities with less than a specified float
 High-risk activities
 Activities using critical resources
40.List out the roles of configuration librarian’s? may/june 2012[CO4-L2]
 The identification of all items that are subject to change control
 The establishment and maintenance of a central repository of the
master copies of all project documentation and software products
 The setting up and running of a formal set of procedures to deal
with changes
 The maintenance of records of who has access to which library
items and the status of each library item.
41. What are the supply processes in managing contract? [CO4-L2]
 Training
 Documentation

 Installation
 Conversion of existing files
 Maintenance agreements
 Transitional insurance arrangements
42. What are the different types of contracts? [CO4-L2]
 Fixed price contracts
 Time and materials contracts
 Fixed price per delivered unit contracts
43. List the various typical terms of a contract? [CO4-L2]
 Definitions
 Form of agreement
 Goods and services to be supplied
 Ownership of the software
 Environment
 Customer commitments
 Acceptance procedures
 standards

PART-B
1. Explain project control cycle in detail. [CO4-H1]

Definition:
Project control is a continuous process of monitoring progress against that
the plan and where necessary, revising the plan to take after completion of the
project
Start
Publish initial plan
Gather project
information
Publish revised
plan
Compare progress
vs Take remedial
targets action
No
satisfactory
Yes
No
• Project
complet
ed
Yes
End project

Review project
Document
conclusions
En
d
 Once the initial project plan has been published, project control is a continual
process of monitoring progress against that plan and where necessary, revising
the plan to take account of deviations
 Important steps that must be taken after completion of the project.
 So that the experience gained in any one project can feed into the planning
stages of future projects.

2. How to prepare activity assessment sheet? [CO4-H2]

Risk reporting:
Traffic-light method:
Whenever risk arises it should be reporting to the team leader. One way of doing this is
the traffic-light method. One popular way of overcoming the objections to partial
completion reporting is to avoid asking for estimated completion dates.
It consists of the following step:
i. Identify the key (first level) elements for assessment in a piece of work
ii. Break these key elements into constituent elements( second level)
iii. Asses each of the second level elements on the scale green for ‘ on target’,
iv. amber for ‘ not on target but recoverable’ and
v. red ‘ not on target and recoverable only with difficulty’
vi. Review all the second level assessments to arrive at first level assessments ;
vii. Review first and second level assessments to produce an overall assessment
Activity assessment sheet
3. Explain the method Earned value Analysis. [CO4-H1]

• Expenditure monitoring is an important component of project control.

Earned value
• The assigned value is the original budgeted cost for the item and is known as the
Planned value(PV) or baseline budget or budgeted cost of work scheduled
(BCWS)
• The total value credited to a project at any point is known as the earned
value(EV) or budgeted cost of work performed. (BCWP)
COMMON METHODS
• The 0/100 technique : where a task is assigned a value of zero until such time
that is completed when it is given a value of 100% of the budgeted value
• The 50/50 technique : where a task is assigned a value of 50% of its value as
soon as it is started and then given a value of 100% once its complete
• the milestone technique: where a task is given a value based on the
achievement of milestones that have been assigned values as part of the original
budget plan.
• The 75/25 technique: : where a task is assigned a value of75% on starting and
25% on completion this is often used when a large item of equipment is being
bought:75% is paid when the equipment is actually delivered and the remainder
when installation and testing has been satisfactorily completed.
• Percentage complete: in some cases there may be a way of objectively
measuring the amount of work completed- for example, as part of the
implementation of an information system, a number of data records have to be
manually typed into a database.
The baseline budget:
• The assigned value is the original budgeted cost for the item and is known as the
baseline budget or budgeted cost of work scheduled (BCWS)
• The total value credited to a project at any point is known as the earned value or
budgeted cost of work performed. (BCWP)

Monitoring earned value:

• To monitor earned value as the project progress. This is done by monitoring the
completion of tasks, as recording EV, the actual cost of each task can be
collected as actual cost (AC).
• The actual cost of each task can be collected as actual cost of work performed
(ACWP)

• Scheduled variance(SV): the schedule variance is measured in cost terms as

BCWP-BCWS and indicates that the degree to which the value of completed
work differs from that planned
• Time variance(TV): this is the difference between the time when the
achievement of the current earned value was planned to occur and the time now.
• Cost variance(CV): this is calculated as BCWP-ACWP and indicates the
difference between the budgeted cost and the actual cost of completed work.
• Performance ratios: two ratios are commonly tracked:
1. the cost performance index (CPI=BCWP/ACWP) and
2. the schedule performance index (SPI= BCWP/BCWS)
• CPI can be used to produce a revised cost estimate for the project (or estimate at
completion – EAC). EAC is calculated as BAC/CPI where BAC (budget at
completion) is the current projected budget for the project.
• The SPI can be used to project the possible duration of the project given the
current rate of progress. The planned total duration for the project is 23 months –
in earned value terminology this the schedule at completion (SAC).
• Time estimate at completion (TEAC) can be calculated as SAC/SPI.

4. Explain the change in control procedures. (or)

Explain the change control process for an operational system?
(May/june 2012) [CO4-H1]
A change in a program specification will normally be carried through into changes to the
program design and then change code
A simple control procedure for operational systems might have the following steps:
1. One or more users might perceive a need for a system and ask for a change request
to be passed to the development staff.
2. The user management consider the changes request and if they approve it pass it
to the development management
3. The development management delegate a member of staff to look at the request
and to report on the practicality and the cost of carrying out the change.
4. They would , as part of this, assess the products that would be affected by the
change
5. The development management report back to the user management on the findings
and the user management decide whether , in view of the cost quoted, they wish to
go ahead

6. One or more developers are authorized to take copies of the master products that
are to be modified.
7. The copies are modified. In the case of software components this would involve
modifying the code and recompiling and testing it.
8. When the development of new versions of the product has been completed the user
management will be notified and copies of the software will be released for user
acceptance testing.
9. When the users are satisfied that the products are adequate they will authorize their
operational release. The master copies of configuration items will be replaced.
5. List down the typical terms in a contract and explain them in detail.(May/june
2012) [CO4-H1]
A contract is an agreement between two parties that creates an obligation
to perform (or not perform) a particular duty. A legally enforceable contract
requires:
1. An Offer (I’ll mow your lawn this weekend, if you pay me $30)
2. An Acceptance (You’ve got a deal)
3. Consideration (The value received and given – the money and the lawn
mowed)
Establishing Offer and Acceptance: “A Meeting of the Minds”
• A legally recognized offer and an acceptance create a “meeting of the minds’, or
mutual assent, between the parties.
• Mutual Assent requires the presence of the following factors:
1. Both parties must exhibit a “contractual intent” [words spoken in jest or
frustration will lack the requisite intent];
2. The terms of the offer must be clear and definite;
3. The acceptance must be clearly communicated.
The Requirement for Clear and Definite Terms
• Required Clarity: For terms to be legally valid, a reasonable person must be
capable of readily understanding them.
• Four primary areas in determining definite terms:

1. the parties;
2. time for performance (term or service schedule);
3. the price; and
4. the subject matter or scope of service.
Consideration:
The Importance of the “Bargained Exchange.”
• Consideration must be mutual. Both parties must receive something of value.
• Involvement of money is not required.
• Contracts vs. Gifts
(Refer question 6 also)
Another way of classifying contracts is by the way that the payment to suppliers
is calculated.
• Fixed price contracts
• Time and materials contracts
• Fixed price per delivered unit contracts
6. Explain the different types of contract in detail. [CO4-H1]

Definition:
(1) A contract is an agreement between two parties that creates an obligation to
perform (or not perform) a particular duty.
(2) Contract management or contract administration is the management of
contracts made with customers, vendors, partners, or employees. Contract
management includes negotiating the terms and conditions in contracts and
ensuring compliance with the terms and conditions, as well as documenting and
agreeing on any changes that may arise during its implementation or execution.
It can be summarized as the process of systematically and efficiently managing
contract creation, execution, and analysis for the purpose of maximizing financial
and operational performance and minimizing risk.
A legally enforceable contract requires:
Types of contract

 Fixed price contracts

 Time and materials contract
 Fixed price per delivered unit contracts
(1) Fixed price contracts:
as the name implies, in this situation a price is fixed when the contract is signed.
the customer knows that , if there are no changes in the contract terms, this is the piece
to be paid on the completion of the work. In order for this to be effective, the customer’s
requirement has to be known and fixed at the outset. In other words when the contract
is to construct a s/w system, the detailed requirements analysis must already have been
carried out.
Advantages of this method
• If there are few subsequent changes to the original requirements, the customers
will have a known outlay
Supplier motivation:- the supplier has a motivation to manage the delivery of the
system in a cost-effective manner
Disadvantages
Higher prices to allow for contingency:
• The supplier absorbs the risk for any errors in the original estimate of product
size. To reduce the impact of this risk, the supplier will add a margin when
calculating the price to be quoted in a tender.
Difficulties in modifying requirements
• The need to change the scope of the requirements sometimes becomes visible
as the system is developed this can cause roughness between the supplier and
the customer
Upward presence on the cost of changes
• When computing against other potential supplier the supplier will try to quote as
low a price as possible. if once the contract is signed, further requirements are
put forward, the supplier is in a strong position to demand a high price for these
changes.
Threat to system quality
• The need to meet a fixed price can mean that the quality of the software suffers.

(2) Time and materials contracts:

• With this type of contract, the customer is charged at a fixed rate per unit of
effort. For example, per staff-hour. At the start of the project , the supplier
normally provides an estimate of the overall cost based on their current
understanding of the customers requirements, but this is not the basis for the
final payment.
Advantages
• Ease of changing requirements
• Changes to requirements are dealt with easily, where a project has a research
orientation and the direction of the project changes as options are explored, then
this can be an appropriate method of calculating payment.
• Lack of price pressure
• The lack of price pressure can allow better quality software to be produced.
Disadvantages
• Customer liability
• The customer absorbs all the risks associated with poorly defined or changing
requirements.
• Lack of incentives for supplier: the supplier has no incentive to work in a cost-
effective manner or to control the scope of the system to be delivered.
(3) Fixed price per unit delivered :
• This is often associated with function point (FP) counting. The size of the system
to be delivered is calculated or estimated at the outset of the project.
• The size of the system to be delivered might be estimated in lines of code.
• A price per unit is also quoted. The final price is then the unit price multiplied by
the number of units it delivered contracts
Advantages
• Customer understanding: the customer can see how the price is calculated and
how it will vary with changed requirements
• Comparability : pricing schedules can be completed

• Emerging functionality: the supplier does not bear the risk of increasing
functionality
• Supplier efficiency:- the supplier still has an incentive to deliver the required
functionality in a cost-effective manner
• Life-cycle range :- the requirements do not have to be definitively specified at the
outset. Thus the development contract can cover both the analysis and design
stages of the project.
Disadvantages
• Difficulties with software size measurements
• Changing requirements
Another way
• Open
• Restricted
• Negotiated
Open tendering process
• Any supplier can bid to supply the goods and services
• Invitation to tender must be considered and evaluated in the same way as all
others
Restricted tendering process
• In this case , there are bids only from suppliers who have been invited by the
customer
• Reduce the number of suppliers
Negotiated procedure
• Single supplier might be justified
7. Explain fixed price contracts with advantages and disadvantages. [CO4-H2]

(1) Fixed price contracts:

as the name implies, in this situation a price is fixed when the contract is signed.
the customer knows that , if there are no changes in the contract terms, this is the piece
to be paid on the completion of the work. In order for this to be effective, the customer’s
requirement has to be known and fixed at the outset. In other words when the contract
is to construct a s/w system, the detailed requirements analysis must already have been
carried out.
Advantages of this method
• If there are few subsequent changes to the original requirements, the customers
will have a known outlay
Supplier motivation:- the supplier has a motivation to manage the delivery of the
system in a cost-effective manner
Disadvantages
Higher prices to allow for contingency:
• The supplier absorbs the risk for any errors in the original estimate of product
size. To reduce the impact of this risk, the supplier will add a margin when
calculating the price to be quoted in a tender.
Difficulties in modifying requirements
• The need to change the scope of the requirements sometimes becomes visible
as the system is developed this can cause roughness between the supplier and
the customer
Upward presence on the cost of changes
• When computing against other potential supplier the supplier will try to quote as
low a price as possible. if once the contract is signed, further requirements are
put forward, the supplier is in a strong position to demand a high price for these
changes.
Threat to system quality
• The need to meet a fixed price can mean that the quality of the software suffers.
8. Explain time and material contract with advantages and disadvantages[CO4-

H2]
(2) Time and materials contracts:

• With this type of contract, the customer is charged at a fixed rate per unit of
effort. For example, per staff-hour. At the start of the project , the supplier
normally provides an estimate of the overall cost based on their current
understanding of the customers requirements, but this is not the basis for the
final payment.
Advantages
• Ease of changing requirements
• Changes to requirements are dealt with easily, where a project has a research
orientation and the direction of the project changes as options are explored, then
this can be an appropriate method of calculating payment.
• Lack of price pressure
• The lack of price pressure can allow better quality software to be produced.
Disadvantages
• Customer liability
• The customer absorbs all the risks associated with poorly defined or changing
requirements.
• Lack of incentives for supplier: the supplier has no incentive to work in a cost-
effective manner or to control the scope of the system to be delivered.
9. What are the stages in contract management? [CO4-H1]
Stages in contract placement
1. Requirement analysis
2. Evaluation plan
3. Invitation to tender
4. Evaluation of proposals
• Requirement analysis
• Before potential suppliers can be approached , you need to have a clear
set of requirements.

• The first is that it is easy for this step to be skimped where the user has
many day-to-day pressures and not much time about future
developments
• The requirements define carefully the functions that need to be carried out
by the new application and all the necessary inputs and outputs for these
functions
• Mandatory: if a proposal does not meet this requirement, the proposal is to
be immediately rejected.
• Desirable : a proposal might be deficient in this respect, but other features
of the proposal could compensate for it
• Evaluation plan
Requirement proposals submitted are evaluated
• It first checks whether all mandatory requirement are idendify
• Secondly consider about evaluating desirable requirements
• Invitation to tender
• Having produced the requirements and the evaluation plan it is possible to
issue the invitation to tender to prospective suppliers.
• Invitation to tender is not a offer to supplier but Invitation for prospective
supplier to make an offer.
• For complex project it make use of two stage tendering process
Stage 1:
1. Check for meeting mandatory requirements if not proposal gets
dismissed.
2. Technical proposal are requested from potential supplier are
received.
3. Clarification and validation of technical proposal were made.
4. Supplier may be asked to demonstrate certain aspects of their
proposal.
5. Result to the creation of MOA memorandum of Agreement with
each perspective suppliers.

6. Acceptance by the customers that the proposed solution offered by

the supplier satisfactory meets the customer requirements.
Stage 2:
1. Tenders are invited from all the suppliers who have signed
individual MOA.
2. It would be concerned with the financial terms of potential contract.
• Evaluation of proposals
This is done in a Methodical and planned manner
• Scrutiny of the proposal documents
• Interviewing suppliers representatives
• Demonstrations
• Practical tests
• Site visits
10. What are the typical terms of a contract? Explain with examples. [CO4-H1]
Typical terms of a contract
• Definitions
The terminology used in the contract document may need to be defined
e.g: Who is meant by the words client and supplier
• Form of agreement
e.g: Is it a contract of sale, a lease or a license
• Goods and services to be supplied
• Equipment and software to be supplied
• Services to be provided
• Training
• Documentation
• Installation
• Conversion of existing files
• Maintenance agreements

• Transitional insurance arrangements

• Ownership of the software
Who has ownership of the software?
There may be two key issues:
 Whether the customer can sell the software to others and
 Whether the supplier can sell the software to others.
Any assignment of copyright would need to be in writing.
• Environment
Where the physical equipment is to be installed, the demarcation line between
the suppliers and customers responsibilities with regard to such matters as
accommodation and electrical supply needs to be specified.
• Customer commitments
Even when work is carried out by external contractors, a development project still
needs the participation of the customer. The customer may have to provide
accommodation for the suppliers and perhaps other facilities such as telephone
lines.
• Acceptance procedures
Good practice is to accept a delivered system only after user acceptance tests
• Standards
The standards with which the goods and services should comply. Eg: a customer
could require the supplier to conform to the ISO 12207 standard relating to the
software life cycle and its documentation.
• Project and quality management
The arrangement for the management of the project must be agreed. These
include the frequency and nature of progress meetings and the progress
information to be supplied to the customer.
• Timetable
A schedule of when the key parts of the project should be completed. This
timetable will commit both the supplier and the customer.
• Price and payment method

The price is very important what also needs to be agreed is when the payments
are to be made. The supplier desire to be able to meet costs as they are incurred
needs to be balanced by the customers requirement to ensure that goods and
services are satisfactory before parting with their money.
• Miscellaneous legal requirements
Liquidated damages are estimates of the financial losses that the customer
would suffer if the supplier were to fall short of their obligations.
It worth noting that under English law the penalties laid down in penalty clauses
must reflect the actual losses the customer would suffer and cannot be
unrealistic and merely punitive.
11. Describe briefly in visualizing progress. Explain with examples[CO4-H1]
1. The gantt chart
2. The slip chart
3. Ball charts
4. Timeline
Gantt Chart:
• Simple and old techniques for tracking project progress
• Essential of activity bar chart indicating schedule activities dates and
durations, frequently augment with activity float.


Slip Chart:
• Slip chart is very similar alternative favored by some project manager who
believed it provides more striking visual indicating of those activities that
not progressing to schedule.
• The more the slip line bends the greater the variation from the plan
• Additional slip lines are added at intervals as they build up the project
manager will gain an idea as to whether the project is improving or not.

Ball Charts:
• It is used to indicate whether the expected target is met or not.
• In ball chart, circles indicate the start and completion point of activities.
Circles contains two dates:
• Original scheduled dated,
• Recent target dates.
• The actual start or finish date for an activity is later than the target date,
then the circle is shaded as in below figure.
• The actual date is on time or earlier than the target date than the circle is
filled with lines as in the figure.
• These indication code of balls provide a constant reminder for the project
team.

Time line:
• Analyzing and understanding trends in the projects so far allows as
predicting the future progress of the project.
• It shows how the project has progressed through time.
• It helps to show clearly show the slippage of the project completion date
through the life of the project.
• Time line chart is the method of recording and displaying the way in which
targets have changed throughout the duration of the project.
Advantage:

• It is useful during execution of the project as well as during post-

implementation review.
• Changes in time chart indicate failures in the estimation process, with that
knowledge it can be avoided in future.
12. Write short note on Creating Framework? [CO4-H1]

Creating Framework:
To monitor and control over the project, we need to make use of framework as below:
Control over the project is done by:

(i) regular monitoring
(ii) finding out what is happening
(iii) comparing current targets with estimated one
(iv) if mismatch occurs then
 replanning is made (or)
 target will be revised
Project control cycle illustrates the following:

(a) initially planning is done
(b) gather / collects the requirements/ information
(c) compares the progress of current project with the already made project
(d) it project is satisfactory then
 project is completed
 review and documentation done
(e) if project is not satisfactory, then
 takes remedial action

 publish revised plan and repeats the project control cycle, until getting the
target output
Start
Publish initial plan
Gather project
information
Publish revised
plan
Compare progress
vs Take remedial
targets action
No
satisfactory
Yes
No
• Project
complet
ed
Yes
End project

Review project
Document
conclusions
En
d
Responsibility / Project reporting structure:

 It is the responsibility of project steering committee or project board to provide
the successful progress to the project.
 Depending on the size of the project different persons takes responsibility of the
project progress
 Project reporting structure given below illustrate this:
 In small project team members usually report directly to the project manager

Categories of reporting:
 Reporting can be done through following ways:
1. oral or written
2. formal or informal
3. regular or adhoc
These ways of reporting can be categorized by different ways such as:
1. oral – formal – regular
2. oral – formal – adhoc
3. written – formal – regular
4. written – formal – adhoc
5. oral – informal – adhoc
Oral – formal – regular
 Reports are provided orally
 Formally reported to the higher officials
 Written minutes are kept
 Example: weekly or monthly progress meetings
Oral – formal – adhoc


 Instant meetings are organized
 Written minutes are kept
 Example: end – of – stage review meetings
Written – formal – regular
 Written reports are submitted
 Example: job sheets, progress reports
Written – formal – adhoc
 Written reports are submitted
 Formally reported to the higher officials instant meetings are organized
 Example: Eception reports, change reports
Oral – informal – adhoc
 No formal method is adopted
 Instantly reports are received
 Example: social interaction, canteen discussion
Assessing Progress:
Assessment of project program is based on:
 Information collected at regular intervals
 Reaction to specific events occur
 Judgment of team members who carrying out the project activities
 PRINCE 2 is one of the technique used to measure the project progress
Setting checkpoints:

It is essential to set a series of checkpoints in the initial activity plan. Check points may
be:
 Regular ( monthly, for example)
 Tied to specific events such as the production of a report or other deliverable
Taking snap-shots:
The progress of project which manager needs based on two factors
(i) size of the project
(ii) degree of risk of the project
 Detailed progress report for project is submitted to the lower – level managers
whereas, outlined main progress is needed by the higher level people. They
need less frequently and less detailed reporting.
 Project review will generally take place at particular points during the life of a
project it is commonly known as review points or control points
 Prince2 tools provides with the series of check points, it produce assessment at
each stage of the project
 Collecting the data at the end of the each week provides a mechanism for
individuals to review and reflect progress of their project.
13. Write short note on partial completion reporting? [CO4-H1]

 Many organizations make use of weekly time sheets to report the partial
completion reporting of project
 This worksheet provide the following information:
o Staff carrying out particular activity with duration

o Activity done, the project name
o Description of activity
o Duration worked
o Percentage of completion of job

o Scheduled and estimated computation

 Weekly timesheets are a valuable source of information about
resources used
 Timesheets are used to provide information about what has been
achieved

14. Write short note on Cost Monitoring? [CO4-H1]

Cost monitoring is monitoring expenditure for the project. Project costs may be
monitored by a company’s accounting system. This expenditure can be plotted in chart
by two ways:
(i) planned expenditure
(ii) revised expenditure
Planned expenditure is one in which the costs increased by the project is estimated
before project starts. Revised expenditure is made when alteration to the existing
planned expenditure is done due to
o addition of feature in project
o errors / risks handled
o reduction / increase in steps
o use of additional resources and so on
Expenditure monitoring is an important component of project control. It not only shows
the cost spends but also it provides an induction of the effort spent in the project.
The following chart provides a simple method of comparing actual and planned
expenditure

The above cost chart shows actual cost and planned cost. In the planned cost
expenditure is high whereas in the actual cost cumulative cost is low which shows costs
savings.
In general a project might be on time, only when extra money has been spent on
activities than originally budgeted
Note: we need to take account of current status of the project activities before
attempting to interpret the meaning of recorded expenditure.
This cost chart also redrawn with revised estimates of cost and completion date
A computer based planning tool is used to provide revision of cost schedule
automatically once when actual expenditure has been recorded.
Below figure shows revised cost schedule which indicates project might be behind
schedule and over budget.
Project cost augment by project monitoring can be used to generate forecasts of future
costs.

Anna university Questions
Two Marks
1) Write any two advantage of function point analysis? Nov/Dec 2011
Refer no : 35
2) List the methods for assigning earned value in earned value analysis? Nov/Dec
2011
Refer no : 38
3) List the important roles of the configuration libraries? May/June 2012
Refer no : 40
4) Name the popular visuals tools used for monitoring and tracking the project
progress? May/June 2012
Refer no : 11
16 Marks
1) Explain the following Nov/Dec 2011
a) Assessing the state of a project
b) Controlling changes to a projects requirement
Refer no : 4
2) Explain the various stages in contract placement. Nov/Dec 2011
Refer no : 9
3) List down the typical terms in a contract and explain them in detail. May/June 2012
Refer no : 10
4) Explain the change control process applicable for an operational system. May/June
2012
Refer no : 4
5) Explain the advantages and disadvantage of fixed price contract model. May/June
2012
Refer no : 7

UNIT – V
MANAGING PEOPLE AND ORGANIZING TEAMS
PART – A
1. What are the objectives of managing people and organizing teams? [CO5-L2]
 Identify some of the factors that influence people’s behavior in project.
 Select and induct new staff into a project.
 Increase staff motivation.
 Improve group working.
 Use the most appropriate leadership styles.
2. What are the three basic objectives of organizational behavior? [CO5-L2]

 To select the best people for the job.
 To instruct them in the best methods.
 To give instructions in the form of higher wages to the best workers.
3. What are the factors consider in X theory? [CO5-L2]

 The average human has an innate dislike of work.
 There is a need therefore for correction, direction and control.
 People tend to avoid responsibility.
4. What are the factors consider in Y theory? [CO5-L2]

 Work is as natural as rest or play.
 External control and coercion are not the only ways of bringing about effort
directed towards an organization’s ends.
 The average human can learn to accept and further seek responsibility.
5. Define Motivation. [CO5-L1]

Motivation is a general term applying to the entire class of drives, desires, needs,
wishes, and similar forces. Managers, as a part of motivating their staff, do all such
things which they hope will satisfy these drives and desires and induce the subordinates
to act in a desired manner.
6. What are the needs in maslow’s hierarchy theory?(May/Jun 2012) [CO5-L2]
1. Physiological Needs - attention turns to safety and security
2. Security or Safety Needs- Calculation, Domain, Consulting,
3. Affiliation or Social Needs - Developing New Programs
4. Esteem Needs- needs for esteem can become dominant

7. Write short notes on herzberg’s motivation-hygiene theory [or] State herzbergs

two factor theory?[may 15] [CO5-L2]
Maslow's need approach has been considerably modified by Frederick Herzberg.
His research purports to find a two-factor theory of motivation. In one group of needs
are such things as company policy and administration, supervision, working conditions,
interpersonal relations, salary, status, and job security. These were found by Herzberg
and his associates to be only dissatisfies and not motivators. Their existence does not
motivate in the sense of yielding satisfaction; their lack of existence would, however,
result in dissatisfaction. Herzberg called them maintenance, hygiene or job context
factors.
8. Write short notes on vroom’s expectancy theory. [CO5-L2]

Force = valence x expectancy
Where force is the strength of a person motivation, valence is the strength of an
individual's preference for an outcome, and expectancy is the probability that a
particular action will lead to a desired outcome.
9. What are the factors to be considered in the Oldham-hackman job

characteristic model? [CO5-L2]
 Skill variety- one or more of the offerings available from a variety of
organizations
 Task variety- enhance Key words
 Task significance- autonomy, and feedback from the job
 Autonomy- for Consulting & Software Companies
 Feedback- submit your comments and suggestions
10. Mention the methods of improving motivation. [CO5-L2]

Set specific tasks, provide feedback, and consider job design.
11. How to Create a team? [CO5-L2]

 Forming- The members of the groups get to know each other and try to
set up some ground rules about behaviour
 Storming- one nice packaging, all for publishing need
 Norming- Asset Management is a powerful and complete asset
management solution
 Performing- Optimize project delivery across the software
 Adjourning - added a final stage

12. Define Forming. (May/Jun 2012) [CO5-L1]

The members of the groups get to know each other and try to set up some
ground rules about behaviour.
13. Define team worker. [CO5-L1]

Skilled at creating a good working environment to manage all the people who are
developing Projects, team proposed to extend these concepts.
14. What are the two categorized for decision making? [CO5-L2]
 Structured- generally relatively simple, routine decisions where rules can
be applied in a fairly straightforward way
 Unstructured- more complex and often requiring a degree of creativity.
15. Mention some mental obstacles to good decision making. [CO5-L3]

 Faculty heuristics- is an innovative effort by students and members of staff
 escalation of commitment- behavior, sunk cost, risk propensity, risk
perception,
 information overhead- evelopers analyze, design, and develop software
16. What are the measures to reduce the disadvantages of group decision
making? [CO5-L2]
 The cooperation of a number of experts.
 The problem is presented to the experts.
 The experts record their recommendations.
 These recommendations are collated and reproduced.
 The collect responses are recirculated.
17. Define Leadership. [CO5-L1]

“The ability of a superior to influence the behavior of his subordinates and persuades
them to follow a particular course of action, do suggest here is that any analysis of
project management.
18. What are the functions of leader? [CO5-L2]

[1] Goal-setter, [2] Planner, [3] Executive, [4] Expert, [5] Spokesman, [6] Controller
of internal relationships, [7] Administrator of rewards and punishments, [8] Arbitrator
and mediator, [9] Role model, [10] Symbol of the group, and [11] Father figure.

19. What are the leadership models/theories? [CO5-L2]

[1] Trait theory, [2] Leadership styles based on authority, [3] Managerial grid, [4]
Continuum approach, [5] Feidler’s contingency model, and[6] Path-goal theory.
20. What are the leadership styles? [CO5-L2]

 Directive autocrat,- This manager makes all the decisions unilaterally and
managesLearning to Lead
 permissive autocrat- Concepts using simple and precise free downloadable
 directive democrat- Management Styles Permissive Democrat Directive Autocrat
document
 permissive democrat- Makes decisions participative subordinates have latitude
21. Define Stress. (Nov/Dec 2012) [CO5-L1]

[OR] Mention the important causes of stress encountered in projects?[may 15]
Projects are about overcoming obstacles and achieving objectives. Almost by
definition both the project manager and team members will be under pressure. Once a
project gets rolling, you should expect members to be putting in at least 60 hours a
week. The project must except to put in as many hours as possible.
22. Define Departmentation [CO5-L1]

The process of grouping activities is commonly known as departmentation. This is
the first real task in designing an organization Project Methods staff provided
courseware development and training on office automation software trying to escape
poverty, and engaging in democratic reforms
23. What are the three objectives which taylor had? [CO5-L2]
i. to Select the right person for the job
ii. to Instruct them in the best methods
iii. to give incentives in the form of higher wages to the best workers
24. What is x and y theory. [CO5-L2]

Theory X holds that:
 the average human has an innate dislike of work
 there is a need therefore for coercion, direction and control
 people tend to avoid responsibility
Theory Y holds that:
 work is as natural as rest or play

 external control and coercion are not the only ways of bringing about effort
directed towards an organizations ends
 commitment to objectives is a function of the rewards associated with their
achievement
 the average human can learn to accept and further seek responsibilility
 the capacity to exercise imagination and other creative qualities is widely
distributed.
25. How will you select the right person for the job? (Nov/Dec 2012) [CO5-L2]
 What sort of characteristics should they be looking for
 Is an experienced programmer better than a new graduate with a first-class
mathematics degree
 Effects of individual Characteristics, organizational factors and task
characteristics on computer programmer productivity
 Job satisfaction
26. List out the methods of improving the motivation. [CO5-L2]

 Set specific goals: these goals need to be demanding and yet acceptable to staff.
Involving staff in the setting of goals helps to gain acceptance for them.
 Provide feedback: not only do goals have to be set but staff need regular
feedback about how they are progressing
 Consider job design; jobs can be altered to make them more interesting and give
staff more feeling of responsibility.
28. List out the basics stages of development. [CO5-L2]

 Forming: the members of the group get to know each other and try to set up
some ground rules about behavior.
 Storming: conflicts arise as various members of the group try to exert leadership
and the group’s methods of operation are being established.
 Norming: conflicts are largely settled and a feeling of group identity emerges.
 Performing: the emphasis is now on the tasks at hands
 Adjourning: the group disbands
29. List out the different types of people needed for a team balance. [CO5-L2]
 The chair
 The plant
 The monitor – evaluator

 The shaper
 The team worker
 The resource investigator
 The complete – finisher
 The company worker
30. Name some group task. [CO5-L2]

 Additive tasks
 Compensatory tasks
 Disjunctive tasks
 Conjunctive tasks
31. What is structured decision making. [CO5-L2]

Structured: generally relatively simple, routine decision where rules can be applied in a
fairly straightforward way.
32. What is unstructured decision making? [CO5-L2]

Unstructured: more complex and often requiring a degree of creativity.
33. Name some obstacles to good group decision making. [CO5-L2]

 Faculty heuristics heuristics or rules of thumb can be useful but there are
dangers
 They are based only on information that is to hand which might be misleading
 They are based on stereotypes such as accepting a Welshman into a male voice
choir without an audition because of the well-known fact that the welsh are a
great singing nation
 Escalation of commitment this refers to the way that once you have made a
decision it is increasingly difficult to alter it even in the face of evidence that it is
wrong
 Information overload it is to have too much information so that you cannot see
the wood for the trees
34. Define Leadership. [CO5-L1]

Leadership is based on the idea of authority or power although leaders do not
necessarily have much formal authority. Power may come either from the person’s
position from the person’s individual qualities or may be a mixture of the two. Position
power has been further analyzed into:
 Coercive power

 Connection power
 Legitimate power
 Reward power
35. What is Stress. [CO5-L2]

Stress can be caused by role ambiguity when staff do not have a clear idea of
the objectives that their work is supposed to be fulfilling, what is expected of them by
others and the precise scope of their responsibilities.
36. Write down any four selection criteria for SCM Tools. (May/Jun 2013) [CO5-L2]
 Identification
 Control
 Auditing
 Status Accounting.
37.Write down the stages of team formation model (Nov/Dec 2011) [CO5-L2]
i. Forming
ii. Storming
iii. Norming
iv. Performing
v. Adjourning.
38. Difference b/w personal and organizational stress. [CO5-L2]

 Personal stress include apathy low productivity, irritability, frequent complaints
and health disorders
 Organizational stress include misunderstandings of work expectations, product
quality and customer service problems.
39. What is the significance of 'working in groups"? [April-14] [CO5-L2]

Work groups within companies -- also called task forces -- are teams of employees
brought together to accomplish a specific task. The task often involves analyzing a
problem, formulating a solution and making a recommendation to the company’s
management, including the owner of the small business. Work groups’ efforts can result
in improving company operations and also benefit the employees who participate in the
groups.

40. Draw the hierarchy of the organizational structure. [April-14] [CO5-L2]
41.What do you understand virtual team?[may-15] [CO5-L2]
Virtual team is a team of pepole to carry them out and members of the team could each
be a specialist in a particular field.It is also called as collaborative problem solving.

PART-B
1. Explain the stepwise framework where staffing concerns are important. [CO5-
H2]
The issues raised in this chapter have impacts at all stages of project planning and
execution but in particular at the following points:
 Although perhaps having little control over organizational structure, the project
leader needs to be aware of its implications (Step 2);
 The scope and nature of activities can be set in a way that will enhance staff
motivation (Step 4):
 Many risks to project success relate to staffing (Step 6):
 The qualities of individual members of staff should be taken into account when
allocating staff to activities (Step 7).

2. Explain in detail X theory and Y theory. [CO5-H1]

The cash-oriented view of work of some managers can thus be contrasted with a more
rounded vision of people in their place of work. The two attitudes were labeled Theory X
and Theory Y by Donald McGregor.
Theory X holds that:
• the as average human has an innate dislike of work;
• there is a need therefore for coercion, direction and control;
• people tend to avoid responsibility.
Theory Y. on the other hand, holds that:
• work is as natural as rest or play
• external control and coercion are not the only ways of bringing about effort
directed towards the company's ends
• commitment to objectives is a function of the rewards associated with their
achievement
• the average human can learn to accept and further seek responsibility;
• the capacity to exercise imagination and other creative qualities is widely
distributed.
One way of judging whether a then manager espouses Theory X or Theory Y is
to observe how the manager's staff react when the boss is absent: if there is no
discernible change then is a Theory Y environment; if everyone visibly relaxes, it is a
Theory X environment. McGregor’s distinction between the two theories also draws
attention to the way that expectations influence behavior. If a manager (or teacher)
assumes that you are going to work diligently and do well, then you are likely to try and
meet these expectations.
3. Explain how (May/Jun 2013) (Nov/Dec 2011) [CO5-H2]

 New staff can be selected and inducted into a project.
• Selecting the right person for the job4 [April-14]
• Different views of persons involved in Management
• The recruitment process
• Selecting the right person:
B. W. Boehm considered the quality of the staff the most important influence on
productivity. So, the right person for the right job is very important to achieve the
success and to improve productivity.
One of the very successful interviewing techniques is behavioral interviewing:
selecting the right person for the right job using a job related rather than gut feel
approach.
Behavioral questions contain the phrases like

• “Tell me about a time when…”

• “Give me an example of …”
• “How did you…?”
• “Describe a situation in which you…”
o Different views of persons involved in Management

• Taylor stressed the need for the right person for the job, he suggested to make
use of:
o Software Tools
o Methodologies
• B.W.Boehm considered the quality of the staff and the most important influence
on productivity when constructing the COCOMO software models.
 Comparing a experienced professional with unexperienced
one , the ratio of
o 1:25, between the shortest and the longest time to code the program
o 1:28, the time taken to debug it
• The American researcher Cheney found that the most important influence on
programmer productivity seemed to be experience.
• The American Researchers cougher and zawacki found that computing people
would appear to have more weaker ‘Social needs’ than people in other
professions.
• Gerald Weinberg quote, “ If asked must programmers probably say they prefer to
work alone where they wouldn’t be disturbed by other people”.
o The recruitment process
• Recruitment might very well be regarded as an ‘Organizational Responsibility’.
• Meredith Belbin distinguishes between eligible and suitable candidate .
• An Eligible candidate: An eligible candidate is obtained through his/her CV. It
shows his years of experience in previous post along with his qualification.
• Suitable Candidate: Suitable candidates are those who can actually do the job
well. He may not be technically eligible, but he will be more likely to remain loyal
to the organization.
 Belbin suggests to focus on
• Assessment of actual skills rather than past experience
• He also gives willingness to provide training to make good minor gaps in
expertise can be a more effective way of placing suitable staff.
• He also showed the policies that avoid discrimination on the grounds of race,
gender, age or irrelevant disabilities.

A general recruitment process approach:

1. Create a job specification
2. Create a job holder profile
3. Obtain applications.
4. Examine CV’s
5. Interviews
6. Other procedures
1. Create a job specification
The requirements for the job should be documented legally in the official
document. Actual qualifications and the qualities should be mentioned.
2. Create a job holder profile
The qualities, qualification, experience and duration of a job holder
should be maintained as profile.
3. Obtain applications.
Advertisement for job vacancy would be placed either within the organization or
outside in the trade or local press.
- If a specialist is needed, it would make sense to advertise in the relevant
specialized journal.
- By providing information such as salary, location, job score and essential
qualification, the applicants will be minimized to the more realistic candidate.
4. Examine CV’s
CV is examined for the needed qualification. The short listed CV’s are then called
for interviews.
5. Interviews
a. A number of selection techniques are used including aptitude test, personality test,
group discussions and the examination of samples of previous work, then personal
interview.
b. An interview should be a technical nature where the practical expertise of the
candidate is assessed.
c. A major part of the interview will in fact of evaluating and confirming that was
stated in the CV.
6. Other Procedures
a. References will need to taken up where necessary, and medical examination might
be needed.
b. To improve good performance.
One of the manager of the IBM was quoted by saying “Some work yields better result if
carried out as a team while some things are slowed down if the work is
compartmentalized on an individual basis”.
One way of categorized task as:

1. Additive task
2. Compensatory task
3. Disjunctive task
4. Conjunctive task
1.Additive task:
These are the efforts of each participants are added together to get the final result. The
people involved are interchangeable. Ex: Gang clearing snow.
2. Compensatory task
Judgment of individual group members are pooled so that errors by some group
members are compensated by the inputs from others.
Ex: Individual members of the group are asked to provide estimates of the effort needed
to produce a piece of software and the results are then averaged.
3. Disjunctive task
a. In this, there is only one correct answer. The effectiveness of the group depends
on
i. Someone coming up with the right answer
ii. The others recognizing it has being correct
4. Conjunctive task.
b. Progress is governed by the rate of the slowest performance. The overall task is not
completed until every participants work is completing.
Ex: In software production, different tasks are completed by different staff.
4. Explain the methods to increase staff motivation. (Nov/Dec 2011) [CO5-H2]

Three methods are adapted for improving motivation. They are
• Setting specific goals
• Providing feedback
• Job design
1.Setting specific goals
These goals need to be demanding and yet acceptable to staff.
Involving staff in the setting of goals helps to gain acceptance for them.
2.Providing feedback
Not only do goals have to be set but staff have to have regular feedback about how they
are progressing.
3.Job design:
Jobs can be altered to make them more interesting and give staff more feeling of
responsibility
Two measures are used to enhance job design:

They are
1. job enlargement
2. job enrichment
1. Job Enlargement:
The scope of the job is increased so that the member staff carries out a wide range of
activities. It is opposite of increasing specialization.
Example:
A programmer in a maintenance group might be given responsibility for
specifying minor requirement as well as carrying out the actual code changes.
2. Job enrichment:
In this case, the job is changed so that the holder carries out the task that are normally
done at a higher, managerial level.
Staff might be given responsibility for
i. Ordering consumables
ii. Scheduling their works
iii. Quality control
For example:
With a programmer, in a maintenance team, they might be given authority to
accept request for changes which involved less than five days, without the need for their
manager’s approval.
5.Write a note on leadership styles and leadership. [CO5-H2]
Leadership style is a manner and approach of providing direction, implementing

plans and motivating people
The leadership style on two axis are
1. Directive Vs permissive
2. Autocratic Vs democratic
• Directive autocrat: it makes decision alone with close supervision of their
implementation
• Permissive autocrat: it makes decision alone but give subordinate latitude in
implementation
• Directive democrat: it makes decision participatively but closely supervises their
implementation
• Permissive democrat: it make decision participatively and subordinate latitude in
implementation
Another axis attempt to measures management quality has been degree to which
manger is:

i. task oriented
ii. People oriented
Task oriented – the extent to which the execution of the task at hand is paramount.
People Oriented – The manager is concerned about the people involved.
Difference between task oriented and people oriented approach
Task Oriented People Oriented
ii. It is adapted, where there is a high - It is better when staff can control the
degree of uncertainty work they do.
iii. Effective for the inexperienced team Effective for experienced, trained one
members
Forces that influence the style to be used :

• How much time is available ?
• Are relationships based on respect and trust or on disrespect?
• Who has the information – you, your employee or both ?
• How well your employees are trained and how well you know the task?
• Internal conflicts.
• Stress levels.
• Type of task: It is structured, unstructured, complicated or symbol?
• Laws or established procedures.
6.Explain in detail health and safety. [CO5-H2]

Definition:
Organized efforts and procedures for identifying work place hazards and
reducing accidents and explosive to harmful situations and substances. It also includes
training of personal in accident prevention, accident response, emergency
preparedness, and the use of protective clothing and equipment.
Health and safety is a very important part of any project and the project manager
is responsible for making sure that this area is covered.
Either a safety expert should join the team or advise should be taken from a consultant.
Industry standards will often apply.
Often when any risk assessment is carried out, there will be health and safety
implications. Each employee is responsible for complying with applicable provisions of
environmental health and safety standards and regulations. They must adhere to the
safety policies and procedures of the organization.
Risk factors:
Some areas of concern might be:
• Where pressure and temperature are a factor

• Energy in a variety of forms

• Chemical
• Directly from the actions of personnel
• Due to natural disaster.
Other effects are
• Third parties, Ex: More distant parts of the site, facilities close by, example:
potential gas clouds.
• Escape and evacuation procedures
• Failure of any preventative, control or mitigating systems.
Health and safety is concerned with identifying possible adverse effects and then
considering the risk of their occurrence. A method can be employed which tries to afford
the relative measure of severity . Based upon this and experience certain procedures
can be put in place to minimize any health and safety risk. Obviously, years of
experience usually leads to laws which must be adhered to
Some ways of minimizing risk may well include
Existing measures
Physical means
Design input, working to a variety of standards or developing procedures
Ways of promoting health and safety issues
The project manager must be aware of the safety issues in any project and make sure
all involved are committed. This will require good communication at all levels of the
project. Personnel must be aware of the project’s position on health and safety and
have knowledge of all relevant procedures.
Senior Management Backing
Senior management must give full support through health and safety which will
have process and legal ramification. For PRINCE2, the project Board would provide
accountability and may delegate this to the project manager.
Legal Aspects
As regulations and the law is continually changing one will need to get the advice from
experts. One must be in a position to carry out all legal obligations. As well as health
and safety, there may be other related areas that one should be aware of. Example:
Smoking restrictions or Duty of care in the UK.
Countries and specific industries will have their own regulations.
Human Aspects
Apart from thinking about typical health and safety health issues, one should also
consider human aspects. Example: temperature, ventilation or the pressure of work.

7.Explain the recruitment process. [CO5-H2]
Recruitment might very well he regarded as an organizational responsibility:

Person recruiting someone who will, over a period of time, work in many different parts
of the same organization. Meredith Belbin usefully distinguishes between eligible and
suitable candidates.
Eligible candidate is one whose CV (curriculum vitae or resume shows, for example. the
'right' number of years in some previous post and the 'right' paper qualifications.
Suitable candidates are those who can actually do the job well. An easy mistake is to
select an eligible candidate who is not in fact suitable.
Suitable candidates who are not technically eligible can, on the other hand, be ideal
candidates because, once in post, they are more likely to remain loyal to the
organization.
Belbin suggests that selection methods that centre on the assessment of actual skills
rather than past experience and willingness to provide training to make good minor
gaps in expertise can be a more effective way of placing suitable staff. It also seems to
us to show that policies that avoid discrimination on the grounds of race, gender, age or
irrelevant disabilities can be not just socially responsible but also a shrewd recruitment
policy.
A general approach might be the following.

• Create a job specification: Advice is often needed as there could be legal
implications in an official document. However, formally or informally, the requirements of
the job should he documented and agreed.
• Create a job holder profile: using the job specification, a profile of the person needed
to carry out the job is constructed. The qualities, qualifications. education and
experience required would be listed.
• Obtain applicants: Typically, an advertisement would he placed, either
within the organisation or outside in the trade or local press. The job holder profile would
he examined carefully to identity the medium most likely to reach the largest number of
potential applicants at least cost. For example. if a specialist is needed it would make
sense to advertise in the relevant specialist journal. The other principle is to give
enough information in the advertisement to allow an element of self-elimination. By
giving the salary, location, job scope and any essential qualifications, the applicants will
be limited to the more realistic candidates.

• Examine CVs: These should be read carefully and compared to the job
holder profile - nothing is more annoying for all concerned than when people
have CVs which clearly indicate that they are not eligible for the 'oh and yet for interview
• interviews etc: A number of different selection techniques can he tried, including
aptitude tests, personality tests, and the examination of samples of previous work. All
these methods must be related to specific qualities detailed in the job holder profile.
Interviews are the most commonly used method. It is better if there is more than one
interview session with an applicant and with each session there should not be more
than two interviewers because a greater number reduces the possibility of follow-up
questions and discussion. Some formal scoring system for the qualities being judged
should be devised and interviewers should then decide scores individually which are
then compared. In interview should he of a technical nature where the practical
expertise of the candidate is assessed, or of a more general nature if not. In the latter
case, a maim- part of the interview will in fact be evaluating and confirming what was
stated in the CV - for example any time gaps in the education and employment history
would be investigated, and the precise nature of jobs previously done would need to be
explored.
• Other procedures: References will need to be taken up where necessary, and a
medical examination might be needed.
8. Define motivation. Explain maslow’s hierarchy of needs. [CO5-H2]

[OR]Explain the various models of motivation? (May/Jun 2012)
The third concern that we noted from Taylor was that of motivating people to
work. We are now going to look at some different models of motivation that have
been proposed.
The Taylorist model:
Taylor's view point is reflected in the use of piece-rates in manufacturing industries
and sales bonuses amongst sales forces. A problem that project leaders
must be aware of is that piece-rates often cause difficulties if a new system
is going to change work practice. If new technology is going to improve
productivity, the adjusting piece-rates to reflect this will be a sensitive issue.
The amount of output will often by constrained by group norms: informal, even
unspoken, agreements among colleagues about the amount to be produced.
Rewards based on piece-rates need to relate directly work produced. Where a
computer application is being developed, it is difficult to isolate and quantity work
done by an individual as system development and support is usually a team
effort.
This support department does well because we are a team not because we are all

individuals. I think it’s the only way the support team can work successfully.
A reward system that makes excessive distinctions between co-workers could
damage morale and productivity. Organizations sometimes get around this
problem by giving bonuses to project team members at the end of successful
project, especially if staff have volunteered considerable unpaid overtime to get
the project completed.
MASLOW’S HIERARCHY OF NEED:
Different people are motivated by different things. Clearly money is a strong
motivator when you are broke. However, as the basic need for cash is satisfied,
other motivators are likely to emerge. Abraham Maslow, an American
psychologist, suggested that there is a hierarchy of needs. As lower levels of
needs are satisfied then gradually higher level needs emerge. Basic needs are for
things like food and shelter. The highest-level need, according to Maslow, is the
need for 'self-actualization', the feeling that you are completely fulfilling your
potential.
In practice, the project leader must realise that people are likely to he motivated
by different things at different stages of their life. For example, salary increases,
while always welcome, probably have less of an impact on the more mature
employee who is already relatively well-paid, than on a new and lowly-paid
trainee. Older team-members might place more vale on qualities of the job such
as being allowed relative autonomy when they do their work, which shows respect
for their judgment and sense of responsibility.
9. Explain the expectancy theory of motivation. (May/Jun 2012) [CO5-H2]

Amanda and Brigette need to be aware of how the day-to-day ups and downs of system
development affect motivation. A model of motivation developed by Vroom and his
colleagues. It identifies three influences on motivation.
 Expectancy: the belief that working harder will lead to a better performance.
 Instrumentality: the belief that better performance will be rewarded
 Perceived value: of the resulting reward
Motivation will be high when all three factors are high. A zero level for any one of the
factors can remove motivation.
Imagine trying to get a software package supplied by a third party to work. You realize
that you will never get it to work because of a bug, and you give up. No matter how hard
you work you will not be able to succeed (zero expectancy).

You are working on a package for user and although you think you can get it to work,
you discover that the user has started employing an alternative package and no longer
needs this one. You will probably feel you are wasting your time and give up (zero
instrumentality)
Given that the users really do want the package, your reward might simply be the warm
feeling of helping your colleagues and their gratitude. If they later ask for help
implementing a different package (low perceived value of reward).
10. What the methods involved in motivation? [CO5-H2]

[OR] Explain the Oldham-hackman job characteristic model (May/Jun 2013)
Managers should group together the elements of tasks to be carried out so that they
form meaningful and satisfying assignments. Oldham and Hackman suggest that the
satisfaction that a job gives is based on five factors. The first three factors make the job
meaningful to the person who is doing it:
• Skill variety: the number of different skills that the job holders has the opportunity
to exercise;
• Task identity: the degree to which your work and its results are identifiable as
belonging to you
• Task significance: the degree to which your job has an influence on others.
• The other two factors are:
• Autonomy: the discretion you have about the way that you do the job
• Feedback: the information you get back about the results of your work.
Methods of improving motivation:
To improve motivation the manger might therefore do the following:
• Set specific goals: these goals need to be demanding and yet acceptable to
staff. Involving staff in the setting of goals help to gain acceptance for them.
• Provide feedback: not only do goals have to be set but staff need regular
feedback about how they are progressing.
• Consider job design: jobs can be altered to make them more interesting and
give staff more feeling of responsibility.
• Two measures are often used to enhance job design - job enlargement
and job enrichment.
• Job enlargement: The scope of the job is increased so that the
member of Job enlargement and job staff carries out a wider range of
activities. It is the opposite of increasing enrichment are based on
specialization. For example, a programmer in a maintenance group right
he the work of F. Herzberg given responsibility for specifying minor

amendments as well as carrying out the actual code changes. It is

significant that Couger and Zawacki found that programmer/analysts had
a higher degree of job satisfaction than programmers.
• Job enrichment: In this case, the job is changed so that the holder
carries out tasks that are normally done at a higher, managerial level. Staff
might be given responsibility for ordering consumables, for scheduling
their work or for quality control. With a programmer in a maintenance team,
they might be given authority to accept requests for changes that involve
less than five days’ work without the need for their manger’s approval.
11. What are the steps needed to become a team? [CO5-H2]

Becoming a team:
Simply throwing people together does not mean that they will immediately be able to
work together as a team. Group feelings develop over a period of time. One suggestion
is that teams go through five basic stages of development:
• forming: the members of the group get to know each other and try to set up some
ground rules about behaviour.
• storming: conflicts arise as various members of the group try to exert leadership and
the group's methods of operation arc being established;
• norming: conflicts are largely settled and a feeling of group identity emerges;
• performing: the emphasis is now on the tasks at hand:
• adjourning the group disbands.
Where people arc being put together into a team for the first time, then some
specific team-building exercises can be undertaken. Some organizations, for example,
send their management teams off on outward hound courses. Without going to these
lengths. Amanda and Brigitte might try and think of some training activity which could
assist in team building.
Valuable research has gone into looking at the best mix of personalities in a
project team. Belbin studied teams working together on management games using
various mixes of people initially tried putting all the people who were most able into one
group. Surprisingly, these t9ite teams tended to do very badly they argued a lot and as
a result important tasks were often neglected.
Belbin came to the conclusion that teams needed a balance of different types of
people.
• The chair: Not necessarily a brilliant leader but must be good at running meetings,
being calm, strong but tolerant.
• The plant: Someone who is essentially very good at generating ideas and potential
solutions to problems.

• The monitor-evaluator: Good at evaluating ideas and potential solutions and helping to
select the best one.
• The shaper: Rather a worrier, who helps to direct the team's attention to the important
issues.
• The team worker: Skilled at creating a good working environment, for example by
'jollying people along'.
• The resource investigator: Adept at finding resources in terms of both physical
resources and information.
• The completer-finisher: concerned with completing tasks.
• The company worker: A good team player who is willing to undertake less attractive
tasks if they are needed for team success.
A person can have elements of more than one type. On the other hand, about 30% of
the people examined by Belbin could not be classified at all'.
12. Explain the various organizational structures. (Jun 2013) (Dec 2012) [CO5-H2]
Organizational structures
Formal versus informal structures:
While organizational structures can have an enormous impact on the way a project is
conducted, it is something that project leaders such as Amanda at JOE can often do
little to change.
The formal structure is the one that is expressed in the staff hierarchy chart. It is
basically concerned with authority, about who has which boss. It is backed by an
informal structure of contacts and communication that grows up spontaneously among
members of staff during the course of work. When the unexpected happens it is often
this system that comes into play. Over a period of time, the advantages and
disadvantages of different organizational structures tend to even out - the informal
organization gets built up and staff find unofficial ways of getting around the obstacles
posed by the formal structure.
Staff versus line:
Staff in organizations can often be divided into line workers who actually produce the
end product and support staff who carry out supporting roles. In some organizations that
produce software for the market or as a component of a larger product which is sold, the
software specialists might be seen as pan of the line. In a financial organization, on the
other hand, the information systems department would probably be seen as part of the
support staff.
Decentralization:
In drawing up a structure, the question of differentiation crops up. This is the question of
how the organization is to be departmentalized. This is often based on staff specialises,

product lines, categories of customer or geographical location. for example in the case
of software development. It is usually the case that either a functional or a task-oriented
approach is used. With functional deportation, systems analysts might be put in a group
separate from the programmers. The programmers would act as a pool from ulna
resources may be drawn for particular tasks. With a task-oriented approach. the
programmers and systems analysts are grouped together in one project team. The
project team might be gathered in order to implement a specific long-term project or
might exist on a permanent basis to needs of a particular set of users.
One advantage of the functional approach is that it can lead to a more effective use of
staff. Programmers can be allocated to jobs as needed and be released for other work
when a particular task is completed. For instance. in a project team there are hound to
he period% of greater and lesser coding activity and programmers might find there are
spells when they are under-utilized. The functional organization is also make it easier
for programmers to has careers that are technically oriented there will probably he a
career structure within the software development department that allows the
programmer to rise without having to change specialise. This type of organization
should also encourage the interchange of new technical ideas among technical staff
and the promulgation of company wide standards.
Disadvantage is that having two separate departments can lead to communication
problems, especially if a programmer is unfamiliar application area. There will also be
problems with software maintenance here it is helpful to have programmers who have
built up a familiarities to particular pans of the application software. Users might prefer
the established project team approach because. when they require new software
features, they will already have a group dedicated to their needs and will not find
themselves in the position of always having to tight other departments for development
resources. The project team structure tends to favour a pattern of career progression
where programmers eventually become systems analysis.
A third method of departmentalisation is based on lifecycle phase. Here there are
separate teams for development and maintenance. Some staff can concentrate in a
focused and sustained manner on developing new applications with few interruptions,
while other teams, more oriented towards service and support, deal with maintenance.
Some organisations have attempted to get the best of all worlds by having structure. In
this case the programmer would have two managers: a project leader who would give
day-today direction about the word in hand and a programming manager who would be
concerned about such things as career development.
Centralized versus decentralized group structures
At the level of a project group, a decentralized organization would mean that the group
members would tend to make major decisions collectively and that there would be a
large degree of free communication among group members. With the centralized

approach the group would be broken down into sections, each of which would he
directed by a leader who communicates on behalf of the section with other groups.
Decentralized groups, because of the time taken to debate things, tend to work more
slowly. They are likely to be affected by the establishment of group norms and the
influence of the risky shift, which has already been described. However, they are better
at dealing with complex problems while the centralized group organization deals more
effectively with simple problems.
The discussion of centralized versus decentralized groups assumes that software
development work has to be done as a group. In fact, given the preference of many
software developers for working on their own, an organization where each programmer
works in isolation can be envisaged - indeed there are software houses that are based
on people working at home.
Egoless programming
In the early days of computer development, managers tended to think of the
programmer as communing mysteriously with the machine. The tendency with a. for
programmers to we programs as being an extension to feel over-protective toward.
them. "1-he effects of this on the maintainability of programs can be imagined. Gerald
Weinberg made the then revolutionary suggestion that programmers and programming
team leaders should read other people's programs. Programs would become in effect
the common property of the programming group and programming would become
egoless. Peer code reviews are based on this idea. Weinberg's ideal programming team
was a decentralized group freely communicating within itself.
Programmer teams:
The larger the decentralized group, the slower it will get, because of the increased
communication. On really large time-critical projects, a more formalized cello-allied
structure is essential. Brooks pointed out the need for design consistency when
producing a large complex system and how this might be difficult when there are a large
number of people involved in producing a piece of software. One suggestion was to try
to reduce the number of people actually creating software but to make these
programmers as productive as possible by giving them as much support as possible.
The result of this train of thought was the chief programmer team. The chief
programmer is the person who defines the specification, and designs, codes, tests and
documents the software. There is also a co pilot, with whom the chief
programmer can discuss problems and who writes some code. They are supported by
an editor to write up the documentation drafted by the chief programmer.
A program clerk to maintain the actual code, and a level. The general idea is that this
team is under the control of a single unifying intellect. The chief programmer concept
was used on the influential New limes data bank project, where many aspects of
structured programming were tried out. In this case, each chief programmer managed a

senior level programmer and a program librarian. Additional members could be added
to the team on a temporary basis to deal with particular problems or tasks. The problem
with this kind of organization is getting hold of really outstanding programmers to carried
out the chief programmer role.
Controlled decentralized groups
This compromise structure has been suggested and seems to follow common industry
practice. A project team is made of groups under the leadership of senior programmers.
Within these groups there is free communication and a practice of reviewing each
others' work. Communication with other groups is at senior programmer level, while a
project leader has overall authority.
13. Explain in detail about decision making? (May/Jun 2013) (Nov/Dec 2012)[April-
14] [CO5-H2]
Decision making
Decision making can be regarded as the mental processes(cognitive process)
resulting in the selection of a course of action among several alternative scenarios.
Decisions can be categorized as being
 Structured
 unstructured
Structured
 relatively simple,
 routine decisions
 Follows straightforward way.
Unstructured
 More complex.
 Often a degree requiring of creativity.
Another way of categorizing decisions is by the amount of risk and uncertainty
that is involved.
Basic Decision making Model
1. rational-economic model
2. Satisfying model.
1. Rational-economic model
 It is the basis of classical economics.
 Decision making has a complete knowledge.
 Tries to purchase goods at the lowest possible tries.
2.Satisfying Approach
 Sensible people follow this approach.
 Representations are used to get a general idea of prices.

Some mental obstacles to good decision making

Faulty heuristics
Heuristics mean rules of thumb. Rules of thumb can be useful but there are dangerous
 They are based only on the information that is to hand and this can be
misleading.
 They are based on stereotype.
Escalation of commitment
This refers to the way that once you have made a decision it is increasingly difficult to
alter it even in the face of evidence that it is wrong.
Information overload
It is actually possible to be presented with too much information so that you “cannot see
the wood for the trees”.
Group decision making
 With a project team, different specialists and points of view can be brought
together.
 Decisions made by the team as a whole are more likely to be accepted than
those that are imposed upon it.
 Research shows that groups are better at solving complex
problems where the members of the group have complementary skills and
expertise.
 The meeting allows them to communicate freely and to get ideas
accepted.
 Groups are less effective when dealing with poorly structured problems, will need
creative solutions.
 Brainstorming technique have been developed to help groups in this situation but
research shoe s that people often come up with more ideas individually than in a
group.
 Where the aim is to get the involvement of end users of a computer system, then
prototyping and participatory approaches such as Joint Application Development
(JAD) might be adopted.
Obstacles to good group decision making
The group decision making has some disadvantages:
• It is time consuming.
• It can in some cases stir up conflicts within the group.
• Decisions can be unduly influenced by dominant members of the group.
People in groups often make decisions that carry more risk than where they have to
make the decision on their own. This is known as the risky shift.

Measures to reduce the disadvantages of group decision making

One method of making group decision making more efficient and effective is by training
members to follow a set procedure.
The Delphi technique endeavors to collate the judgments of a number of experts without
actually bringing them face- to-face.
Given a problem, the following procedure is carried out:
 the co-operation of a number of experts is enlisted
 the problem is presented to the experts;
 the experts record their recommendations;
 these recommendations are collated and reproduce
 the collected responses are recirculated
 the experts comment on the ideas of others and modify their recommendations.
 If the leader detects a consensus. Then the process is stopped, otherwise the
comments are recirculated to the experts.
The big problem with the approach is, the experts could be geographically dispersed
hence the process will be time consuming. What developments in information
technology would be of particular assistance to use of the Delphi technique'.

ANNA UNIVERSITY QUESTIONS

PART-A
2-Marks
1. Write down the stages of team formation model (Nov/Dec 2011) Refer-Q-No:37
2. Give the difference between personal and organizational. (Nov/Dec 2011) Refer-Q-
No:38
3. What is Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs? (May/Jun 2012)Refer-Q-No:6
4. What do you understand by Egoless programming? (May/Jun 2012)Refer-Q-No:12
5. Define stress. (Nov/Dec 2012)( Refer-Q-No:21)
6. List the steps involved in selecting the right person for the job.(Nov/Dec 2012)
(Refer-Q-No:25)
7. List the some obstacles for good group decision making. (May/Jun 2013)
(Refer-Q-No:16)
8.Write down any four selection criteria for SCM Tools. (May/Jun 2013) (Refer-Q-
No:36)
9.What is the significance of 'working in groups"? (April-14)Refer Q.No:39
10.Draw the hierarchy of the organizational structure. (April-14) Refer Q.No:40
11. What is Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs? (May/Jun 2015) (Refer-Q-No:3)
12.Mention the important causes of stress encountered in projects? (May/Jun 2015)
(Refer-Q-No:21)
13.State herzbergs two factor theory? (Nov/Dec 2014)( Refer-Q-No:7)
14.What do you understand by virtual teams? (Nov/Dec 20i4)( Refer-Q-No:41)
PART-B
16-Marks
1. Explain about
i. new staff can be selected and inducted into a project
ii. to improve group performance(Refer-Q-No: 3) (Nov/Dec 2011)
2. i. Explain the methods to increase staff motivation (Nov/Dec 2011)
ii. Write a note on leadership styles (Refer-Q-No: 5) (Nov/Dec 2011)
3. Name and explain salient features of the various organizational structures used in
software projects. (May/Jun 2012)(Refer-Q-No: 12)
4. Write short notes on the following:
i. Oldham and Hackman job characteristic model (May/Jun 2012)
ii. Stress and its significance in IT projects. (Refer-Q-No: 10,) (May/Jun 2012)

5. Give an example for becoming a team and explain working within groups with
example. (Nov/Dec 2012) (Refer-Q-No: 11)
6. Explain the different ways of decision making. (Nov/Dec 2012) (Refer-Q-No: 13)
7. Discuss the organizational behavior with example. (Nov/Dec 2012)
(Refer-Q-No: 12)
8. How will you ensure that a right person is selected for the job? Explain (May/Jun
2013) (Refer-Q-No: 3)
9. Discuss about the different models of motivation. (May/Jun 2013) (Refer-Q-No: 8)
10. Discuss about
(i) Organizational structure. (Refer-Q-No: 12) (May/Jun 2013)
(ii) Decision making. (Refer-Q-No: 13) (May/Jun 2013)
11. i)discuss with a suitable example the process of selecting the right person for the job
in detail. (April-14) Refer Q.No:3
ii) What is the role of the team in decision making? Discuss. (April-14) Refer Q.No:13
12.Describe the salient features of any two models of motivation? (Refer-Q-No: 10)
(May/Jun 2015)
14.Explain the importance of working together as a team and the various aspect of team
development. (Refer-Q-No: 11) (May/Jun 2015)
15.Write short note on
I Oldham-hackman job characteristic model (Refer-Q-No: 10) (May/Jun 2015)
ii leadership and leadership styles (Refer-Q-No: 5) (May/Jun 2015)
16.Explain the Oldham-hackman job characteristic model (Nov/Dec 2014) (Refer-Q-No: 10)
17.Give a brief description of the various organizational structure. (Nov/Dec 2014) (Refer-Q-No:
12)
18.Explain the various model of motivation in detail? (Nov/Dec 2014) (Refer-Q-No: 8)
19.Explain the various health and safety issue to be addressed in a project. (Nov/Dec 2014)
(Refer-Q-No: 13)

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S.K.P.

Engineering College, Tiruvannamalai VIII SEM

SKP Engineering College

Computer Science Engineering Department 1 Software Project Management

This is to Certify that the Electronic Study Material

Subject Code: MG6088

Subject Name: SOFTWARE PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Being prepared by me and it meets the knowledge requirement of the University

Signature of the Author

Designation: Assistant Professor

Signature of HD Signature of the Principal

Name: Mr.K.Baskar Name: Dr.V.Subramania Bharathi

Computer Science Engineering Department 2 Software Project Management

MG6088 SOFTWARE PROJECT MANAGEMENT LTPC

 To outline the need for Software Project Management

UNIT I PROJECT EVALUATION AND PROJECT PLANNING 9

Importance of Software Project Management – Activities Methodologies –

UNIT II PROJECT LIFE CYCLE AND EFFORT ESTIMATION 9

UNIT III ACTIVITY PLANNING AND RISK MANAGEMENT 9

Objectives of Activity planning – Project schedules – Activities – Sequencing and

Computer Science Engineering Department 3 Software Project Management

UNIT IV PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND CONTROL 9

Framework for Management and control – Collection of data Project termination –

UNIT V STAFFING IN SOFTWARE PROJECTS 9

Managing people – Organizational behavior – Best methods of staff selection –

1. Robert K. Wysocki “Effective Software Project Management” – Wiley

2. Walker Royce: “Software Project Management”- Addison-Wesley, 1998.

3. Gopalaswamy Ramesh, “Managing Global Software Projects” – McGraw Hill

Computer Science Engineering Department 4 Software Project Management

S.No Particulars Page

Computer Science Engineering Department 5 Software Project Management

1)What is a project? [CO1-L1]

2)What are the characteristics of a project? [CO1-L1]

4) Why organize an activity or job as a project? [CO1-L3]

5)Define Contract Management. [CO1-L1]

Computer Science Engineering Department 6 Software Project Management

6)What are the Technical Project Planning Methodologies [CO1-L2]

8)Define Feasibility Study. [CO1-L1]

9)What is meant by planning? [CO1-L2]

10)What are the phases in software development life cycle? [CO1-L2]

11)Define Requirement Analysis. [CO1-L1]

13)What is the difference between Information systems and embedded systems?

Computer Science Engineering Department 7 Software Project Management

influence of information systems. An information system, following a definition of

14)Differentiate Objectives Vs products. [CO1-L2]

15)What is management? [CO1-L2]

Computer Science Engineering Department 8 Software Project Management

3. Staffing-selecting the right people for the job

19)What is meant by management control? [CO1-L2]

21)How to identify project infrastructure? [CO1-L2]

Computer Science Engineering Department 9 Software Project Management

22)How to manage activity risks? [CO1-L2]

23)Define project stake holders. [CO1-L2]

24)How to review and publicize plan? [CO1-L2]

25.Differentiate Objectives Vs products. [CO1-L2]

Computer Science Engineering Department 10 Software Project Management

‘Step Wise’ - an overview

Step wise : an overview of project planning

Computer Science Engineering Department 11 Software Project Management

Following are the major steps in project planning

Steps in Project Planning

Step 0 : Select project

Step 1 : Identify project scope and objectives