Project planning methods

and GANTT CHARTS

Project Planning
A plan must be stated as a
Set of targets
The achievement or non achievement can be measured Target start and completion date for each activity Visibility of start and completion of activities
Achieved by producing something tangible such as a product or deliverable

In Class!! Why Plan a project?

Why project planning

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 schedule showing which staff carry out each activity Produce a detailed plan against which actual achievement may be measured Produce a timed cash flow forecast Replan the project during its life to correct drift from the target
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Objectives of planning
Feasibility assessment

Resource allocation
Detailed costing Motivation Co-ordination

Feasibility assessment
Is the project possible:
within required timescales Resource constraints

Project plans allow us to forecast a completion date with any reasonable knowledge of its achievability. If a project is estimated for 2 work years effort, could it be done with eight people in three months?

Resource allocation
What is the most effective ways of allocating resources to the project and when should they be available? The Project plan allows us to investigate the relationship between timescales and resource availability

Detailed costing
How much will the project cost and when is the expenditure likely to take place? Detailed estimates of costs and timelines can be achieved after producing: activity plan resource schedule

Motivation
Providing targets and

being seen to monitor achievement against targets is an effective way of motivating staff particularly when they have been involved in setting those targets in the first place.

Co-ordination
Project plans provide effective communication and co-ordination among teams Particularly where staff may need to be transferred between project teams or different departments

When to plan
Feasibility study
Estimate timescales Risk
Not achieving target completion dates Not keeping within budget

Post Feasibility study

Production of activity plans for resource availability Cash flow control

Monitoring and replanning must continue to correct any drift that might prevent meeting time or cost targets

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Project Schedules
Construct an ideal activity plan
Plan activities where resources are not a constraint

Risk Analysis
Identify potential problems Might suggest alterations to the ideal plan

Resource allocation
May place constraints on when activities can be carried out

Schedule production
Indicates planned start and completion dates, resources requirements for each activity

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Identifying activities
Activity based approach:

Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)

Identify the main tasks required to complete a project Break the tasks down into a lower level of tasks Each branch should be broken down at least to a level where each leaf may be assigned to an individual or responsible section within an organisation Higher nodes represent a collection of activities Leaves comprise of the list of activities.

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Example of Activity based WBS

Project

Analyse

Design

Build

Data Design

Process Design

Physical Design

Relational Data Analysis

Logical Data Design

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Work Breakdown Structure - Example

1.1 Software Systems Engineering
1.1.1 Support to Systems Engineering 1.1.2 Support to Hardware Engineering 1.1.3 Software Engineering Trade Studies 1.1.4 System Requirements Analysis 1.1.5 Software Requirements Analysis 1.1.6 Interface Analysis 1.1.7 Support to Systems Test 1.3 Software Test and Evaluation 1.3.1 Software Dev. Test & Evaluation 1.3.2 End-Product Acceptance Test 1.3.3 Tool Support 1.3.4 Test Data Management

1.2 Software Development

1.2.1 Deliverable Software 1.2.1.1 Requirements Analysis 1.2.1.2 Architectural Design 1.2.1.3 Procedural Design 1.2.1.4 Code 1.2.1.5 Unit Test 1.2.1.6 Software Integration Test 1.2.1.7 Technical Reviews 1.2.1.8 Technical Training 1.2.2 Non-deliverable Software 1.2.3 Purchased Software 1.2.3.1 Package Evaluation 1.2.4 Development facilities and tools

1.4 Management 1.4.1 Project Management 1.4.2 Administrative Support 1.4.3 Management Tools 1.4.4 Management Reviews 1.4.5 Management Training
1.5 Product Assurance 1.5.1 Configuration Management 1.5.2 Library Operations 1.5.3 Interface Control 1.5.4 Data Management 1.5.5 Quality Assurance 1.5.6 Quality Control 1.6 Operations and Support
Etc ...

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Sequencing and scheduling activities

Schedule indicates
Planned Project activities Resources required and when

Techniques
Milestones Gantt charts PERT

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Milestones
Project estimation is the business of establishing project milestones. An essential aspect of project milestones is that they are specific measurable events. We estimate Checkpoints or milestones to allow progress to be periodically reviewed.

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Milestones
TEAM PROJECT - Recommended Milestone Management Plan Task/Deliverable Prep Cover, Executive Summary, Contents, etc. Assigned Plan Date Actual Date Status

Draft Introductions, Appendices, etc.

Final Introductions, Appendices, etc. Full Edit of Final Report Edit, Assemble, Distribute Final Copies Write Status Report 1 Write Status Report 2 Write Status Report 3 Write Status Report 4 Write Status Report 5 Write Status Report 6 Draft Decomposition Diagram

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Gantt Charts
These are a graphical project management technique.

A Gantt chart is a bar chart, with each bar representing a project task. The horizontal axis represents time & should include dates to signify the start & end of the particular tasks that we list along the vertical axis.

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Gantt Charts in Scheduling

There are two basic scheduling approaches 1. Forward scheduling
Establish a project start-date & then schedule forward from that date. Based on the planned duration of tasks, & the allocation of resources to complete those tasks, a project completion date is calculated.

2.

Reverse scheduling
Establish a project deadline & then schedule backward from that date. This means the tasks, their duration, & resources must be chosen to ensure that we can complete the project by the deadline. We use the reverse scheduling strategy in most information system projects.

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Gantt chart - example

Room Assignments 12 10 AM 1 AM 2 AM 3 AM 4 AM 5 AM 6 AM 7 AM 8 AM 9 AM AM 11 AM 12 10 PM 1 PM 2 PM 3 PM 4 PM 5 PM 6 PM 7 PM 8 PM 9 PM PM 11 PM 12 AM 1 AM

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Gantt chart - example

The benefits of using Gantt Charts in controlling information systems projects

1. Gantt charts clearly show the overlap of scheduled tasks, which is quite a common occurrence in systems development.

2. A nice feature of Gantt charts is the ability to factor a top-level chart into one or more lower levels of chart.

3. Gantt Charts can be used in scheduling

4. Gantt Charts can be used in resource assignment & management 5. Gantt Chart can be used in progress evaluation

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Project Management Using Gantt Charts

Developed by Henry L. Gantt in 1917, they remain a popular and effective method of project scheduling and progress evaluation.

A Gantt chart is a horizontal bar chart, with each bar representing a project task.
The horizontal axis represents time and should include dates to signify the start and end of the particular tasks that we list along the vertical axis. On a Gantt chart, the horizontal axis is a calendar timeline. After we have identified the project team, we can also establish personal calendars to block out individual commitments. Unlike PERT charts, which we will look at next, they do not show the dependency of one task on another.
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Gantt Charts in Resource Assignment and Management

It is possible to enhance the Gantt Chart in several ways.

For example, we can enter the number of staff required to do a task into the bar on the diagram.
Resources complete the tasks that you have included in a Gantt Chart. Resources are people, material, and tools that you assign to the completion of a task. We can assign costs to resources to assist in budgeting for the project. If we record actual time spent on tasks, we can compare budgets to actual expenses.

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Gantt Charts in Progress Evaluation

Project managers are frequently required to report project progress Gantt charts often feature in progress reports because of their simplicity and ability to compare the planned schedule with the actual performance. To facilitate this we need to extend our notation slightly: If you have completed a task, completely shade in the bar that represents it. If a task has been partially completed shade in a proportion of the bar representing the proportion of the task that has been completed. Non shaded bars represent tasks that have not begun. Draw a bold vertical line at right angles to the horizontal axis, intersecting the axis at the current date. We can now evaluate project progress.

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