Software Project Management
A Three-Day Hands-on Seminar
Objectives
This seminar covers the management of all the aspects of a software development project. The course is tailored to the Project Management Institute’s Project Management Body of Knowledge, and can form a basis for PMP certification. The student will:
- Learn how to engineer a software project by breaking it into standard phases with the appropriate activities and milestones.
- Learn how to manage risk by anticipating it, controlling it and including it in the project estimate.
- Learn how to get the correct requirements from the user.
- Learn about project documents such as proposals, plans, request for proposal and so forth.
- Learn about prototyping techniques.
- Learn how to estimate effort, duration and cost of a project.
- Learn how to use planning and scheduling techniques such as PERT and Gantt charts.
- Learn how to plan a project balancing the constraints of time, cost and quality.
- Learn how automated project management tools assist in project planning and control.
- Learn how to control a project on a tight schedule.
- Learn how to detect problems and fix them before crises arise.
- Learn how to report project progress against the baseline plan.
- Learn how to do Status Reporting simply and quickly.
- Learn how to assemble an appropriate project team, assign responsibilities, and manage the team.
- Learn how to run technical and management review meetings.
Features
Using the nine knowledge areas of the Project Management Institute’s Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBoK™), the approach is to teach the processes of planning, execution and control. Emphasis is on the most error prone aspects of the processes, and new methods such as prototyping and iterative development are discussed. Managing project personnel is a key part of the discussion. Case studies and examples from real projects are presented throughout, and class workshops are used to give practical experience. Common tools for risk management, estimating and scheduling are discussed.
Target Audience
This seminar is intended for project managers, technical team leaders, project team members, even computer system users – anyone involved in a software project.
Outline
Introduction
Instructor, students, schedule, logistics
What is a Project?
The Project Management Institute
Project Management Body of Knowledge nine Knowledge Areas
Themes for the course
Learning objectives
Reducing your stress level
The Project Plan
What is Planning
Why plan?
Project Development Plan outline
Project Scope Planning
Project lifecycles: The phases of an IT project
Hardware software and integration project approaches
Waterfall versus iterative methods
Rapid Application development
Xtreme programming methods
Agile methods
Build/Buy approaches
The Work Breakdown Structure
Methods, examples, approaches, formats
Milestones
Summary WBS
Contractor WBS
How far to break down?
Using the WBS
Work Packages
The use of project management software such as Microsoft Project™
Requirements
Group Exercise: Create a WBS for a project
Project Time Planning
Estimating Methods
Important items to have Standards for
Using the WBS
Accuracy of estimates at each stage of the plan
Agile method of estimating
Sanity checks and other considerations
Scheduling
PERT charts
Dependencies
Critical path
Gantt charts
When to use
Items driven by the Gantt
Multi project management
Individual time management
Group Exercise: estimate and schedule the project
Project Cost Planning
Resource usage
Estimating the cost: realistc?
Software tools
Costed WBS
Cost and Resource ramp-up
Budgeting to cost accounts
Agile: scope vs time vs cost
Cost – sanity checks
Cost reports
Group Exercise: assign resources and plan the cost of the project
Project Risk Management
Risk management processes
Risk Identification – Anticipating the risk
Suggested factors
Risk Quantification – Risk tables: a quantitative approach
Risk Response Development
Risk as a monetary value: Management reserve
Risk documents
Risk Management Plan
Risk Management Procedures
Risk List
Project Procurement Planning
Contract planning and control
Proposals
Project Integration Planning
Integrating scope, quality, time, cost
Integration processes
Optimizing the plan
Project Scope/Time/Cost Control
Monitoring
Monitoring by PM and client
Monitoring by Contractor Project Manager/Team Leader
Handling scope changes
Agile control methods
Project Communications Control
Meetings
The status or review meeting
Running a meeting
Project kickoff meeting
Post project review
Agile scrum
Reporting project status
Monthly Progress report to Client
Using the Tracking Gantt
Other reports, based on:
Deliverables, milestones, issues
Project roll-up and summary reporting
Project Quality Management
Quality planning, Quality Assurance,
Quality Control
SEI CMM levels and KPA’s
Project Human Resources Management
Building the Project Team
Project organization
Matrix, functional, project
The project team: the Project Manager, Team leader, Team member
Project Manager, Functional Manager responsibilities
Project manager skills
The role of the Client
Managing Technical People
Motivation, growth and burn-out issues
Demotivators vs. Motivators
Delegation
Handling Turnover
Project Risk Control
Monitoring risk
Reacting to risk
Do not get burned
Keeping everyone informed
Risk Log
Project Integration Control
Problems
Detection, correction
Reacting to problems
Solving the problem
Handling dependencies on other departments
Change Control
How changing one item changes other things
Controlling cost/schedule/scope escalation
Project support
Project Close-out
Self organization: management of multiple priorities
Class exercise: problem detection/reaction
Conclusions
Resources available
PMI
Internet
PMI, SEI, SPI, NASA, DND, DOD
Governments
Training
Can you be a good project manager?
Project management proverbs