Software Project Management Introduction to Software Project Management

Software Project Management Introduction to Software Project Management

Overview n n Software engineering Software project management Software Project Management 2

Software Crisis n n Faulty software Delay in completion time Over budgeted Difficult to maintain software Software Project Management 3

Some important facts n n Relative cost of the software in a system is growing Increase in demand for software Increase in size and complexity of software Increase in performance of hardware Software Project Management 4

Software Engineering n No standard definitions Software Project Management 5

Software Engineering n n Aimed at large software Systematic and well-defined techniques, methodologies and tools To design, code, test and maintain quality software Within a resource constrained environment Software Project Management 6

Large Software n n Developed by more than one person Effective communications are important – standards, documentation, etc Management issues Techniques and methodologies are useful only if automated systems can be built upon them Software Project Management 7

Phases of Software Development n n n Requirements analysis and specifications Design Coding Testing Operation Maintenance Software Project Management 8

Some important observations n n Maintenance is the most expensive phase and coding is the least expensive phase The earlier the detection of faults, the less expensive the correction of faults Software Project Management 9

What is a project? n Key characteristics of a project: n n n A planned activity Specific objectives or products Work to be carried out in several phases Limited resources Deadline Large and complex Software Project Management 10

Major differences between software products and hardware products n n n Progress of software development is not obviously visible Modifications of software products are more easy and flexible Software products are usually more complex than the hardware products in terms of development or construction cost Software Project Management 11

Major processes in developing a software system n n n Feasibility study Project planning Project execution Software Project Management 12

Feasibility Study n n n Analyze the general requirements, costs and the functionalities and services provided by the system to be developed Aimed to determine whether a system should be developed or not Can be viewed as a project itself Software Project Management 13

Important factors in planning a software project n To know the nature of the system to be developed n n A management information system or a control system To know clearly the objectives and products of the project n How to evaluate the objectives and products after the completion of the project Software Project Management 14

What is management? n Management involves the following activities: n n n n Planning Staffing Innovating Directing Monitoring Liaising …? Software Project Management 15

What is software project management? n n n Understand the characteristics of software products Understand what is meant by a project Understand what is meant by management Software Project Management 16

Common problems with software projects n n n n Lack of quality standards and measures Lack of measurable milestones Difficult to make the progress visible Poor communications Poor documentation Frequent changes of requirements Over budget and late delivery of software Software Project Management 17

Major issues of software project management to be covered n n n Software development models Software size and cost estimation Software project planning Software risk management Resource allocation Performance tracking and reporting Software Project Management 18

Major issues of software project management to be covered (cont’d) n n Software project configuration management Software project team management Software Project Management 19