Software Project Management

1. Software Project Management Session 9: Project Control Q7503, Fall 2002

2. Today • Session 8 Review • Project Control • Status Reporting • Earned Value Analysis • MS Project Q7503, Fall 2002

3. Session 8 Review • Project roles and team structure • CMM • Requirements Q7503, Fall 2002

4. Project Control • Ongoing effort to keep your project on track • 4 primary activities: • 1. Planning performance • A SDP, schedule, and a control process • 2. Measuring status of work performed • Actuals • 3. Comparing to baseline • Variances • 4. Taking corrective action as needed • Response • Prerequisite to good control is a good plan Q7503, Fall 2002

5. Project Control • “Control” • Power, authority, domination. No. • Guiding a course of action to meet an objective. Yes. • Principles • Work is controlled, not workers • Control helps workers be more effective & efficient • Control based on work completed • Use concrete deliverables • Balance • Appropriate level between too much and too little • Includes: • Micro-managing vs. neglect • Too much tracking detail vs. too little Q7503, Fall 2002

6. Progress Monitoring • The 3 key Progress Monitoring Questions • What is the actual status? • If there’s a variance, what is cause? • What to do about it? • Possible responses • 1. Ignore • 2. Take corrective action • 3. Review the plan Q7503, Fall 2002

7. Progress Monitoring • Monitoring rates • Daily, weekly, monthly • If problems occur – then adjust • You may have to monitor problem areas more closely • For some period of time • Almost always there’s one or more areas under closer scrutiny • Status Reporting • Part of the communications management plan • Which is usually just a section of SDP Q7503, Fall 2002

8. Status Reports • From team to PM, from PM to stakeholders • Typical format for latter • Summary • Accomplishments for this period (done) • Tasks, milestones, metrics • Plans for next period (to-do) • Risk analysis and review • Issues & Actions • Shoot for weekly updates • Email notes, then hold brief meeting • More frequently during crises Q7503, Fall 2002

9. Programming Status Reporting • A programmer reports that he’s 90% done. • What does this mean? • A programmer reports completing 4,000 LOC on estimated 5,000 LOC effort. • Is this 80% complete? • Quality? • Ratio, estimated to completed? • Your estimates could have been wrong • If you can’t measure scope or quality you don’t know “reality” • You really only know cost (hours spent) • How can you improve this? Q7503, Fall 2002

10. Binary Reporting • Work packages (tasks) can only be in one of 2 states: complete or incomplete • No partial credit • Preferred to anything subjective! • “90% Complete Syndrome” • Software is 90% complete 90% of the time • Use lower-level task decomposition • Tangible exit criteria • Plan for 4-80 staff hours of effort per task Q7503, Fall 2002

11. Earned Value Analysis (EVA) • a.k.a. Earned Value Management (EVM) • a.k.a. Variance Analysis • Metric of project tracking • “What you got for what you paid” • Physical progress • Pre-EVA ‘traditional’ approach • 1. Planned time and costs • 2. Actual time and costs • Progress: compare planned vs. actual • EVA adds third dimension: value • Planned, actual, earned Q7503, Fall 2002

12. Earned Value Analysis • Forecasting • Old models include cost & expenditure • EVA adds schedule estimation • Measured in dollars or hours • Often time used in software projects • Performance Measurement Baseline (PMB) • Time-phased budget plan against which contract performance is measured • Cost & schedule variances go against this • Best via a bottom-up plan Q7503, Fall 2002

13. Earned Value Analysis • Different methods are available • Binary Reporting • Others include • Based on % complete • Weights applied to milestones • EVA can signal errors as early as 15% into project • Alphabet Soup Q7503, Fall 2002

14. Earned Value Analysis • 3 major components • BCWS: Budgeted Cost of Work Scheduled • Now called “Planned Value” (PV) • “Yearned” • How much work should be done? • BCWP: Budgeted Cost of Work Performed • Now called “earned value” (EV) • “Earned” • How much work is done? • BCWS * % complete • ACWP: Actual Cost of Work Performed • Now called “Actual Cost” (AC) • “Burned” • How much did the work done cost? Q7503, Fall 2002

15. Derived EVA Variances • SV: Schedule Variance • BCWP – BCWS • Planned work vs. work completed • CV: Cost Variance • BCWP – ACWP • Budgeted costs vs. actual costs • Negatives are termed ‘unfavorable’ • Can be plotted on ‘spending curves’ • Cumulative cost (Y axis) vs. Time (X axis) • Typically in an ‘S’ shape • “What is the project status”? • You can use variances to answer this Q7503, Fall 2002

16. Earned Value Analysis Q7503, Fall 2002

17. Derived EVA Ratios • SPI: Schedule Performance Index • BCWP / BCWS • CPI: Cost Performance Index • BCWP / ACWP • Problems in project if either of these less than 1 (or 100%) Q7503, Fall 2002

18. Earned Value Analysis • Other Derived Values • BAC: Budget At Completion • Sum of all budges (BCWS). Your original budget. • EAC: Estimate At Completion • Forecast total cost at completion • EAC = ((BAC – BCWP)/CPI) + ACWP • Unfinished work divided by CPI added to sunk cost • If CPI < 1, EAC will be > BAC • CR: Critical Ratio • SPI x CPI • 1: everything on track • > .9 and < 1.2 ok • Can be charted Q7503, Fall 2002

19. EVA Example As of 1-July where are we? BCWS BCWP ACWP Q7503, Fall 2002

20. EVA Example CV SV CPI SPI CR Q7503, Fall 2002

21. Earned Value Analysis • BCWS • Use ‘loaded labor’ rates if possible • Direct pay + overhead • Remember it’s an aggregate figure • May hide where the problem lies • Beware of counterbalancing issues • Over in one area vs. under in another Q7503, Fall 2002

22. Earned Value Analysis • Benefits • Consistent unit of measure for total progress • Consistent methodology • Across cost and completed activity • Apples and apples comparisons • Ability to forecast cost & schedule • Can provide warnings early • Success factors • A full WBS is required (all scope) • Beware of GIGO: Garbage-in, garbage-out Q7503, Fall 2002

23. The MS-Project Process • Move WBS into a Project outline (in Task Sheet) • Add resources (team members or roles) • Add costs for resources • Assign resources to tasks • Establish dependencies • Refine and optimize • Create baseline • Track progress (enter actuals, etc.) Q7503, Fall 2002

24. Project Overview • This is a ‘quickie’ overview • We will return to all of these steps individually over the next few weeks • Sample project from McConnell Q7503, Fall 2002

25. Project UI • Views • Default is Gant Chart View • 2 panes • Task Sheet on left (a table) • Gantt Chart on right • View Bar on far left Q7503, Fall 2002

26. Project UI Q7503, Fall 2002

27. Create Your Project • File/New • Setup start date • Setup calendar • Menu: Project/Project Information • Often left with default settings • Hours, holidays Q7503, Fall 2002

28. Enter WBS • Outlining • Sub-tasks and summary tasks • Do not enter start/end dates for each • Just start with Task Name and Duration for each • Use Indent/Outdent buttons to define summary tasks and subtasks • You can enter specific Start/End dates but don’t most of the time Q7503, Fall 2002

29. Establish Durations • Know the abbreviations • h/d/w/m • D is default • Can use partial • .5d is a half-day task • Elapsed durations • Estimated durations • Put a ‘?’ after duration Q7503, Fall 2002

30. Add Resources • Work Resources • People • Material Resources • Things • Can be used to track costs • Ex: amount of equipment purshased • Not used as often in typical software project Q7503, Fall 2002

31. Resource Sheet • Can add new resources here • Or directly in the task entry sheet • Beware of mis-spellings (Project will create near-duplicates) • Setup costs • Such as annual salary (put ‘yr’ after ‘Std. Rate’) Q7503, Fall 2002

32. Effort-Driven Scheduling • MS-Project default • Duration * Units = Work • Duration = Work / Units (D = W/U) • Work = Duration * Units (W = D*U) • Units = Work / Duration (U = W/D) • Adding more resources to a task shortens duration • Can be changed on a per-task basis • In the advanced tab of Task Information dialog box • Task Type setting • Beware the Mythical Man-month • Good for laying bricks, not always so for software development Q7503, Fall 2002

33. Link Tasks • On toolbar: Link & Unlink buttons • Good for many at once • Or via Gantt chart • Drag from one task to another Q7503, Fall 2002

34. Milestones • Zero duration tasks • Insert task ‘normally’ but put 0 in duration Q7503, Fall 2002

35. Make Assignments • Approach 1. Using Task Sheet • Using Resource Names column • You can create new ones by just typing-in here • 2. Using Assign Resources dialog box • Good for multiple resources • Highlight task, Tools/Resources or toolbar button • 3. Using Task Information dialog • Resources tab • 4. Task Entry view • View/More Views/Task Entry • Or Task Entry view on Resource Mgmt. toolbar Q7503, Fall 2002

36. Save Baseline • Saves all current information about your project • Dates, resource assignments, durations, costs Q7503, Fall 2002

37. Fine Tune • Then is used later as basis for comparing against “actuals” • Menu: Tools/Tracking/Save Baseline Q7503, Fall 2002

38. Project 2002 • 3 Editions: Standard, Professional, Server • MS Project Server 2002 • Upgrade of old “Project Central” • Includes “Project Web Access”, web-based UI (partial) • Workgroup and resource notification features • Requires SQL-Server and IIS • “Portfolio Analyzer” • Drill-down into projects via pivot tables & charts • “Portfolio Modeler” • Create models and “what-if” scenarios • SharePoint Team Services integration Q7503, Fall 2002

39. Project 2002 • MS-Project Professional • “Build Team” feature • Skills-based resource matching • Resource Pools: with skill set tracking • Resource Substitution Wizard • “Project Guide” feature • Customizable “process component” Q7503, Fall 2002

40. MS-Project Q&A • Your WBS in Project • How did it go? • Any questions? Q7503, Fall 2002

41. Homework • Schwalbe: 7 “Project Quality Management” • URLs • “Introduction to Software Testing” • http://www.iplbath.com/pdf/p0820.pdf • “Introduction to Software Testing Principles” • http://www.qestest.com/principl.htm • Project plan: • Develop and submit an initial copy of the project plan (limited to tasks & milestones) for your individual project Q7503, Fall 2002

42. Questions? Q7503, Fall 2002