Project planning

1. Project planning Unit 3 Employability and Professional Development HND in Computing and Systems Development

2. Learning outcome 2 • LO2 Be able to demonstrate acquired interpersonal and transferable skills • Effective communication: verbal and non-verbal eg awareness and use of body language, openness and responsiveness, formal and informal feedback to and from colleagues; IT as an effective communication medium; team meetings • Interpersonal skills: soft skills eg personal effectiveness, working with others, use of initiative, negotiating skills, assertiveness skills, social skills • Time management: prioritising workloads; setting work objectives; using time effectively; making and keeping appointments; reliable estimates of task time

3. Assessment criteria LO2 • 2.1 Communicate in a variety of styles and appropriate manner at various levels Team meetings from web development will be used as one example of this for your assignment • 2.2 Demonstrate effective time management strategies We will use project planning techniques to demonstrate this

4. Approaches to planning an IT project • Product based • Identify the products that will be delivered, such as • IT equipment • Training • Activity based • Identify the tasks needed, such as • Install IT equipment • Train staff • As most projects generate products, we will focus on the product based approach

5. Identify the product deliverables Software components Equipment Documents Training manuals Procedure manuals Database Anything created by the project and delivered to the client Each item is considered to be a product Product based planning

6. Intermediate products • Created during the project but may not be delivered to the client • Software specifications • Database structure • Test plans • Test reports • Progress reports • Intermediate products can be listed in a product breakdown structure

7. Product definitions • Each product should have a product definition • Its identity – “Acceptance test plan” • A description – “A plan of the test cases and the results users expect the application to produce” • The products this product is derived from – “the acceptance test plan is derived from the specification” • The components that make up the product • The format of the product – e.g. document or code • The quality criteria – how will the product be judged

8. Product flow diagram • Shows the order in which the products are created Oval shape for a pre existing product Software Specification Application software Office Procedures Installed Systems Training Manual Trained Staff

9. Activity planning • An activity network shows the activities required and the order in which they are carried out • Activity on node method used • Boxes represent nodes • A node represents an activity • Lines between the nodes show where the start of an activity depends on the completion of another activity

10. Activity on node Do B Do A Do D Do C

11. Activity on node Write software Install Systems Start End Define procedures Write manual Zero duration milestones

12. Elapsed time • Elapsed time is the time from the start to the end of the activity • Effort is the elapsed time multiplied by the number of staff • Elapsed time = 4 days • Allocated staff = 3 • Effort = 12 staff days • Start by estimating the elapsed time

13. Elapsed time • Conventions • Days start at 0 • Day 0 means “the end of day 0” – effectively start of day 1 • Earliest finish date = (earliest start date + duration) • Earliest finish date for A is day 4 (the end of day 4) Do B 7 days Do A 4 days Do D 3 days Do C 5 days

14. Start and finish dates Do B 7 days • Calculations • Earliest start date of B and C is day • Earliest finish date of B is day • Earliest finish date of C is day • Earliest start date of D is day • Earliest finish date of D is day Do A 4 days Do D 3 days Do C 5 days

15. Start and finish dates Do B 7 days • Calculations • Earliest start date of B and C is day 4 • Earliest finish date of B is day 11 • Earliest finish date of C is day 9 • Earliest start date of D is day 11 • Earliest finish date of D is day 14 Do A 4 days Do D 3 days Do C 5 days

16. Start and finish dates • Earliest start date of B and C is day 4 • Earliest finish date of B is day 11 • Earliest finish date of C is day 9 • Earliest start date of D is day 11 • Earliest finish date of D is day 14 ES = 4 LS = EF = 11 LF = ES = 0 LS = EF = 4 LF = ES = 11 LS = EF = 14 LF = Do B 7 days Do A 4 days Do D 3 days Do C 5 days ES = 4 LS = EF = 9 LF =

17. Start and finish dates • Latest start date = latest finish date of current activity – duration • Working backwards • Latest finish date for D is day • Latest start date for D is day • Complete for C, B and A ES = 4 LS = EF = 11 LF = ES = 0 LS = EF = 4 LF = ES = 11 LS = EF = 14 LF = Do B 7 days Do A 4 days Do D 3 days Do C 5 days ES = 4 LS = EF = 9 LF =

18. Float • Earliest and latest start dates are the same for A, B and D • They are different for C • If C starts on the earliest start date, it could be late by up to 2 days without delaying the end date • The 2 days are called “float” • Float = latest finish date – earliest start date - duration ES = 4 LS = 4 EF = 11 LF = 11 ES = 0 LS = 0 EF = 4 LF = 4 ES = 11 LS = 11 EF = 14 LF = 14 Do B 7 days Do A 4 days Do D 3 days Do C 5 days ES = 4 LS = 6 EF = 9 LF = 11

19. Critical path • A, B and D have zero float • The sequence A, B and D is the “critical path” • Any delay in A, B and D will delay the whole project ES = 4 LS = 4 EF = 11 LF = 11 ES = 0 LS = 0 EF = 4 LF = 4 ES = 11 LS = 11 EF = 14 LF = 14 Do B 7 days Do A 4 days Do D 3 days Do C 5 days ES = 4 LS = 6 EF = 9 LF = 11

20. MS Project • Can create GANTT charts

21. MS Project network diagram • Select diagrams in the View menu • Critical path identified in RED • Float in Blue

22. Exercise • By hand - calculate the earliest and latest start and finish date and floats for each of the activities • Identify the critical path E 3 days B 10 days A 0 days G 1 days H 3 days I 0 days C 35 days F 5 days D 15 days

23. MS Project • Use MS Project • to draw the Gantt chart for the previous exercise • then use the View menu to see the network diagram

24. MS Project Network Diagram • Critical path in RED • Float in BLUE • Milestones non rectangular (0 day events)

25. Activity • Scenario: • You are responsible for planning the new installation of IT equipment into a small training company • You have 3 employees • 1 general electrician and cabling • 1 desktop technician • 1 server and networking technician • Use MS Project • to draw the Gantt chart for the previous exercise • then use the View menu to see the network diagram

26. Facts • There are 4 IT teaching rooms to be equipped • Each room has 12 desktop PCs • There is one server room; set –up will take one day (1 person) • It takes 2 people to install network cables • They can do one room a day • It takes 2 people to install the networking and server rack • Each machine takes 2 hours to install (1 person). • You could image a whole room in 2 hours if the imaging server is working; plus 1 hour to ‘unbox’ each machine (1 person).