Administrative Details

1
Administrative Details

• Midterm grades are posted
• Average grade between B/A-
• Homework weighted 33, midterm 1 weighted 67
• Homework grades generally lower than midterm
  grades
• Extra credit on MT made the difference for some
• HW 7
• Revised version in boxes (naming changed etc.)
• Due next Tuesday in class
• Last individual homework before White Paper at
  end of class
• HW 5
• Sorry for the delay, mostly graded
• TA Office Hours
• reduced to make time for project team meetings

2
Class Project Home-Delivered Meals

• Context
• Service delivery planning
• Application services provision
• Web-enabled resource management
• Resource http//www.hdm.heinz.cmu.edu (and
  others)
• Deliverables
• Stand-alone Access database for limited,
  counselor-level HDM planning
• Web site containing team member profiles, problem
  statement, solution strategy/components, sample
  of Web-enabled interface
• Project Characteristics
• Unclear/changing objectives/requirements
• Unreliable client
• Evolving technology
• Real-world constraints and expectations!

3
Research on HDM in Allegheny County

• Population is aging and redistributing from city
  to suburbs
• Management at HDM kitchen level not equipped to
  respond to changes in client (and volunteer) base
• Inability to measure service quality

4
Research on HDM in Allegheny County

• Management at county agency level lacks knowledge
  for long-term planning
• Need to determine where kitchens ought to be
  located/relocated to meet population needs
• Need to coordinate
• strategic planning
• counselor/client interaction
• kitchen-level operations

An Internet-based system for HDM management can
meet planning needs at various organizational
levels and time-frames
5
Project Resources

• HDM program materials
• sample client intake form
• sample delivery list
• HDM entity-relationship diagram (incomplete)
• HDM relational database model (incomplete)
• HDM data on LAN (incomplete)
• kitchens
• sample routes
• demographic data
• sample clients
• Problem dialog
• Application development software Access2000,
  FrontPage2000, Project98

6
Project Team and Support

• Teams of 8 - 12 students work in parallel
• Three milestone assignments clarify project
  deliverables
• Project definition/scope, E-R diagram, team
  skills, work schedule
• Database design, data dictionary, context
  diagram, service area analysis, Web site with
  (a) resumes/pictures, (b) project description,
  (c) preliminary work schedule
• Data flow diagrams, database with sample data,
  Web site with (a) E-R diagram, (b) RDBM, (c)
  Data dictionary, (d) Service area analysis
• One TA assigned to each team to provide technical
  support
• Team roles
• Project manager
• System analyst(s)
• Programmer/analyst(s)
• Database manager
• Webmaster
• Application version manager

7
Introduction to IT Project Management

• A project
• has a goal
• has a start and a finish
• requires resources, including people, money,
  equipment and administration
• requires coordination
• IT projects differ from ordinary projects due to
• Unclear objectives
• Project risk excessive time, cost and unmet
  objectives
• Variety of project types
• Difficulty in calculating requirements and
  visualizing end-product
• Variety of management structures/styles

IT project management incorporates all skills you
are likely to learn in the Heinz School
curriculum!
8
IT Project Types

• System development
• Transactions systems
• Decision support
• Expert systems
• Package implementation
• Personal productivity
• Groupware
• Enterprise-wide applications
• Systems architecture
• Selection projects
• Business process re-engineering
• Prototyping

IT projects can encompass various types and
require many different skills, client bases and
technologies
9
IT Project Components

• Sponsor
• Steering committee
• Users
• IT staff
• In-house (but external to project team) technical
  specialists
• External consultants/contractors
• Project team
• Project manager
• Project leader
• Analysts
• Designers
• Programmers/developers RDBM, Web, decision
  models, network
• Librarian/secretary/version control manager

10
IT Project Stages

• Initiation
• Feasibility assessment
• Project planning
• Project implementation (multiple phases)
• Schedule tasks
• Obtain resources
• Execute tasks
• Collect results
• Check quality
• Assess progress
• Report
• Plan next phase
• Refine estimates
• Project termination

(Fig. 1.8)
(Fig. 1.9)
(Source Managing Technology Projects, McLeod and
Smith, Course Technology, 1995)
11
IT Project Pre-Implementation Steps

• Definition
• Project originator, sponsor
• Project title, goal
• Deadline, budget
• Assumptions, moral/ethical or legal issues
• Feasibility
• Business issues cost savings, new services,
  strategic advantage, etc.
• Technical issues updating obsolete technology,
  feasibility of deadline, etc.
• Alternatives identification and analysis
• Scope
• Functional requirements
• Context diagram external entities, external
  systems, data exchange media, system boundary

12
IT Project Pre-Implementation Steps (contd)

• Technical Environment
• Hardware platform(s)
• Development tool(s)
• Security
• Performance/time constraints
• Standards
• Required technical skills
• Quality standards
• Documentation
• Deliverables
• Product breakdown model physical products that
  the project will deliver
• Less tangible outcomes, e.g. increased
  productivity

13
IT Project Pre-Implementation Steps (contd)

• Determining tasks to perform
• Construct tasks - deliverables matrix
• Determine skills, personnel required
• Construct skills - tasks matrix and skills - job
  title matrix
• Make preliminary time estimates
• Based on work breakdown structure individual
  tasks and sub-tasks
• Dont worry about individual assignments and
  specific durations

• How do we know that a project is successful?
• It meets requirements
• It is delivered on time
• It is delivered within budget

14
Generic Project Management Phases

• Create a realistic project schedule
• Manage the project and adjust to changes
• Communicate results and progress
• Evaluate project performance upon completion
• Project management software is crucial

(Adapted from Microsoft Project98 Step by Step,
Catapault Press, 1997)
Project management software must be used
throughout the project to be useful!
15
Project Management Tools

• Gantt chart
• list of project task category/task durations
• task predecessors, successors
• task completion status
• Project Calendar
• relates task durations to elapsed time
• represents days off, holidays

16
Project Management Tools (contd)

• PERT Chart
• network view of tasks
• used to identify critical tasks
• used to identify critical path
• Resource Usage Chart
• total work time by task and by day
• Task Usage Chart shows work time by task