Project Management (in Software Engineering)

Project Management (in Software Engineering)
An Introduction

Prof. David Bernstein
James Madison University

Computer Science Department

bernstdh@jmu.edu

Getting Started

Projects:
- A project is a one-time effort to achieve a particular goal, subject to time and/or budget constraints
In Contrast:
- Ongoing activities and/or activities that do not have constraints are not projects
Management:
- Management is the activity of assembling, directing, and/or supporting human and other resources in achieving substantial goals

Management Issues

Management Issues (cont.)

Quality:
- Either a part of the goal of the project or a constraint
Resources:
- Things that must be "obtained" and ready when needed in order to complete the project
Risks:
- Uncertain conditions/circumstances that have negative consequences

Management Activities

Plan:
- Set goals, establish constraints, set requirements, determine tasks, estimate costs, formulate schedules, assign resources, manage risks
Execute:
- Acquire resources, train/educate, establish processes
Control:
- Collect data, analyze data, report on progress, adjust scope/schedule/budget
Lead:
- Motivate, facilitate, resolve conflicts, remove obstacles

Management Responsibilities

Traditional Processes:
- Management responsibilities are assigned to project managers who are given the responsibility and authority to collect data, make decisions, and control resources
Agile Processes:
- Reduce the need for oversight and distribute authority and responsibility for most activities to the team, though there are exceptions (e.g., in Scrum leadership activities are the province of the Scrum Master)

Planning

Terminology:
- Milestone - any significant event in a project
- Deliverable - any document, program, data, service, or object produced for an internal or external customer
- Scheduling - deciding when a task will occur
- Resource Allocation - deciding which people/resources will be used for which tasks
Traditional Processes:
- Most planning activities occur "up front"
Agile Processes:
- Planning occurs at the start of each increment

Planning (cont.)

Work Breakdown Structure (WBS):
- A hierarchical decomposition of the work needed to produce deliverables (where the leaf nodes are called work packages requiring between 8 and 80 person-hours)
An Example WBS:

Planning (cont.)

Execution

Traditional Processes:
- Project managers are responsible for and have the authority needed for execution activities
Agile Processes:
- The team is responsible for and has the authority needed for execution activities

Control

Traditional Processes:
- Project managers are responsible for monitoring and making changes to the plan (though the changes should be made in consultation with stakeholders)
Agile Processes:
- The team uses burn charts to track progress and makes changes usually at the end of an increment (e.g., during the Sprint Retrospective in Scrum)

Leadership

Traditional Processes:
- Project managers are responsible for leadership activities
Agile Processes:
- Vary in who has responsibility for leadership activities (e.g., in Scrum it is the Scrum Master)