sheikh jefrizal bin jamaluddin chapter 2 managing the information systems project 1

© Dr Keith Y.N. Ng 1

SHEIKH JEFRIZAL BIN JAMALUDDIN

CHAPTER 2

Managing The Information Systems Project

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LEARNING OUTCOMES

• After complete this lesson, you would be able to:

Understand the project manager roles in an information system.

Describe the various processes of project management activities.

Understand how to develop a successful project.

Know the factors affecting in a project.

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Project

• A planned undertaking of related activities to reach an objective that has a beginning and an end.

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Project Manager

• Responsible for creating high-level feasibility plans and detailed project plans as well as staffing project team.

• Determining the size, scope, and resource requirements for a project.

• Required to have interpersonal skills, leadership skills and technical skills

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Project Management

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Project Management

• Project.– The focus of the following section is on the project

management process. The activities involved in managing a project occur in four phases:

– Initiating the project

– Planning the project

– Executing the project (control and monitoring the project)

Closing down the project

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Project initiation

• The first phase of the project management which several activities are performed to assess the size, scope, and complexity of the project and to establish procedures to support later project activities.

• The types of activities you will perform when initiating a project include the following:

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Project initiation

• Establishing the project initiation team - focuses on organizing an initial core of project team members that assist in accomplishing the project initiation activities.

• Establishing a relationship with the customer - focuses on building a cooperative and trusting partnership with the customer. A thorough understanding of your customer builds stronger partnership and higher levels of trust.

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Project initiation

• Establishing a project initiation plan - focuses on defining the necessary activities required to organize the initiation team while they are working to define the scope and goals of the project.

• Establishing management procedures - focuses on developing team communication and reporting procedures, job assignments and roles, project change procedures, and determining how project funding and billing will be handled.

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Project initiation

• Establishing the project management environment and project workbook – focuses on collecting and organizing the tools that you will use while managing the project and to constructing project workbook.

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Project planning

• The second phase of the project management process which focuses on defining clear, discrete activities and the work needed to complete each activity within a single project.

• The types of activities that you can perform during project planning include the following elements:

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Project planning

• Describing project scope, alternatives, and feasibility - is to develop an understanding of the content and complexity of the project by gaining answers to and agreement on the following types of questions:– What problem or opportunity does the project address?– What are the quantifiable results to be achieved?– What needs to be done?– How will success be measured?– How will we know when we are finished?

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Project planning

• Dividing the project into manageable tasks - is to divide the entire project into manageable tasks and then logically order them to ensure a smooth evolution between tasks.

• Estimating resources and creating a resource plan - focuses on estimating resource requirements for each project activity and using this information to create a project resource plan.

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Project planning

• Developing a preliminary schedule - uses information regarding tasks and resource availability to assign time estimates to each activity. These time estimates will enable you to create target starting and ending dates for the project.

• Developing a communication plan - outlines the communication procedures between management, project team members, and the customer.

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Project planning

• Determining project standards and procedures - specifies how various deliverables are produced and tested by you and your project team.

• Identifying and assessing risk - identifies sources of project risk and estimates the consequences of the risks.

• Creating a preliminary budget - is to create a preliminary budget that outlines the planned expenses and revenues associated with the project.

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Project planning

• Developing a statement of work - is to create a document that outlines all work that will be done and makes clear what the project will deliver.

• Setting a baseline project plan - is to develop an initial plan that reflects the best estimate of the project’s tasks and resource requirements and is used to guide the next project phase ---- execution.

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Project execution

• The third phase of the project management process in which the plans created in the prior phases (project initiation and planning) are put into action.

• Activities that could be generally describe as follows:

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Project execution

• Executing the baseline project plan

• Is to oversee the execution of the baseline plan (i.e., the execution of project activities, acquire and assign resources, orient and train new team members, and ensure the quality of project deliverables).

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Project execution

• Monitoring & Controlling the project– Monitoring project progress against the baseline plan -

is to monitor the actual progress of the project against the baseline plan. So that if the project gets ahead of (or behind) schedule, adjustments to resources, activities, and budgets can be made.

– Managing changes to the baseline project plan - is to manage/ modify the baseline project plan as events outside your control occur.

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Project execution

• Constructing Structure Walkthrough process - is to conduct Structured Walkthrough to ensure quality standards are met. A structured walkthrough is a review of a project team member’s work by other members of the team to ensure standards set by project manager are followed.

• Maintaining the project workbook - is to maintain the project workbook, which contains project-related information.

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Project execution

Communicating the project status

• Is to inform all interested parties like systems developers, managers, and customers about the status of the project.

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Project close-down

• The final phase of the project management process that focuses on bringing a project to an end. Projects can conclude with a natural or unnatural termination.

• Activities that could be generally describe as follows:

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Project close-down

• Closing down the Project - involves several activities that need to perform when the project comes to the end.

• For example, as a project manager, you need to assess each project team member and provide an appraisal for personnel file or salary determination, send thank-you card to those who helped but were not project team member.

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Project close-down

• Conducting post – project reviews - is to determine the strength and weakness of project deliverables, the process to create them, and the project management process.

• Closing the customer contract – to ensure that all contractual terms of the project have been met.

• A project governed by a contract agreement is not completed until agreed to by both parties, often in writing.

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Representing And Scheduling Project Plans

• Gantt charts / bar chart• A graphical representation of a project that shows

each task activity as a horizontal bar whose length is proportional to its time for completion.

• Popular method to plan calendar time requirements for activity in SDLC.

• It is the simplest planning schedule that shows each activity in a system development and the amount of time each activity will take.

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• It uses bars to indicate the amount of time spent on each activity.

• To draw a Gantt chart: -

• Determine all the activities need to be accomplished

• Estimate the time requirements for each activity

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• List the activities from top to bottom on the left side of the chart (in sequence)

• For each respective activity, draw the bar horizontally across the chart (the bar indicates the begin and end time of an activity and the length of the bar indicate its duration)

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• Program Evaluation Review Technique (PERT) chart

• Also known as Critical Path Method (CPM) chart.

• A diagram that depicts project activities/tasks and their inter-relationships.

• To prepare a PERT/CPM chart,

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• Identify all the project tasks and estimate each task duration

• Determine logical order in which the tasks must be performed.

• Calculate the time it will take to complete the project.

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• Comparing Gantt Charts And PERT/CPM– One significant advantage of PERT/CPM charts

is that all individual tasks dependencies are shown.

– A PERT/CPM chart displays the critical path for the overall project and the slack time

– A Gantt chart offers a rapid overview---no detailed information shown here.

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Building The Baseline Project Plan

• All the information collected during project initiation and planning is collected and organized into a document called the Baseline Project Plan.

• Once the BPP is completed, a formal review of the project can be conducted with project clients and other interested parties.

• This presentation is called a walkthrough.

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• The first section of the BPP is the introduction where to provide a brief overview of the entire document and outline a recommended course of action for the project.

• The second section of the BPP is the System Description where you outline possible alternative solutions in addition to the one deemed most appropriate for the given situation.

• Note that this description is at a very high level, mostly narrative in form.

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• In the third section, Feasibility Assessment, issues related to project costs and benefits, technical difficulties, and other such concerns are outlined.

• This is also the section where high-level project schedules are estimate using PERT and Gantt charts.

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• The final section, Management Issues, outlines a number of managerial concerns related to the project.

• This will be a very short section if the proposed project is going to be conducted exactly as prescribed by the organization’s systems development methodology.

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Project Management Software And Risk Management

• Project Management Software can assist user in project planning, estimating, scheduling, monitoring, and controlling.

• Powerful project management packages offer many features, including PERT/CPM, Gantt Charts, resources scheduling(define and arrange the tasks involve, modify task / resources), project calendars, cost tracking, and cost benefit analysis.

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Project Management Software And Risk Management

• Risk is a concept that is difficult to define precisely.

• Informally, it is simply something which can go wrong.

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Keys To Successful Projects

• In order to be successful, an information system must satisfy business requirement, meet user’s needs, stay within its budget, and completed on time.

• Reasons of the final information system does not meet business requirements:

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• Unidentified or unclear requirements• Inadequately defined scope• Imprecise targets• Shortcuts or sloppy work during systems

analysis• Poor design choices• Insufficient testing or inadequate testing

procedures

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• Lack of appropriate change control• Changes in the organization’s culture and

objectives• Poor monitoring and control of progress• Rapid changing of user requirements• Personality conflicts among the team members

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• When project manager recognizes that a project is in trouble, behind schedule, or out of control, four options needs to considered are: – Trimming the project requirements

– Adding to the project resources

– Delaying the project deadline

– Improving the quality of the project management

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• If more project work needs to be completed than there are people to perform it, adding more people to the project team might help.

• Adding staff, however, will reduce the time necessary to complete the work only if the work to be done can be divided into separate tasks on which different people can work.

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• If the problem is that current team members lack experience or technical proficiency project manager might obtain expert help, such as:– Consultants

– Contract programmers or analysts

– Service bureau personnel

– Training and orienting new staff

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• When a project is in trouble for whatever reason, the project manager must try to get the project back under control and keep it under control.

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Information Systems Projects

• This section discusses reasons for systems projects, internal and external factors that affect systems projects, and systems request forms.

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Reasons For Systems Projects

• The starting point for a project is called a systems request, which is a formal way of asking for I/T support.

• A systems request might propose enhancements for existing systems, the correction of problems, or the development of an entirely new information system

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• Improved Service– Systems request often are aimed at improving

service to customers of users within the company.

– Storing data on rental car customer preferences or creating an online college registration system are examples that provide valuable services and increased customer satisfaction.

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• Better Performance– The current system might not meet performance

requirements.– Eg. It might response slowly to data inquiries at

certain times, or is unable to support company growth.

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• Stronger Controls– A system must have effective controls to ensure

that data is accurate and secure.– Some common controls include passwords,

various levels of user access, and encryption, or coding of data, so unauthorized users cannot easily read the data.

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• More Information– The system might produce information that is

insufficient, incomplete, or unable to support the company’s changing information needs.

– For eg, a system tracks customer orders might not be capable of analysing and predicting marketing trends.

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• Reduced Cost– The current system could be expensive to

operate of maintain as a result of technical problems, design weaknesses, or the changing demands of the business.

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• Supports for New Products and Services– New products and services often require new

types or levels of IT support. – For example, a software vendor might offer an

automatic upgrade service for subscribers or a package delivery company might add a special service for shipment or delivery purposes.

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Factors Affecting Systems Projects

• Every business decision that a company makes is affected by internal and external factors, and I/T systems projects are no exception.

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• User Requests– As users rely more heavily on information

systems to perform their jobs, they are likely to request even more I/T services and support.

– Because current system is difficult to learn or lacks flexibility.

– They might want I/S support for business requirements that did not even exist when the system was developed.

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• Top Management Directive– Directive from top managers are a prime source

of major systems projects.– Those directives often result from strategic

business decisions that require new I/T systems, more information for decision making, or better support for mission critical IS.

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• Existing Systems– Errors or problems in existing systems.– Systems errors must be corrected but systems

analysts often spend too much time reacting to day-to-day problems without looking at underlying causes.

– This approach can turn an I/S into a patchwork of corrections and changes that cannot support the company’s overall business needs.

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• Strategic Plan– A company’s strategic plan sets the overall direction

for the firm and has an important impact on IT projects.

– Company goals and objectives that need IT support will generate systems requests and influence IT priorities.

– A strategic plan that stresses technology tends to create a favourable climate for IT projects that extends throughout the organization.

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• The Economy– In a period of economic expansion, firms need

to be ready with scalable systems that can handle additional volume and growth.

– Predicting the business cycle is not an exact science, and careful research and planning is critical important.

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• Technology– Changing technology is a basic force in business and

society in general.

– Eg, the rapid growth of telecommunications has created entire new industries and technologies.

– Technology also dramatically reshapes existing business operations.

– For instance, the success of scanner technology in supermarket checkout lanes resulted in universal bar coding that now affects virtually all products.

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• Technology– Most companies have a mix of s/w and h/w that

must work together to support information systems requirements.

– As new versions of s/w or new h/w models appear, companies make decisions that affect existing systems and trigger systems requests.

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• Government– Federal, state, and local government regulations

affect the design of corporate information systems.

– Eg, Budget.

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• Competitors– Competitors drive many information systems

decisions.– Eg, if one cellular telephone provider offers a

new type of digital service, other firms must match the plan in order to remain competitive.

– New product research and development, marketing, sales, and service all require I/T support.

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• Customers– Customer service is vitally important, and I/S

that interact with customers receive top priority in most firms.

– Example might include technical support systems, online inventory systems, and Web-based order entry systems.

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• Suppliers– With the growth of Electronic Data Interchange

(EDI), relationships with suppliers are critically important.

– For example, an automobile company might require that suppliers code their parts in a certain manner to match the auto company’s inventory control systems.

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Review Questions

• List and explain the project manager roles in an information system.

• Describe the various processes of project management activities.

• How to develop a successful project?

• What are the factors affecting in a project?

sheikh jefrizal bin jamaluddin chapter 2 managing the information systems project 1

Documents

project management project

project planning

project scope

project initiationestablishing

project initiationthe

project address

project managerresponsible

project control