Part I:

Starting Your Software Project

By
Askale T.

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Chapter One

Examining the Big Picture of

Project Management

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Course Objectives
• After completion of this chapter, you have to
be able to:-
– Define what a software project is
– Examine project management attributes
– Identify the Project management knowledge areas
– Understand the difference between projects and
operations
– Identify project constraints
– Understand the concept of scope creep
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Definition
• A project technically is “a temporary endeavor
undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result.”
• A project is a unique entity.
• In other words, the creation of a new application is
unique, whereas the maintenance and day-to-day support
of an existing application is not so unique.
• A project ends when its objectives have been reached,
or the project has been terminated.
• Projects can be large or small and take a short or long
time to complete.

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…contd’
• Project management is “the application of
knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to
project activities to meet project
requirements.”
• It is the art of organizing, leading, reporting
and completing a project through a people.
• Software project management (SPM) is a
type of project management that focuses
specifically on creating or updating software.
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…contd’
• Project can have many attributes
– They change or improve environments in organizations.
– They get things done
– They solve problems.
– They are unique from other work.
– They have a defined start and end date.
– They require resources and time.
– They seize opportunities.
– They are sometimes challenging.
– Is temporary.
– Involves uncertainty.
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…contd’
• Effective project management centers on the serious
business of getting work done on time and within
budget while meeting customer expectations.
• Effective project management is about
accomplishment, leadership, and owning the project
scope.
• It involves coordinating people, vendors, and
resources.
• It requires excellent communication skills, a strong
willingness to protect the project scope, and
leadership skills to enforce quality throughout the7
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The nine PM knowledge areas.
• According to the Project Management Institute
(www.pmi.org), the defining resource on all things
related to project management, project management is
centered on nine knowledge areas.
• Events in each knowledge area affect what happens in
the other eight knowledge areas.
– Four core knowledge areas lead to specific project
objectives
• scope, time, cost, and quality.

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…contd’
– Four facilitating knowledge areas are the means
through which the project objectives are achieved
• human resources, communication, risk, and
procurement management.
– One knowledge area affects and is affected by all
of the other knowledge areas
• project integration management

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• Project Scope Management
– Controlling the planning, execution, and content of the
project (coverage) is essential (pay special attention to both
project and product scope ).
• Project Time Management
– Managing everything that affects the project’s schedule
• Project Cost Management
– Cost estimating, budgeting, and control
• Project Quality Management
– Ensure that the product you are producing is a quality
product that meets customer expectations.

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• Project Human Resource Management
– Hiring or assigning people who are competent and managing them.
• Project Communications Management
– Project managers spend 90% of their time communicating.
– Who needs what information and when.
• Project Risk Management
– Focus on how to anticipate risks, handle them when they arise, and
take advantage of the opportunities that can help a project.
• Project Procurement Management
– Concerned with the processes to create vendor contracts and to
purchase goods and services
• Project Integration Management
– coordination of all the other knowledge areas

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Comparing Projects and Operations
• There is a distinct difference between projects and
operations.
• A project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to
create a unique product, service, or result.
• Temporary means that the effort has a timeline (start
date and end date) whereas Unique refers to an end
result that has a novelty and has not been done
before.
• Projects are inherently risky and they improve
competitive advantage. All project goals are met in a
successful project.
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…contd’
• Operations are the day-to-day activities that your
organization does.
• They are not temporary i.e. they do not have a defined
end date and they do not produce anything unique.
• They are ongoing, repetitive, and maintain a status quo.
• They are usually discontinued when there is no market
demand for the product it maintains (may be happen
after a few years or decades but it totally depends on
market dynamics.

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Examining Project Constraints
• A constraint is anything that restricts the
project manager’s options.
• Constraints can include
– Resource constraints such as a team member being
assigned to too many concurrent projects
– Tight deadlines
– Budgetary limitations

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…contd’
– Government regulations
– Limitations of software
– Scope limitation, such as being required to use a
particular existing interface
– Hardware requirements
– Anything else that restricts your options

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Universal Project Constraints
• The three universal project constraints you will
always face are:-
– Time: Time constraints are simply deadlines. It is
any factor or issue that changes or impacts the
original timeframe of the project.
– Cost: Cost constraints are the usual budgetary
restrictions that you expect.
– Scope: There are two scopes within
project management:

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…contd’
– Product scope: The product scope describes, lists, and
categorizes all the features and components of the finished
deliverable (i.e. what the customers see in their minds’
eye).
– Project scope: The work performed to deliver a product,
service, or result with the specified features and functions
– It involves all the works, processes, methods required to
deliver the project deliverables.
– It must be protected from unapproved changes because it
dictates what the project team will do and what the end
result of the project will be.
“Delivering what’s promised and only what’s promised”
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These three constraints make up Iron Triangle of
project management.
• In order to achieve quality in the project deliverable,
and in the management of the project, each side must
remain balanced which is the project manager’s duty.

Successful
project

Co
management
e

st
m

means meeting
Ti

Quality all three goals

(scope, time, and
cost) – and
satisfying the
project’s
Scope sponsor!
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• Reading Assignment
– What is law of diminishing returns?

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Controlling Scope Creep
• Changes to the project scope can affect cost and time
constraints, melting your Iron Triangle.
• To change the scope, you must change the cost or the
schedule (or both) to keep the triangle balanced.
• The Iron Triangle is also a terrific tool to use in discussions
with the project team, and to keep your own duties as
project manager in alignment.
• Unplanned changes to the project scope, sometimes called
scope creep, are the little extras that expand the scope
without reflecting the changes in the
cost and time baselines.
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…contd’
• Scope creep project poison that changes the
alignment of the Iron Triangle.

• When the scope goes off track, time and funds are stolen from
the original baselines.
• Balancing the three sides of the triangle ensures a high-quality
final product
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…contd’
• Changes to the project scope should be
controlled and managed through a change
control system (CCS).
• In essence, a CCS accommodates a process for
documenting requested changes and requires
obtaining appropriate approval for all
requested project changes.
• The key is to avoid changes that are not directly
approved or requested by the customer.
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Project Management Tools and
Techniques
• Project management tools and techniques
assist project managers and their teams in
various aspects of project management.
• Specific tools and techniques include:
– Project charters, scope statements, and WBS
(scope).
– Gantt charts, network diagrams, critical path
analyses, critical chain scheduling (time).
– Cost estimates and earned value management (cost).

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Suggested Skills for Project Managers

• Project managers need both “hard” and “soft”

skills.
– Hard skills include product knowledge and
knowing how to use various project management
tools and techniques.
– Soft skills include being able to work with various
types of people.

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Suggested Skills for Project Managers
• Communication skills: Listens, persuades.
• Organizational skills: Plans, sets goals, analyzes.
• Team-building skills: Shows empathy, motivates,
promotes esprit de corps.
• Leadership skills: Sets examples, provides vision
(big picture), delegates, positive, energetic.
• Coping skills: Flexible, creative, patient,
persistent.
• Technology skills: Experience, project knowledge.
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…contd’
• A project managers are peoples who oversee
all the project activities.
• A good project manager
– Takes ownership of the whole project
– Adequately plans for project
– Is authorative (Not authoritarian)
– Is decisive (crucial)
– Is good communicator
– Is motivator
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…contd’
• Reading Assignment
– Leading and managing project teams

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The End!

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