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LECTURE # 23
4. PLANNING
Planning is one of the most important management activities and is an ongoing effort throughout the life of the project. Software project management begins with a set of activities that are collectively called Project Planning.
- Preliminary planning starts on day one even in the pre-project phase
- It should not be conducted “in secret”
- It needs buy-in and approval
4.1 Project Planning Objectives
The objective of software project planning is to provide a framework that enables the manager to make reasonable estimates of:
- Resources
- Cost, and
- Schedule
These estimates are made within a limited time frame at the beginning of a software project and should be updated regularly as the project progresses. In addition, estimates should attempt to define best case and worst-case scenarios so that project outcomes can be bounded.
Planning is one of the most important management activities and is an ongoing effort throughout the life of the project.
Software project management begins with a set of activities that are collectively called Project Planning.
The software project planner must estimate following things before a project begins:
**1. How much will it cost?
- How long will it take?
- How many people will it take?
- What might go wrong?**
4.2 Project Planning - Definition
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- What is it? Software project planning involves estimation - your attempt to determine how much money, how much effort, how many resources, and how much time it will take to build a specific software-based system or product.
- Who does it? Software Project Managers- Using information solicited from customers and software engineers and software metrics data collected from past projects. It is advisable to generate your estimates using at least two different methods (as a cross check). Problem complexity and risk are considered before a final estimate is made.
- What is the work product? A Simple table delineating the tasks to be performed, the functions to be implemented and the cost, effort and time involved for each is generated. A list of required project resources is also produced.
- How do I ensure that I've done it right? That’s hard, because you won't really know until the project has been completed. However, if you have experience and follow a systematic approach, generate estimates using solid historical data, create estimation, data points using at least two different methods, and factors in complexity and risk. You can feel confident that you've done a right job to achieve the targets.
4.3 Project Planning: Key Tasks
**1. Set goal and scope
- Select lifecycle
- Set organization team form
- Start team selection
- Determine risks
- Create WBS
- Identify tasks
- Estimate size
- Estimate effort
- Identify task dependencies
- Assign resources
- Schedule work**
4.4 Project Management Process
The software development management section, which describes the organization and resources that will be used to develop the product, should always be included. The management section discusses how the facilities will be organized to support the development effort. This is one of the sections that provide much of the detail needed to prepare the heart of the development plan, namely the development schedule. The schedule provides answers to two basic planning questions: what and when, while much of the remaining sections discuss how.
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implemented, how interfaces are to be characterized, how the design will be translated into a programming language (or nonprocedural language), and how testing will be performed. The methods applied during the development phase will vary, but three specific technical tasks should always occur: software design, code generation, and software testing.
The support Phase focuses on Change associated with error correction, adaptations required as the software's environment evolves, and changes due to enhancements brought about by changing customer requirements. The support phase reapplies the steps of the definition and development phases but does so in the context of existing software. Four types of change are encountered during the support phase:
1. Correction Even with the best quality assurance activities, it is likely that the customer will uncover defects in the software. Corrective maintenance changes the software to correct defects. 2. Adaptation Over time, the original environment (e.g., CPU, operating system, business rules, external product characteristics) for which the software was developed is likely to change. Adaptive maintenance results in modification I the software to accommodate changes to its external environment. 3. Enhancement As software is used, the customer/user will recognize additional functions that will provide benefit. Perfective maintenance extends the software beyond its original functional requirements. 4. Prevention Computer software deteriorates due to change, and because ( this, preventive maintenance, often called software reengineering, must be conducted to enable the software to serve the needs of its end users, in essence, preventive maintenance makes changes to computer programs so that they ca be more easily corrected, adapted, and enhanced.
In addition to these support activities, the users of software require continuing support. In-house technical assistants, telephone-help desks, and application- specific Web sites are often implemented as part of the support phase.
4.5 Planning Puzzle
Planning is one of the most important management activities and includes the preparation of good estimates, the maintenance of the development schedules and the efficient assignment of personnel.
i. Scope Planning
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Scope planning is the process of progressively elaborating and documenting the project work (project scope) that produces the product of the project.
ii. Risk Planning Risk management planning is the process of deciding how to approach and plan the risk management activities for a project. It is important to plan for the risk management processes that follow to ensure that the level, type, and visibility of risk management are commensurate with both the risk and importance of the project to the Organization.
iii. Schedule Development Analyzing activity sequences, activity durations, and resource requirements to create the project schedule.
iv. Cost Estimating Developing an approximation (estimate) of the costs of the resources required to complete project activities
v. Project Control Project Control may be considered to be one of the continuous objectives for the project manager. As such he is responsible for taking remedial actions, within the defined terms of reference, to correct potential problems or taking risk avoidance measures. The prime objective is to protect the integrity of the project at all times.
4.6 Primary Planning Steps
Once the scope of the project has been defined in the Terms of Reference, the project enters the detailed planning phase. This involves the creation of a:
1. Project Plan (outlining the activities, tasks, dependencies and timeframes) 2. Resource Plan (listing the labor, equipment and materials required) 3. Financial Plan (identifying the labor, equipment and materials costs) 4. Quality Plan (providing quality targets, assurance and control measures) 5. Risk Plan (highlighting potential risks and actions taken to mitigate them) 6. Acceptance Plan (listing the criteria to be met to gain customer acceptance) 7. Communications Plan (listing the information needed to inform stakeholders) 8. Procurement Plan (identifying products to be sourced from external suppliers).
At this point the project has been planned in detail and is ready to be executed
By this stage, the benefits and costs of the project have been clearly documented, the objectives and scope have been defined, the project team has been appointed and a formal project office environment established. It is now time to undertake detailed planning to ensure that the activities performed in the execution phase of the project are properly sequenced, resourced, executed and controlled.
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Lists clear and unambiguous quality targets for each deliverable. Each quality target provides a set of criteria and standards which must be achieved to meet the expectations of the customer Outlines a plan of activities which will assure the customer that the quality targets will be met (i.e. a Quality Assurance Plan) Identifies the techniques used to control the actual level of quality of each deliverable as it is built (i.e. a Quality Control Plan).
Finally, it is important to review the quality not only of the deliverables produced by the project but also of the management processes which produce them. A summary of each of the management processes undertaken during the execution phase is identified, including Time, Cost, Quality, Change, Risk, Issue, Procurement, Acceptance and Communications Management.
5. Develop Risk Plan
The foreseeable project risks are then documented within a Risk Plan and a set of actions to be taken formulated to both prevent each risk from occurring and reduce the impact of the risk should it eventuate. Developing a clear Risk Plan is an important activity within the planning phase as it is necessary to mitigate all critical project risks prior to entering the Execution phase of the project.
6. Develop Acceptance Plan
The key to a successful project is gaining acceptance from the customer that each deliverable produced meets (or exceeds) his/her requirements. To clarify the criteria used to judge each deliverable for customer acceptance, an Acceptance Plan is produced. The Acceptance Plan provides the criteria for obtaining customer acceptance, a schedule of acceptance reviews within which customer acceptance will be sought and a summary of the process used to gain acceptance of each deliverable from the customer.
7. Develop Communications Plan
Prior to the Execution phase, it is also necessary to identify how each of the stakeholders will be kept informed of the progress of the project. The Communications Plan identifies the types of information to be distributed, the methods of distributing information to stakeholders, the frequency of distribution and responsibilities of each person in the project team for distributing information regularly to stakeholders.
8. Develop Procurement Plan
The last planning activity within the Planning phase is to identify the elements of the Project which will be acquired from external suppliers to the project. The Procurement Plan provides a detailed description of the Products (i.e. goods and services) to be procured from suppliers, the justification for procuring each
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product externally, as opposed to from within the business, and the schedule for procurement. It also references the process for the selection of a preferred supplier ("Tender Process") and the process for the actual order and delivery of the procured products ("Procurement Process").
4.7 The Software Development Plan (SDP)
The project development plan is one of the first formal documents produced by the project. Within this document, the project manager describes in detail:
How the project will be developed? What resources will be required? How these resources will be used?
The project development plan assures that the development of the project is well charted before the main development activities begin. In -addition to the basic development schedule, the plan addresses such issues as:
The timely provision of equipment and tools so that they are available to developers when needed. The availability of staff to perform the development tasks in accordance with the schedule. Provision of contingency plans in the event that project risks materialize The designation .of duties within the development team, and the assignment of these duties to the team members.
Preparing the project plan for a software project helps you ensure that the specified requirements and objectives are met successfully. It is a collation of all planning activities that have happened for a software project. This includes activities such as design and analysis, activity definition, risk planning, and cost estimation. To create the plan, you assess all planning activities, organizational policies regarding the creation of the project plan and assumption and constraints for the project. To implement the software project plan, you require management skills, such as leadership, communication, and problem solving, along with the basic knowledge about the software. You also need to ensure that the senior management bf the company has authorized work on the software project. Knowledge management techniques help you to make informed decision regarding the project plan.
After the project plan is executed, you manage the changes to it in such a way that the performance measurement baselines are not impacted, To manage the project plan effectively you monitor the project plan, periodic performance status reports, and requests for change. The primary tool that you can use to control the changes in the project plan is the change control mechanism: This is a set of formal procedures for changing the project plan.
4.7.1 Software Development Plan (SDP) Information needs
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The IEEE standard 1058.1 describes what is referred to as the software project management plan, which is essentially the same as the project development plan. This standard is largely compatible with the 2167 project development plan, although it is significantly less detailed.
This standard, too, provides the option of including configuration management and quality assurance plans, or of describing them in separate documents. The project development plan should be prepared as a standalone document, in the sense that it should be read and understood without the need to refer to other documents.
A general overview of the project is therefore usually included in the first section of the document. References for additional detail, of course, should always be provided, including pointers to such documents as the project contract, the concept document or the market research analysis.
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Table 1: Software project development plan items
**1. System overview
- Software development management** Project organization and resources Development facilities Project organizational structure Personnel 3. Schedule and milestones Scheduled activities Milestones and baselines Activity network diagrams System component source Budget administration Milestone payments Major budgetary expenditures Expenditure authorization procedure 4. Risk analysis 5****. **Security
- Interface with external sources
- Procedure for formal reviews
- Corrective action process
- Problem change report
- Software engineering** Standards and procedures Development methodology Development resources Personnel - qualifications and function **11. Testing procedure
- Software configuration management 13 Software quality assurance**
4.7.3 Inputs to SDP
Project plan development uses the outputs of the other planning processes, including strategic planning, to create a consistent, coherent document that can be used to guide both project execution and project control. This process is almost always iterated several times. For example, the initial draft may include generic resource requirements and an undated sequence of activities while the subsequent versions of the plan will include specific resources and explicit dates.
- Other planning outputs. All of the outputs of the planning processes in the other knowledge areas are inputs to developing the project plan. Other planning outputs include both base documents, such as the WBS, and the
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