Project Management ch 4

Chapter Summary

•Project scope management includes the processes required to ensure that the project addresses all the work required, and only the work required, to complete the project successfully •Main processes include -Define scope management -Collect requirements -Define scope -Create WBS -Validate scope -Control scope

Defining Scope

•Project scope statements should include at least a product scope description, product user acceptance criteria, and detailed information on all project deliverables. It is also helpful to document other scope-related information, such as the project boundaries, constraints, and assumptions. The project scope statement should also reference supporting documents, such as product specifications •As time progresses, the scope of a project should become more clear and specific

Controlling Scope

•Scope control involves controlling changes to the project scope •Goals of scope control are to -influence the factors that cause scope changes -assure changes are processed according to procedures developed as part of integrated change control, and -manage changes when they occur •Variance is the difference between planned and actual performance

What is Project Scope Management?

•Scope refers to all the work involved in creating the products of the project and the processes used to create them • A deliverable is a product produced as part of a project, such as hardware or software, planning documents, or meeting minutes •Project scope management includes the processes involved in defining and controlling what is or is not included in a project

The scope baseline

includes the approved project scope statement and its associated WBS and WBS dictionary

A work package

is a task at the lowest level of the WBS

The WBS...

•Should be "deliverable-oriented" •Should support the project's MOV •Have enough detail to support planning and control •Should involve those who will be doing the work •Should include learning cycles and past lessons learned

Creating the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)

•A WBS is a deliverable-oriented grouping of the work involved in a project that defines the total scope of the project. The WBS represents a logical decomposition of the work to be performed and focuses on how the product, service, or result is naturally subdivided. It is an outline of what work is to be performed •WBS is a foundation document that provides the basis for planning and managing project schedules, costs, resources, and changes

Advice for Creating a WBS and WBS Dictionary

•A unit of work should appear at only one place in the WBS. •The work content of a WBS item is the sum of the WBS items below it •A WBS item is the responsibility of only one individual, even though many people may be working on it •The WBS must be consistent with the way in which work is actually going to be performed; it should serve the project team first, and other purposes only if practical •Project team members should be involved in developing the WBS to ensure consistency and buy-in •Each WBS item must be documented in a WBS dictionary to ensure accurate understanding of the scope of work included and not included in that item •The WBS must be a flexible tool to accommodate inevitable changes while properly maintaining control of the work content in the project according to the scope statement

Developing the WBS

•A work package is developed for each of the phases and deliverables defined in the Deliverable Structure Chart (DSC)

•Milestones

-Significant events or achievements -Acceptance of deliverables or phase completion -Cruxes (proof of concepts) -Quality control -Keeps team focused

Best Practices for Avoiding Scope Problems

1. Keep the scope realistic. Don't make projects so large that they can't be completed. Break large projects down into a series of smaller ones 2. Involve users in project scope management. Assign key users to the project team and give them ownership of requirements definition and scope verification 3. Use off-the-shelf hardware and software whenever possible. Many IT people enjoy using the latest and greatest technology, but business needs, not technology trends, must take priority 4. Follow good project management processes. As described in this chapter and others, there are well-defined processes for managing project scope and others aspects of projects

Scope Statement

1.Develop a proactive electronic commerce strategy that identifies the processes, products and services to be delivered through the World Wide Web. 2.Develop an application system that supports all of the processes, products, and services identified in the electronic commerce strategy. 3.The application system must integrate with the bank's existing enterprise resource planning system.

Out of Scope

1.Technology and organizational assessment of the current environment 2.Customer resource management and data mining components

Approaches to Developing WBSs

Using guidelines: Some organizations, like the DOD, provide guidelines for preparing WBSs The analogy approach: Review WBSs of similar projects and tailor to your project The top-down approach: Start with the largest items of the project and break them down The bottom-up approach: Start with the specific tasks and roll them up Mind-mapping approach: Mind mapping is a technique that uses branches radiating out from a core idea to structure thoughts and ideas

Suggestions for Improving User Input

•Develop a good project selection process and insist that sponsors are from the user organization •Have users on the project team in important roles •Have regular meetings with defined agendas, and have users sign off on key deliverables presented at meetings •Deliver something to users and sponsors on a regular basis •Don't promise to deliver when you know you can't •Co-locate users with developers

Statistics on Requirements for Software Projects

•Eighty-eight percent of the software projects involved enhancing existing products instead of creating new ones •Eighty-six percent of respondents said that customer satisfaction was the most important metric for measuring the success of development projects •Eighty-three percent of software development teams still use Microsoft Office applications such as Word and Excel as their main tools to communicate requirements

Collecting Requirements

•For some IT projects, it is helpful to divide requirements development into categories called elicitation, analysis, specification, and validation •It is important to use an iterative approach to defining requirements since they are often unclear early in a project

Methods for Collecting Requirements

•Interviewing •Focus groups and facilitated workshops •Using group creativity and decision-making techniques •Questionnaires and surveys •Observation •Prototyping •Benchmarking, or generating ideas by comparing specific project practices or product characteristics to those of other projects or products inside or outside the performing organization, can also be used to collect requirements

Validating Scope

•It is very difficult to create a good scope statement and WBS for a project •It is even more difficult to verify project scope and minimize scope changes •Scope validation involves formal acceptance of the completed project deliverables •Acceptance is often achieved by a customer inspection and then sign-off on key deliverables

Deliverable: Test Results Report

•Logical Activities: 1.Review the test plan with the client so that key stakeholders are clear as to what will be tested, how the tests will be conducted, and when the tests will be carried out. 2.Carry out the tests as outlined in the plan. 3.Once the test results are collected, we need to analyze them. 4.The results should be summarized in the form of a report and presentation to the client. 5.If all goes well, the client will sign-off or approve the test results and then we can move on to the implementation phase of the project. If not, then we need to address and fix any problems.

The WBS Dictionary and Scope Baseline

•Many WBS tasks are vague and must be explained more so people know what to do and can estimate how long it will take and what it will cost to do the work •A WBS dictionary is a document that describes detailed information about each WBS item

Project Scope Management Processes

•Planning scope: determining how the project's scope and requirements will be managed •Collecting requirements: defining and documenting the features and functions of the products produced during the project as well as the processes used for creating them •Defining scope: reviewing the project charter, requirements documents, and organizational process assets to create a scope statement •Creating the WBS: subdividing the major project deliverables into smaller, more manageable components •Validating scope: formalizing acceptance of the project deliverables •Controlling scope: controlling changes to project scope throughout the life of the project

Deliverables

•Tangible, verifiable work products -Reports, presentations, prototypes, etc.

Decomposition

•is subdividing project deliverables into smaller pieces