In any project, large or small, tasks depend on each other and must be performed in a sequence.

System Analysis And DesignGIMPA, SCHOOL OF TECHNOLOGY

Lecture ThreeManaging Systems Projects–Part 2 of Systems Planning

What you’ll learn in this lecture▪Requirements Engineering▪Project planning, scheduling, monitoring and reporting.▪Work breakdown structures, task patterns and critical pathanalysis.▪Gantt charts and PERT/CPM charts.▪Project risk managementSYSTEM ANALYSIS AND DESIGNGIMPA SOT - 2017/2018 - SEM 13

Requirements Engineering▪When describing an information system, we need tomake a distinction between needs and requirements▪Needs are generally capabilities stated in the languageof business managements or stakeholders at thebusiness operations levels.OBJECT ORIENTED PROGRAMMING IN C#GIMPA SOT - 2016/2017 - SEM 14

Requirements Engineering▪Requirements are formal statements that arestructured and can be validated- there may be morethan one requirement that can be defined for anyneed.▪Requirements are generated from needs through aprocess called requirements analysis, which is alsocalled business analysis or mission analysisOBJECT ORIENTED PROGRAMMING IN C#GIMPA SOT - 2016/2017 - SEM 15

Entities and Needs▪An entity is a single thing to which a need orrequirement refers. Examples, a business department,a system element including a product, process, humanor organisation.▪A need is the result of a formal transformation of oneor more strategies for an entity into an agreed-toexpectation for that entityOBJECT ORIENTED PROGRAMMING IN C#GIMPA SOT - 2016/2017 - SEM 16

Entities and Needs▪A requirement is the result of a formal transformationof one or more needs into an agreed-to obligation foran entity to perform some function or possess somequality.▪There are two major categories of requirements:functional and non-functional requirements▪Functional requirements refer to something that the system should do or provide▪Non-functional requirements refer to some property, quality or attribute that thesystem must possess, a condition the system must meet or a constraint underwhich it must operate or be developedOBJECT ORIENTED PROGRAMMING IN C#GIMPA SOT - 2016/2017 - SEM 17

Why we need requirements▪We need to be able to define a scopefor the project. How else would weknow what the system is to do?▪We need to ensure that everyone involved has had inputand the variouspoints of view have been reconciled.▪We need to be able to justify any expenditureof funds or effort based on theneed to achiever an endorsed set of requirements▪We need to be able to report on progress▪We need to be able to tell when the contractors are finished.OBJECT ORIENTED PROGRAMMING IN C#GIMPA SOT - 2016/2017 - SEM 18

Some Definitions▪Developer: the entity responsible for developing the productsthat make up a system (software, hardware, documentation,and so on)▪Contractor: the organisation within which the development isconducted, normally under contract with the customer▪Stakeholder: someone who has a right to influence the

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c) Project Monitoring

• Project monitoring requires
guiding, supervising, and
coordinating the project team’s
workload.

• The project manager must
monitor the progress, evaluate
the results, and take corrective
action when necessary to control
the project and stay on target.

d) Project Reporting

• Project reporting includes regular progress reports
to management, users, and the project team itself.

• Effective reporting requires strong communication
skills and a sense of what others want and need to
know about the project.

System Management

Steps in Project Planning

• 3 key steps:

a) Create a work breakdown
structure.

b) Identify task patterns.
c) Calculate the critical path.

Step 1: Work breakdown Structure

• A work breakdown structure (WBS) involves
breaking a project down into a series of smaller tasks.

Step 2: Identify Task Pattern

• Tasks in a work breakdown structure
must be arranged in a logical
sequence.

• In any project, large or small, tasks
depend on each other and must be
performed in a sequence

Step 2: Identify Task Pattern

• Task patterns can involve dependent
tasks, multiple successor tasks, and
multiple predecessor tasks.

• In larger projects, these patterns can
be very complex, and an analyst
must study the logical flow carefully.

What Are the Main Types of Task
Patterns?

Dependent tasks

• When tasks must be completed one after another, like
the relay race

• Task 2 cannot start until Task 1 is completed

Multiple Successor Tasks,

• When several tasks can start at the same time, each is
called a concurrent task

• successor Tasks 2 and 3 both can begin as soon
• as Task 1 is finished.

multiple predecessor tasks

• Suppose that a task requires two or more prior tasks to
be completed before it can start.

• Task 3 cannot begin until Tasks 1 and 2 are both
completed

Types of Task Patterns

Types of Task Patterns

Step 3: Calculate Critical Path
Analysis

• A critical path is a series of tasks which, if
delayed, would affect the completion date of
the overall project.

• If any task on the critical path falls behind
schedule, the entire project will be delayed.

• Project managers always must be aware of
the critical path, so they can respond quickly
to keep the project on track.

Create Workbreakdown Structure

• Before creating work breakdown structures,
you should understand the two primary
chart types:

– Gantt charts
– PERT/CPM charts.

Gantt Chart

• A Gantt chart is a horizontal bar chart that
represents a set of tasks.

• A Gantt chart also can simplify a complex project by
combining several activities into a task group.

• Gantt charts can present an overview of the project’s
status, but they do not provide enough detailed
information, which is necessary when managing a
complex project.

Gantt Chart

• The position of the bar shows the planned starting
and ending time of each task, and the length of the
bar indicates its duration.

• On the horizontal axis, time can be shown as elapsed
time from a fixed starting point, or as actual calendar
dates.

PERT/CPM Chart

• PERT is a bottom-up technique, because it
analyzes a large, complex project as a series of
individual tasks.

• To create a PERT chart, you first identify all the
project tasks and estimate how much time each task
will take to perform.

• Next, you must determine the logical order in which
the tasks must be performed. For example, some
tasks cannot start until other tasks have been
completed.

PERT/CPM Chart

• In other situations, several tasks can be performed
at the same time.

The top screen is a Gantt chart with 11 tasks, and a PERT
chart in the bottom screen shows the same project. Although
not visible in this zoomed-out view, the PERT chart boxes
provide detailed information about task duration, start dates,
and finish dates.

Create Work breakdown Structure
(WBS)

• Identify task in a WBS

– Listing the task
– Estimating task duration

TASK

• A task, or activity, is any work that has a
beginning and an end and requires the use
of company resources such as people,
time, or money.

• Examples : conducting interviews,
designing a report, selecting software,
waiting for the delivery of equipment, or
training users.

EVENT

• Event, or milestone is a recognizable
reference point that you can use to monitor
progress.

• In addition to tasks, every project has events,
or milestones

• Example : an event might be the start of user
training, the conversion of system data, or the
completion of interviews.

• A milestone such as Complete 50 percent of
program testing would not be useful
information unless you could determine
exactly when that event will occur.

a) Listing the task

1. Highlighting the individual tasks

a) Listing the task

2. Adding bullets makes the tasks
stand out more clearly

a) Listing the task

3. Number the tasks and create a table

a) Listing the task
• Gantt Chart

b) Estimating task duration

• Task duration can be hours, days, or
weeks — depending on the project.

• Project managers often use a weighted
formula for estimating the duration of
eachtask.

• The project manager first makes three time
estimates for each task:

– optimistic,or best-case estimate (B),
– probable-case estimate (P),
– pessimistic, or worst-case estimate (W).

b) Estimating task duration

• Project managers consider four factors
affecting duration:
– Project size
– Human resources
– Experience with similar projects
– Constraints

Sample Task Summary

Sample Task Summary

• If you are using Microsoft Project or Open
Workbench, the process is exactly the
same.

• You must identify the tasks, durations, and
task patterns. You might have to develop
this information on your own

Using Gantt Chart

• Enter the tasks, durations, and predecessor
tasks, the program automatically performs the
calculations, detects the task patterns, and
creates a Gantt chart

Using PERT/CPM CHART

Project Management Software

• Microsoft Project - is a full-featured
project management program that holds the
dominant share of the market.

• Open Workbench - is available as free
software, complete with manuals and
sample projects.

Project Management Software

• Open Workbench is open-source software
that is supported by a large group of users and
developers.

• Support options include community forums that
are open to all users, various training
packages, and third-party support.

• cost-effective alternative that would compare
favorably to Microsoft Project.

• Open Workbench also can exchange files with
Microsoft Project by importing and exporting
the data in XML file format.

Open Workbench

Microsoft Project

Leadership and Project Manager

• Usually is a senior systems analyst or an
IT department manager if the project is
large.

Leadership and Project Manager

• Project managers typically perform four
activities, or functions:

Project Planning
Project Scheduling
Project Monitoring
Project Reporting

Leadership and Project Manager

Project • Includes identifying all
Planning project tasks and estimating
the completion time and cost
of each.

Project • Involves the creation of a
Scheduling specific timetable

• Involves selecting and
staffing the project team and
assigning specific tasks to
team members

Leadership and Project Manager

Project • Requires guiding, supervising, and
Monitoring coordinating the project team’s
workload.

• The project manager must monitor the
progress, evaluate the results, and take
corrective action when necessary to
control the project and stay on target.

Project • Includes regular progress reports to
Reporting management, users, and the project
team itself.

• Effective reporting requires strong
communication skills and a sense of
what others want and need to know
about the project.

Leadership and Project Manager

• In addition to the project manager, most large
projects have a project coordinator.

• A project coordinator handles administrative
responsibilities for the team and negotiates
with users who might have conflicting
requirements or want changes that would
require additional time or expense.

When two or more concurrent tasks depend on a single prior task each of the concurrent tasks is called a predecessor task?

When several tasks can take place at the same time each is called a sequential task?

What are the main types of task patterns?

How do I make parallel tasks in MS project?