10 Software Project Management

Question 1

why is project management needed

Answer 1

software development is subjected to

• budget and schedule
• ensure delivery of high quality software

Question 2

what are the success criteria

Answer 2

1. keep cost within budget
2. deliver software to customer at agreed time
3. Deliver software that meets expectations
4. Maintain a coherent, well functioning development team

Question 3

software management distinction

Answer 3

1. software product is intangible
   - cannot see progress by simply looking at the artefact
2. many software projects are one off
   - lessons learned from previous project may not be readily transferable
3. software process are different across companies
   - unable to reliably predict development problems

Question 4

project management factors

Answer 4

1. company size
2. software customer
3. software size
4. software type
5. organizational culture
6. software development process

Question 5

universal management activities

Answer 5

1. proposal writing
   - to win contract
2. project planning
   - plan, schedule development
3. risk management
   - risk assessment, monitoring
4. people management
   - choose the right people
5. reporting
   - report and communicate progress

Question 6

software pricing

Answer 6

1. estimate the cost of production
   - hardware
   - software
   - travel
   - training
   - man power
   - effort
2. not simple relationship between development cost and price charged to customer
3. prices influenced by organisation, economics, political, business considerations

Question 7

pricing strategies

Answer 7

1. underpricing
   - easy to gain contract
   - build connection
   - gain access to new market
   - retain staff
2. increased pricing
   - price increased when customer wants a fixed price contract
   - cater for unexpected issues
3. priced to win
   - priced according to what we believe customer is willing to pay

Question 8

project planning stages

Answer 8

1. planning stage
2. proposal stage
   - duration
   - budget
3. project startup stage
   - personnel working on project
   - beak down increment
   - allocate resources
4. periodically throughout project
   - modify plan using information and experience

Question 9

planning assumptions

Answer 9

1. make realistic assumptions
2. initial assumptions should take into consideration for unexpected problems
3. include contingency plans

Question 10

risk management

Answer 10

1. identify risk and draw plan to minimise impact
2. important due to inherent uncertainties
3. anticipate risk, understand impact, take steps to avoid

Question 11

risk classification

Answer 11

1. project risk
   - affect schedule of resources
2. product risk
   - affect quality or performance
3. business risk
   - affect developing organisation

Question 12

risk management process

Answer 12

1. identification
2. analysis
3. planning
4. monitoring

Question 13

risk analysis

Answer 13

assess probability and seriousness of each risk

• probability
• consequences (catastrophic, serious, tolerable, insignificant)

Question 14

people management factors

Answer 14

1. consistency
   - treat all team member the same without discrimination
2. respect
   - different members have different skillset
3. inclusion
   - involve all team members
4. honesty
   - be transparent

Question 15

types of motivation

Answer 15

encouraging people to work effectively

• basic needs
• personal needs
• social needs

Question 16

benefits of team work

Answer 16

1. learn from one another
2. share knowledge
3. encourage, refactor, continuous improvement
4. work collectively to deliver high quality results

Question 17

group composition

Answer 17

1. task oriented
   - do their own work
2. self oriented
   - want to be boss
3. interaction oriented

Question 18

what is project scheduling

Answer 18

how work is organised and task separated

Question 19

project scheduling process

Answer 19

1. identify activity
2. identify activity dependencies
3. estimate resources
4. allocate people
5. create project chart

Question 20

project scheduling problems

Answer 20

1. difficult to anticipate problems

2. more people does not mean more productive