Unit 2: Project Initiation, Analysis and Design

Resources

CPM and PERT

Use Critical Path Method (CPM) for Project Management [2023] * Asana

The critical path method is a technique that allows you to identify tasks that are necessary for project completion. The critical path in project management is the longest sequence of activities that must be finished on time to complete the entire project.

https://asana.com/resources/critical-path-method

Program Evaluation Review Technique (PERT) Chart Explained

A program evaluation review technique (PERT) chart is a graphical representation of a project's timeline that displays all of the individual tasks necessary to complete the project. As a project management tool, the PERT chart is often preferred to the Gantt chart because it identifies task dependencies.

https://www.investopedia.com/terms/p/pert-chart.asp

PERT or CPM - what's the difference?

Should you choose PERT or CPM for your Project? The difference is nothing to do with how you estimate the times - you could use the 1:4:1 method for either, even though it's normally associated with PERT. And the difference is nothing to do with Gantt charts since they both should be converted into a Gantt chart once they are done.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNIq2qqEovs

Organizational Reengineering and Enterprise Planning

It is a process made initially for enabling the digital transformation in the org. The process includes:

Evaluation
Estimation
Making a proposal for the new organization structure and processes (the software project to be)

Goal of reengineering

First step in the RE process is to find the org. process architecture

Planning Reengineering Projects

It is a project to estimate the real software project!

Goals of RE project is:

Redesign of org., jobs, processes, data, and supporting techs

All redesign planning should be completed in a short period or time (~ 4 months):

from the time the team is formed until all recommendations are presented to the senior manager sponsor(s).

The number of project team members + size of organization (# of departments and hierarchic levels)

4 months is the most recommended period for planning for change

Project team usually works in half-time because they cannot suspend other tasks in other projects

The shorter the time of the reengineering study, the less lost work to the organization.

Examples are mentiond in the textbook on

part-time scenario
full-time scenario

Reengineering Methodology

Basic tasks and steps are defined in the following figures:

Find the sponsor

First step is to identify the sponsor:

Sponsor is a senior level manager who will pay for and champion the project. A champion is an individual with commitment, enthusiasm, credibility, and influence who can act as a 'cheerleader' for the project and its outcomes. The sponsor is the overall project manager for the reengineering project and must have the authority, fortitude, and desire to change the organization and its work, based on the recommendations from the reengineering analyses

Assign the staff

Next, we should assign the staff:

Three or four user area, senior, or middle managers should be assigned to the reengineering project for a period not to exceed four months.
At least one month of the initial commitment should be full time; the remainder of the work may require only parttime commitment.
Two or three senior IS managers, or SEs, or data administrators, or consultants should be assigned to the project full time for its entire duration.

Identify the Mission Statement

A mission statement is a short paragraph summarizing the overall purpose of the organization. The details of the document should include goals and objectives, along with determinants of success (i.e., critical success factors) for each, with required data for measuring the extent to which the goals are met (i.e., means-end analysis).

Gather Information

📌

In this process, engineers design ERD drafts for database

From all departments and workers involved about all processes. Sample questions:

What are the major steps to accomplishing each process?

Which processes/procedures are required to accomplish the mission, goals, and objectives?

What data are used as input? Where does it come from? Who enters or creates data? uses or retrieves data? changes or updates data? deletes data?

How is the input transformed by the process to produce the results? That is, what do you do when you do your job?

What data are passed between processes? What is the current storage media for the data (e.g., computer, fax, paper, verbal, memo, etc.)?

Are the different types of data that you need for your job used sequentially or in parallel? Could you describe the procedure?

Where are time lags in your job during which you are waiting for someone else to give you work or information? How do you deal with these lags?

Where are quality problems? How do you deal with errors? What is the source of each type of problem? Where (in which process or outside organization) is each problem detected? Where are quality problems within the procedures you use to do your job? How do you try to guard against these problems?

What would you do differently if you could design your own job? How might computer technologies help you? Suppose you have all the new computer and other technologies available for your job's use. What technology would you use and how?