As a practicing project manager I felt that I could provide some good tools, useful
information and cool links related to this field. This page is for project managers and
the purpose is to share information on software development project management topics.
My scope on this page is to provide general, as well as, specific project information
and software to assist anyone who is working to establish consistent software project
leadership.

Moreover, I hope to provide some assistance in building professionalism. The current
literature still says even with all the training going on and attention to managing
projects there is still a rather large error or failure rate in software projects. If
your career path is in project management you have a legacy problem and even more reason
to read and apply the things that work. My favorite book on this stuff is by Harold
Kerzner and is Project Management A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling and
Controlling. I had the good fortune to attend PMI certification training with Dr Kerzner
as the instructor.

This article is on project management body of knowledge (PMBOK).

Before anything else remember that responsibility without sponsorship makes you an
immediate target for project time, scope and resource adjustment problems.
Responsibility without authority is pretty much like having great vanity. It means
almost nothing when tough choices are required. It is quite a lot like Solomon’s
thinking on vanity being “like striving after the wind”.

First of all my focus is on the principles developed by Software Engineering Institute
(SEI) and shared by project managers world-wide within the context of the Capability
Maturity Model (CMM).

As a starting point it is important to discuss what is called the project management
body of knowledge (PMBOK). The PMBOK was developed to provide c onsistent definition to
the phases of a project and to delineate what should be considered as important within
the context of each part of project management guidance.

The knowledge areas and project management processes are contained in nine main focus
areas.

Project Integration Management - development of project plan, project plan execution and
change control.
Project Scope Management - initiation, scope planning, scope definition, scope
verification and scope change control.
Project Time Management - activity definition, activity sequencing, activity duration
estimation, schedule development and schedule control.
Project Cost Management - resource planning, cost estimating, cost budgeting and cost
control.
Project Quality Management - quality planning, quality assurance, and quality control.
Project Human Resource Management - organizational planning, staff acquisition and team
development.
Project Communications Management - communications planning, information distribution,
performance reporting and administrative closure.
Project Risk Management - risk identification, risk qualification, risk response
development and risk response control.
Project Procurement Management - procurement planning, solicitation planning,
solicitation, source selection, contract administration and contract close-out.

As you can see from these focus areas there is a strong emphasis on the use and meaning
of the word “control”. A LOT of activity and paperwork can be developed in these
management areas, but the main point is that there must be corrective action as
required. The authority and responsibility resides with the project manager.

There are many skills and attributes that a project manager needs to draw upon to be
effective. The project manager has to be:

Leader - as a manager the primary concern is consistently provide key results that are
expected by the “stakeholders”. Leading is also required and involves establishing the
vision, strategies needed to “realize” the vision, and, in fact, establishing the
direction. The leader must motivate, inspire and communicate among the various people
overcoming the political, bureaucratic and people barriers. It is important to remember
that leadership must be demonstrated at all levels within the project such as by
individuals responsible for technical issues and by team members.

Communicating - exchanging information is the key. Make sure that clear, concise and
complete information is given to the receiver. Make sure that the receiver has obtained
the information in its entirety and that it is clearly understood. Communications is a
broad subject area but suffice to say that, whether oral or written, communications is
critical to the project. It does not matter whether the communications are formal,
whether the communications are going up, down or vertical. What does matter is that the
effort will be far exceeded by the results. One area to remember is that if you tell
everyone at once you have a better chance of getting your concerns or information
disseminated correctly rather than reliance on word of mouth by members of the team
telling others. Every time a different person relays information the slant, intent, body
language, inflection all have a chance to infer something different.

Negotiating - conferring with people to come to consensus or agreement. Negotiating
infers that there may be a need for a mediator, arbitrator or facilitator. It depends on
the circumstance, the importance, the level, and, more likely, the issues. Issues like
cost, scope, objectives, contract terms and conditions, resources can all require
negotiating skills. Problem solving - defining (problem definition) and deciding
(decision making based on analysis, solution viability or dictates from stakeholders).

Influencing the organization - the ability to use power and politics to get things done.
This requires the ability to understand the mechanics or the organization regarding how
to constructively use political ability.

Project management processes can be organized into five groupings of one or more
processes each as follows:

Initiating processes - this includes recognizing that a project or phase should begin
and making a commitment to do it. Planning processes - this means developing and
maintaining a “workable” plan to accomplish what the project was undertaken to
accomplish.

Executing processes - coordinating people and any other resources to “execute” or carry
out the plan.

Controlling processes - making sure that the project objectives are met by measuring and
monitoring progress. Furthermore, it means taking appropriate corrective actions when
necessary.

Closing processes - bringing the project to an orderly conclusion with formal acceptance
of the phase or the project. Everyone connected with managing projects has had the
additional core challenge of developing metrics that are “added value” in performance
capability and delivery of completed projects that meet the expectations of
stakeholders. Collecting metrics does not mean just tabulating figures. It means
developing information that helps now and then helps even more in future efforts.

There are many, many methods. The charge is to determine what works best for your
organization. There are volumes of information on what to collect and how to use the
measures effectively. The main point is to not just collect data. Collect information!

My next article will discuss the project triangle and the level of technical solution -
time, resources and technology solutions. Following that I will be sharing information
on Six Sigma as developed by Motorola that can drastically change the quality of your
products and/or services by instilling a business process culture that does affect the
organization and provide positive returns. In fact the principles are based on
statistical analysis that revolves around the concept of standard deviation.

I would now like to offer some suggestions, by way of experience, and then offer some
links to places I have found of great value to me.

Cost Expert is a fairly inexpensive software package that provides for what-if,
reporting, combining types of estimates such as function points, top down, bottom up,
GUI. Moreover, you can use it with Microsoft Project. I have enjoyed the functionality
and reporting capabilities. The software will help generate good plans, resource
requirements and risk factors. Cost Expert is particularly good for project managers
working without a formalized project-central organizational approach.

I have also been a big fan of Microsoft Project software ever since Project 4. The new
version still provides a database schema and the VBA capability to expand the
functionality continues to make the product a good choice for those not interested in
spending much more money for project software.

There is a fairly simple wizard that is good to start with in counting function points.
It is called the SEER Function Point Wizard and it is fpwiz.

There is a PDF file on DoD initiatives regarding software measurement that is Software
Measures for DOD Systems.

MMB&T makes available version 1.1 of the SoftEST which was developed by MCR Federal Inc.
on behalf of the Air Force Cost Analysis Agency.

SoftEST Cost Model (V1.1) (1 MB - Zipped file)

DEVELOP YOUR MICROSOFT PROJECT AND PROJECT MANAGEMENT SKILLS Getting the most out of
Microsoft Project requires using the product features correctly and using the right
features to meet your project management needs.

Microsoft describes resources you will find helpful in developing your skills with
Microsoft Project and applying them to the broader field of project management.

Read about it at: Microsoft Project Assistance

Microsoft Project Courseware Trainer Pack

These are but a few resources available. The good news is that the function is now
recognized as something that merits full attention from executive management and
sponsorship to avoid the previously very high failure rate on projects.

This article is copywrited by Martin Floyd of MMB&T. All rights reserved.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Martin_Floyd

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