Project Management: Coding Project - Assignment Example

Running head: Project management: Coding project Student name: Student number: Course title: Lecturer: Date: Task 1 Multi-weighted scores Chart Project interpretation From the results which are shown in the graphical representations shown thus, it is clear that the most time consuming and major changes that will greatly affect the change pace of overhauling the system of any organization is coding and Six Sigma Training Program. Coding because it is the most sensitive part and the also the most tedious in the implementation of a given project. Most programmers are expensive to hire; they are the reason why they are the leading in the graphics above. Most organizations, and Megabytes Computers included, have training as a very important element in the development of their staff so that their operations are well streamlined to be able to compete with the ever sprinting market. The wireless technologies are seen to be occupying a relatively smaller portion of the project management and planning. This can be attributed to the fact that this is still a new technology and has not been assimilated by most companies and organizations in their technology rollout. In the weighted measures, it is seen to be trailing in the project planning and management. Task 2 Introduction Systems are on the increase with the advent of computer technology trends. Most of the hitherto manual systems are being automated so that the users can reap the benefits of computerization. The company that is being described here is that of Megabyte Computers where they have a lot of projects they want to do at once. The company, in particular, wants to perform four tasks, which are Six Sigma Training Project, Coding Performance Improvement Project, Website Redesign and Wireless Technology. All these are to be handled by different personalities and managers. I will be dealing with Coding Performance Improvement Project; this is the one I have been assigned. Project Overview Megabyte Computers is in need of a complete overhaul of their operations in technology application. The whole project needs revolution in four major areas which are aforementioned. My team members will consist of the following: 1. First team member 2. 2nd team member 3. 3rd team member 4. 4th team member 5. 5th team member The team members will be assigned duties that will be merged in the end to come up with the whole project. Each team member will play a defined role according to their qualifications and areas of expertise. Project objectives One of the aims of the project will be to increase the efficiency of the operations that are being performed in the company. There is the need to train the users of the systems and those who are undertaking the project. This system will be used to measure the Problem statement The problems that will be addressed in the completion of the project will include the case coding is poorly done, which has resulted to complaints from clients. Most of the code has no modern programming features like code reuse, inheritance and polymorphism which are common techniques that should be found in any modern object oriented system. The project will therefore involve the use of these new techniques so there is proper use of code Project milestones and deliverables The milestone for the project will include the coming up of a way where code will be developed where the modern ways of programming is made use of in the modern world. One of the programming features that need to be achieved is the use code reuse which is a common programming feature. Conclusion With the advent of more advanced features in information systems today, there is need to have efficient features in organizations today. The website of Megabyte Computers is supposed to be dynamic and be able to access live data. Task 3 Responsibility matrix This organizational structure represents the various people who will play different roles to make sure that the project will be completed on time and with the required functionalities incorporated in it. The project roles will be as follows: Project manager (Thomas Kiel): this is person who is appointed to manage a project right from the start of the project to its approval. This is somebody who is senior in the developers of the project. Quality engineer (Philsoft Tress): this is someone who is appointed to make sure that the project meets all the requirements and that all what it was suppose to perform has been achieved. System analyst (Hellena Kinn): this is the person who is responsible for guiding through the development of a system. In performing these tasks, he should make sure that the objectives of the organization are well catered for. Programmer (Sam Gumbua): this is the person who is responsible for coding and debugging the system. He will normally use a programming language he/she is comfortable with and liked by the organization. Organizational Boundaries and Interfaces The project team will not be working alone to make sure that the project come to a smooth completion. There will be those members who will be affected and will affect the way the project will be carried out. These members include the following: Project stakeholders: these are people who will get impacted by the project. In this case, our stakeholders will be the customers who visit Megabyte Computers. Project sponsor: this is somebody who has been nominated to represent the organization undertaking the project. In our case, the project sponsor will be a representative from Integral solutions. Project users: this is the system user. In our case these are the patrons of Megabyte Computers. 2.4 Project Responsibilities The following are the responsibilities of the various personnel in the carrying out of our project. Project manager This is the person who has full responsibility of the project management from initiation to approval through to project finalization (Ireland, 2006). Some of the roles here will include development, implementation and finalization phases of the project. He will take accountability for establishment of baseline for the project. The key responsibilities of project manager will include: 1. Project integration management 2. Project scope management 3. Project time management 4. Project cost management 5. Project quality management 6. Project human resource management 7. Project communication management 8. Project risk management 9. Project procurement management System analyst/designer The role of this staff differs in different organizations. The most outstanding ansd common responsibilities include the following: 1. Analysis of systems in the organization. This will include getting facts to getting facts about business activity within the organization. He will be involved in getting information and determining the requirements. 2. Designing of the system. This will require the system analyst to come up with new systems and design a new s system / application. 3. System programming. Most of the time, the analyst doubles up with the programmer. He will usually work in collaboration with the programmers in the various tasks (Young-Hoon, 2005). Quality engineer The responsibilities will include the following: 1. Plans and directs activities concerned with development. 2. Maintenance of quality standards for industrial processes, materials and products. In this case, the quality engineer will develop standards to be used in developing the media management system. 3. They develop and initiate standards and methods to be followed in inspection. Programmers The programmers have a role of coding the system. They understand at least one programming languages. Their main responsibilities will include the following: 1. Coding and testing programs to utilize the appropriate hardware, database, and programming technology. 2. They are responsible for refining data and formatting the final product. 3. They are responsible for maintaining and modifying existing programs. They make changes and amend flow charts to suit the said changes. 4. They are responsible for writing new code according to the specifications. 5. They are supposed to monitor programs and give suggestions on the path to be followed in improving them. 6. They are supposed to write program documentation. 7. They are supposed to document keep track of all the programming bugs in the system and document them for future reference. Managerial process The management will be responsible for smooth running of the project team and that communication will be channeled using the right path. For the success of any project, communication is the most important aspect to be given priority. When there is no proper communication in the execution of the project, the activities in the project are not well choreographed and there is poor coordination of activities. Managerial objectives and priorities Without effective communication, the project stops. . If there is no honest and effective communication between project members and the management, everyday challenges can be disastrous. The philosophy of the management team is to develop a team and not a hierarchy. A team will ease communication because there is no authority to fear. Small issues will be brought to book. The means of communication will be through team leaders heading the different components in the project. There will be meetings every now and then to assess the progress of the project. These meetings will be in such a way that the whole group including the stakeholders and sponsors will be having meetings fortnightly while module members will be having meetings weekly. Meetings between module members will help in ironing out issues which arise when coding and developing that module. There will not be any urge to let the management know of these issues. The meeting for the whole group will help solve issues which affect the whole team (Harrison, 2004). There will also be petty cash to buy airtime credit to team leaders to enable smooth communicators with the rest of the team. This will enable communication to take place without having to meet for discussion about the same. There are some issues which can be solved outright without having to wait for other members to meet and have a discussion. Resolving issues between members that are personal brings cohesion and reduces tension during project session. The management will strive to create an environment where there is open discussion and mutual problem solving. This will help project members to respond better to relationship challenges in a more effective way and will enable them to maintain open lines and exchange ideas without unnecessary barriers. There will be effort for the organization to be able to resolve interpersonal issues that arise between project members. They will, in particular, try to create an environment where project members address and resolve their personal differences openly; this will improve the success of the project changes. There is an anticipated two seminars that will be arranged and a human resource consultant will come and speak about self-management. This will enable project team members to solve personal issues. The team members will be taught on the benefits of constructive confrontation. The management will encourage team members to raise issues more effectively. Task 4 Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) Activity Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Duration Start Date /Time End Date/Time 1 Task 1 Scope Definition     27 days 8/2/2010 8:00 9/7/2010 17:00 2   1.1 Determine project scope   12 days 8/2/2010 8:00 8/17/2010 17:00 3   1.2 Secure project sponsorship   8 days 8/18/2010 8:00 8/27/2010 17:00 4   1.3 Define preliminary resources   4 days 8/30/2010 8:00 9/2/2010 17:00 5   1.4 Secure core resources   3 days 9/3/2010 8:00 9/7/2010 17:00 6   1.5 Scope complete   0 days 9/7/2010 17:00 9/7/2010 17:00 7 Task 2 Six Sigma Training     2 days 9/8/2010 8:00 9/9/2010 17:00 8   2.1 Assessing training needs   6 hrs 9/8/2010 8:00 9/8/2010 15:00 9   2.2 Develop training specifications for users   6 hrs 9/8/2010 8:00 9/8/2010 15:00 10   2.3 Training the users   2 days 9/8/2010 8:00 9/9/2010 17:00 11 Task 3 Coding Design     54 days 8/2/2010 8:00 10/14/2010 17:00 12   3.1 Review preliminary Coding specifications   4 days 8/2/2010 8:00 8/5/2010 17:00 13   3.2 Develop functional coding specifications   28 days 8/6/2010 8:00 9/14/2010 17:00 14   3.3 Develop prototype based on functional specifications   18 days 9/15/2010 8:00 10/8/2010 17:00 15   3.4 Review coding functional specifications   4 days 10/11/2010 8:00 10/14/2010 17:00 16   3.5 Design complete   0 days 10/14/2010 17:00 10/14/2010 17:00 17 Task 4 Coding Development     44 days 10/15/2010 8:00 12/15/2010 17:00 18   4.1 Review coding functional specifications   3 days 10/15/2010 8:00 10/19/2010 17:00 19   4.2 Identify modular/tiered design parameters   14 days 10/20/2010 8:00 11/8/2010 17:00 20   4.3 Assign development staff   1 day 11/9/2010 8:00 11/9/2010 17:00 21   4.4 Develop code   26 days 11/10/2010 8:00 12/15/2010 17:00 22   4.5 Developer testing (primary debugging)   10 days 11/18/2010 13:00 12/2/2010 12:00 23   4.6 Development complete   0 days 12/2/2010 12:00 12/2/2010 12:00 24 Task 5 Testing of the Coding     62.5 days 10/15/2010 8:00 1/11/2011 12:00 25   5.1 Develop unit test plans using product specifications   4 days 10/15/2010 8:00 10/20/2010 17:00 26   5.2 Develop integration test plans using product specifications   4 days 10/15/2010 8:00 10/20/2010 17:00 27   5.3 Coding Unit Testing   16 days 12/2/2010 13:00 12/24/2010 12:00 28   5.3.1   Review modular code 6 days 12/2/2010 13:00 12/10/2010 12:00 29   5.3.2   Test component modules to product specifications 2 days 12/10/2010 13:00 12/14/2010 12:00 30   5.3.3   Identify anomalies to product specifications 3 days 12/14/2010 13:00 12/17/2010 12:00 31   5.3.4   Modify code 3 days 12/17/2010 13:00 12/22/2010 12:00 32   5.3.5   Re-test modified code 2 days 12/22/2010 13:00 12/24/2010 12:00 33   5.3.6   Unit testing complete 0 days 12/24/2010 12:00 12/24/2010 12:00 34   5.4 Integration Testing   12 days 12/24/2010 13:00 1/11/2011 12:00 35   5.4.1   Test module integration 5 days 12/24/2010 13:00 12/31/2010 12:00 36   5.4.2   Identify anomalies to specifications 2 days 12/31/2010 13:00 1/4/2011 12:00 37   5.4.3   Modify code 3 days 1/4/2011 13:00 1/7/2011 12:00 38   5.4.4   Re-test modified code 2 days 1/7/2011 13:00 1/11/2011 12:00 39   5.4.5   Integration testing complete 0 days 1/11/2011 12:00 1/11/2011 12:00 40 Task 6 Training on the Code efficient system     51.5 days 10/15/2010 8:00 12/27/2010 12:00 41   6.1 Develop training specifications for users   3 days 10/15/2010 8:00 10/19/2010 17:00 42   6.2 Look for an appropriate traing methos (it is highly recommended to have a method which is based on computers)   2 days 10/15/2010 8:00 10/18/2010 17:00 43   6.3 Develop coding training materials   8 days 12/2/2010 13:00 12/14/2010 12:00 44   6.4 Conduct training usability study   4 days 12/14/2010 13:00 12/20/2010 12:00 45   6.5 Finalize training materials   3 days 12/20/2010 13:00 12/23/2010 12:00 46   6.6 Develop training delivery mechanism   2 days 12/23/2010 13:00 12/27/2010 12:00 47   6.7 Training materials complete   0 days 12/27/2010 12:00 12/27/2010 12:00 48 Task 7 Documentation of the Code efficient System     51 days 10/15/2010 8:00 12/24/2010 17:00 49   7.1 Develop Help specification   1 day 10/15/2010 8:00 10/15/2010 17:00 50   7.2 Develop Help system   3 wks 11/29/2010 8:00 12/17/2010 17:00 51   7.3 Review Help documentation   3 days 12/20/2010 8:00 12/22/2010 17:00 52   7.4 Incorporate Help documentation feedback   2 days 12/23/2010 8:00 12/24/2010 17:00 53   7.5 Develop user manuals specifications   2 days 10/15/2010 8:00 10/18/2010 17:00 54   7.6 Develop user manuals   10 days 11/29/2010 8:00 12/10/2010 17:00 55   7.7 Review all user documentation   2 days 12/13/2010 8:00 12/14/2010 17:00 56   7.8 Incorporate user documentation feedback   2 days 12/15/2010 8:00 12/16/2010 17:00 57   7.9 Documentation complete   0 days 12/24/2010 17:00 12/24/2010 17:00 58 Task 8 Pilot     120.5 days 8/2/2010 8:00 1/17/2011 12:00 59   8.1 Identify test group   1 day 8/2/2010 8:00 8/2/2010 17:00 60   8.2 Develop Coding delivery mechanism   1 day 8/3/2010 8:00 8/3/2010 17:00 61   8.3 deploy the efficient code system   2 days 1/11/2011 13:00 1/13/2011 12:00 62   8.4 Obtain user feedback on the coding system   1 day 1/13/2011 13:00 1/14/2011 12:00 63   8.5 Evaluate testing information   1 day 1/14/2011 13:00 1/17/2011 12:00 64   8.6 Pilot complete   0 days 1/17/2011 12:00 1/17/2011 12:00 65 Task 9 Deployment of the code system     7 days 1/17/2011 13:00 1/26/2011 12:00 66   9.1 Determine final deployment strategy   2 days 1/17/2011 13:00 1/19/2011 12:00 67   9.2 Develop deployment methodology   2 days 1/19/2011 13:00 1/21/2011 12:00 68   9.3 Secure deployment resources   1 day 1/21/2011 13:00 1/24/2011 12:00 69   9.4 Deploy the efficient Coding   2 days 1/24/2011 13:00 1/26/2011 12:00 70   9.5 Deployment complete   0 days 1/26/2011 12:00 1/26/2011 12:00 71 Task 10 Post Implementation Review     3 days 1/26/2011 13:00 1/31/2011 12:00 72   10.1 Document lessons learned   1 day 1/26/2011 13:00 1/27/2011 12:00 73   10.2 Distribute to team members   1 day 1/27/2011 13:00 1/28/2011 12:00 74   10.3 Create code maintenance team   1 day 1/28/2011 13:00 1/31/2011 12:00 75   10.4 Post implementation review complete   0 days 1/31/2011 12:00 1/31/2011 12:00 Task 5 Process Breakdown Structure (PBS) Task 6: PBS and WBS Task 7 Gantt Chart Network Diagram Critical Path Task 8: Project estimation cost Name Rate (Per hour) Hours per week Total per week Total for whole project (6 months) Koeil (Owner) $40,00 $30,00 $1 200,00 $7 200,00 Kevin (Mentor) $60,00 $10,00 $600,00 $3 600,00 Thomas Kiel (Project Manager) $35,00 $25,00 $875,00 $5 250,00 Philsoft Tress (Quality engineer) $35,00 $25,00 $875,00 $5 250,00 Hellena Kinn (System analyst) $35,00 $25,00 $875,00 $5 250,00 Sam Gumbua (Programmer) $35,00 $25,00 $875,00 $5 250,00 Total       $31 800,00 Project activities Task Total hours Total Feasibility study 48 $1 000,00 Initial survey expenses 36 $800,00 Systems requirements gathering 48 $1 000,00 Tools and software to be used (Licenses) 48 $7 000,00 New computers for the project 67 $1 200,00 Researching on design 72 $5 000,00 Design user interface 86 $10 000,00 Design front-end application 96 $10 000,00 Design back-end application 96 $10 000,00 Develop Human resource management 72 $12 000,00 Design 48 $10 000,00 Testing 14 $1 500,00 Deploying 24 $3 000,00 Interviews 72 $1 000,00 Create content 56 $1 200,00 Train the trainers 48 $8 000,00 Buy training material 24 $1 200,00 Verification of the design 38 $1 200,00 Get the final acknowledgement of project 24 $10 000,00 Get final technical specifications 24 $2 000,00 Create code design 48 $6 000,00 Do the integration of the system 48 $1 200,00 Create time plan to implementation 12 $1 000,00 Total   $105 300,00 Total Budget for project $137100,00 The total project will cost the following. This is a summary of the major activities of the project. Name Rate Total hours Total earnings Quality engineer $25,00 $1 080,00 $27 000,00 Programmer $25,00 $652,00 $16 300,00 Program manager $40,00 $945,00 $37 800,00 System analyst $25,00 $800,00 $20 000,00 mentor $60,00 $600,00 $36 000,00 Total $137 100,00 Task 9 Risk Severity Matrix The greatest risk for any software development project is keeping the team intact till the end of the project. It has been mostly seen that the team gathered for a project gets either dismantled or dispersed due to various reasons (Joseph, 2003). Many members, especially those in the lower ranks, get better opportunity and move on. This results in hindering the project and creating delays as the new person coming as replacement takes time to onboard. Unforeseen delays: Delay in sanctioning of budgets or delay in the follow-through of certain management decisions also impact the project. Such delays further push the timelines for the implementation of the project as well. Improper testing: If the tester is not a good programmer, he or she might not be able to test the programmer properly before implementing it. This would result into bugs in the system and if the system is implemented with a bug in it, it can cause severe problems which might even result in ruining the reputation of the company as well (Carayannis, 2006). Risk Value Software Development 1 Controlling attrition 12 2 Project hindrance due to people’s issue 12 3 Time lapse to train & onboard new member 6 Unforeseen Delay 4 Sanctioning of budgets 9 5 Delay in management decisions 6 Improper Testing 6 Employing under-qualified programmer 8 7 Finding bugs in the system 12 8 Ruining company’s reputation 15 Task 10 Earlier, calculating the cost of software development was based on the calculation of man-hours only, however, these days the cost for software is generally being decided once the designing of the software is being done. This includes estimating for the number of codes, components, functions and objects written. Further, it also takes into account features such as creating workflows and use cases. The software development estimation takes the entire project plan into consideration, consisting the designing, development and even the testing stages (Linell 2002). Software project Estimate S.No Activity Man hours Rate Total amount 1 Creating concept/visionary doc 16 £60 £960 2 Workflows / Subworkflows 440 £25 £11,000 3 Use cases 720 £25 £18,000 4 Flowchart / Processes 850 £25 £21,250 5 Components 90 £25 £2,250 6 Objects in framework tree 300 £25 £7,500 7 Deployment 20 £25 £500 8 Testing 520 £25 £13,000 9 User Acceptance Testing 650 £25 £16,250 Total £90,710 Task 11 Lesson Learned From the above project, I had learnt that the most important ingredient for the success of any project is teamwork. Without the wholehearted support from the team, it is difficult to achieve the objectives. As I had formulated a rock-solid team right in the beginning of this project, I was able to take this complex task effectively. Further, it is important for the manager to foster team spirit within the team. I also learnt to handle a team with varied disposition and character. It was often tough to handle and place experienced and novice team members on the same platter. However, as I had a very cooperative team, I was able to solve such issues very easily and everybody worked in a cohesive manner to make the project a success. References Joseph Phillips 2003. PMP Project Management Professional Study Guide. McGraw-Hill Professional, Columbia. Young-Hoon Kwak 2005. "A brief history of Project Management". In: The story of managing projects. Elias Carayannis, G., 2006, Greenwood Publishing Group, Chicago. Ireland, L 2006 Project Management. McGraw-Hill Professional, Columbia. Martin Stevens 2002. Project Management Pathways. Association for Project Management. APM Publishing Limited, London. Harrison, Dennis Lock 2004. Advanced project management: a structured approach‎. Gower Publishing, Ltd., Illinois. Cleland, D., & Gareis, R., 2006. Global project management handbook. McGraw-Hill Professional, Columbia. Lock Dennis 2007. Project management (9e ed.) Gower Publishing, Ltd., Illinois. Read More