Management of Systems Development Projects - Term Paper Example

Management of Systems Development Projects Name Date Course Name and Code Instructor’s Name Date Table of Contents Introduction 5 Processes of project management 7 Approaches and methodologies for project management 9 Scrum Approach of project management 9 A burndown release chart 13 Work stages in the scrum process 15 The approach of PMBOK (project management body of knowledge) in project management 16 Application of PMBOK 19 The steps of PMBOK (Ronda, 2009) 19 Initiation stage 19 Planning stage 20 Execution stage 20 Controlling and monitoring 21 Closing stage 21 Benefits of using PBMOK 21 Reference 22 Bruegge, B., and Dutoit, A. 2009. Object-oriented software engineering: using UML, patterns, and Java, 3rd Ed. London: Prentice Hall. Available at http://books.google.co.ke/books?id=VYdf2ONuRZIC&pg=PA394&dq=Object-oriented+software+engineering:+using+UML,+patterns,+and+Java,+3rd+Ed.&hl=en&ei=JShaTZK_L4bk4gaX_JXqCw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CDMQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Object-oriented%20software%20engineering%3A%20using%20UML%2C%20patterns%2C%20and%20Java%2C%203rd%20Ed.&f=false 22 Cleland, D., and Ireland, L. 2005. Project Management: Strategic Design and Implementation, 5th Ed. New York: McGraw-Hill Professional. Available at http://books.google.co.ke/books?id=sW1FhvAHIWwC&pg=PA32&dq=Project+Management:+Strategic+Design+and+Implementation,+5th+Ed.&hl=en&ei=OyhaTebfE5HG4AaVvrDrCw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=8&ved=0CFkQ6AEwBw#v=onepage&q=Project%20Management%3A%20Strategic%20Design%20and%20Implementation%2C%205th%20Ed.&f=false 23 Cohen, E. 2010. Information in Motion: The Journal Issues in Informing Science and Information Technology. New York: Informing Science. Available at http://books.google.co.ke/books?id=fnz6NxSXzGcC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Information+in+Motion:+The+Journal+Issues+in+Informing+Science+and+Information+Technology&hl=en&ei=ZyhaTdSDPMKg4Qbti_iZDA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCsQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false 23 Harrington, J. 2006. Project management excellence: the art of excelling in project management. London: Paton Professional. Available at http://books.google.co.ke/books?id=ix40O0xBF2YC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Project+management+excellence:+the+art+of+excelling+in+project+management&hl=en&ei=fihaTYq7F9O84gbPz5XTCw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCsQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false 23 Holtsnider, B., and Jaffe, B. 2006. IT manager's handbook: getting your new job done. London: Morgan Kaufmann. Available at http://books.google.co.ke/books?id=OeQD_QPOYY4C&printsec=frontcover&dq=IT+manager%27s+handbook:+getting+your+new+job+done&hl=en&ei=myhaTd2bA4Te4gbduayLDA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCsQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false 23 Kerzner, H. 2009. Project Management: A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling, and Controlling, 10th Ed. New York: John Wiley and Sons. Available at http://books.google.co.ke/books?id=Ka9K-61xXssC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Project+Management:+A+Systems+Approach+to+Planning,+Scheduling,+and+Controlling&hl=en&ei=qyhaTd-FEo314AbLldGRDA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CC8Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false 24 Kerzner, H. 2009. Project Management: A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling, and Controlling, 10th Ed. New York: John Wiley and Sons. Available at http://books.google.co.ke/books?id=Ka9K-61xXssC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Project+Management:+A+Systems+Approach+to+Planning,+Scheduling,+and+Controlling&hl=en&ei=qyhaTd-FEo314AbLldGRDA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CC8Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false 24 Kloppenborg, T. 2008. Contemporary Project Management. London: Cengage Learning. Available at http://books.google.co.ke/books?id=OLZh72jM8zoC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Contemporary+Project+Management&hl=en&ei=xShaTZiVIpC74Aajja2ADA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CDAQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false 24 Lock, D. 2007. Project management. London: Gower Publishing, Ltd. Available at http://books.google.co.ke/books?id=ApkhCGWFh9IC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Project+management&hl=en&ei=-C5aTZrEOMiz4gazw_TpCw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CDYQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q&f=false 24 Loosemore, M., and Uher, T. 2003. Essentials of Construction Project Management. Sydney: UNSW Press. Available at http://books.google.co.ke/books?id=BNVOAaPw6qMC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Essentials+of+Construction+Project+Management&hl=en&ei=Ei9aTY6WK4z24Ab47bXdCw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CDkQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false 25 Luckey, T., and Phillips, J. 2006. Software project management for dummies. New York: For Dummies. Available at http://books.google.co.ke/books?id=1zllaK0bvN0C&printsec=frontcover&dq=Software+project+management+for+dummies&hl=en&ei=Li9aTc6pMNHg4AbEpd2DDA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CDUQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false 25 Nanz, S. 2010. The Future of Software Engineering. London: Springer. Available at http://books.google.co.ke/books?id=WXXlTTjMRB8C&printsec=frontcover&dq=The+Future+of+Software+Engineering&hl=en&ei=ZC9aTci1Oon14Qbvm6GxDA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CDEQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false 25 Office of Government Commerce. 2007. For Successful Project Management: Think PRINCE2. London: The Stationery Office. Available at http://books.google.co.ke/books?id=XOzhEMnnNwoC&printsec=frontcover&dq=For+Successful+Project+Management:+Think+PRINCE2&hl=en&ei=mC9aTcb5D5uN4gbXtPnCCw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CDUQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false 25 Westland, J. 2007. The project management life cycle: a complete step-by-step methodology for initiating, planning, executing & closing a project successfully. London: Kogan Page Publishers 26 Introduction Project management is a very important aspect of any organization (Lock, 2007, p. 1). It entails a discipline that deals with the organization, planning resource management and security (Lock, 2007, p. 1). All of which is geared towards the accomplishment of the organization’s objectives, goals and mission. Project management works hand in hand with the programs management but it is technically ranked higher than the project management because it entails a group of so many but related projects that are under one management in a certain project. A project for that matter refers to an activity, which is temporarily and contains a very well defined ending and beginning, which is done with an aim of meeting a particular objective or goal (Lock, 2007, p. 8). Project management is very challenging especially as far as the issue of achieving the goals for the engineering projects is concerned as well as managing to control all the forth coming constrains associated with the projects (Kerzner, 2009, Chapter 5.5). Some of the main and primary challenging which needs great and very efficient project management includes the scoop of the project, time factor, and the budget of the project. There are other challenges, which are termed as secondary like ensuring an optimum allocation of all resources needed to execute the laid down objectives and tasks (Kerzer, 2009, Chapter 5.5). There are several laid down approaches that are in use today as far as the success of project management is concerned. The following are the main approaches used in project management interactive, agile, phased, and incremental. The approach to be used in any particular project must be carefully considered especially in terms of the project timeline, cost, objectives and responsibilities or the roles of the stakeholders and other participants (Cleland and Ireland, 2005, p. 26). The traditional kind of approach of project management entailed a number of sequential steps, which a project must be taken through before it is termed as completed (Cleland and Ireland, 2005, p. 51). Theses steps are as follows; project initiation, the design, and planning stage, construction and execution stage, controlling and monitoring stage, and finally the closing phase. Below is a diagrammatical representation (Project Management Class, 2009). Link for this diagram http://projectmanagementclassroom.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/Project_Management_phases.png Projects do not necessarily follow the above steps to be accomplished because some of the projects are terminated before getting to the last stage. In a project like the development of the software, the project is likely to follow the phases or the approach but under a name called waterfall model but most of the company have to use the unified rational process to be able to utilize the methodology. The reason is because it is a model that really works best especially for those projects which are very small and fails when used for the undefined or ambiguous projects which are very large, this is because of the great challenges in terms of uncertainty especially in the development of a software where there is an aspect of new product development. In addition, software development is a process, which needs efficiency to ensure the product will be accurate and of the expected result as far as its objectivity is concerned. The main and common step in all of the approaches is the problem-solving step. Prince2 is one of the most structure approaches that are very useful in the project management (Office of Government Commerce, 2007, p. 19). It is known to use the methodology called PROMPT in the management of mostly the projects that are have defined framework in a very clear way. Processes of project management There are five main processes that are used in the project management namely the initiation, development or planning, execution or production, controlling or monitoring and finally closing (Cleland and Ireland, 2005, p. 52). The following is what each of the steps contains in details. The initiation stage entails the determination of the project’s scoop and nature (Westland, 2005, p. 16). This is a very important step in as far as the projects ability to meet its goals is concerned (Cleland and Ireland, 2005, p. 53). The is a need for the project initiators to understand the environment to which the project will be run and incase there are some problems which are predicted are then reported early in advance (Westland, 2007, p. 56). This stage also entails a very well formulated plan which contains the needs or requirements of the business, review of all operations currently in use, analysis’s of the finances in terms of benefits and the costs, analysis of the stakeholders in terms of the supporters of that project, the users and personnel, finally the charter of the project in terms of tasks, costs, schedule and the deliverables. The design and planning stages entails the process of strategizing the usage of finances, resource, and time as far as the efficient and effective accomplishment of the project is concerned (Westland, 2007, p. 58). It consists of details of the plan, the statement of the scope, selection of the planning teams’ members, deliverables identification, activities identification; resource needs estimation, cost and time estimation, plan for risks and finally the approval for the project to commence (Westland, 2007, p. 56). The phase of execution contains all the needed processes to execute the project. There is an aspect of coordination involved in this stage to ensure the human resources and other resources like the finances are properly put to use with reference to the formulated plan for the project. This is the stage where the project managers are able to get the some outputs. Controlling and the monitoring process entail the activities, which are done to ensure there is adherence to the requirement of the project in the process of project execution. the main reason for this step is to ensure that any problems that may be arising in the midst of project execution will be noted and taken care of (Wstland, 2005, pp. 132-133). This phase includes the following the measure of all projects that are ongoing using some indicators depending on the type of project that is being run. There is also the aspect of monitoring all of the variables contained in the project like the costs, scope, and effort, correlation actions are also identified so that risks and other upcoming issues can be identified. Finally, the factors that are likely to lead to a downfall to the implementation of the project are dealt with and any change that is necessarily is implemented. This stage is very important especially because of the fact that it enables any feed back given to be acted upon efficiently. The maintenance of the projects is usually a process that is ongoing because it entails the support by the users, the process of error correction and software update, which is done very frequently. This is a stage that allows for changes in a given form of project especially because of modification and this call for a session of reassessment to ensure the project maintains the initial objectives. The final stage is the closure of the project (Westland, 2005, p. 14). It entails the process of the beneficiaries embracing the project and then the end of the project. The stage has much documentations as well as filing going on (Wetland, 2005, p. 196). Approaches and methodologies for project management There are number of approaches that are used in project management but this paper covers two main ones, which are the PMBOK (project management body of knowledge) and the SCRUM. The two approaches though are used to show the methodology used in the development as well as the management of projects, have some differences in the way in which they are applied (Loosemore and Uher, 2003, p. 20). Scrum is very useful especially in the development as well as the process of modeling the management system itself while the project management body of knowledge is very essential in the process of actual project management. Scrum Approach of project management This is one of the methodologies, which is incremental in nature and is iterative. Scrum is defined as a process of agile software development (Kloppenborg, 2008, p. 232). The process entail s some steps, which are referred to as sprint. A sprint will take about two to four weeks to be completed. It is one of the approaches fit for the development and management of projects that are rapidly changing or with great emergent requirement hence very suitable for software development (Luckey and Philips, 2006, p. 37). It is applicable mainly in the development of the agile software, which is actually one form of the engineering software (Kloppenborg, 2008, p. 232). It was initially developed for the purposes of managing the software engineering but another very important application of the software is running the software used for maintaining the teams. The development of the system approach dates back in the year 1986. It was developed by Nonaki Ikujiro and takeuchi Hirotaka who were in search of a way to develop a holistic kind of approach that would provide a better way of developing commercial product in terms of flexibility and speed. The approach has a number of roles and practices that are very applicable in its use namely; scrum master is the person who is known to control all the processes that are involved in the scrum approach (Pries and Quigley, 2010, p. 52). In addition, the owner of the product is the stakeholder representative as well as the business representative and finally the team which contains a number of four people involved in the process of analysis, implementation, testing, designing and budgeting among others. One of the major principle that is very important in as far as the operations in this approach are concerned is the recognition of the fact that the customers are bound to change mind with reference to the order (Kloppenborg, 2008, p. 232). They may have given earlier meaning the challenges that are involved in the process are very easily to deal with if there is a proper way designed to deal with them as they arise. This is why this kind of approach entails the use of empirical evidence. There is a need for the project managers to remember that not all problems can be clearly understood as well as defined but the problem can easily be overcome by ensuring the team members are well trained to be very quick in delivering their services as well as responding to any form of emergency that is likely to arise (Pries and Quigley, 2010, p. 53). The team members decide on the duration of each sprint form the other whereby they are actively involved in the creation as well as testing the software that are being produced (Bruegge and Dutoit, 2009, p. 513). This kind of approach is known to produce products that completely meet the needs of the customer because of the that is maintained between all the members or the teams as well as other employees in the organization. This approach is known to be advantageous due to the fact that it can be executed through a number of ways and by using many tools, like spreadsheets, which is very good in the construction as well as maintenance of the artifacts like sprint backlog. The open source or software priority packages, which are for managing the products of the scrum, are also used. It should be noted that there a number of organization which have managed to implement this scrum without the use of software tools whereby their artifacts are stored in the form of hardcopy like the papers, sticky notes and whiteboards. The approach works hand in hand with the development team because it does not cater for all the requirements of the software management but only the part that entails development (Pries and Quigley, 2010, p. 52). The teams will work with the situations provided to them by the approach. This is whereby in a meeting for the sprint planning the team is focused in developing the sprint that will be used to solve the problem at hand (Kloppenborg, 2008, p. 232). They do that instead of focusing on the validation criteria, task definitions, entry criteria and exit criteria to ensure that the next step is not commenced before the problems arising are solved. This explains why scrum is very dependent on cross-functional team and it is very self-reliant. These teams are also very self reliant because of the fact that they are not controlled or supervised by anyone. The team sits down and delegate duties to them but as the term goes, the team is called cross-functional meaning any person in the team can perform the duties. Development teams of the agile are supported by Scrum Master and the owner (Pries and Quigley, 2010, p. 52). The scrum Master is the coach who actually offers the training needed to the team so that they can be able to use and apply the framework efficiently to perform the duties allocated to them. The owner is also the business, user, or customer and his or her role is give guideline to the team so that they can come up with the right product, which is satisfactory to the needs of the customers. The process will entail sprints in series ranging for one month (Bruegge and Dutoit, 2009, p. 513). When the sprint begins, it is the responsibility of the team to present all the features, which were earlier in product backlog of the project (Pries and Quigley, 2010, p. 97). When the print is being ended that is after one month, the features are actually coded in the system, tested and then eventually integrated to be the required system or product (Bruegge and Dutoit, 2009, p. 513). In addition, a review is done whereby the team is required to demonstrate the developed product to the owner as well as any other stakeholder who is interested (Nanz, 2010, p. 3). They are then given an opportunity to give their feedback. It is the feedback that they give which is used in the development of the next intended sprint (Nanz, p. 3). There are a number of activities, which are involved in the sprint (Pries and Quigley, 2010, p. 97). The product is actually the main artifact of any scrum project this is because at the end of any sprint the expectations of the owners is that the team will bring out a finished product ready to be used (Cohen, 2010, p. 492). During the agile stage of development, a product backlog is presented by the owner of the product containing the features valuable to him or her (Bruegge and Dutoit, 2009, p. 513). This is the instructions that the team follows very carefully in the development of the product. Day one of the sprint as well as in the planning meeting of the sprint, sprint backlog is created which is the list of all what the team is supposed to (Bruegge and Dutoit, 2009, p. 513). It is very different form the product backlog because this represents the tasks, which will be done by the team while the product backlog contains the features, which will be contained in the product when the sprint is finished (Pries and Quigley, 2010, p. 97). There are two very important artifacts in the print namely the chart for release burn down and the chart for the sprint burndown (Bruegge and Dutoit, 2009, p. 513). The chart for burndown will always show whatever amount of work yet to be done so that a particular sprint can be able to be released. The two charts are very important in that they help the team to be efficient as far as the issue of time is concerned. A burndown release chart is used by the team to record the progress of its work. Horizontal axis always represents the sprint while the vertical axis always represents the remaining work at the beginning of the sprint. A burndown release chart The link for the chart above is http://epf.eclipse.org/wikis/scrum/Scrum/workproducts/release_burndown_chart_7E6A4A45.html The scrum team has a number of responsibilities. The scrum Master is the person who show the direction but his roles are very different form the managers in the traditional form of project management (Pries and Quigley, 2010, p. 52). This is because he is not involved in the daily guideline of the team in the way in which they are supposed to perform their duties. He is not the person who is involved in the assignment of duties to the team but he is only mandated to ensure the team is free form any distractions from the outside world. This helps the team to be completely focused to the work they are doing during the sprint for effective and efficient job accomplishment (Pries and Quigley, 2010, p. 97). It is the responsibility of the owner to ensure the goals are met by the team through the provision of the backlog product. He ensures that there is prioritization as far as the backlog product is concerned in the product (Pries and Quigley, 2010, p. 52-53). The team itself has the role of ensuring that very individual in that each member of the team works best in whatever he or she knows best to ensure the product meets the requirements of the owner. The members are involved in the department that they are trained to work in to ensure everything works out best but they can also work beyond the disciplines they are trained in to fulfill their work. The tree different team members, the owner, scrumMaster and the team members work hand in hand to ensure the work is accomplished efficiently and effectively. Work stages in the scrum process The link for the above process is http://blog.softwareabstractions.com/the_software_abstractions/2010/06/software-development-using-the-scrum-process.html Each of the stage in the sprint allows some time to ensure any upcoming errors are dealt with before getting to the next stage. In addition, the team uses some workflow to ensure the same issue of error correction is taken care of effectively and efficiently. The team is at timed forced to add some stages in their work in case there is a certain need for error correction. The phases that are added will be used to test and ensure that the product is desirable to the owner. In this particular time, the team is at times also forced to divide the duties among themselves according to the individual specialization. One advantage of the scrum process is the fact that there is no set down values of the work that is not finished. Teams define their work individually using the trial as well as error method. When there is a small value then the team members ends up being idle and too much value causes them to have overload of work to do hence leading to some piled and unfinished work. There is however, a rule that ensures the two situations mentioned above do not occur. This is whereby every member of the team is required not to have two or more simultaneous tasks in selection. Also all the teams members are not supposed to have two simultaneous tasks so that the errors that may occur will have a team member to correct as well as cater for any other matter that may be arising. This approach differs from many others like the Kanban in the sense that it has its work that needs to be done divided into the sprints, which are not continuous since each of the sprints will last for a particular specified time. The approach of PMBOK (project management body of knowledge) in project management This entails group of processes and knowledge, which are very acceptable in the project management as being the best practice (Loosemore and Uher, 2003, p. 20). It is one of the most recognized standard ways of project management and it can be applied in any type of project like the construction, engineering, software, and automotive. An approach greatly utilizes five processes in it usage and uses nine typical knowledge areas. All of the concepts that are entailed in it are used in the operations, programs, and projects. The following are the main basic processes used in the approach - initialization stage, the planning, execution stage, controlling and monitoring stage and finally the closing stage (Loosemore and Uher, 2003, p. 21). There is an aspect of interaction and overwrapping of the above processes depending on the type of project that is being run hence the processes ends up being defined as input, techniques and tools and finally the output. The following is the representation diagram. The approach has a total number of nine areas of knowledge namely; integration of the project, scope management of the project, time management in the project, cost management in the project, quality management, management of the human resource, communication management, management of the risks and finally the management of procurement (Loosemore and Uher, 2003, p. 21; Harrington, 2006, p. 13). The knowledge areas contain some of the very important processes in the approach. An example is the procurement management, which entails the following planning for the procurement, planning for the solicitation, and solicitation selection of the source, administration of the contract and finally the closure of the contract. The approach is unique in that it entirely deals with the management of the project. It also entails some other disciplines of management like the organizing, planning, staffing, execution, operation control, financial forecasting, behaviors of the organization and techniques planning (Harrington, 2006, p. 14). This is one of the approaches that entirely entail the process of knowledge application, use of tool, skills, and techniques to ensure the requirements of the process are met and in an efficient as well as effective way. The following is the detailed processes involves in the nine areas of knowledge. Integration entails the development of the charter for the project, the statement of the scope and plan - direct management and project change control as well as monitoring. The scope management entails the process of planning, making definitions, breaking down the work structure creations and controlling or making verification. Time management entails the process of definitions, duration and resource estimation, planning, and finally the development and controlling of schedules (Harrington, 2006, p. 14). The process of cost management will entail planning for the resources, quality control, and quality assurance. The management of human resources entails planning for the resources, the process of hiring and firing, management and development of the team to take part in the project. Communication is the stage that entails planning for the communication, distribution of the information, reporting the level of performances and the management of the stakeholders. Management of the risk involves identification of the possible risks and the plan making, analysis of the risks, the actions planning, risk control and monitoring process. The final knowledge of procurement involves acquiring the contract, planning for the contract, administration of the contract and the closure of the contract. Each of the above process will utilize tools and techniques as well as give outputs depending on the type of the project that is being undertaken. Application of PMBOK This approach is very applicable for all types of projects, portfolio, and programs including the development and management of a software. The following are some of the main applications that utilize the approach general management of programs, management of functional projects, management of technical projects like the engineering, management of the specified industrial processes, marketing especially in the development of products, governance of public programs and development of the international organizations. The steps of PMBOK (Ronda, 2009) Initiation stage This stage involves the authorization of the project, and then the organization is made to get committed to the project and the phases, there is setting of the direction that will be taken by the project, and the top level most objectives of the project are set followed by the resource and approval security (Blokdijk, 2008, p. 28). Other stages include alignment and validation of the objectives of the business, managers are assigned and finally the project is then integrated (Holtsnider and Jaffe, 2006, p. 99). For a project like software development, all of the objectives are put in line and then the project is validated to start (Kloppenborg, 2008, p. 10). Planning stage This stage entails a number of elements like the definition of the project’s scope; the objectives of the project are redefined, the deliverable of the project are also defined, there is definition of the required deliverables, the project’s schedule for framework is done, there is a forum created for sharing information with the team members as well as the stakeholders (Kloppenborg, 2008 p. 10). Moreover, all the required activities are defined, all the activities are sequenced, then the resources as well as the skills are identified, the work effort is identified, a strategy for risk avoidance and analysis, cost needed are defined as well as estimated, the approval for the project funding is also obtained and finally the plan is communicated (Blokdijk, 2008, p. 28). Execution stage The following are the elements entailed in the execution process (Holtsnider and Jaffe, 2006, p. 104). There is coordination of the resources as well as team development; the quality of the products is assured, the subcontractors approach are selected, the information about the processes of distribution is acquired and finally there is development of the work plan (Blokdijk, 2008, p. 28). The information that is needed to be distributed entails the requirement given by the owners or the customers whose products are being processed (Kloppenborg, 2008, p. 10). In the software development, for instance there is an aspect of resource coordination especially the human resources to ensure that the entire professionals are involved in the production of the product. Controlling and monitoring This is a process, which entails the management of the stakeholders, the team involved in the production and the subcontractors. There is a process that ensures the progress of the project is measured and the performance is monitored in terms of the project’s scope, cost, the quality and all other schedules (Blokdijk, 2008, p. 28). This stage also involves taking some corrective actions to ensure to ensure any errors that are discovered are dealt with (Kloppenborg, 2008, p. 10). Incase there are changes that are suggested, they are also implemented in this stage by the management, all the impending risks are taken care of throughout the technical processes, performance processes, organizational procedures, external procedures and management level. It is in this stage that all the reports in the project are communicated to the stakeholders and the people that are concerned. Closing stage This is a stage where mush of the work entails finalization of the project. The administration is closed out. There is gathering, filing, distribution and storage of information as well as the issue of evaluation, appraising the team, and compiling the lessons that are learnt in the project (Blokdijk, 2008, p. 29). The contract is also brought to a closure after the output of the project is acceptable to the consumers or the beneficiaries (Kloppenborg, 2008, p. 10). For software, there should be a period of letting it work or putting it into use and then witnessing the outcome. Benefits of using PBMOK A framework aims at improving the standards. It is mainly process oriented hence the product that are being produced are of good quality since each process gives the team a chance to test the outcome especially for the software’s. It gives the needed knowledge for the management of the project’s lifecycle It gives a chance for the definition of the inputs, techniques, tools and outputs needed at every stage of the process. It contains a body of defined knowledge depending on the industry for which the product is being produced. Reference Blokdijk, G. 2008. Management Training 100 Success Secrets. London: Lulu.com Available at http://books.google.co.ke/books?id=OrFGsmn6yf8C&printsec=frontcover&dq=Management+Training+100+Success+Secrets&hl=en&ei=EyhaTYHrC6GJ4gb7_ZnVCw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CDAQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false Bruegge, B., and Dutoit, A. 2009. Object-oriented software engineering: using UML, patterns, and Java, 3rd Ed. London: Prentice Hall. Available at http://books.google.co.ke/books?id=VYdf2ONuRZIC&pg=PA394&dq=Object-oriented+software+engineering:+using+UML,+patterns,+and+Java,+3rd+Ed.&hl=en&ei=JShaTZK_L4bk4gaX_JXqCw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CDMQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Object-oriented%20software%20engineering%3A%20using%20UML%2C%20patterns%2C%20and%20Java%2C%203rd%20Ed.&f=false Cleland, D., and Ireland, L. 2005. Project Management: Strategic Design and Implementation, 5th Ed. New York: McGraw-Hill Professional. Available at http://books.google.co.ke/books?id=sW1FhvAHIWwC&pg=PA32&dq=Project+Management:+Strategic+Design+and+Implementation,+5th+Ed.&hl=en&ei=OyhaTebfE5HG4AaVvrDrCw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=8&ved=0CFkQ6AEwBw#v=onepage&q=Project%20Management%3A%20Strategic%20Design%20and%20Implementation%2C%205th%20Ed.&f=false Cohen, E. 2010. Information in Motion: The Journal Issues in Informing Science and Information Technology. New York: Informing Science. Available at http://books.google.co.ke/books?id=fnz6NxSXzGcC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Information+in+Motion:+The+Journal+Issues+in+Informing+Science+and+Information+Technology&hl=en&ei=ZyhaTdSDPMKg4Qbti_iZDA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCsQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false Harrington, J. 2006. Project management excellence: the art of excelling in project management. London: Paton Professional. Available at http://books.google.co.ke/books?id=ix40O0xBF2YC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Project+management+excellence:+the+art+of+excelling+in+project+management&hl=en&ei=fihaTYq7F9O84gbPz5XTCw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCsQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false Holtsnider, B., and Jaffe, B. 2006. IT manager's handbook: getting your new job done. London: Morgan Kaufmann. Available at http://books.google.co.ke/books?id=OeQD_QPOYY4C&printsec=frontcover&dq=IT+manager%27s+handbook:+getting+your+new+job+done&hl=en&ei=myhaTd2bA4Te4gbduayLDA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCsQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false Kerzner, H. 2009. Project Management: A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling, and Controlling, 10th Ed. New York: John Wiley and Sons. Available at http://books.google.co.ke/books?id=Ka9K-61xXssC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Project+Management:+A+Systems+Approach+to+Planning,+Scheduling,+and+Controlling&hl=en&ei=qyhaTd-FEo314AbLldGRDA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CC8Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false Kerzner, H. 2009. Project Management: A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling, and Controlling, 10th Ed. New York: John Wiley and Sons. Available at http://books.google.co.ke/books?id=Ka9K-61xXssC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Project+Management:+A+Systems+Approach+to+Planning,+Scheduling,+and+Controlling&hl=en&ei=qyhaTd-FEo314AbLldGRDA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CC8Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false Kloppenborg, T. 2008. Contemporary Project Management. London: Cengage Learning. Available at http://books.google.co.ke/books?id=OLZh72jM8zoC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Contemporary+Project+Management&hl=en&ei=xShaTZiVIpC74Aajja2ADA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CDAQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false Lock, D. 2007. Project management. London: Gower Publishing, Ltd. Available at http://books.google.co.ke/books?id=ApkhCGWFh9IC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Project+management&hl=en&ei=-C5aTZrEOMiz4gazw_TpCw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CDYQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q&f=false Loosemore, M., and Uher, T. 2003. Essentials of Construction Project Management. Sydney: UNSW Press. Available at http://books.google.co.ke/books?id=BNVOAaPw6qMC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Essentials+of+Construction+Project+Management&hl=en&ei=Ei9aTY6WK4z24Ab47bXdCw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CDkQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false Luckey, T., and Phillips, J. 2006. Software project management for dummies. New York: For Dummies. Available at http://books.google.co.ke/books?id=1zllaK0bvN0C&printsec=frontcover&dq=Software+project+management+for+dummies&hl=en&ei=Li9aTc6pMNHg4AbEpd2DDA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CDUQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false Nanz, S. 2010. The Future of Software Engineering. London: Springer. Available at http://books.google.co.ke/books?id=WXXlTTjMRB8C&printsec=frontcover&dq=The+Future+of+Software+Engineering&hl=en&ei=ZC9aTci1Oon14Qbvm6GxDA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CDEQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false Office of Government Commerce. 2007. For Successful Project Management: Think PRINCE2. London: The Stationery Office. Available at http://books.google.co.ke/books?id=XOzhEMnnNwoC&printsec=frontcover&dq=For+Successful+Project+Management:+Think+PRINCE2&hl=en&ei=mC9aTcb5D5uN4gbXtPnCCw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CDUQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false Pries, K., and Quigley, J. 2010. Scrum Project Management. London: CRC Press. Available at http://books.google.co.ke/books?id=Of6JC-1DHloC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Scrum+Project+Management&hl=en&ei=uS9aTdzQINT24AbIioClDA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CDEQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false Project Management Class. 2009. Project Management Phases. Available at http://projectmanagementclassroom.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/Project_Management_phases.png Westland, J. 2007. The project management life cycle: a complete step-by-step methodology for initiating, planning, executing & closing a project successfully. London: Kogan Page Publishers Read More