Critically evaluate the project management process and appropriate research methodologies applied.. P2 Produce a project management plan that covers aspects of cost, scope, time, quality
Managing a Successful Computing Project ASSIGNMENT 1
Introduction to Project Management (PM)
Project management is the process of leading the work of a team to achieve goals and meet success criteria at a specified time The primary challenge of project management is to achieve all of the project goals within the given constraints This information is usually described in project documentation, created at the beginning of the development process The primary constraints are scope, time, budget The secondary challenge is to optimize the allocation of necessary inputs and apply them to meet pre-defined objectives
Project management was developed to save time/money by properly planning a project and considering all relevant factors which may affect its outcome
Software project management refers to the branch of project management dedicated to the planning, scheduling, resource allocation, execution, tracking and delivery of software and web projects
Project management in software engineering is distinct from traditional project management in that software projects have a unique lifecycle process that requires multiple rounds of testing, updating, and customer feedback Most IT-related projects are managed in the agile style, in order to keep up with the increasing pace of business and iterate based on customer
Figure 2: Software project management process.
The key stages of project management
Figure 3: The key stages of project management
Project initiation is the first phase of the project management life cycle and in this stage, companies decide if the project is needed and how beneficial it will be for them The two metrics that are used to judge a proposed project and determine the expectations from it are the business case and feasibility study
Business Case Document – This document justifies the need for the project, and it includes an estimate of potential financial benefits
Feasibility Study – This is an evaluation of the project’s goals, timeline and costs to determine if the project should be executed It balances the requirements of the project with available resources to see if pursuing the project makes sense
Teams abandon proposed projects that are labeled unprofitable and/or unfeasible However, projects that pass these two tests can be assigned to a project team or designated project office.
A project plan, also known as the project management plan, is the document that describes how the project will be executed, monitored, and controlled, and closed This outlines the objectives and scope of the project and serves as an official point of reference for the project team, larger company, and stakeholders
It’s created during the project planning phase and is a compilation of several other documents
It is more than just a schedule or a task list, though it does include those things The project management plan is formally approved at the beginning of the project and then progressively updated throughout the course of the project
The execution phase is usually the longest phase in the project life cycle; and the most demanding Your team carries out all the planned activities during this stage, constructs the deliverables, and presents them to the project stakeholders
This is the phase that is most commonly associated with project management Execution is all about building deliverables that satisfy the customer Team leaders make this happen by allocating resources and keeping team members focused on their assigned tasks Execution relies heavily on the planning phase The work and efforts of the team during the execution phase are derived from the project plan
In project management, there might be hiccups along the way but if you catch them early on, it’s easy to course orrect You’ll need to continuously track the project’s progress and ensure -c that the milestones and deliverables stick to the project schedule For this reason, the execution stage always happens in concurrence with the next phase project controlling and – monitoring
Monitoring and control processes continually track, review, adjust and report on the project’s performance It’s important to find out how a project’s performing and whether it’s on time, as well as implement approved changes This ensures the project remains on track, on budget and on time
Project control is a