Project Management

Unit 14

Unit 14
Structure: 14.1 14.2 Introduction Learning objectives

Project Management Plan and Global Delivery Model

Project Management Plan Project summary Project scope Value addition to the customer Project planning People Hardware, software and tools Training plan Quality plan quality goals Reviews Risk management plan Project tracking Closure report Summary Risk management Schedule Defects Casual analysis and lessons learned

14.3

Global Delivery Model (GDM) What is GDM? Special Features of GDM

14.4 14.5 14.6

Summary Terminal Questions Answers to SAQs and TQs Answers to self assessment questions Answers to terminal questions

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14.1 Introduction
It is to be expected that the materials and details in earlier units might appear scattered to you. This might have led to a level of confusion as to how exactly all these concepts could be built into a practical project situation and how these concepts could be utilised for enhancing the capabilities of a typical project management process. A systematic IT-integrated (Intranet) documented approach laid out in a perfectly balanced and sequenced approach would solve the confusion. In this unit, therefore, we would attempt to understand project management plan and global delivery model through a sample project and some details of a typical global delivery model. Various sections and subsections of this unit would cover the following key aspects of project management plan and global delivery model: Project management plan sample project Projects value addition to the customer Assumptions made while planning Standard process followed and deviation from standard process Requirement traceability Automated estimation process Scheduling and estimation of resources Quality plan quality goals Project tracking Defect control system performance summary System driver risk management Global delivery model as the latest trend in project management Learning Objectives By the end of this unit, you will be able to: List the key elements of project management plan and global delivery model Identify the key practical constraints within the industry Relate various concepts to a comprehensive plan Explain key processes of a project management plan and global delivery model
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Recall the steps to track project Explain the special features of GDM Describe the way a typical plan can be drafted and structured

14.2 Project Management Plan

The key to a successful project is in the planning. Creating a project plan is the first thing you should do when undertaking any kind of project. Project management is an art of matching project goals, tasks, and resources to accomplish the goal as needed. One can think of a project as a process. Figure 14.1 shows this process as a simplified block diagram.

Fig. 14.1: Project as a process

Let us look at a sample project to understand project management plan and global delivery model: 14.2.1 Project Summary Let us consider a firm XYZ as a stockbroker/ dealer firm. XYZ needs a support software. The support software will have applications supporting the following components: First, a brokerage account opening application on XYZs website that will allow any internet user to open a brokerage account online with XYZ

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Second, an account opening and maintenance application, which is primarily for XYZs representatives to open accounts for the applications received in paper format

This is an intranet application. The application will have features to view account history, account balance, status, and activity information. This will allow XYZ to effectively evolve to a client account servicing application besides being an account-opening engine. This is an enhancement of an existing application. Based on the above information a project summary is developed. Table 14.1 shows the project summary of XYZ project.
Table 14.1: Project summary of XYZ project Project Summary Project Code Xxxxxxxx Project Leader (PL) BB Configuration Controller (CC) SB Project Name XYZ Project Business Manager (BM) HR Platform Java, Oracle, Window Project End Date Nov 3, 2001 Fax Number Customer XYZ Corporation Backup PL BJ Five Backup CC HP

Project Type Maintenance Development

Number of Phases

Project Start Date Onshore April5, 2001 Name and Designation Offshore May 20, 2001 Phone Number

Total estimated Revenue US $ xxxx,xxx E-mail ID

14.2.2 Project Scope While a project summary gives an overview of the project, the project scope, which is the next component of a project plan, sets the project goals. Let us look at the project scope of XYZ project as shown in Table 14.2 below.

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Table 14.2: Project scope for XYZ project

Project Scope To provide an effective, efficient means of amount maintenance activities To allow representatives to provide information To provide a complete picture to the client representatives for account status, valuation, order status, and trade activity To increase the intelligence of the update process To provide an interface that can display required amount history

14.2.3 Value addition to the customer This project will allow XYZ to effectively evolve a client account servicing application besides being an account giving engine. To ensure value addition to XYZ, the project team decides on the objectives, commitment and assumptions. Table 14.3 shows the objectives, commitment and assumptions of the XYZ project team.
Table 14.3: Objectives, commitment and assumptions of XYZ project Objectives Commitment made to the customer Delivery as per specifications On time delivery Within budget Warranty period Assumptions

Strengthen relationship with XYZ by delivering high quality software on time Become preferred vendor by developing expensive on XYZ product and systems

Intelligent update to business partners will be incorporated in only the maintenance part of the application and not in the account opening engine. Qualified people will approve Rational Unified Process methodology for implementing this project. Changes in functional and technical requirements during the life cycle of the project may have an impact on the schedule. Any impact on cost or schedule due to these changes will be intimated to XYZ. XYZ reviewers will take seven days to approve a milestone document. If no comments are received within this time period, it will be considered as approved.

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14.2.4 Project Planning Project Processes For this project, the standard development process of XYZ will be followed. However, since each project demands some customization, the team needs to decide on the deviations required for the project. Tailoring notes: The process starts with preparing tailoring notes as a part of requirements change management. Table 14.4 shows the tailoring notes prepared for the project.
Table 14.4: Requirements change management process Deviation from Standard Process Only those cases that are going to be taken up in a particular iteration will be elaborated at that point of time Development of logical object model will be done incrementally in the first few iteration Development of physical object model will be done incrementally in the first few iteration Physical database design may be refined in later iterations Development of unit test plan will be done in each iteration Development of unit test plan will be done in each iteration Logging of defects will be iteration wise Requirements trace ability will be done through the requisite pro-tool No vision document and business case as we started with the scope document, which serves the same purpose Added/Modified /Deleted Modified Reasons for Deviations Iteration based development is being done Conformation to RUP methodology Conformance to RUP methodology Conformance to RUP methodology Conformance to RUP methodology Iterative approach is being used Iterative approach is being used Conformance to RUP methodology Deviation from RUP

Modified

Modified

Modified Modified Modified Modified Modified

Modified

Change request tracking: Changes requested by customer will be logged in change request form and analyzed for impact on the project. The change
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request form will be submitted to customer for approval. Change request that are approved will be attached to the project contract as agenda. Figure 4.2 shows the summarised the steps in change request tracking.

Fig. 14.2: Change request process

Major change usually has an effort/delivery-on-time impact on the project. The customer needs to formally approve these changes. As this is a short duration project, if any one or a group of changes request takes more than 2% of the total estimated effort for the project, re-estimation of the project schedule and effort will be done. Requirement Traceability: A requirement needs to be traceable all the time to a project team. A requisite tool such as requirement traceability matrix or RTM needs to be used along with estimated size and effort. RTM is very important especially for major enhancements because of the volatility of the requirements as the enhancement progresses and also to ensure all functional and non-functional requirements are taken care of during all the stages. Based on the RTM matrix, the project manager needs to estimate the effort for each enhancement request. The estimation is done based on certain criteria as shown below. Estimation Criteria Program/Function (Use Case) Simple use case Medium use case Complex use case Criteria 3 or fewer transaction 4 to 7 transactions > 7 transactions

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a. Estimated build effort The project manager estimates the effort required in man days for each program or function of the project. This helps in estimating the total build effort. b. Phase Wise effort estimation Then he estimates the total effort with respect to each activity and effort for each phase of a project expressed as percentage of man days. c. Schedule Finally he prepares a list of items as deliverable to the customer and indicates the date of completion or delivery of the item to the customer. This is specified in the form of a table indicating various milestone of commitment to the customer. 14.2.5 People (Communication Plan) The project manager makes a list of the people required for each role in the project along with the number of members required for each role. The list should consist of skilled and unskilled people, depending upon the role and experience of the individual. The project manager also prepares the requirement plan of people as to when and how many of each type would be required on the project. He then creates a document showing people who need to be kept informed about the project and how they will receive the information. The most common mechanism is a weekly/monthly progress report describing how the project is performing, milestone achieved and work planned for the next period. 14.2.6 Hardware, Software and Tools A project manager needs to indicate the hardware and software resources required in the project at every stage. In this regard he performs the following tasks. He/She: Prepares plan for procurement of hardware and software depending upon the need at various stage of the project Prepares a date wise plan of procurement Prepares a Tool List that has to be prepared phase wise and activity wise Specifies the tools to be developed on the project along with the house tools to be developed in project

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14.2.7 Training Plan Training is a critical success factor for any project. Comprehensive training should be given to the team members on three domainstechnology, business and process. a. Technology Domain: Resources should be trained on technology involved in project. Table 14.5 shows the training plan for technology domain. It lists the technologies required in the project and the duration required to train the resources on each of these technologies. It also lists the training waiver criteria, if applicable for a technology.
Table 14.5: Technology training plan

Technology Java Language Visual Age for Java Java Applets Java Swing Persistence Builder OOAD

Duration 7 days 3 days 4 hrs 4 hrs 8 Hrs 1 day

Waiver criteria If already trained Exposed as part of initial training If already trained If already trained Mandatory If already trained

b. Business Domain Resources working on a project should be trained on business domain to have adequate understanding of the project. Table 14.6 shows a business domain training plan.
Table 14.6: Business domain training plan

Business Area System appreciation

Duration 7 days

Waiver criteria If already trained

c. Process Related Resources should be aware of the process followed during the life cycle of the project and should be trained. Table 14.6 shows a plan for process training.

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Table 14.6: Process training plan

Process Area Quality system Configuration management Group review Defect prevention SPS tool RUP methodology

Duration 3 hrs 2 hrs

Waiver criteria If already trained If already trained for CC. For others, on the job training If already trained Mandatory If already trained Mandatory

4 hrs 4.5 hrs 4.5 hrs 2 hrs

14.2.8 Quality Plan Quality Goals Quality control is a crucial aspect of successful project execution. Hence it should be properly planned. The quality plan includes the following phases as shown in 14.3.

Fig. 14.3: Quality plan for XYZ project

First, the project team identifies the project quality goals. Table 14.7 lists the quality goals for the XYZ project.
Table 14.7: Project quality goals Goals Total number of defects injected Quality (acceptance defect density) Productivity Schedule Value 145 Basis for Setting Goals 0.033 defects / Man-hour. This is 10% better than Synergy, which is 0.036 defects/Man-hour 3% or loss of total estimated number of defects 3.4% productivity improvement over Org-wide Norms 0.052 defects/Man Hour 6% of estimated number of defects 50 10%

57 Delivery on time

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Second, the team estimates the number of defects in project life cycle. Table 14.8 shows the number of defects estimated in life cycle of XYZ project.
Table 14.8: Defects handling plan

Review/Testing stage

Estimated number of defects to be detected 129

% of defects to be defected 20%

Basis of estimation

Requirements and design review Code review

Referenced similar project estimations (synergy) Referenced similar project estimations (synergy) Referenced similar project estimations (synergy) Referenced similar project estimations (synergy) Referenced similar project estimations (synergy)

29

20 %

Unit testing

57

40%

Integration And Regression Testing Acceptance testing Total estimated number of defects to be detected

25

17%

3%

143

100%

Finally, the project manager prepares a strategy for meeting quality goals indicating the expected benefits. 14.2.9 Reviews Reviews are important components of a project development process. The project manager prepares a table of important review points. The table should contain the review item and the type of review required for each of the review item. Type of review could be one-person review or group review.

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To get as much as possible out of project review, the following steps should be kept in mind: Describe a step List the activities involved in completing a task List tips and tricks to help you succeed Identify the tool and methods to assist you in delivering your project review Figure 14.3 depicts a project review process.

Fig. 14.3: Project Review Process

14.2.10 Risk Management Plan Risk management is an important part of project management. Although often overlooked, it is important to identify as many risks to your project as possible and to be prepared if something bad happens.
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A project manager prepares a table of risk management plans to indicate the risk type, probability of each risk, impact of the risk on the project, risk exposure and a risk mitigation plan for each risk. Here are some examples of common project risks: Time and cost estimates too optimistic Customer review and feedback cycle too slow Unexpected budget cuts Unclear role and responsibilities Poor communication resulting in misunderstandings, quality problem and rework Lack of resources commitment Stakeholders input is not sought or their needs are not properly understood Stakeholders changing requirements after the project has started Stakeholders adding new requirements after the project has started A Caselet on Project Risk Infosys follows a 360 degree risk management model to identify the project risks and plan the right mitigation steps. This helped the company to rank high on customer satisfaction and information security. This model puts a lot of importance on training and awareness.

14.2.11 Project Tracking A measurement plan for tracking the project is an absolute necessity. The plan must indicate the appropriate metric to be used, the unit of measurement and the tool to be used. In addition to the project tracking plan, the project manager also prepares the procedure for task tracking. Similarly, he prepares a table for tracking various issues of the project like logging details, review by, review time, floats and so on. Other tasks that need to be performed as part of project tracking include: Obtaining customer feedback on the various items of the project Determining the actions for each quality activity Planning for a review by senior management at a preplanned frequency Verifying status report about each activity of the project
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Preparing a list of tolerances for the defects observed in items and monitoring such items Preparing reports to be given to the customer which may indicate milestones reports and weekly status reports, and issues requiring clarification or escalation Preparing Report to be given to the Business Manager which should contain customer feedback, milestones and weekly status reports, issues requiring clarification/attention/escalation, number of requirement changes and estimated effort for them and major changes in plan Preparing the project organisation chart as applicable to the project under consideration Preparing a table that lists the project team members along with their roles and responsibility, starting date and completion date of the activity

14.2.12 Closure report At the end, a closure report table is prepared indicating the necessary project phase/entity along with project code and corresponding status. Project closure report helps in taking the right steps needed to formally wind-up a project. The report helps a project manager undertake project closure phase within a project, by documenting the entire task needed to complete the project and hand over the deliverables to the customer. It is critical that a project manager completes the project closure properly. The manner in which these closure steps are taken will determine the final success of the project. 14.2.13 Summary After the closure of a project, the project manager prepares a summary of the various performance parameter used in the project with respect to each of the actual, estimated and deviated activities. He also furnishes the reasons for deviations, if any. 14.2.14 Risk management The risk management plan needs to be updated with the type of risk, actual elapsed time, estimated time, percentage slippage and reasons for slippage. A thorough analysis should take place.

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14.2.15 Schedule A schedule consists of a list of a projects terminal elements with intended start and finish dates. The items are often estimated in terms of resources requirement, budget and duration. A project can be broken down into a number of tasks that have to be performed. To prepare the project schedule, the project manger has to figure out what the task are, how long they will take, what resources are required, and in what order they should be done. Each of these elements has a direct bearing on the schedule. The schedule prepared should be achievable and appropriate for the business needs. Efforts to accelerate project schedules will usually increase project risks. Innovative techniques must be used to achieve orderly schedule compression without creating unacceptable risks and quality impacts. The project manager prepares a table of effort distribution over life cycle stage of the project. 14.2.16 Defects To produce high quality deliverables, the final product should have few defects as possible. A defect distribution table is prepared to analyse the number of actual defects and estimated number of defects found in deliverables. A defect distribution table can be prepared as indicated in table.
Table 14.9: Defects distribution table Stage defected Actual number of defects 11 % of total defects found 10 Estimated number of defects 29 % of total estimated defects 20 % deviation

Reg. and design review Code review Unit testing Integration and system testing Acceptance of testing Total

-62

58 15 29

50 13 25

29 57 25

20 40 17

100 -73 16

3 116

2 100

5 145

3 100

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14.2.17 Casual analysis and lessons learned In the XYZ project, there were very few large deviations in the process performance. The actual performance was close to what was expected. The reasons for the deviations where they were large are recoded along with deviation. This is known as causal analysis. Some key lessons learnt in this project are: 1. Incremental or phased development is extremely helpful in achieving higher quality and productivity because data from the first phase can be used to improve the remaining phase through defect prevention. 2. Defect prevention can be substantial in reducing the defect injection rate. In terms of effort also, defect prevention pays off handsomely; by putting in a few hours of effort, up to 5 - 10 3. If a change request has a major impact, discussion with the customer using a detailed impact analysis can be very helpful in setting the right expectations as well as doing a proper cost benefit analysis. 4. The defects removal efficiencies code reviews and unit testing are very low. Processes for both, and implementation of these processes, need to be reviewed to improve these numbers. In this project, system/integration testing compensated for the poor performance of reviews and unit testing. However, for larger projects, this may not be possible and poor performance reviews and unit testing can have adverse effects on quality. Self Assessment Questions True or False? 1. Changes requested by customer will be logged in change request. 2. In estimating the phase wise effort, the total effort with respect to each activity and effort for each phase of a project expressed as percentage of production. 3. If a change request has a major impact, discussion with the customer using a detailed impact analysis can be very helpful in setting the right expectations and doing a proper cost benefit analysis.

14.3 Global Delivery Model

The term Global Delivery Model is typically associated with companies engaged in IT consulting and services delivery business. These companies
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adopt GDM since they execute a technology project using a team that is distributed globally. While the commonly understood meaning of the term implies globally distributed resources, the term itself has acquired a broader definition. It is one of the latest trends in project management. 14.3.1 What is GDM? The Global Delivery Model (GDM) enables an industry or business to plan, design and deliver products and services to any customer worldwide with speed, accuracy, economy and reliability. GDM enables its customer to leverage varied locations across the globe that provides optimised value for every component of delivery. The key features of GDM are shown in figure 14.4.

Fig. 14.4: Features of GDM

Let us discuss each key feature of GDM. a. Standardisation It includes ingenious design and development of components and features which are like to be accepted by 90% of world-wide customers. GDM heavily depends on Global Standards of Design focusing on highly standardised methods and processes of manufacture or development. It adopts plug-and-socket concepts with minimum adaptable joints or connections. Modularisation GDM requires product or solution to be split up into smallest possible individual identifiable entities. These entities will have
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b.

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limited individual functioning capability but they can become powerful and robust in combination with other modules. c. d. Minimum Customisation GDM mandates only minimum changes or modifications to suit individual customers.

Maximum Micro Structuring GDM encourages splitting of the Product Modules further into much smaller entity identifiable more through characteristics rather than application features. These Microbial Entities are standardised even across Multiple Modules. Application of these Microbial Entities rest within multiple Projects or Products or even as add-ons to suit customer needs later. 14.3.2 Special Features of GDM In addition to the features discussed above, some of the special features of GDM are A global presence with a knowledge of the local language and culture (it helps in better understanding of customer requirements) A global access implying that the organisation has access to resources of varying costs (it helps in delivering services to its customers at an optimal cost, typically a mix of costlier 'on-site' resources combined with cheaper 'offshore' resources) A global delivery model implying that potentially, a firm can work round the clock for its customer, handing off work from one location to another at the end of the 'day shift' Unimaginable speed of response and introduction Common pool of Microbial Components Largely independent of skill sets required at delivery stages Highly automated processes Quality Assurance as a concurrent rather than a controlled Process Near-Shore development, manufacture and delivery for better logistics Mapping of economical zones rather than geographic zones Continuous floating of virtual inventory to save time and efforts

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Self Assessment Questions True or False? 4. The Global Delivery Model is adopted by an industry or business such that it has a capability to plan design, deliver and serve to any customers or clients worldwide with speed, accuracy, economy and reliability. 5. Unimaginable Speeds of Response and Introduction is one of the special features of SCMo.

14.4 Summary
After going through this unit you would have understood the key elements of Project Management Plan and Global Delivery Model. Concepts have been explained in this unit in order to help you understand the key practical constraints within the industry and how to expand various project management concepts into comprehensive and effective Project Management Plan and Global Delivery Model. You also learnt how a typical plan can be drafted and structured.

14.5 Terminal Questions

1. Write down a brief outline of any assumed project management plan. 2. Explain in detail GDM and its key features.

14.6 Answers to SAQs and TQs

14.6.1 Answers to Self Assessment Questions 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. True False True True False

14.6.2 Answers to Terminal Questions 1. Refer to section 14.3 2. Refer to section 14.4

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