Ismail CeylanKutay Kocayurt Martin Konicek

What is a projectTemporary activity with start date and end date

What is project managementPlaning , managing resources

Time, money, people, equipment, services

PM triangleChange of one constraintaffects the others

Project phasesDesignImplementationMaintenance

Design + PrototypingCreate a small prototype and show it to users!

Do it early - in the design phaseDo this iteratively

ImplementationMany methodologies: waterfall, iterativeIncludes everything: data conversion, user training,…

MaintenanceRemember after acceptance the project is not over!

Users will have a lot of commentsMaintenance costs often are higher than development costs

Project manager

Project managerResponsible for planning and execution of whole project

Project managerResponsible for planning and execution of whole project

Must have critical thinkingSee potential problemsIdentify unstated assumptions

Resolves interpersonal conflictsMakes communication between team members easy

Project managerResponsible for Risk management

Minimize uncertainity

Methodology

Gantt chart – planning

COCOMO - estimatingCOnstructive COst MOdel Estimation of time + money based on

Size of the project (Lines Of Code)Complexity of the projectSkill of the team

Basic COCOMOIntermediate COCOMODetailed COCOMO

COCOMO - estimatingDistinguishes 3 classes of projects:

Organic projectsSmall, simple, not so tight requirements

Semi-detached projectsMix of levels of complexity, mix of rigidness of

requirementsEmbedded projects

Tight HW, SW and operational constraints

COCOMO - estimatingEffort in person-months E=a*(KLOC)b

Development time D=c*(E)d People needed P=E/D

Coefficients depend on the type of project:

Project a b c d

Organic 2.4 1.05 2.5 0.38

Semi-detached 3.0 1.12 2.5 0.35

Embedded 3.6 1.20 2.5 0.32

COCOMO - estimatingExample: 8200 lines text editor

E = a*(KLOC)b =2.4*(8.2)1.05 = 21.9 person-monthsD= c*(E)d=2.5*(21.9)0.38 = 8.1 monthsP= E/D= 21.9 / 8.1 » 3 persons

Project teamUse small teams (up to 8)Skill: good developer can be up to 10 times more

effective than a bad oneTeam players realizing the overall goal are important

The clientDefines the projectMonitors the evolution of the projectApproves modifications to agreed-on constraints

Typical case: “We need more time”Making good relations with the client helps get future

projectsWe want to do many projects for this client, not just one

The client - communicationPrepareHave clear objectives for the meetingDefine priorities

The client - communicationClarify client’s idea to the maximumUse client’s language, don’t get too technical!Consider alternatives and compromises – be flexibleShow client different views (some features are

unnecessary)Clients don’t know what they want but they want it soon

The client - communicationPrepare to listen to the clientDon’t interrupt speaking client!Be open, client might actually have clever ideasRespect pausesGive feedback to make future meetings more effectiveBe humbleDemonstrate real interest