Managing Project Scope

Five Process Phases of Project Management

• Initiate

• Plan

• Execute

• Monitor and Control

• Close

Project Initiation

• The process of authorizing a new or continuing an existing project

• Four initiation activities:1. Identifying projects

2. Classifying and ranking projects

3. Selecting projects

4. Establishing the project charter

1. Identifying Information Systems Development Projects

• Identification can be made by:

– Top management or chief executive officer• Strategic focus

– Steering committee• Cross-functional focus

– User department(s)• Tactical focus

– IT development group or IT management• System integration focus

Two Basic Project Planning Approaches

• Isolated – attempts to solve individual organizational problems

– What procedure (application program, technology, process) is required to solve this particular problem as it exists today?

– Dependent on current organizational infrastructure

Two Basic Project Planning Approaches (cont.)

• Planned – systematic identification of project that will provide solutions today and into the future

– What will satisfy the decision-making needs or business processes of the enterprise today and well into the future?

– Independent of current infrastructure constraints

Corporate Strategic Planning

• An ongoing process that defines the mission, objectives, and strategies of an organization

• Required if project selection is going to be successful

• Three-step process– The current organization must be reviewed and understood

– Management decides on future direction

– Strategic plan is developed for transition from current to future state

Strategic Planning

Requirements:

• Mission Statement– Statement that makes it clear what business the company is in

• Objective statements– Series of statements that express an organization’s qualitative and

quantitative goals for reaching a desired future position– Sometimes call Critical Success Factors or Corporate Values

• Competitive Strategy – Method by which an organization attempts to achieve its mission and

objectives

Generic Competitive Strategy Strategy Description

Low-Cost Producer This strategy reflects competing in an industry on the basis of product or service cost to the consumer. For example, in the automobile industry, the South Korea-produced Kia is a product line that competes on the basis of low cost.

Product Differentiation This strategy reflects capitalizing on a key product criterion requested by the market (e.g., high quality, style, performance, roominess). In the automobile industry, many manufactures are trying to differentiate their products on the basis of quality (e.g., “At Ford, quality is job one.”).

Product Focus or Niche This strategy is similar to both the low-cost and differentiation strategies, but with a much narrower market focus. For example, a niche market in the automobile industry is the convertible sports car market. Within this market, some manufactures may employ a low-cost strategy while others may employ a differentiation strategy based on performance or style.

Planning

• An orderly means of assessing the needs of an organization and defining the systems and technologies that will best satisfy those needs

Planning Methods

• Top-Down– Generic information systems planning methodology that

attempts to gain a broad understanding of the information system needs of the entire organization

• Bottom-Up– Generic information systems planning methodology that

identifies and defines information systems development projects based upon solving operational business problems or taking advantage of some business opportunities

Classifying And Ranking Projects

• Completed by top management, steering committee, business units, or information systems development groups

• Criteria varies among organizations

Possible Evaluation Criteria When Classifying And Ranking Projects

Evaluation Criteria Description

Value Chain Analysis Extent to which activities add value and costs when developing products and/or services

Strategic Alignment Extent to which the project is viewed as helping the organization achieve its strategic objectives and long-term goals

Potential Benefits Extent to which the project is viewed as improving profits, customer service, and so forth and the duration of these benefits

Resource Availability Amount and type of resources the project requires and their availability

Project Size / Duration Number of individuals and the length of time needed to complete the project

Technical Difficulty / Risks

Level of technical difficulty to successfully complete the project within given time and resource constraints

Business Case

• Justification that presents the economic, technical, operational, schedule, legal and contractual, and political factors influencing a proposed information systems project

Selected Feasibility Factors

• Economic

• Technical

• Operational

• Schedule

• Legal and contractual

• Political

Economic Feasibility

• Identify the financial benefits and costs associated with a development project

– Benefits• Tangible or intangible

– Costs• Tangible or intangible

Benefits

• Tangible – benefit derived from the creation of a project that can be measured in dollars and with certainty

– Cost reduction and avoidance; error reduction; increased flexibility; increased speed of activity; improvement of management planning and control; opening new markets and increasing sales opportunities

• Intangible – benefit derived from the creation of a project that cannot be easily measured in dollars or with certainty

– Competitive necessity; increased organizational flexibility; increased employee morale; promotion of organizational learning and understanding; more timely information

Cost Types

• Tangible cost– Cost associated with an information system that can be measured in

dollars and with certainty

• Intangible cost– Cost associated with an information system that cannot be easily

measured in terms of dollars or with certainty

• Recurring cost– Cost resulting from the ongoing evolution and use of a system

• One-Time cost– Cost associated with project start-up and development or system start-

up

Cost-Benefit Analysis

• The use of a variety of analysis techniques for determining the financial feasibility of a project

– Present Value

– Discount Rate

– Net Present Value

– Break-even Analysis

Technical Feasibility

• Process of assessing the development organization's ability to construct a proposed system

Technical Project Risk Assessment Factors

• Project Size

• Project Structure

• Development Group

• User Group

Risk Assessment Matrix

Potential Technical Risks

• Failure to attain expected benefits from the project

• Inaccurate project cost estimates

• Inaccurate project duration estimates

• Failure to achieve adequate system performance levels

• Failure to adequately integrate the new system with existing hardware, software, or organizational procedures

Operational Feasibility

• Process of assessing the degree to which a proposed system will solve business problems or takes advantage of business opportunities

– What impact will the proposed system have on the organization’s structures and procedures?

Schedule Feasibility

• Process of assessing the degree to which the potential time frame and completion dates for all major activities within a project meet organizational deadlines and constraints for affecting change

Legal and Contractual Feasibility

• Process of assessing potential legal and contractual ramifications due to the construction of a system

Political Feasibility

• Process of evaluating how key stakeholders within the organization view the proposed system

Project Selection

Popular Selection Methods

• Value Chain Analysis– The process of analyzing an organization's activities to

determine where value is added to products and/or services and the costs incurred for doing so

• Multi-Criteria Analysis– A project selection method that uses weighted scoring for a

variety of criteria to contrast alternative projects or system features

Value Chain Analysis

Multi-Criteria Analysis

Establish a Project Charter

• A short document prepared for the customer during project initiation that describes what the project will deliver and outlines generally at a high level all work required to complete the project

• Typically contains:– Project title and date of authorization

– Project manager name and contact information

– Customer name and contact information

– Projected start and completion dates

– Key stakeholders, project roles, and responsibilities

– Project objectives and description

– Key assumptions or approach

– Signature section for key stakeholders

Project Scope Planning

• Process of progressively elaborating and documenting the project work plan in order to effectively manage a project

• Occurs once a project has been formally selected for development

Project Scope Planning Activities

1. Project workbook created

2. Project scope statement written

3. Baseline project plan is developed

Project Workbook

• Serves as the central repository for all project-related documents and information

• Contains– all project correspondence, inputs, outputs, deliverables,

procedures, and standards established by the project team

• Workbook can be paper or electronic

Project Scope Statement

• Document prepared for the customer that describes what the project will deliver and outlines generally at a high level all work required to complete the project

• Addresses: – What problem or opportunity does the project address?– What are the quantifiable results to be achieved?– What needs to be done?– How will success be measured?– How will the end of the project be identified?

Baseline Project Plan

• Documents the best estimate of a project's scope, benefits, costs, risks, and resource requirements

• Four sections:– Introduction– System Description– Feasibility Assessment– Management Issues

Baseline Project Plan Introduction

• Provides a brief overview of the entire document and outlines a recommended course of action for the project

Baseline Project Plan System Description

• Documents possible alternative solutions in addition to the one deemed most appropriate for the given situation

Baseline Project PlanFeasibility Assessment

• Project costs and benefits, technical difficulties, and other such concerns are outlined

• Gantt charts and network diagrams illustrate high-level project schedules

Baseline Project PlanManagement Issues

• Documents management concerns related to the project

• Typical issues include:– Team configuration and management– Communication plan– Project standards and procedures– Other project-specific topics

Project Scope Definition

• Process of subdividing the major project deliverables – as identified in the project scope statement – into smaller, more manageable activities in order to make more accurate cost, task duration, and resource estimates

Project Scope Verification

• Process of obtaining formal acceptance of a project’s scope from the project stakeholders

Project Scope Change Control

• Formal process for assuring that only agreed- upon changes are made to the project’s scope

• Submitted change request should address:

– Project specifications

– Project schedules

– Budgets

– Resources

Scope Creep

• Progressive, uncontrolled increase in project scope

Questions?