A gantt chart can be used to track informal communication paths.

CHAPTER 3 (APPLIES TO WEEK 3)

Chapter Objectives

After studying this chapter, you should be able to:

· Describe the skills required to be an effective project manager.

· List and describe the skills and activities of a project manager during project initiation, project planning, project execution, and project closedown.

· Explain what is meant by critical path scheduling and describe the process of creating Gantt charts and network diagrams.

· Explain how commercial project management software packages can be used to assist in representing and managing project schedules.

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Here, we focus on the systems analyst’s role as project manager of information systems projects. Throughout the SDLC, the project manager is responsible for initiating, planning, executing, and closing down the systems development project. Figure 3-1 illustrates these four functions.

We use two fictional companies—Pine Valley Furniture and Hoosier Burger—to help illustrate key SDLC concepts. Icons appear in the margins to make references to these companies easy to spot while you read. The next section gives you background on Pine Valley Furniture, a manufacturing company. Next, we describe the project manager’s role and the project management process. The subsequent section examines techniques for reporting project plans using Gantt charts and network diagrams. At the end, we discuss commercially available project management software that a systems analyst can use in a wide variety of project management activities.

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FIGURE 3-1

SDLC.

Pine Valley Furniture Company Background

Pine Valley Furniture (PVF) Company manufactures high-quality wood furniture and distributes it to retail stores within the United States. Its product lines include dinette sets, stereo cabinets, wall units, living room furniture, and bedroom furniture. In the early 1980s, PVF’s founder, Alex Schuster, started to make and sell custom furniture in his garage. Alex managed invoices and kept track of customers by using file folders and a filing cabinet. By 1984, business expanded and Alex had to rent a warehouse and hire a part-time bookkeeper. PVF’s product line had multiplied, sales volume had doubled, and staff had increased to fifty employees. By 1990, PVF moved into its third and present location. Because of the added complexity of the company’s operations, Alex reorganized the company into the following functional areas:

· Manufacturing, which was further subdivided into three separate functions—fabrication, assembling, and finishing

· Sales

· Orders

· Accounting

· Purchasing

Alex and the heads of the functional areas established manual information systems, such as accounting ledgers and file folders, which worked well for a time. Eventually, however, PVF selected and installed a minicomputer to automate invoicing, accounts receivable, and inventory control applications.

When the applications were first computerized, each separate application had its own individual data files tailored to the needs of each functional area. As is typical in such situations, the applications closely resembled the manual systems on which they were based. Three computer applications at PVF are depicted in Figure 3-2: order filling, invoicing, and payroll. In the late 1990s, PVF formed a task force to study the possibility of moving to a database approach. After a preliminary study, management decided to convert its information systems to such an approach. The company upgraded its minicomputer and implemented a database management system. By the time we caught up with PVF, it had successfully designed and populated a company-wide database, and had converted its applications to work with the database. However, PVF is continuing to grow at a rapid rate, putting pressure on its current application systems.

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FIGURE 3-2

Three computer applications at Pine Valley Furniture: order filling, invoicing, and payroll.

Source: Hoffer, Ramesh, and Topi, 2011.

The computer-based applications at PVF support its business processes. When customers order furniture, their orders must be processed appropriately: furniture must be built and shipped to the right customer and the right invoice mailed to the right address. Employees have to be paid for their work. Given these tasks, most of PVF’s computer-based applications are located in the accounting and financial areas. The applications include order filling, invoicing, accounts receivable, inventory control, accounts payable, payroll, and general ledger. At one time, each application had its own data files. For example, PVF had a customer master file, an inventory master file, a backorder file, an inventory pricing file, and an employee master file. The order filling system uses data from three files: customer master, inventory master, and backorder. With PVF’s new centralized database, data are organized around entities, or subjects, such as customers, invoices, and orders.

Pine Valley Furniture Company, like many firms, decided to develop its application software in-house; that is, it hired staff and bought computer hardware and software necessary to build application software suited to its own needs. Although PVF continues to grow at a rapid rate, market conditions are becoming extremely competitive, especially with the advent of the Internet and the World Wide Web. Let’s see how a project manager plays a key role in developing a new information system for PVF.

Managing the Information Systems Project

Project management is an important aspect of the development of information systems and a critical skill for a systems analyst. The focus of project management is to ensure that system development projects meet customer expectations and are delivered within budget and time constraints.

The project manager is a systems analyst with a diverse set of skills—management, leadership, technical, conflict management, and customer relationship—who is responsible for initiating, planning, executing, and closing down a project. As a project manager, your environment is one of continual change and problem solving. In some organizations, the project manager is a senior systems analyst who “has been around the block” a time or two. In others, both junior and senior analysts are expected to take on this role, managing parts of a project or actively supporting a more senior colleague who is assuming this role. Understanding the project management process is a critical skill for your future success.

Project manager

A systems analyst with a diverse set of skills—management, leadership, technical, conflict management, and customer relationship—who is responsible for initiating, planning, executing, and closing down a project.

Creating and implementing successful projects requires managing resources, activities, and tasks needed to complete the information systems project. A project is a planned undertaking of a series of related activities, having a beginning and an end, to reach an objective. The first question you might ask yourself is, Where do projects come from? After considering all the different things that you could be asked to work on within an organization, the next question may be, How do I know which projects to work on? The ways in which each organization answers these questions vary.

Project

A planned undertaking of related activities, having a beginning and an end, to reach an objective.

In the rest of this section, we describe the process followed by Juanita Lopez and Chris Martin during the development of Pine Valley Furniture’s Purchasing Fulfillment System. Juanita works in the purchasing department, and Chris is a systems analyst. image3

Juanita observed problems with the way orders were processed and reported: sales growth had increased the workload for the manufacturing department, and the current systems no longer adequately supported the tracking of orders.

It was becoming more difficult to track orders and get the right furniture and invoice to the right customers. Juanita contacted Chris, and together they developed a system that corrected these purchasing department problems.

The first deliverable , or end product, produced by Chris and Juanita was a system service request (SSR), a standard form PVF uses for requesting systems development work. Figure 3-3 shows an SSR for purchasing a fulfillment system. The form includes the name and contact information of the person requesting the system, a statement of the problem, and the name and contact information of the liaison and sponsor.

Deliverable

An end product in a phase of the SDLC.

This request was then evaluated by the Systems Priority Board of PVF. Because all organizations have limited time and resources, not all requests can be approved. The board evaluates development requests in relation to the business problems or opportunities the system will solve or create. It also considers how the proposed project fits within the organization’s information systems architecture and long-range development plans. The review board selects those projects that best meet overall organizational goals. In the case of the Purchasing Fulfillment System request, the board found merit in the request and approved a more detailed feasibility study . A feasibility study, conducted by the project manager, involves determining whether the information system makes sense for the organization from an economic and operational standpoint. The study takes place before the system is constructed. Figure 3-4 is a graphical view of the steps followed during the project initiation of the Purchasing Fulfillment System.

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FIGURE 3-3

System service request for purchasing fulfillment with name and contact information of the person requesting the system, a statement of the problem, and the name and contact information of the liaison and sponsor.

Feasibility study

Determines whether the information system makes sense for the organization from an economic and operational standpoint.

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FIGURE 3-4

A graphical view of the five steps followed during the project initiation of the purchasing fulfillment system.

In summary, systems development projects are undertaken for two primary reasons: to take advantage of business opportunities and to solve business problems. Taking advantage of an opportunity might mean providing an innovative service to customers through the creation of a new system. For example, PVF may want to create a Web page so that customers can easily access its catalog and place orders at any time. Solving a business problem could involve modifying how an existing system processes data so that more accurate or timely information is provided to users. For example, a company such as PVF may create a password-protected intranet site that contains important announcements and budget information.

Projects are not always initiated for the rational reasons (taking advantage of business opportunities or solving business problems) previously stated. For example, in some instances organizations and government undertake projects to spend resources, attain or pad budgets, keep people busy, or help train people and develop their skills. Our focus here is not on how and why organizations identify projects but on the management of projects once they have been identified.

Once a potential project has been identified, an organization must determine the resources required for its completion by analyzing the scope of the project and determining the probability of successful completion. After getting this information, the organization can then determine whether taking advantage of an opportunity or solving a particular problem is feasible within time and resource constraints. If deemed feasible, a more detailed project analysis is then conducted.

As you will see, determining the size, scope, and resource requirements for a project are just a few of the many skills that a project manager must possess. A project manager is often referred to as a juggler keeping aloft many balls, which reflect the various aspects of a project’s development, as depicted in Figure 3-5.

To successfully orchestrate the construction of a complex information system, a project manager must have interpersonal, leadership, and technical skills. Table 3-1 lists the project manager’s common activities and skills. Note that many of the skills are related to personnel or general management, not simply technical skills. Table 3-1 shows that not only does an effective project manager have varied skills, but he or she is also the most instrumental person to the successful completion of any project.

The remainder will focus on the project management process, which involves four phases:

Project management

A controlled process of initiating, planning, executing, and closing down a project.

1. Initiating the project

2. Planning the project

3. Executing the project

4. Closing down the project

Several activities must be performed during each of these four phases. Following this formal project management process greatly increases the likelihood of project success.

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FIGURE 3-5

The art of project management.

TABLE 3-1:

Common Activities and Skills of a Project Manager

Activity

Description

Skill

Leadership

Influencing the activities of others toward the attainment of a common goal through the use of intelligence, personality, and abilities

Communication; liaison between management, users, and developers; assigning activities; monitoring progress

Management

Getting projects completed through the effective utilization of resources

Defining and sequencing activities; communicating expectations; assigning resources to activities; monitoring outcomes

Customer relations

Working closely with customers to ensure project deliverables meet expectations

Interpreting system requests and specifications; site preparation and user training; contact point for customers

Technical problem solving

Designing and sequencing activities to attain project goals

Interpreting system requests and specifications; defining activities and their sequence; making trade-offs between alternative solutions; designing solutions to problems

Conflict management

Managing conflict within a project team to ensure that conflict is not too high or too low

Problem solving; smoothing out personality differences; compromising; goal setting

Team management

Managing the project team for effective team performance

Communication within and between teams; peer evaluations; conflict resolution; team building; self-management

Risk and change management

Identifying, assessing, and managing the risks and day-to-day changes that occur during a project

Environmental scanning; risk and opportunity identification and assessment; forecasting; resource redeployment

Initiating the Project

During project initiation the project manager performs several activities that assess the size, scope, and complexity of the project, and establishes procedures to support subsequent activities. Depending on the project, some initiation activities may be unnecessary and some may be more involved. The types of activities you will perform when initiating a project are summarized in ​Figure 3-6 and are described next. HYPERLINK "https://jigsaw.vitalsource.com/books/9781323463420/epub/OPS/xhtml/fileP7000495438000000000000000000B2B.xhtml" \l "P7000495438000000000000000000BE3"

Project initiation

The first phase of the project management process in which activities are performed to assess the size, scope, and complexity of the project and to establish procedures to support later project activities.

1. Establishing the project initiation team. This activity involves organizing an initial core of project team members to assist in accomplishing the project initiation activities. For example, during the Purchasing Fulfillment System project at PVF, Chris Martin was assigned to support the purchasing department. It is a PVF policy that all initiation teams consist of at least one user representative, in this case Juanita Lopez, and one member of the IS development group. Therefore, the project initiation team consisted of Chris and Juanita; Chris was the project manager.

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FIGURE 3-6

Six project initiation activities.

2. Establishing a relationship with the customer. A thorough understanding of your customer builds stronger partnerships and higher levels of trust. At PVF, management has tried to foster strong working relationships between business units (such as purchasing) and the IS development group by assigning a specific individual to work as a liaison between both groups. Because Chris had been assigned to the purchasing unit for some time, he was already aware of some of the problems with the existing purchasing systems. PVF’s policy of assigning specific individuals to each business unit helped to ensure that both Chris and Juanita were comfortable working together prior to the initiation of the project. Many organizations use a similar mechanism for establishing relationships with customers.

3. Establishing the project initiation plan. This step defines the activities required to organize the initiation team while it is working to define the scope of the project. Chris’s role was to help Juanita translate her business requirements into a written request for an improved information system. This task required the collection, analysis, organization, and transformation of a lot of information. Because Chris and Juanita were already familiar with each other and their roles within a development project, they next needed to define when and how they would communicate, define deliverables and project steps, and set deadlines. Their initiation plan included agendas for several meetings. These steps eventually led to the creation of their system service request (SSR) form.