Description
Objective
To
- develop an overall time schedule for the project,
in a way that
- defines the overall development approach for the project,
- selects the appropriate template,
- produces a customized work breakdown structure (task list) specific to the project,
- creates a range estimate for the target completion date, and the associated total cost of the project,
- identifies the major Project Board control points,
- identifies the Client, development and operations resources required to carry out the project,
- identifies hardware, software, contractor and training resources required to carry out the project,
so that
- a schedule is available to guide the project and to use as a benchmark by which progress on the project can be monitored and controlled.
Overview
Once the objective and scope are decided, it is necessary to determine what activities are required to be carried out to meet the objective. The dependencies between these activities can then be determined, which in turn allows resources and timescales to be estimated.
This needs to be done for the whole project (project plan), and then in more detail for the next stage of the project (stage plan). This step is concerned with the overall project. The project schedule is not intended to direct resources to specific activities on certain dates.
The ideal situation is to have a proven process on which to base the tasks for the project. This may be a standard IT process or an outside process. It may be necessary to build a process from a series of kernels (common steps).
Once a process is chosen, this should then be customized to the particular needs of the project.
If a proven process is not available, it will be necessary to develop a process for use on the project which conforms to the stage, step, task construct.
Once this has been done, it is necessary to estimate the resources, both client and technical, required for the project. This should be expressed by resource type or role (e.g., Client Accounts Clerk, Systems Analyst, Analyst Programmer) rather than by individual. It should cover all personnel resources required, both full and part time.
The requirements for other types of resource, such as office space and equipment, should also be determined. A time line and cost estimate for the project can then be developed.
The development of the project schedule is an iterative activity during Project Initiation. The other steps carried out in Project Initiation will affect the schedule.
The project plan applies to large, multi-stage projects. For medium sized, single stage projects it is not necessary to create a project plan. The detailed stage plan will define the whole project from beginning to end.
Task .010 Determine Project Approach
The purpose of the project schedule is to provide an overall structure to the project. The top-down stage and step estimates will be validated and revised as and when each stage schedule is produced with detailed bottom-up estimates.
Review the Selecting and Adapting Guidelines within the Template section of the LBMS Process HyperGuide to assist in determining the appropriate template. Additionally, review the Concepts section for a specific template.
Either;
- Select a process template from the Process Library whose selection criteria most closely match the project characteristics and risk profile,or
- Select the "Basic Work Breakdown Structure" in the Process Library and expand by including predefined kernels and creating customized steps and tasks.
Software Guidelines
Task .020 Determine Project Stages and Steps
Review the stages and steps from the chosen process template.
Based upon the project objective, scope, constraints and assumptions, tune the project work breakdown structure to:
- Add new stages and/or steps,
- Remove unnecessary stages and/or steps,
- Merge stages and/or steps,
Removing stages and steps will probably increase project risk. Document the risks and identify proposed countermeasures.
Review, and revise as appropriate, the predefined stage and step objective and overview statements.
Create objective statements, using the "To, in a way that, so that..." construct, for each custom built stage and step.
Create stage and step overviews. The stage overview should include a brief rationale for the proposed stage and step selection and sequencing. Record all assumptions and issues identified.
Review and revise the products to be produced by each stage. Start at the end of the project with the final deliverable, and work forwards to the beginning. Describe the objective, outline and content of each product. Validate the final product against the project objective. For each stage product, break it down in to interim or step level products. Again, describe the objective, outline and content of the step products. This exercise will confirm that the primary project deliverables are clearly defined and understood.
Software Guidelines
Task .030 Determine Stage and Step Product Workflow
Chart the sequence of stages and steps to reflect the intrinsic and architectural dependencies inherent in the project.
An output of one step will be the input to another. Some inputs may be sourced from outside the project. These External Inputs (e.g., Standards, Project Initiation report of another project, etc.) must be identified. The project products and external inputs will primarily determine the step dependencies.
Define the dependencies, and dependency type, between the steps. Steps within a stage are not necessarily finish-start, but may be in parallel or phased. Stages may also run in parallel with one another. Do not specify dependencies at the stage level.
Ensure that all dependencies with other projects are identified. Examine other Project Initiation Reports to assess inter-project dependencies.
Record all assumptions and issues identified.
Software Guidelines
Task .040 Estimate Duration
Project schedule estimates will be determined as duration or elapsed time. Determine the duration for each step. It is recommended that you estimate in units of a day. Step level estimates are unlikely to be less than one day. When estimating duration, include expected non-productive and non-effective time.
Alternatively, produce an initial top-down estimate for the each stage and apportion to the component steps.
It may be desirable to express the stage and step estimates as ranges, namely best case and worst case. In this case create a single estimate as above and then extrapolate the best and worst cases. Document with supporting assumptions.
Software Guidelines
Task .050 Establish Resource Requirements
When estimating duration, define an initial requirement for resources. For the project schedule, it is sufficient to estimate the number of each type of resource required, rather than specific people, e.g., 2 Programmers. Concentrate on identifying the resource types who will either be part of the project team or who will have a significant impact on the project.
Document the initial resource requirements, since if these assumptions are invalid (e.g., Step 020, duration 30 days, resource requirement 2 Programmers) then the step estimates will need to be revised. Documenting assumptions also facilitates recreation of the estimates, and "what if analysis".
Convert the number of resource types in to a chargeable resource equivalent. This is a function of the number of chargeable resource types and their assigned time (including overheads of non-productive and non-effective time). Differentiate between Internal Staff Resource Equivalent and External Staff Resource Equivalent. For example, a step requiring 1 programmer assigned 50%, 2 contract programmers assigned 100%, and a DBA assigned for 25% of the time will have an Internal Resource Equivalent of 0.5+0.25 or 0.75, and an External Resource Equivalent of 1.0+1.0, or 2.0. This resource equivalent will be used to calculate initial project costs.
Also identify other resources required for the project e.g. equipment, accommodation etc.
The estimating and initial resourcing tasks as interdependent and will be done interactively.
Software Guidelines
Task .060 Prepare Project Schedule
Develop an initial schedule of project activities.
Determine the proposed project start date and use the scheduler to calculate the stage and step start and end dates.
Validate these dates against the project constraints. Adjust scope, dependency and resources until a satisfactory balance is achieved. Revise any assumptions that have been modified.
Software Guidelines
Task .070 Prepare Project Budget
Estimate the internal and external staff costs by step. Staff costs are a function of step duration, resource equivalent and chargeable rate.
Estimate non-staff costs by step:
- Hardware
- Software
- Project Training,for the project team to develop the application
- Installation Training, for clients, operations, etc. to use the application
- Miscellaneous, includes supplies, copying and printing, accommodation, subsistence, travel, or other costs which cannot be classified above.
Aggregate the costs by stage.
Software Guidelines
Task .080 Create Project Schedule Products
Produce and collate the project schedule documents at stage and step level:
- WBS Description Report,
- Products Report,
- Project Costs Report,
- Gantt chart,
- PERT chart.
Software Guidelines
Task .090 Document Project Process Success Criteria
Determine how the success of the project process will be measured and record as a series of success criteria.
These will be used to measure the success of the process used on the project.
Task .100 Review Project Schedule
Conduct a product review of the Project Schedule and Budget to ensure that the scope meets the business needs and that all technical standards are met.
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