Project Management Models
a Disambiguation Presentation
and ... What-To-Do-Next
Sunil Beta
Duration: (30 +/- 15) mins
Prerequisites
- came in for the first presentation
Some background on Software Project Management
Read some material on Projects.Text-Reading
formal knowledge of the english language
(page 1)
Target Audience
- Those who attended the first presentation [OPTIONAL]
- Shyam, Firoza [REQUIRED]
Overview of the Presentation
- What is Project(N) Management(V)?
- Project [latin -> english] from projectile (an objective)
- Management (combined act of controlling and judging)
(page 2)
Common Misconceptions on Project Management
- Financial Management
- accounting people do this
- Systems Management
- SADs do this, SAP does it too
- Marketing Management
- Branding, Advertising, for the Blackshirts
- Services Management
- Professional Services Management
(page 3)
What "Project Management" are we talking about
- a subsection of "Services Management"
All Marketing, System Management Textbooks talk about a consumption cycle
- Initiate
- Plan
- Produce
- Manage
- Consume
(page 4)
Who does what?
The Marketing Guys (a.k.a. BizDev people) do
The Project Leader does
The Developers Do
The Project Leader does
The Customer
(page 5)
Factors affecting Project Planning
- Time
- Affects Resource Availability
- cannot be consumed like a resource
- Available Resources
- People
- Budgeted Hardware
- Logistics
- Capabilities
- Focus, Direction and Institutional Objectives
- This is the Management(N) team's discretion
(page 6)
When you Plan
- Know how much Time you have
- If you watch Star Trek, Listen to Scotty, Never tell anyone how quickly it can be done
- Know WHO will receive the output of your work
- If this guy's neurons are fried, cat * > /dev/null
- Plan to Monitor your project daily
- You miss ONE task, you build up an ocean of a missed project
(page 7)
First known management timeline
- 800 B.C. - Roman Aquaducts
- 0 A.D. - Roman Empire at its peak
- Project Management yet to be created
- 140 A.D. - Holy Roman Emperor Hadrian Builds wall in Britain
- in 14 years, holds it for 40 years
Doubts on Egyptian Technology and Management
- Egyptian Pyramids of Gizeh were built over generations (>2)
- Of Three Great Pharoahs
- The Plans have not yet been recovered
- and are thought not to exist
- Changed vertex angles more than twice
- Unlikely they were planned
- Timed at 1500 B.C.
(page 8)
Who wanted to do this first?
- The Military
- Move Peope Fast
- remember the German BlitzKreig?
- Time is the key, Speed wins projects, wars and anything else
- Be Fast not 'Quick' (read the dictionary please)
- Hierarchical Project organization structures are easier to use
- because humans are pack animals
- civilan decision making takes interdeminate time
- later formalized as the 'Delphi' technique
- Romans moved troops quickly (hence all roads led to Rome)
- What do we learn to do?
- Learn to deploy software fast
- faster than your competitor [at the very least]
(page 9)
An Example ...
- The US Railroads are not state controlled
- from the time the west was wild
- British Colonies used controlled
- Transportation (Railroads)
- Communication Systems
- used stronger Management Models
(page 10)
Disaster Management
is NOT Risk Management
is Responding to the Risk that *happened*
- eg: (after the plane's crashed)
is part of Project Management
Plan what is to be done when things go wrong
(page 11)
Project Management @ Codito
is NOT about creating _new_ technology
is about managing how to deal with any project like
- Flying Down to Customer Support ...
- Deploying Linux on a box
- Installing a Drive on VxWorks
- Creating a Driver
- Optimizing a Compiler
- /* do you get the picture? */
(page 12)
Read this ...
- Microsoft Secrets, (Michael Cusamano)
- Why Make one Point of Project Documentation
- I Sing the Body Electronic
- on the pre-Encarta fiasco
- Chaos, (James Gleick)
- What we now call everything
Watch this ...
- A Bridge Too Far (classic war movie)
- Real WW2 Disaster because of ignoring Risks
- Cost 35,000 lives and 135 aircraft
- and Field Marshall Montgomery his badge
- The Longest Day
- The Normandy invasion
- Moral: Brooks' law doesn't hold good against cannons
(page 13)
Risks
All projects are affected by these risks
- Not _knowing_ your end Consumer's capabilities
- Unsure about Hardware requirements
- Any Implicit conditions
- TIME
(page 14)
Start out
- By creating TWiki entries for projects we are _NOW_ working on
- Comment on Documentation and Material available
- Use gray cells a.k.a. neurons in your cranial cavity
- if you're reading this page and you know this ain't the first page, it's good enough
(page 15)
The Next Presentation (03)
- is on how "Project Management" got formalized
- and _NOT_ about Barry Boehm spiralling his way through
(page 16)