IT PROJECT MANAGEMENT

02 Jul IT PROJECT MANAGEMENT

IT Project management

10/24/2014 Homework 3 IS/ PM 430: Fundamentals of IT Project Management Homework 3 Complete the following exercises. Submit your work via D2L. I encourage

collaboration, but please submit your own work. r- 1′ l . __ IMPORTANT: Avoid plagiarism by using your own words, and citing sources as necessary. I x -r a.“ r 1.1″”

1. (30%) The following table is a very rough plan consisting of a list of activities, immediate predecessors, and duration estimates for a systems development project.

a. Draw a network diagram using the precedence diagramming method (PDM, also known as “activity on node”; see section 12.12 in Kerzner 1oth and 11th ed.) b. Calculate

the earliest start time (ES), earliest finish (EF), latest start (LS), latest finish (LF), and slack for each activity c. Identify the critical path for the project d.

The sponsor would like the project finished in no more than 30 weeks. Based on this plan, can it be done? Explain. Immediate Duration Estimate ActIVIty Predecessors

(weeks) 2. (25%) You are responsible for estimating the software development portion of a game development project. You are just beginning the project, and have not

yet done detailed requirements analysis. You decide to do a top-down approximation based on a very good game developed elsewhere, which required 8-16 expert

programmers over a duration of one calendar year (the number of programmers fluctuated during the project). You can invest only 1/10 of the amount that was invested in

that game, so assume your game will have 1/10 of the capacity. An expert has told you that the productivity of game developers varies widely, from 5-25 lines of code

(LOC) of per day (fully tested); this is the same productivity range achieved for the other game. a. Provide an estimated range in LOC (e.g., x y LOC) for the

software size of the game to be developed. Show your work. To help you calculate the available capacity of a programmer in a calendar year, the Human Resources

Department has told you to assume 52 weeks x 5 working days per week, minus the following unavailable days based on the yearly history for the average programmer in

the company: 0 Vacation (15 working days unavailable) 0 Sick days (10 working days unavailable) 0 Paid holidays (10 working days unavailable) 0 Professional

development (5 working days unavailable) b. Use Boehms COCOMO ll formula as discussed in the Roetzheim article to estimate a range for this projects programming

effort in person-months: E = 3.13 X (KLOC A 1.072) c. Use Boehms formula as discussed in class to estimate a range for this projects duration in calendar months: C =

2.5 X (E ” 0.35) 3. (15%) Chapter 5 of Kerzner includes Brookss (1995, ch. 2) First Law: “Adding manpower to a late software project makes it later.” Answer the

following in your own words: a. Why did Brooks believe this? Explain fully (read ch. 2 of The Mythical Man-Month). b. What is your point of view on this issue? Explain

fully (provide reasons and/or cite examples). 4. (15%) Imagine that you are managing a project that has fallen behind schedule. There are no additional internal

resources available to the project. The customer insists that the existing scope must be kept. In your own words: a. Describe one project management strategy to make

up at least some of the schedule slippage. Identify the main risk or disadvantage associated with the strategy. b. Knowing you are taking steps to make up at least

some of the schedule slippage, the customer is willing to overlook the slippage that has already occurred. But the customer wants to know what you will do to reduce

the likelihood of schedule slippage in tasks that have not yet started. Describe at least one approach not already mentioned in part a, and identify its main risk or

disadvantage. Reference: Brooks, F. (1995). The mythical man-month: Essays on software engineering (2oth Anniversary ed.). Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley. Retrieved from

Safari Books Online via the DePaul library [ISBN: 0201835959]. httpss: / / d21. depaul. edu/ content/ enforced/ 3 2693 6-PM_430_702_0940/ assi gnments/ 43 Ohw3 .htm 1/

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Homework 3
IS/PM 430: Fundamentals of IT Project Management

Homework 3
Complete the following exercises. Submit your work via D2L. I encourage collaboration, but please submit your own work. IMPORTANT:  Avoid plagiarism by using your own

words, and citing sources as necessary.   1. (30%) The following table is a very rough plan consisting of a list of activities, immediate predecessors, and duration

estimates for a systems development project. a.  Draw a network diagram using the precedence diagramming method (PDM, also known as “activity on node”; see section

12.12 in Kerzner 10th and 11th ed.) b.  Calculate the earliest start time (ES), earliest finish (EF), latest start (LS), latest finish (LF), and slack for each

activity c.  Identify the critical path for the project d.  The sponsor would like the project finished in no more than 30 weeks. Based on this plan, can it be done?

Explain.

Activity A. Problem definition B. System analysis C. Design inputs & outputs D. Design database E. Develop input screens F. Develop output reports G. Develop database

H. Test system I. Deploy system

Immediate Predecessors None A B B C C D E, F, G H

Duration Estimate (weeks) 2 5 3 15 8 10 2 6 5

2. (25%) You are responsible for estimating the software development portion of a game development project. You are just beginning the project, and have not yet done

detailed requirements analysis. You decide to do a top‐down approximation based on a very good game developed elsewhere, which required 8‐16 expert programmers over a

duration of one calendar year (the number of programmers fluctuated during the project). You can invest only 1/10 of the amount that was invested in that game, so

assume your game will have 1/10 of the capacity. An expert has told you that the productivity of game developers varies widely, from 5‐25 lines of code (LOC) of per day

(fully tested); this is the same productivity range achieved for the other game. a.  Provide an estimated range in LOC (e.g., x ‐ y LOC) for the software size of the

game to be developed. Show your work. To help you calculate the available capacity of a programmer in a calendar year, the Human Resources Department has told you to

assume 52 weeks x 5 working days per week, minus the following unavailable days based on the yearly history for the average programmer in the company: Vacation (15

working days unavailable) Sick days (10 working days unavailable) Paid holidays (10 working days unavailable) Professional development (5 working days unavailable) b.

Use Boehms COCOMO II formula as discussed in the Roetzheim article to estimate a range for this projects programming effort in person‐months: E = 3.13 X (KLOC ^

1.072) c.  Use Boehms formula as discussed in class to estimate a range for this projects duration in calendar months: C = 2.5 X (E ^ 0.35) 3. (15%) Chapter 5 of

Kerzner includes Brookss (1995, ch. 2) First Law: “Adding manpower to a late software project makes it later.”  Answer the following in your own words: a.  Why did

Brooks believe this?  Explain fully (read ch. 2 of The Mythical Man‐Month). b.  What is your point of view on this issue? Explain fully (provide reasons and/or cite

examples). 4. (15%) Imagine that you are managing a project that has fallen behind schedule. There are no additional internal resources available to the project. The

customer insists that the existing scope must be kept. In your own words: a.  Describe one project management strategy to make up at least some of the schedule

slippage.  Identify the main risk or disadvantage associated with the strategy. b.  Knowing you are taking steps to make up at least some of the schedule slippage, the

customer is willing to overlook the slippage that has already occurred. But the customer wants to know what you will do to reduce the likelihood of schedule slippage

in tasks that have not yet started. Describe at least one approach not already mentioned in part a, and identify its main risk or disadvantage.

Reference: Brooks, F. (1995). The mythical man‐month: Essays on software engineering (20th Anniversary ed.). Reading, MA: Addison‐Wesley. Retrieved from Safari Books

Online via the DePaul library [ISBN: 0201835959].
httpss://d2l.depaul.edu/content/enforced/326936-PM_430_702_0940/assignments/430hw3.htm 1/2

10/24/2014

Homework 3

5. (15%) Assume you are about to plan a new IT project. Review carefully what Kerzner has to say in chapter 14 about “the 10 percent solution to project estimates”,

“life‐cycle costing”, and “logistics support” (what we have called MOOS‐Maintenance and Ongoing Operations Support). In your own words, how would the ideas from

Kerzner: a.  Affect your IT project estimates and how you allocate them by SDLC phase (analysis, design, etc.)? b.  Affect the resources you staff on this IT project?

c.  Affect how you will manage this IT project once it begins? 6. (Extra Credit).  Complete Kerzner problem 12‐29 (10th and 11th ed. only).

httpss://d2l.depaul.edu/content/enforced/326936-PM_430_702_0940/assignments/430hw3.htm

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