Managing Tasks in Microsoft Project 2000

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Software Project Management (CS615)

Lecture # 43

11. Application Tools

11.1

Managing Tasks in Microsoft Project 2000

Project management is a highly specia1ized and professional task. The chances

that a project can go haywire are very high because project management includes

numerous activities, such as planning, resource allocation, risk management, and

estimation. You can automate all these activities using a tool, Microsoft Project

2000. Activities such as project planning, resource and cost allocation, and project

tracking can be done easily using the various user-friendly features of Microsoft

Project 2000.

Microsoft Project 2000 is a popular project management tool that also enables you

to schedule and track your project plan. In Microsoft Project, every unit of work,

which consumes effort, time, and money, is called a task. You use Microsoft

Project to specify tasks and the expected duration of each task. Using the task-

related information, Microsoft Project prepares a project schedule. The schedule

displays a plan consisting of the start and end dates of each task.

In addition, it plots a pictorial Gantt chart. The Gantt chart view depicts the

extension of tasks across days along with the corresponding resources.

11.2

Creating Tasks

To manage a project efficiently, it is important to treat the project as a

decomposable entity that can be analyzed and resolved. A problem first needs to

be broken into units and then analyzed for solutions because it is always easier to

focus on micro level units. Microsoft Project enables you to perform these tasks.

It assumes that you have performed the WBS exercise for the project. The WBS

exercise helps you to come up with indivisible units called tasks. Therefore, a task

is an activity that has a defined start and end dates.

For example, XYZ Inc. has to develop an ERP project. They plan to complete the

project in five phases: analysis, design, development, testing, and implementation.

During the analysis phase, the WBS exercise is performed and a list of tasks is

defined for each of the subsequent phases. Using Microsoft Project, you can

create tasks for each phase, specify their duration, and assign resources to them.

You can also set relationships between tasks to identify the successor and

predecessor tasks.

11.3

Types of Tasks

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Microsoft Project enables you to create three types of tasks:

General

Milestone

Recurring

General Tasks

General tasks are the usual tasks that are independent and have no special

characteristics related to their duration or time. For example, Analysis is a general

task that XYZ Inc. plans to conduct. To create the Analysis task, you can use the

Project menu on the Microsoft Project worksheet. The steps to create the Analysis

task are as follows.

1. Click the Project menu.

This displays the Project menu that contains all the task-related commands. Figure

11.1 displays the Project menu.

Figure 11.1: Project Menu

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2. Click the Task information command on the Project menu.

This displays the Task Information dialog box where you specify the

details of the task being created.

As shown in Figure 11.2, the Task Information dialog box contains five

tabs: General, Predecessors, Resources, Advanced, and Notes. You use

the General tab of the Task Information dialog box because you need to

create a general task. The other tabs have specific purposes for each task.

For example, you can specify the details for a task by using the Advanced

tab. For the same task, you can use the Notes tab to add notes.

Figure 11.2: Different Tabs in the Task Information Box

Tip: In addition to the access key I, you can display the Task Information dialog

box by using the Shift and F2 shortcut key combination.

3. Type Analysis in the Name text box.

4. Specify the duration of the Analysis task as 5d in the Duration text box.

The duration of a task signifies the period for which the task lasts in a project

schedule. The start date is preset as the current date unless you enter a specific

date. The finish date for the task is displayed as five days after the current date

in the Gantt chart view. Duration can be specified in minutes, hours, days,

weeks, months, or years.

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If you are not sure of a confirmed duration, you can specify an estimated

duration of a task.

Figure 11.3 displays the Task Information dialog box where task details

are specified.

Figure 11.3: Task Information Dialog Box

Tip: To specify an estimated duration for a particular task, you can precede or

succeed the duration with a question mark. Alternately, you can select the

Estimated check box next to the Duration text box.

5. Click OK to confirm the details provided by you.

After a task is created, you; can specify the subtasks below it. For example,

Project scope determination is a subtask of the Analysis task. To specify the

subtask, you first create the Project scope determination subtask by using the

Task information dialog box. Next, you specify a summary designation for the

Analysis task. A summary designation indicates that the task represents a

parent task for a group of related tasks below it. The start date of a summary

task is the start date of the first subtask. Similarly, the finish date of the

summary task is the finish date of the last subtask under the summary task.

To designate Analysis as the summary task, perform the following steps:

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1. Create a task named Project scope determination using the Project

menu.

You need to create this task below the Analysis task.

2. Select the Project scope determination task.

3. Click the Indent icon on the Formatting toolbar.

The Indent icon is the green arrow pointing towards right. Clicking this icon

indents the selected task to the right. Notice in Figure 11.4 that Microsoft

Project formats the summary task in bold. Alternatively, you can use the left

indent icon to make the Analysis task as a summary task.

Figure 11.4: Creating Summary Tasks

Similarly, you create the rest of the tasks listed in the project plan of XYZ Inc.

and specify subtasks below them. You store the list of tasks and their details in a

file with an extension .mpp in Microsoft Project.

Milestone Tasks

Milestone tasks are the second type of tasks that you can create using Microsoft

Project. These tasks have no duration. They serve as markers or reference nodes

for significant accomplishments in a project. Examples of a milestone task are

project startup, project end, pilot implemented, and SRS document sign off.

Creating a milestone task is similar to creating any other task. The only difference

is that after the task is created, you select an additional option named Mark task as

milestone in the Task Information dialog box.

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For example, in the analysis phase, XYZ Inc. has a milestone task named

Analysis Complete. To indicate that Analysis Complete is a milestone task,

perform the following steps.

1. Click the Advanced tab in the Task information dialog box.

This tabbed page contains specialized options that enable you to create

milestone tasks. It also contains options to specify constraints and deadlines.

2. Type Analysis Complete in the Name text box.

3. Select the Mark task as milestone check box.

You do this to specify a task as a milestone task.

4. Click OK to close the Task Information dialog box.

Figure 11.5 displays the Mark task as milestone check box selected.

Figure 9.5: Creating Milestone Tasks

A milestone task is displayed as a task with no duration next to it in the Gantt

chart view. Similarly, you create other milestone tasks in the Project file.

Recurring Tasks

Recurring tasks, as the name suggests, occur repeatedly at regular intervals. For

example, a weekly project meeting with all the team members is a recurring task.

You can schedule a recurring task in a project plan cycle as daily, weekly

monthly, or yearly. You make this selection after deciding the seriousness of the

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nature of the task. The seriousness of the nature of the task determines how often

the task needs to recur.

For example, if it is a simple meeting to take stock of the situation, you can select

the weekly option. Similarly, you can annually schedule a high level meeting of

the board of directors. However, if an ongoing project is faltering due to frequent

slippages, you need to closely monitor the activities of the project. To monitor the

project activities effectively, you can convene a meeting every day.

You can also schedule the start and end dates of a recurring task. For example, for

XYZ Ltd. you need to create the recurring task Project Meeting under the

Analysis task. The Project Meeting task recurs every Friday until March 14,

which is the project end date. You can create this task by using the Insert menu,

and then specify the details in the Recurring Task Information dialog box. To

create the recurring task you perform the following steps.

1. Select the task row where you want the task to appear.

2. Click the Insert menu.

3. Click the Recurring Task command to display the Recurring Task Information

dialog box.

4. Type Project meeting in the Name text box.

5. Select the Friday check box in the Recurrence pattern group box. This step

specifies that the task should recur every Friday. Note that the Weekly option

button is selected by default.

6. Click the End by option button.

This ensures that the weekly task should continue only until February 14. Figure

11.6 displays this step.

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Figure 9.6: Creating Recurring Tasks

7. Select February 14 from the calendar.

8. Click OK to close the Recurring Task Information dialog box.

A recurring task appears with a special circular arrow symbol in the indicator

field. In the Gantt chart view, it appears at intervals on all the days it is scheduled

until the last date specified.

11.4

Adding Constraints to Tasks

Constraints are defined as1illitations that negatively affect the schedule and

quality of a project. Some of the typical project constraints are mentioned below:

Duration of a project

Resources of a Project

Performance goals of a project

A constraint also affects other constraints. For example, you may need more

resources if you reduce the project duration. You may also have to forgo some of

the goals and features of the project if you decide to reduce the project duration.

Therefore, it is important that you decide the tradeoff judiciously.

In Microsoft Project, you can specify constraints as limitations that are enforced

on a task. For example, you can specify that a task must start on a particular date

or not finish later than a particular date. Therefore, schedule-related constraints

are available in Microsoft Project.

As soon as possible (ASAP)

As late as possible (ALAP)

Start no later than (SNLT)

Finish on later than (FNLT)

Start no earlier than (SNET)

Finish no earlier than (FNET)

Must start on (MSO)

Must finish on (MFO)

ASAP

When you use this constraint, Microsoft Project schedules a specific task as early

as possible. For this reason you do not mention a specific date for such a task.

Microsoft Project automatically assigns this constraint when you schedule a new

task from the start date of a project. To change this constraint to a specific

constraint, you can assign a specific start date to it.

ALAP

When you use this constraint, Microsoft Project schedules a specific task as late

as possible. This is the reason why no specific date is mentioned for such a task.

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Microsoft Project automatically assigns this constraint when you schedule a new

task from the finish date of a project. To change this constraint to a specific

constraint, you can assign a specific finish date to it.

SNLT

You select this constraint to specify the latest possible start date of a task. For

example, you want to conduct a training program on quality standards for the

development team. You want to conduct the training program before the

development phase begins so that you have enough time on hand. Therefore, you

select the SNLT constraint and specify the start date that is before the start of the

development phase. This means the training begins on or before the specified

date. You also keep in mind the duration of the training. Suppose it is a two-day

training program and the project development start date is February 15. Therefore,

after selecting the SNLT constraint, you will enter the start date of the training as

February 13.

FNLT

You select this constraint to specify the latest possible date by which a task can be

completed. For example, you want the project proposal task to be completed on or

before the analysis phase, which is scheduled to start from February 20.

Consequently, by enforcing this constraint on the project proposal task, you

ensure that the finish date for this task is the same as the start date for the analysis

phase.

SNET

This constraint enables you to schedule the start date of a task as early as possible.

This is different from the ASAP constraint because the ASAP is a vague

constraint with no specific start dates for a task. However, by choosing the SNET

constraint, you can specify an early start date for a task. For example, the task to

create test cases is dependent upon the construction and the unit testing phases.

Therefore, the task to create test cases cannot begin unless the earlier two tasks

are over. In this case, you would enforce the SNET constraint on the creation of

test cases and specify a start date. This start date cannot be before the end date of

the preceding tasks. Consequently, you can create test cases any time on or after

this start date but not before.

FNET

You select this constraint when you do not want a task to be complete before a

scheduled finish date. For example, during the unit-testing task you discover there

were many bugs that were addressed by the developers. This makes you skeptical

about the quality of the product. Therefore, you want to extend the finish date of

unit testing and enforce the constraint FNET on it. Consequently, you will not be

able to finish the unit-testing task before the specified date.

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MSO

This constraint indicates that you must begin a task only on the specified start date

and not later or before that. This is an inflexible constraint. It is usually enforced

during a short cycle duration project when you are unsure whether each task

mayor may not start on time. This may disturb the planned schedule of the entire

project. You can enforce the MSO constraint for critical projects depending upon

client requirements.

MFO

If you use the MSO constraint, it is most likely that you would use the MFO

constraint also. Using the MFO constraint enables you to focus on completing a

particular task. It is useless if you enforce a strict start date with no strict finish

date for completing a task. You can again enforce this constraint for critical

projects depending upon client requirements.

You enforce or use a constraint on a task by specifying the details in the advanced

page of the Task Information dialog box. In that dialog box, you can also specify

the start and the end dates of a constraint depending upon the type of constraint

that you choose.

For example, for XYZ Inc. you need to add a constraint to the Develop test plans

task. This task is a subtask of the Testing task. After creating both the tasks, you

specify the duration of the Develop test plans task. You want that the task should

not carry on for more than two days. You also need to impose a constraint that the

task should not finish later than August 10. However, the management would

appreciate if the task finishes before that.

To add the constraint to the Develop test plans task, you use the constraints

feature in the Task Information dialog box. To access the constraints feature, you

perform the following steps:

1. Click the Advanced tab in the Task Information dialog box.

2. Type Develop test plans in the Name text box of the Advanced tabbed page.

3. Type 2 in the Duration text box

This specifies the maximum time allotted to complete the task. 4. Click the

Constraint type box.

4. Click the Constraint type box.

5. Select the Finish No Later Than option in the displayed list.

6. Click the Constraint date list.

7. Select August l0 as the finish date from the calendar that is displayed.

Figure 9.7 displays this step.

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Figure 9.7: Adding Constraints

8. Click OK to close the Task Information dialog box.

The Develop test plans task is displayed with an icon for Finish No Later Than

constraint in the Task sheet of the Gantt chart view.

Tip:

After specifying a constraint type and its date, it is a good idea to specify the

details of choosing a particular constraint type and its date. Subsequently, you

may want to share this information with your colleagues in meetings. This can be

done by clicking the Notes tab in the Task Information dialog box and entering

your comments.

11.5

Adding Deadlines to Tasks

Deadlines are strict finish dates for a particular task. Microsoft Project considers a

deadline to be a target date to complete a task. You add a deadline to a specific

task if you track the progress of that task. Setting realistic deadlines to tasks also

enables you to schedule the subsequent tasks.

Deadlines are important because they depict the finish date of a task. Therefore,

you can track whether a task has exceeded the planned time or is completed

before time. If the task is taking longer than expected, you can take remedial

measures such as adding resources. Adding deadlines does not affect project

schedule nor does it enforce a date constraint. However, it marks a task that has

crossed its deadline with an indication mark next to it.

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In the .mpp file that you are creating for XYZ Inc., you need to set July 15 as the

deadline for the task Assign development staff; which is a subtask of the

Development task. To set the deadline, you perform the following steps:

1. Create the task Assign development staff by using the Project menu.

2. Select the Assign development staff task.

This is the task for which you need to set a deadline.

3. Click the Advanced tab in the Task Information dialog box.

4. Click the Deadline list box in the Advanced page.

This is done to specify the deadline for the Assign development staff task.

5. Select July 15 in the calendar to specify the deadline date.

6. Click OK to close the Task Information dialog box.

Similarly, you can add deadlines for the other tasks for the XYZ Inc. project.

11.6

Setting Dependencies between Tasks

There is dependency between tasks when a particular task cannot begin until its

preceding task is completed. For example, the creation of the high-level design of

a project cannot start until the client signs off the SRS document. The SRS

document serves as a prerequisite for the immediate subsequent phase.

In Microsoft Project, you can specify four types of dependencies:

Finish-to-Start (FS)

Start-to-Start (SS)

Finish-to-Finish (FF)

Start-to-Finish (SF)

In dependency relationships of tasks, the name of the relationship consists of the

start or finish dates of the predecessor task and the start or finish date of the

successor task. For example, the relationship between the task to finish the SRS

document and the task to begin the high level design is FS. This is because you

link the finish status of the predecessor task to the start status of the successor

task. FS is the default relationship when you link any two tasks.

In addition to FS, you can also begin two tasks at the same time. For example,

you can begin the task to do functional testing and integration testing of the

testing phase simultaneously. The dependency in a SS relationship occurs when

both the predecessor and the successor tasks start at the same time. This is

because these tasks do not share any common component nor are they dependent

on each other. Therefore, the link between them is SS.

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You can also begin two tasks that finish simultaneously. In such a case, the

dependency relationship between the two tasks is called an FF relationship. For

example, the task to prepare a checklist for implementing a software product

cannot end unless implementation testing for that software product is complete.

Finally, you can have a SF relationship between tasks. This relationship indicates

that a task cannot end until its preceding task starts. This relationship usually

takes place when a project is scheduled from the project finish date. This

relationship helps to minimize the risk of delay of a predecessor task if the

successor task is dependent on the start of the predecessor task. For example, the

testing phase can only start after the coding phase is complete.

11.7

Lag and Lead Time between Tasks

While adding dependencies to tasks, you can also specify lag and lead times for

any two interdependent tasks. Lag time is defined as the excess time that is

allowed to lapse between predecessor and the successor tasks. This results in a

delay in the start of the successor task. For example, you may use this option if

you feel that the tasks of the analysis phase are taking more than the planned time

to complete. Consequently, you might not want to start the high--level design task

as planned but postpone it. In this case, you would calculate the maximum lag

time for the high-level design to start.

You specify the lag time for a task as a positive value in the Lag field cell of the

Predecessors page. This page exists in the Task Information dialog box.

Lead time is defined as the overlap that exists between two dependent tasks. For

example, you could decide to start testing units when developers have partially

completed creating the applications for a project. Therefore, you move ahead of

the schedule of a successor task before time.

You specify the lead time for a task as a negative value in the same Lag field cell

of the Predecessors page. This page exists in the Task Information dialog box.

Consider an example to link two tasks, procuring resources and drafting a project

plan. According to the plan, securing resources is a predecessor task while drifting

a project plan is a successor task. You need to link the two tasks using the start-to-

finish relationship because it is anticipated that the task to draft a plan cannot start

before the resources are procured and incorporated in the project plan. During the

course of the project, you feel that the successor task cannot begin as planned

because procuring resources is too time-consuming. You analyze and deduce that

the project plan can only be drafted four days after resources are procured.

You link the two tasks by using the Edit menu. After linking the two tasks, you

set the type of relationship as start-to finish. Assume that for the XYZ Inc:

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project, you need to link the Develop code and Developer primary testing tasks.

You have created the Development summary task before. Now, you create these

two tasks under the Development summary task. Then, you set a relationship

between the tasks. Finally, you set a four-day lag time between the two tasks. To

link tasks and set the lag time between them, perform the following steps:

1. Create a task named Develop code by using the Project menu.

2. Create a task named Developer primary testing below the Develop code task

by using the Project menu.

3. Select Develop code.

4. Select Developer primary testing with the Ctrl key pressed.

5. Click the Edit menu.

6. Click the Link Tasks command.

The two tasks are displayed as linked to each other in the Gantt chart view as you

see in Figure 11.8.

Figure 11.8: Linking Tasks

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7. To estab1ish the start-to-finish, relationship between the two tasks, select

the Developer primary testing task and click the Project menu.

8. Click the Task Information command.

This information displays the Task Information dialog box wherein you can

establish a defined relationship between the two tasks by using the

Predecessors tab.

9. Click the Predecessors tab in the Task Information dialog box.

10. Select the Start-to-Finish (SF) relationship in the Type field cell.

This defines a start-to-finish relationship for the tasks.

11. Type 4d in the Lag field cell to specify four days lag time between the

two tasks. This step is displayed in Figure 11.9.

Figure 11.9: Specifying Value for the Lag Field

12. Click OK to close the dialog box.

The tasks Develop code and Developer primary testing appear linked to each

other with the symbol of Start-to-Finish relationship in the Gantt chart view.

11.8

Splitting Tasks

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A split in a task is defined as an abrupt and sudden interruption in the planned

schedule. The need to split tasks arises because practically no task can be

completed without a break. Due to resource crunch, a planned task is normally

halted for some time.

For example, at XYZ Inc., both the tasks to train developers and to test a software

module require a Windows 2000 Server. However, depending upon the criticality

of the tasks, you can split one of the non critical tasks. In this case, you decide to

stop testing the software module and continue training the developers. To specify

the task using Microsoft Project, you first create a Testing task as the summary

task. After creating the Testing task, you create the Unit testing task under the

Testing task. Next, you split the Unit testing task.

To split the Unit testing task, you perform the following steps:

1. Create a task named Unit testing below the Testing summary task.

2. Select the Unit testing task.

3. Click the Edit menu.

The Edit menu contains the command that enables you to split a task.

4. Click the Split Task command on the Edit menu.

Upon clicking the Split Task command, the shape of the cursor changes. In

addition, a small yellow box with a tool tip suggesting how to split a task

hovers on the task view of the Microsoft Project window.

5. Drag the changed mouse cursor over the task in the Gantt chart view.

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Figure 11.10: Splitting Tasks

In Figure 11.10, you can see the task being split into the required number of days.

To split a task for a specified number of days, you drag the mouse pointer to a

particular date. For example, a task is scheduled to start from May 5. You want a

part of the task to start again from May 15. Therefore, there is a gap between May

5 and May 15. To start the task again from May 15, you drag the last end of the

task and release the mouse pointer on May 15 in the Gant Chart view.

11.9

Assigning Resources and Resource Costs to Tasks

Resources are means that help convert input to a task into output for the task.

Resources are assigned to tasks for the following reasons:

To track the costs of each resource

To track the work completed and the material resources used in a project

There are two types of resources, work and material. Work resources refer, to the

people and equipment. At the end of a project, these resources are not consumed.

Unlike work resources, material resources are used completely by the end of the

project. For example, to complete the task of writing the code for a module, you

need human and material resources. You need material resources such as

hardware, software, and electricity.

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Assigning resources to a task is a two-step process. First, you add the available

resources to a project. You can do this by adding resources by using the View

menu and then clicking the Resource Sheet command on the View menu. When

you click the Resource Sheet command, Microsoft Project changes the default

Gantt chart view to the Resource Sheet view. Figure 11.11 displays the Resource

Sheet view.

Figure 11.11: Resource Sheet View

Suppose for the XYZ Inc. project, you want to add a hardware resource in the

Develop prototype task. The steps to add the resource are as follows:

Create a task named Develop prototype below the Analysis summary task.

Select the Develop prototype task.

Click the Tools menu.

The Tools menu contains the command to add a resource.

Point to the Resources command.

When you point to the Resources command, the Assign Resources command

of the Resources command of the Resources submenu is displayed.

7. Click the Assign Resources command. Figure 11.12 displays the Assign

Resources dialog box.

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Figure 11.12: Assigning Resources to Tasks

The Assign Resources dialog box contains two fields, Name and Units. The Name

field indicates the name of the available resources in the resource pool or a

project. The Units field indicates the number of resources that can be used for a

particular resource.

You can use the Assign Resources dialog box to assign units for both work and

material resources. The unit for work resources is specified in terms of

percentage. However, the unit for material is specified as a numeric value.

For example, you may select three computers or five workstations for the

development team of a project. These values are not more than the predetermined

value set for a resource in the Max.Units field of every resource in the Resource

Sheet view.

Select the hardware resource for the Develop prototype task. You close the

Assign Resources dialog box by clicking the Close button. The hardware resource

is added next to the Develop prototype task.

11.10 Assigning Costs to Tasks

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Cost is an important aspect of project scheduling. Controlling costs ensures the

optimal use of resources. For example, to complete a specific task in a project

plan, you can assign more resources to that task. Alternatively, you can increase

the duration of that task depending on the cost of the resources that are used by

that task.

You can assign two rates for any type of a resource. The rate for work resources

are calculated on an hourly basis. However, the rate at which the materia1

resources are calculated can be:

Standard rate: The normal rate at which a resource is procured

Overtime rate: The rate that you pay if you overuse a work resource

For example, for the XYZ Inc. project, you need to specify the standard and the

overtime rates for a work resource named Tester. To do this, you first assign the

work resource Tester to the Unit Testing task that you created earlier. After

assigning the resource to the Unit Testing task, perform the following steps to

assign rates to the resource:

1. Click the Resource Sheet view of Microsoft Project

The Resource Sheet view is used to display all resources and their respective

costs.

2. Type Tester in the first cell of the Resource Name column

3. Select Tester.

You do this because that is the work resource for which you need to specify

the standard and overtime rates.

4. Click the Project menu to display the Resource Information command.

5. Click the Resource Information command on the Project menu.

6. Click the Cost tab in the dialog box.

The costs tab provides information about the standard and overtime rates and

the cost per unit of a particular resource.

7. Type $30.00/h in the first cell of the Standard Rate column as shown in

Figure 9.13.

8. Type $10.00/h in the first cell of the Overtime Rate column.

The rates can also be entered as negative values to denote the decrease in rate as

compared, to previous rates or as positive values to denote a comparative increase

in rate, such as +20% or -20%.

9. Click OK to close the Resource Information dialog box.

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While calculating costs for work resources; Microsoft Project calculates the resource cost

by the hourly rates that you specify and the time required for completing a task.

However, when you assign a material resource to a task, Microsoft Project automatically

calculates the total cost of the resource by using the material resource rate specified by

you and the quantity of material required for completing the task.

Figure 11.13: Assigning Costs to Resources

11.11 Tracking a Project Plan

Project management is a multiple-phase undertaking. The first phase is the project

initiation or the project planning phase. This phase is followed by the project-

tracking phase. Finally, you wrap up a project with the-project-end phase. Project

tracking is an extremely in important activity in an organization. Unless a project

is tracked effectively, it might never come close to termination. Project tracking

also ensures strict adherence to project plans, requirements, and schedules.

Progress Lines

To track a project plan, you first view the progress of a project. You can view the

progress of a project by applying progress lines to the tasks in the project. You

can display progress lines in three ways,

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Figure 11.15: Progress Lines in the Gantt Chart View

Project Baselines

Project baselines are another way of depicting the progress of a project. Baselines

are indicators that help you compare the actual start date with the planned start

date of a project. They also help compare the actual cost incurred with the

planned cost for a project. After preparing a project plan for tasks, you can save

the plan as a baseline. This serves as an ideal plan for you to compare the actual

performance of the project with the baseline that you save.

To save a project plan as a baseline, perform the following steps:

1. Click the Tools menu, and point to the Tracking command.

2. Select the Save Baseline command on the Tracking submenu.

3. In the Save Baseline dialog box, select the Save baseline and Entire project

option buttons to save a baseline of the entire project.

4. Click OK to close the Save Baseline dialog box. You can also save a part of

the project plan by saving a few tasks as baselines by clicking the Selected

tasks option button.

To view the deviation from a baseline performance to the actual performance

of a project, perform the following step:

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5. In the Project Information dialog box, click the Statistics button to view the

project statistics for the Sample-Project.mpp dialog box. This dialog box is

displayed in Fig 11.16.

Figure 11.16: Displaying Project Baseline Information

The dialog box displays critical and summarized information about the variance

values of the start and finish dates of a project, work completed in hours, cost, and

duration in days. Higher the variance of a column, higher is the degree to which a

project does not conform to the baseline plan. The actual values are displayed in

the dialog box.

You can compare the baseline values for all these factors with the actual values of

a task to conduct project plan analysis.

11.12 Recording and Updating Tasks

One way of tracking a project schedule is by determining the actual work done by

a resource. After doing that, you compare it against the total work to be done

initially. Using these factors, you can calculate the remaining work that needs to

be done in the rest of the project cycle.

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For example, you need to check the status of the Test component modules task in

the XYZ Inc. project .This task exists under the Testing summary task. You use

the Task Sheet view to record the actual work done by a resource and calculate

the work that remains to be done. To do that, perform the following steps:

1. Select the task Unit testing for which you want to view the task completion status.

This task exists under the Testing summary task.

2. Click the View menu.

3. Click the Table Entry command.

4. Click the Work command on the Table Entry submenu

After doing this, four fields appear: Work, Baseline, Actual, and Remaining.

You update the Actual field value with the current amount of work done.

Microsoft Project automatically updates the Remaining value after comparing the

Actual value with the value in the Work field. Alternatively, you can update the

value of the remaining field to a number that you feel is correct. Consequently,

Microsoft Project updates the Tota1figure in the Work field. It also displays the

difference in the previous Work and the current Work, values in the Variance

field.

For example, the Work field in Figure 17 displays the value 20. You update the

Actual field with the value 13. Consequently, the remaining field would

automatically show 7. However, you can modify the Remaining field to display

the value 10 if seven days are not adequate. Notice that the Work field displays

the value 27, and the value in the Variance field is 3.

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Figure 11.17: Updating the Status of Tasks

Note:

You can also update the percentage of work completed by specifying the

value in the Percent complete spin box. The Percent complete spin box is

present in the General tab of the Task Information dialog box.

Consequently, Microsoft Project updates the actual and remaining work in

the work sheet of tasks.

11.13 Rescheduling Tasks

Using Microsoft Project, you can reschedule the tasks of a project. Rescheduling

involves modifying the start or finish dates of a task. For example, you need to

reschedule the start date of the Create user manuals task. This task exists below

the Development summary task. To reschedule an incomplete task, perform the

following steps:

Create a task named Create user manuals under the Development task.

Make the Development task a summary task by using the left indent Icon.

Select the Create user manuals task.

Click the Tracking command on the Tools menu.

Click the Update Project command on the Tracking submenu, to display the

Update Project dialog box. Figure 11.18 displays this dialog box.

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Figure 11.18: Rescheduling Tasks

In the Update Project dialog box, select the Reschedule uncompleted work to start

after option. This option is used to reschedule an incomplete task.

Specify a new start date for the Create user manuals task.

Select the Selected tasks option to reschedule a task. If you need to reschedule

entire project, choose the Entire project option.

Click OK.

11.14 Modifying the Duration of a Project Plan

During the course of a project, schedule, cost, and effort slippages are quite

common. Therefore, you sometimes need to modify the project start and end

dates. Normally the start date is modified for short cycle projects that need an

early head start. Finish date is modified when you are unable to meet the project

end date due to slippages. Assume that the project starts on February 15 and you

change its finish date from June 10 to June 15. To do this, perform the following

steps:

1. Click the Project menu

2. On the Project menu, click the Project Information command. This displays the

Project Information dialog box.

3. In the Project Information dialog box, click the Schedule from list box.

4. Select the Project Finish Date option from the Schedule from list.

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5. Click the Finish date box, and select June 15 from the calendar of the month

June. This step is shown in Figure 11.19.

6. Click OK.

Figure 11.19: Modifying the Plan Duration

You have modified the project finish date from June 10 to June 15. You can view the

change in the Gantt chart view of the project.

11.15 Displaying Project Information Using Reports

You create reports to display project-related information in a tabular format,

which is easily comprehensible. Project reports provide a picture of the status of a

project. The status of a project helps measure the progress of it. Reports can be

prepared for a specific phase or for all the phases at one time.

Creating Standard Reports

Using Microsoft Project 2000, you can create two types of standard reports:

Standard resource report: You create standard resource reports to display

resource allocation and the costs incurred on them

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Standard task report: You create standard task reports to display information

regarding tasks and the duration to complete each task in a project.

To create a report on the resources listed in the Sample-Project.mpp file, perform

the fo1lowing steps:

5. Display the Resource Sheet view of Microsoft Project

6. Click the View menu.

7. Click the Reports command.

This command displays the Reports dialog box. This contains the various

report formats.

8. Select the Custom icon to create a new resource

Figure 11.20 displays the Custom icon.

Figure 11.20: Displaying the Custom Icon in the Reports Dialog Box

5. Click the Select button.

This displays the Custom Report dialog box.

6. Click the New button.

This way, you create a new type of a resource report that is not part of the list of

reports displayed. The Define New Report dialog box is displayed as shown in

Fig 11.21.

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Figure119.21: Defining New Reports

7. In the Report type box, select the Resource option.

You do this to create a report displaying the various resources used in a

project.

8. Click OK to confirm your selection.

The Resource Report dialog box is displayed as shown in Figure 11.22. In this

dialog box, you specify the name of the report. In the same dialog box, you

can sort the information to be displayed in the report.

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Figure 11.22: Resource Report Dialog Box

9. Click OK to confirm your specifications.

After the Resource Report dialog box is closed, the Custom Reports dialog

box is displayed.

10. Click the Preview button to view the report.

The report is shown in Figure 11.23. To be able to view the report, you

configure a printer to the computer that has Microsoft Project.

Figure 11.23: Report on the Resources Listed in the Project1.mpp File

Similarly, you can also view a report on tasks. To view the report on tasks, repeat

the procedure for creating a report on resources in the Gantt chart view of

Microsoft Project.

Modifying and Printing a Standard Report

You might need to modify a report to display more information or to display the

existing information in a different format. To modify the ways in which a task is

displayed, you Use the Task report dialog box.

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You can modify an existing standard task or a resource report by clicking the Edit

button on the Custom Reports dialog box. This displays the relevant reports

dialog box.

For example, to modify an existing report to display only summary tasks and add

gridlines to each task for the XYZ Inc. project, perform the following steps:

1. Click the Definition tab in the Task Report dialog box. The Task Report dialog

box is displayed in Figure 11.24.

Figure11.24: Modifying Reports

2. Click the Show summary tasks check box.

This check box is used to display only the summary tasks in a project. For

example, in the current project file, selecting this check box would display only

the broad-level tasks, Analysis, Design, Development, Testing, and

Implementation and not the subtasks below each one of them.

3. Click the Details tab.

4. On the Details page, select the Gridlines between details check box.

The Gridlines between details check box is shown selected in Figure 25.

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Figure 9.25: Selecting Gridlines between details Check Box.

5. Click OK to close the Task Report dialog box.

In Task Report dialog box, you can display specific fields in the Definition tab. In

addition, you call also use the Details tab to display a summary of tasks in

gridlines and resources.

You can also sort a report on different fields displayed on a report.

Printing a Standard Report

Printing a standard report is really simple. In the Define New Report dialog box,

you click the Print button to print a report.

Figure 1126 displays the Define New Report dialog box. Clicking the Print button

in the Custom Reports dialog box, displays the Print dialog box.

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Figure 11.26: Printing a Report

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Finally, you can see the Sample-Project.mpp file that you are creating for XYZ

Inc. complete with all the components that you have added.

Commissioning & Migration

12.1

Software Implementation

After the software product is developed, the challenge lies in seeing the system

work successfully at the user-end. Product implementation is the crucial activity

of actually handing over the product to the users. The product moves from the

theoretical environment of the development team to the practical environment of

the user. Implementation begins with the preparatory activities of planning,

training the user staff, and testing the system. After the preparatory activities are

complete, the new system is installed and configured at the user end.

Implementation marks the end of product development. After this, the product is

handed over to the maintenance team.

Implementation Prerequisites

The purpose of implementation is to organize and implement the new or updated

system. Most of the time, implementation is a contract-based activity. The

contract provides details of the implementation activity. Implementation

procedure includes details such as the scope, method, and duration of

implementation. There are some prerequisites of implementation. They are

finalizing the number of licenses, procedures for error logging, scheduling system

changeover, and procedure for maintaining data backups. However, the primary

task is to organize a team to monitor implementation.

An implementation coordination committee is set up to monitor implementation

committee. Other committee members include line managers of other departments

and members of the development team.

IThe committee performs various activities. It identifies various requirements of

implementation process, such as arranging for software licenses, project software,

and other standby facilities. The committee looks into the implications of the

system environment, staff allocation for implementation tasks, and internal

communication. The committee also devises alternative methods facilitating

system changeover.

Key Implementation Plans

The various activities performed during implementation are preparing an

implementation plan, a raining plan, an acceptance plan, and a system support

plan.

a. Implementation Plan

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The first task of implementation is the creation of the implementation plan.

The implementation plan contains details of the methods of system transfer

and the timescale for implementation. Details of hardware and software

needed for implementation are also mentioned in the plan. The plan contains

details of date, location, and timescale for implementation. The plan also

mentions the prerequisites of implementation, such as the existing network

environment and the availability of related software. You can look at an

implementation plan in Table 12.1.

Table 12.1: Implementation Plan

Implementation Plan

1) Implementation Schedule

Serial No.

Location

Start Date

End Date

Days

Resources

2) Resource List

Resource

Contact

Pager or

Key Resource

Serial No.

E-mail ID

Name

Mobile No.

(Y/N)

3) Software Components for Installation

3.1) Server

Software

Space

Serial No.

Version

Location

Name

Required

3.2) Client

Software

Space

Serial No.

Version

Location

Name

Required

4) Data Migration

Data to be

Location of

Data

Mode of

Serial No.

Batch or Script

Migrated

Server

Migration

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In the implementation plan, Implementation Schedule section records .details

such as location and duration of implementation. The Resource List section

has a list of the resources and their contact numbers. The plan has details of

the server and clients in the Components of Installation section. Finally, the

plan also contains data migration details.

b. Training Plan

Preparing a training plan is one of the tasks of implementation. The training

plan contains details of the participants to be trained. It also mentions the

focus area arid .the audience for die training session. Training schedule

containing the training venue, training name, start date and end date is a part

of the training plan. The plan conveys budgetary details and the roles and

responsibilities of participants as well as the faculty. A training plan is

displayed in Table 12.2. The plan has details of the focus areas of training,

courses identified for training, and training schedules. Roles and

responsibilities of trainer are also included in the training plan.

Table 12.2: Training Plan

Training Plan

1) Focus Areas for Training

Serial No.

Focus Area

2) Training Courses

Course

Number of

Serial No.

Duration

Category

Faculty

Details

Title

participants

3) Training Schedule

Course

Serial No.

Code

Start Date

End Date

Venue

Title

4) Roles and Responsibilities

Member

Role

Back-up

Responsibilities

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c. Acceptance Plan

The purpose of an acceptance plan is to determine the details of acceptance

testing. The plan contains details such as the order of testing of functions,

location, date, and duration of testing. Details of participating members,

coordinators, and users are also mentioned in the plan. The acceptance plan

lists the procedure for bug fixing, version control, and verification and

validation details. Procedure for the creation of acceptance test cases and

setting up software and hardware environment is also mentioned in the plan.

The acceptance plan in Table 12.3 contains details of the acceptance schedule,

acceptance criteria, list of resources, and a bug report form.

Table12. 3: Acceptance Plan

Acceptance Plan

1) Schedule

Serial

From

Resource

Module

To Date

Days

Documentation

No.

Date

Name

2) Acceptance Criteria

Serial

Item

Acceptance Criterion

No.

Name

3) Resource List

Serial

Resource

E-mail

Telephone/Pager

Key Resource (Y/N)

No.

Name

4) Bug Reporting Procedure

Serial

Reported

Report

Closure

Assigned

Module

Bug

Fixed On

No.

Date

d. System Support Plan

The implementation team prepares the system support plan either during or

before product installation. The system support plan contains details of how

the system will be supported after it is implemented. Typically, the support

plan has a warranty clause. The warranty clause usually lasts for a year. The

warranty covers details of people in the support activities, details of

agreement, the response time, and support details.

Implementation Activities

After the prerequisites are in place, implementation activities begin in right

earnest. Now, all the plans created for implementation are put into practice.

Implementation activities include acceptance testing, user and operator training,

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data migration, installation and configuration, product sign-off, product wind-up,

post mortem, and product delivery.

User Acceptance Testing

You must have heard the proverb, "the proof of the pudding lies in the eating.

This applies for software product also. The success of the software product

depends on how the user responds to the product. One of the important

implementation activities is user acceptance. This aims at ensuring that the

system is working according to the user requirements. UAT is done to ensure

that the desired product design matches the actual product design.

UAT is the final testing performed by the end user after using the product over

a limited period me. As part of the implementation process, the project

manager prepares the User Acceptance Test plan. The UAT plan is the last

stage of the testing process where the user tests the product. The user tests the

product and identifies whether it is acceptable or not.

Ideally, UAT is conducted in the same environment as the one in which the

product is designed. UAT plan consists of the activities to be conducted,

functions to be tested, the time, and environment in which software will be

tested. Often test cases are attached with the plan. The user validates the

software based on the test cases.

The executable product is installed in the test environment and configured for

use. Then the user executes the test supplied. r the user tests the software

product, the implementation team takes care of the bugs or items identified by

the user. The bug fixing and closing of issues continue iteratively until all

problems are solved. The software product is then ready for use. The user

representative uses a signoff on the prescribed format to indicate satisfaction

with the product. This marks end of the development activity. The final bug-

free version is delivered to the user.

ii.

Training

To familiarize the users with the new system, you need to train them. Apart

from the users, there are the operators who also need to be trained to handle

the system. Training for both the users and operators has separate goals.

Training sessions aim at providing the participants with specific skills

required in handling the new system. Training aids used are documents, icons,

on1ine helps, and demonstrations or classroom sessions. The user training

focuses on major m functions and the users' need to gain access to them. Some

of the activities that a user might need to perform are simulating activities,

analyzing data, drawing graphs, and searching for information. The user is

trained on navigation skills, information searching skills, and security

functions. The users are trained on the differences between the old and new

activities to familiarize them with the differences.

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The operator training focuses on the support functions of the system. The

support functions include granting user access, granting file access, recovering

damaged files, installing new devices and software, and making backups.

Therefore, the operators' training focuses on two function areas. First, the

operators learn to run the system, and second they learn to support the users.

Another important approach to training is documentation. Documentation can

be in the form of user manuals and guides. The use of documentation in

training will depend on the target audience. Therefore, you need to ensure that

your development team does not neglect training and documentation. This

should be planned and tracked from the project start as soon as the

requirements analysis is complete. You also need to ensure that training and

documentation for users and operators is updated periodically.

iii.

Data Migration

At times, the user might want to transfer data from the old system to the new

system during implementation. The implementation team migrates data from

the old system to the new system. This task can be automated by using scripts

and tools. Data migration is an important activity. As a project manager, you

need to ensure that all data is successfully migrated. At times, data migration

involves a large amount of data from heterogeneous sources. This entails lot

of work, which might be beyond the handling capacity of the implementation

team. Typically, in such situations, data migration activity is subcontracted to

an external agency. If the data is in the form of documents, data entry

operators could also be hired. Although the activity is subcontracted, as a

project manager, you need to plan and monitor its progress continuously.

iv.

Installation and Configuration

To make the system available to end users, the implementation team needs to

install and configure the system. This involves making the system run and

prepare it for actual work. The implementation team does this by deploying

the system on user machines. During installation, the files, components, and

executables are copied to the user machine.

Configuration is the act of making necessary changes in the system

parameters that are specific for target users. This activity is performed along

with installation. Installation and configuration activity can be automated by

using many tools. You can perform installation and configuration at multiple

locations by using tools. These tools create installable disks that can be used

to install and configure. This enhances the productivity of the implementation

team to a great extent.

At times, the project manager might need to outsource the installation activity.

Then great care needs to be taken to ensure that correct versions are installed.

At times, Web-based automatic installation facilities are used to simplify the

process further. At times, the implementation team might need to install the

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system at multiple locations simultaneously. The team prepares separate plans

for each location. The implementation team also configures the installed

system.

Product Sign-Off

At the end of acceptance testing, the user-representative gives the sign-off in

the form of an acceptance letter. This marks the formal end of the

implementation phase. This means that all issues raised during the acceptance

testing are solved and closed. As a project manager, you need to ensure that

the contractual obligations with the user are fulfilled. You need to verify that

the client accepts all documents and deliverables as mentioned in the contract.

You also ensure that the sign-off is according to defined guidelines and is in

the form of an acceptance letter.

vi.

Project Wind-Up

Project wind-up marks the formal closure of the development phase. This

activity begins after obtaining a sign-off from the user. The key activities

performed during project wind-up are analyzing what went wrong and what

could have been better. Major learning from the project is summarized at the

end of the project. Certain completion criteria are formalized at the project

start. These criteria prevent the project from dragging on endlessly. Certain

activities are performed to ensure that the project ends on time.

Monitoring deliverables

Monitoring progress

Controlling change requests

Monitoring work yet to be done

Usually a senior project manager supervises the project-wind up activities.

During project wind-up, you need to gather feedback both internally as well as

from the client. The various wind-up activities performed during project end

include obtaining client feedback of the project. You also need to update and

close the project plan. Another activity is updating project-related statistics at

the end for resource estimation. You can determine the level of success of the

project based on the quality of the delivered system and the level of

satisfaction of all concerned.

During project wind up, the project manager also plans for the allocation of

the project staff. The deliverables list is checked to ensure that all

requirements are met. The project manager also verifies the financial

completion of the project. A contract is also drawn to deal with the problems

later for a defined period under a warranty. The project is evaluated for

adherence to schedule, budget, technical goals, and client and project team

satisfaction.

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Another important project-end activity is data collection. Data accumulated

during the project is collected and organized after completion. This data helps

in resource estimation and quality assurance of future projects. The data

collected regarding the actual cost per task, cost overrun and under-run per

task, unplanned tasks, and planned task that were not required are estimated.

Data about software change requests and bug statistics is also noted.

The performance of the project team is also evaluated at the end of the project.

The team members are evaluated in terms of their ability to accomplish

project tasks. The time taken, the quality achieved, and the adherence to cost

and schedule is also noted. The team members are also evaluated based on

their innovative approach to accomplishing a task. The ability of the team

member to work as a team, communicate, and support each other is also

judged. The team members are also asked to evaluate themselves in terms of

their strengths and weaknesses.

vii.

Post Mortem

The post mortem activities involve collecting valuable information at the end

of the project. The knowledge gained from the project is documented for use

by other projects. Similarly, the recommendations for enhancements are also

documented. You also need to submit project- related items, hard copies, and

files to the project library. Usually, post mortem activities are conducted

among the team members. The team members exchange feedback about each

other regarding interpersonal communication and work processes within the

team.

Finally, the project manager prepares a project closedown report. This report

contains suggestions on what should be done to improve software quality in

the next project. This report contains details of what the team has failed to

deliver and the lessons learned from the project. This report will help detect

and eliminate long-term problems. The project closedown report contains the

following details:

Description of the project

Success assessment

Schedule, budget, and technical details

Problems while implementing solutions

Data updates regarding cost estimation

viii.

Product Delivery

Product delivery marks the last leg of implementation. In this phase, the

packaged software, documentation, and other items mentioned in the contract

are passed on to the maintenance team. As a project manager, you need to

ensure the smooth transfer of knowledge from the development team to the

maintenance team. The maintenance activities are discussed in detail in the

next section.

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12.2

Software Maintenance

According to surveys, changeability is one of the most important attributes of

complex, multifunction software systems. This calls for continuous adjustments

of the software to suit the changing environment. While changes are inevitable, it

is not always possible to create products foreseeing the changes. Therefore, the

product needs to be changed according to the changing scenario. You might need

to upgrade the software product based on new system requirements or remove

redundant functionality. The need for a change brings software maintenance into

the picture. Maintenance activities can either be in-house or outsourced.. In the

case of in-house maintenance, the development team performs the maintenance

activities. On the other hand, an independent maintenance team performs

outsourced maintenance activities.

Software maintenance deals with the sustenance of a piece of software after it is

released. Maintenance activity is needed when errors are detected after the

software product is released. Changing requirements of the software product also

require maintenance activity to cater to the changes.

Maintenance activity assumes greater importance for a project manager. This is

because managing software maintenance is more challenging than managing

software development. Consider an example. You are maintaining a banking

operation. A small Program change is introduced as part of the maintenance

activity. Suppose this change results in an incorrect interest calculation. You can

well imagine the kind of confusion this error will create, not to mention the loss of

client faith and goodwill in the bank. Therefore, as a project manager, you need to

be extra cautious while managing a maintenance project.

Types of Maintenance Activities

Maintenance is an important phase in SDLC: The need for maintenance activities

has increased with the increase in software packages. Maintenance activities

include correction and prevention of defects, enhancements to incorporate

changing needs, and porting of applications and adaptability. The changing

hardware and software scenarios have increased the demand for software

maintenance. Today, in the entire SDLC of a software application, the

maintenance effort is about 80 percent and the development effort is only 20

percent.

There are four types of maintenance activities:

Corrective

Adaptive

Perfective

Preventive

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Corrective maintenance is about fixing bugs. This takes approximately 17

percent of the maintenance time. During corrective maintenance, the existing code

is used to correct the fault that causes the code to deviate from its documented

requirements. Here, the focus is on fixing defects.

During adaptive maintenance, the existing code is changed to adapt the new

features and functionality. These new features are usually part of a new release of

a code. This change normally takes 18 percent of the maintenance time.

Perfective maintenance improves the maintainability of the code. During this

activity, the code is restructured to make it easily understood and to remove

ambiguities. The enhancement of code occupies 60 percent of the maintenance

time.

Preventive maintenance is undertaken to protect the code against failure. Here,

the focus is on adhering to coding standards and reduce the chances of code

failure. Preventive maintenance .activity takes around 5 percent of the

maintenance time.

In the above list of maintenance activities, you can see that out of total

maintenance effort, only 20 percent is spent on corrective maintenance and 80

percent on the rest. This refutes the popular belief that maintenance activities is all

about fixing mistakes.

Maintenance Activities

To perform maintenance activities, the maintenance team needs to acquire the

business and technical knowledge of the client systems. The maintenance process

is usually divided into three phases.

· Initiation Phase

· Preparation Phase

· Execution Phase

Initiation Phase

The initiation phase starts with the commencement of maintenance activities. It is

primarily a knowledge acquisition phase. During this phase, the maintenance team

takes over the system from the development team. The maintenance team

familiarizes itself with the ways and functioning of the system. This is essentially

a phase of knowledge transfer from the development team to the maintenance

team. The major activities of the initiation phase are baseline assessment and

operating procedures. During baseline assessment, the interfacing and

communication methods between the development and maintenance teams are

defined. The user-coordinator from the user side and the information technology

help from the maintenance team are identified. During this phase, the plan for

acquiring the systems knowledge is also finalized.

During the operating procedures activities, the maintenance team understands the

application and the functionality involved in the maintenance task. The

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Software Project Management (CS615)

maintenance team reviews the current operating procedures of the system. The

team also obtains details about the environment set up, deployment of software,

the resource allocation process, and priority settings. Other' activities such as root

cause analysis, work assignment to the development teams, and updating of

documentation procedures is also done. The maintenance team refers to the

problem management procedures, on-call or escalation procedures; and

operational process for handling: faults. It also makes decisions based on the

severity of the faults, application criticality, and infrastructure issues.

The maintenance team finalizes procedures for transferring support work from the

development team. The maintenance team members are initiated to hands-on

exposure of the systems. The maintenance team finalizes the quality systems and

standards and guidelines to be followed.

Preparation Phase

The preparation phase begins after the initiation phase. During this phase, the

maintenance team sets up the administrative and support procedures needed for

maintenance activities. In this phase, the environment is set up and hardware,

software, and network are made ready for operation. All the procedures decided

and finalized during the initiation phase are put into practice in this phase.

According to the documentation procedures finalized in the initiation phase, the

latest documentation is kept in the library. During this phase, bug reporting,

problem solving, and other support methodologies are established. The security

measures are also put in place and practiced during this phase.

Execution Phase

The execution phase follows the preparation phase. In this phase, the maintenance

team starts executing the maintenance activities after the preparation in the earlier

phase. During this phase, the maintenance team is in close touch with the

development team for a small period of time. Such communication is

recommended to ensure better coordination.

Maintenance Curve

Maintenance activity begins after product implementation. The effort spent on

maintenance varies over a period of time. Normally, maintenance effort is very

high immediately after implementation. The system faces numerous changes

during this time. The changes could be in the form of bugs, changes in network

environment, or problems caused by user mishandling. During this time, the effort

spent on maintenance activities is very high. With time, the system stabilizes and

maintenance activities also slowdown. During this period, the users are more or

less satisfied with the system. The system also runs smoothly without requiring

any major changes. Therefore, maintenance activity is at its lowest during this

phase.

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However, over a period of time, business processes change and the system also

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Software Project Management (CS615)

consists of the head of IT, the project coordinator, and team members. The

maintenance project 1anager is the single point contact between the user

representative and the maintenance team. The project manager categorizes the

type of maintenance activity to be performed based on specifications. The project

manager ensures proper communication between all the entities 1volved in

maintenance activity. To ensure that the maintenance process runs smoothly, there

is a thorough checking of all deliverables. Maintenance activity is the most

critical because the system is running and already in place. Therefore, the project

manager needs to ensure that no error arises during the maintenance process.

The common approach followed in the maintenance process is as follows. After

the user makes a request for change, the maintenance team performs an impact

analysis. Then the team plans for the system release. The system goes through

design changes, coding, and testing. Finally, the system is released. The

maintenance activities undertaken are corrective maintenance, adaptive

maintenance, perfective maintenance, and preventive maintenance.

Corrective Maintenance Process

The corrective maintenance process begins with the user representative reporting

bugs to the project coordinator by using the problem report form. The project

coordinator analyzes the problem and assigns the problem to one of the team

members for corrective action. If the bug fixing leads to any changes in the

system, the change is carried out based on the change request process. The team

member requests the SCM team to check out the item to be modified. Then the

bugs are fixed and tested in the test environment. After this, the user acceptance is

carried out for the successful completion of the corrective maintenance process.

Finally, the SCM team releases the modified item. All related documents are

modified to reflect the changes and the project coordinator closes the problem

report.

Adaptive Maintenance Process

In the adaptive maintenance process, changes are made to the system to

accommodate changes in its external environment. Adaptive maintenance

includes work related to enhancing software functionality. During this process,

certain system changes, additions, insertions, deletions, and modifications are

included to meet the evolving needs of the user and the environment. At times, the

original environment of the software product might change. For example, there

might be changes in operating system, business rules, and external product

characteristics. Adaptive maintenance refers to modifications that adapt to these

changes. The project coordinator plans the changes to be made. The detail plan

and the quality goals are defined for the changes. The team is formed based on the

quantum of work. The change request procedure is followed to carry out the

changes. Finally, the changes are deployed based on a deployment strategy.

Perfective Maintenance Process

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Software Project Management (CS615)

Perfective maintenance refers to enhancements that make the product better,

faster, smaller, better documented, better structured with more functions and

reports. It includes all efforts to improve the quality of software. Perfective

maintenance extends the software beyond its original functional requirements.

During perfective maintenance, the user or the system personnel initiates the

changes to the system. The initiator raises the change request to the project

coordinator. The changes could be a result of enhancements of new functionality

in the existing system.

After tracking-the changes, an impact analysis is done and a detail plan is made to

carry out the changes. Based on the amount of changes, a dedicated member or a

team works on the changes. The testing is done in the testing environment- and

changes are implemented in the system based on the deployment strategy.

Preventive Maintenance Process

Preventive maintenance activities make changes to software programs so that they

can be more easily corrected, adapted, and enhanced. During the preventive

maintenance process, the project coordinator identifies the potential risks.

Recommendations are made to the management for approval of the maintenance

actions. The project coordinator prepares the project detail plan for carrying out

the changes. The preventive maintenance team is formed based on the quantum of

work. The team implements the change based on the request procedure. Finally,

deployment happens based on the deployment strategy.

The maintenance process begins when the user initiates a request for a change.

The process ends when the system changes are tested and the change is released

for operation. In between, there are many activities that are coordinated and

planned using change management.

Reengineering

Reengineering is a process of abstraction of a new system from an old system.

Reengineering is the modification and evolution of software product to meet the

constantly changing business requirements. Failure to reengineer can prevent an

organization from remaining competitive and persistent. This is because every

system faces the risk of being phased out sooner than they were earlier. Therefore,

you need to develop systems that support multiple platforms and are open to

modifications and changes. Here, the role of reengineering comes into play.

Reengineering comprises reverse engineering and forward engineering.

Reverse Engineering

Reverse engineering is a process of recovering the design of the running system

from the source code. Reverse engineering involves analyzing a software system

to achieve two objectives. First, reverse engineering helps to identify the system

components and their Interactions. Second, it helps make representations of the

system on a different, higher level of abstraction.

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Software Project Management (CS615)

Suppose, you want to retrieve the design or a product whose design document is

not available. You can recover the design by working backwards on the product

from the source code to the design requirements. At times, you might need to

reengineer programs developed many years back. The specifications of such

programs are either unclear or was not developed at all. In such a situation, you

use reverse engineering to analyze the program at a higher level of abstraction.

Therefore, you perform reverse engineering to add a significant functionality to

the old program. You can also use it to make the system cost-effective and to

adopt new technologies.

Certain prerequisites are necessary for reverse engineering. The existing system

should be in a running condition. The latest source code should be available.

During reverse engineering, the reverse engineering team gathers information

about the source code and the design and specifications documents. They also

obtain information about the knowledge and experience of the developer. Then

the team studies the existing code and the existing documents. Then they create a

draft document from the existing code. The team discusses with the users and

modifies the draft document based on the discussions.

To perform requirement reengineering, the team first prepares a prototype. After

this, it provides the demo of the prototype to the users. Then the system

requirement specification document is modified based on the discussions. The

team obtains approval from the users on the requirements.

During design reengineering, the team studies the existing data model and the

new requirements. Then they map the requirements with the existing data model

and conduct gap analysis. After this, they modify the data model based on the gap

analysis. The team studies the behavior of the existing programs and prepares

program specifications based on the behavior and the existing code. Then the

unwanted functionality is removed from the program specifications. The program

is then modified based on the new requirements.

During construction reengineering, the team comments on the unwanted code

from the programs. Then they add remarks in the filtered code, and modify the

programs based on the new functionality. Finally, the team tests the reengineering

process. Testing involves preparing the unit level test cases, the test code, and

fixing the defects. Then the code for integration testing is released. The various

testing methodologies followed are conducting integration testing, functional

testing, independent testing, user acceptance testing, and releasing the code for

deployment.

Reverse engineering helps understand the processing of the system, understand

data, and eliminate dead code, bad coupling, and no documentation. It also

reduces the maintenance efforts. The tools used for reverse engineering are Rigi

and Refine Language Tools, static analyzer, and test editor.

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Software Project Management (CS615)

Forward Engineering

Forward engineering is the process of building a new program from the

requirements and design specifications of an old program. During forward

engineering, old design information is recovered from existing software and is

used to reconstitute the existing system. In the process, the quality of the existing

system is enhanced and new functions are added. Therefore, forward engineering

moves from a high-level abstraction and design to a low-level implementation.

Forward engineering is used to improve the overall performance of the system.

Figure 12.2 displays the reengineering process.

Abstraction

Forward Engineer

Reverse Engineer

Existing System

Proposed System

Figure 12.2: Reengineering Process

Maintenance: Best Practices

In addition to the maintenance process, there are some maintenance best practices. A

maintenance process is successful if the testing and production environment are the same.

Version control is strictly implemented using version control tools, such as VSS and

PVCS. You need to check that the deployment strategy is clearly defined and tested and

the documentation is kept up-to-date.

The members of the maintenance team management should be rotated in different

business areas to enhance efficiency. It is very essential to identify backups of the key

personnel. There should be a balance between the new development and problem fixing.

Ensure proper training, and use the latest technology. Knowledge sharing sessions also

help in improving communication within the team. There should be an online help

facility for the maintenance team, and helpdesk tools should be available to track the

problems. Periodic causal analysis of the nature of problems and corrective action need to

be conducted. To ensure successful maintenance process, you need to conduct periodic

quality reviews and monitor the quality goals of the team.

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