Reference no: EM132285373

Q1 - Scope Planning and WBS Development

a) Discuss the roles and benefits of a WBS in software project management.

b) A deliverable-oriented WBS (also known as product-oriented WBS) decomposes the project scope into smaller and more manageable deliverables. Deliverable are tangible components that need to be delivered to complete the project.

Explain the term "work package" and illustrate a deliverable-oriented
WBS using a web development project.

c) Your company has decided that it needs a new sales recording system and that an off-the•shelf package is the best solution. The main tasks have been identified as follows:

• Draw up a functional requirements specification
• Consider various relevant software packages and select one
• Identify and specify the necessary hardware and communications equipment
• Order the hardware and equipment
• Identify the key package modifications needed to meet the functionality required
• Modify the software package as necessary
• Accept delivery and install all hardware and equipment needed for the package
• Design a training plan
• Set up a testing plan
• Unit test all the amended package modules
• Train the users
• Full integration and acceptance testing
• Implement the new system

Develop a WBS for the above project using both graphical and text format. Discuss some advantages and disadvantages of each format.

Q2 Critical Path Method

A small trading company has decided to commission a small local software house to develop a new order processing system. This will replace the existing system which is run by an external service provider. The system will be used by three different sections of the company: Order Processing (OP), Invoicing (IP) and Receipts Processing (RP), each of whom have their own specific requirements and will require online access to the new system.

The outline plan includes the following main activities:

A, B, C. Gather requirements for each of the three company sections. This can be done in parallel for each section, and will take 5 weeks for the OP section, 4 weeks for the IP section and 3 weeks for RP section. D. Consolidate requirements.
This is dependent on the completion of the activities A, B and C above and will take 2 weeks.
E. Design software This is dependent on requirements consolidation (activity D) and will take 4 weeks.
F. Build and test software.
This is dependent on software design (E) and will take 7 weeks.
G. Order and delivery of communications equipment and hardware. This is also dependent on requirements consolidation (D) but can run in parallel with the software design (E) and will take 10 weeks.
I-I. Install communications equipment and hardware
This is dependent on order and delivery (G) and will take 2 weeks.
I. Design acceptance testing cases - also dependent on requirements consolidation (D) and will take 6 weeks.
J. Integration testing - dependent on both build and test software (F), and the installation of communications equipment and hardware (I-1) and takes 3 weeks.
K. Acceptance testing - dependent on acceptance test design (I) and integration testing (J) and takes 3 weeks.a) Draw an Activity-on-Node network diagram to represent the above project.

b) Calculate the earliest and latest start and finish times and the floats for each of the above activities and present them in a table. Identify the critical path and state the minimum duration for the project.

c) Just before the project starts, it is realised that, due to the absence of key staff, the requirements gathering for the OP section (activity B) will now take 6 weeks. Also, that the build and test software task (F) will now take 9 weeks. Re-calculate and re-present the table that you produced for part b, and identify any other changes that might result from these changes.

d) Discuss TWO advantages of using an activity-on-node network diagram and TWO advantages of a Gantt chart to display the information above.

Q3-Gantt Chart Analysis

a) One of the most critical characteristics of a successful IT project is that it is completed on time. Identify at least four other key characteristics of project success, explaining why they are important.

Your company has decided that it needs a new sales recording system and that an off-the-shelf package is the best solution. The main tasks have been identified and durations assessed as follows

Activity	Duration	Precedent Activity
A Draw up a functional requirements specification	3 weeks	None
B Consider various relevant software packages and select one	2 weeks	A
C Identify and specify the necessary hardware and communications equipment	3 weeks	B
I) Order the hardware and equipment	2 weeks	C
E Identify the key package modifications needed to meet the functionality required	3 weeks	B
F Modify the software package as necessary	10 weeks	E
G Accept delivery and install all hardware and equipment needed for the package	8 weeks	D
H Design a training plan	2 weeks	B
I Set up a testing plan	3 weeks	B
J Unit test all the amended package modules	5 weeks	F„G, I
K Train the users K Train the users	4 weeks	H
L Full integration and acceptance testing	3 weeks	J, K
M Implement the new system	2 Weeks	L

b) Draw a Gantt chart for the same project tasks, showing each of these tasks, all dependencies and float, and each task's duration. Highlight the critical path on the diagram. What is the total duration of this critical path?

c) Describe how each of the following changes to task durations (on their own) would affect the critical path and project duration. Explain clearly your answers

I) Task B - reduced to 1 week
ii) Task F - increased to 11 weeks
iii) Task G - reduced to 7 weeks

Q4 - PERT Network Analysis
Your company is currently pursuing an IT project involving purchasing some new equipment and upgrading some software components'. The main tasks have been identified and their durations have been estimated as follows:

Activity	Description	Optimistic Time (weeks)	Most Likely Time (weeks)	Pessimist is Time (weeks)
A	Equipment Installation	6	8	10
B	System Development	3	6	9
C	Position Recruiting	1	3	5
D	Equipment Testing and Modification	2	4	12
E	Manual Testing	2	3	4
F	Job Training	3	4	5
G	Orientation	2	2	2
H	System Training	3	7	11
I	System Testing	2	4	6
J	Final Debugging	1	4	7
K	System Changeover	1	10	13

a) Draw an activity-on-node (AoN) diagram for these 11 project tasks (A to K). Calculate, display and clearly label on the diagram, the earliest and latest start and finish times and float of each task

b) Describe how each of the following changes to task durations (on their own) would affect the critical path and project duration. Explain your answers clearly.
i) Task E - reduced to 2 weeks
ii) Task F - increased to 6 weeks
iii) Task A - increased to 10 weeks

c) By making use of the normal table provided calculate:
L What is probability that project is completed within 30 weeks?
IL What is probability that project is completed within 23 weeks?
III. By what date is management 97 percent sure completion will occur?

Q5 - Project crashing

Suppose that you are working on a new software product development project. Table below provides the information about the activities, immediate predecessors, normal times and costs, and crash times and costs.

Activity	Immediate Predecessor(s)	Normal Time (weeks)	Crash Time (weeks)	Normal Cost ($)	Crash Cost (5)
A	None	5	2	25 000	34 000
B	None	4	2	30 000	40 000
C	A,B	10	6	45 000	81 000
D	B		3	30 000	38 000
E	C,D	7	6	30 000	37 000
F	C		3	20 000	24 000
G	E, F	G	4	35 000	45 000
H	D, G	2	1	15 000	25 000

a) Draw an Activity-on-Arrow network diagram to represent the above project. Using normal durations calculate the minimum project completion time and identify the critical path(s).

b) Calculate the crash cost per week for each activity.

c) Suppose that management wants to shorten the project to 20 weeks to beat competition. Which activities should be crashed, and for each crashed activity provide the total, number of weeks crashed and the total project crash cost.

d) Draw a Gantt chart for the crashed project, incorporating all task durations, dependencies, free float and the critical path(s).