Project management for IT-related projects : textbook for the ISEB Foundation Certificate in IS Project Management

This book explains the principles of IT-related project management, including project planning, monitoring and control, change management, risk management and communication between project stakeholders. Each chapter includes detailed discussion of the syllabus content, activities and multiple choice questions for self-assessment. This is the only textbook tailored specifically to match the BCS syllabus so the user can be confident of using exactly the right materials. Copyright 1 CONTENTS 7 FIGURES AND TABLES 10 PREFACE 11 USEFUL URLS 13 1 PROJECTS AND PROJECT WORK 15 LEARNING OUTCOMES 15 1.1 PROJECTS 15 1.2 SUCCESSFUL PROJECTS 16 1.3 PROJECT MANAGEMENT 19 1.4 SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT LIFE CYCLE 20 1.5 PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND THE DEVELOPMENT LIFE CYCLE 26 1.6 ELEMENTS OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT 27 1.7 DEVELOPMENT PROCESS MODELS 29 1.8 THE PROJECT PLAN 34 1.9 THE BUSINESS CASE 38 1.10 IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGIES 41 1.11 POST-IMPLEMENTATION REVIEW 42 SAMPLE QUESTIONS 43 ANSWERS TO SAMPLE QUESTIONS 43 2 PROJECT PLANNING 46 LEARNING OUTCOMES 46 2.1 INTRODUCTION 46 2.2 APPROACHES TO PLANNING 47 2.3 PRODUCT FLOW DIAGRAM 49 2.4 ACTIVITY PLANNING 51 2.5 RESOURCE ALLOCATION 58 2.6 USING SOFTWARE TOOLS FOR PLANNING 63 SAMPLE QUESTIONS 64 ANSWERS TO SAMPLE QUESTIONS 64 POINTERS FOR ACTIVITIES 65 3 MONITORING AND CONTROL 69 LEARNING OUTCOMES 69 3.1 INTRODUCTION 69 3.2 THE PROJECT CONTROL LIFE CYCLE 69 3.3 MONITORING PROGRESS 70 3.4 APPLYING CONTROL 72 3.5 PURPOSE AND TYPES OF REPORTING MEETINGS 73 3.6 TAKING CORRECTIVE ACTION 74 3.7 GRAPHICAL REPRESENTATION OF PROGRESS INFORMATION 77 SAMPLE QUESTIONS 81 ANSWERS TO SAMPLE QUESTIONS 81 4 CHANGE CONTROL AND MANAGEMENT 84 LEARNING OUTCOMES 84 4.1 INTRODUCTION 84 4.2 DEFINITION OF CHANGE 85 4.3 CHANGE MANAGEMENT ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES 87 4.4 THE CHANGE MANAGEMENT PROCESS 88 4.5 CONFIGURATION MANAGEMENT 90 SAMPLE QUESTIONS 92 ANSWERS TO SAMPLE QUESTIONS 92 POINTERS FOR ACTIVITIES 93 5 QUALITY 94 LEARNING OUTCOMES 94 5.1 INTRODUCTION 94 5.2 DEFINITIONS OF QUALITY 95 5.3 QUALITY CHARACTERISTICS 96 5.4 QUALITY CRITERIA 96 5.5 QUALITY CONTROL VERSUS QUALITY ASSURANCE 98 5.6 QUALITY PLAN 99 5.7 DETECTING DEFECTS 99 5.8 DYNAMIC TESTING 104 5.9 EVALUATING SUPPLIERS 107 5.10 ISO 9001:2008 107 5.11 CAPABILITY MATURITY MODELS 108 SAMPLE QUESTIONS 109 ANSWERS TO SAMPLE QUESTIONS 109 POINTERS FOR ACTIVITIES 110 6 ESTIMATING 114 LEARNING OUTCOMES 114 6.1 INTRODUCTION 114 6.2 WHAT WE ESTIMATE AND WHY IT IS IMPORTANT 114 6.3 EXPERT JUDGEMENT 115 6.4 APPROACHES TO ESTIMATING 117 6.5 A PARAMETRIC APPROACH 118 6.6 ESTIMATING BY ANALOGY 122 6.7 CHECKLIST 123 SAMPLE QUESTIONS 124 ANSWERS TO SAMPLE QUESTIONS 125 POINTERS FOR ACTIVITIES 125 7 RISK 127 LEARNING OUTCOMES 127 7.1 INTRODUCTION 127 7.2 RISK MANAGEMENT 128 7.3 IDENTIFYING RISKS 129 7.4 ASSESSING THE RISK 131 7.5 QUANTITATIVE APPROACHES TO RISK 132 7.6 THE QUALITATIVE APPROACH TO PROJECT RISK ASSESSMENT 133 7.7 DECIDING THE APPROPRIATE ACTIONS 136 7.8 PLANNING, MONITORING AND CONTROL 138 7.9 SUMMARY 140 SAMPLE QUESTIONS 140 ANSWERS TO SAMPLE QUESTIONS 140 POINTERS FOR ACTIVITIES 141 8 PROJECT ORGANISATION 143 LEARNING OUTCOMES 143 8.1 INTRODUCTION 143 8.2 PROGRAMMES AND PROJECTS 144 8.3 IDENTIFYING STAKEHOLDERS AND THEIR CONCERNS 144 8.4 THE ORGANISATIONAL FRAMEWORK 145 8.5 DESIRABLE CHARACTERISTICS OF A PROJECT MANAGER 150 8.6 PROJECT SUPPORT OFFICE 151 8.7 PROJECT TEAM 152 8.8 MATRIX MANAGEMENT 153 8.9 TEAM BUILDING 155 8.10 TEAM DYNAMICS 156 8.11 MANAGEMENT STYLES 157 8.12 COMMUNICATION METHODS 158 8.13 CONCLUSION 159 SAMPLE QUESTIONS 160 ANSWERS TO SAMPLE QUESTIONS 160 POINTERS FOR ACTIVITIES 160 INDEX 163 Back Cover 166 The BCS Foundation Certificate in IS Project Management is designed for those managing the development and implementation of information systems and other IT projects. This is the only textbook written specifically for the BCS syllabus. Key areas covered include project planning, monitoring and control, quality control, risk and communications Ideal for IT practitioners with project management responsibility, this book explains the principles of IT-related project management, covering key areas such as project planning, monitoring and control, change and risk management and communication between project stakeholders. It includes new material on risk assessment and agile approaches