Enterprise Solution & Online Project Management
"Project Management is the
application of knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to project activities in order to
meet or exceed stakeholder needs and expectations from the project."
Defining project success before you start
requires critical and conceptual thinking. A project can be conceived as a measured chain
of achievements and this chain is created by starting at the end of the project. This last
achievement in a project is what defines the success of the project. This measurement is
not just a deliverable and a due date, it is instead a strategic result that needs to be
defined with clear consultation with the stakeholders.
A project manager at kvcinfo plans and monitors projects to accomplish goals within
predictable quality, cost and time. The aim is to build and deliver solutions that exceed
customer expectations using well-defined, reliable, flexible, economical and adaptable
processes from end-to-end in our business cycles.
Lets talk about what a project management process
is.
Enterprise Solution
The problem is identified, available solutions are studied, potential
solutions determined and a project brief is created in this stage. A decision is made to
outsource or work on the project internally. As may be the case, the service provider and
the team members are then identified.
The project scope defines the vision and the
end-results of the project. A needs analysis document will gather detail information like
target audience, technology profiling, budget and schedule, staffing and risks. A project
scope or proposal document is then developed as a detailed proposal for meeting project
needs. The next step is to then negotiate and sign a contract and select a team to work on
the project. A project plan is then developed. It contains a description of the project
management activities that will be necessary for the execution and control of the project.
To understand our development process in detail, click here.
Some of the major roles that a project
leader/manager plays are in areas like:
Team management:
The project leader/manager aims to create an atmosphere of a cooperative and effective
team culture. Team management includes all the processes that are needed to identify and
secure an effective project team. Determining where the requisite staff can be obtained
and then identifying the roles and responsibilities of each team member, how they
communicate with each other and build the necessary rapport, undergo training if
necessary, resolve conflicts and monitor performance levels are necessary to ensure the
effectiveness of the team.
Communication management:
Effective communication in a project between all the stakeholders and the project team is
imperative as it ensures that the stakeholders gain and maintain a clear understanding of
the status of project's progress. This could either be a weekly report on the status, on
the risks involved, the schedule and the budget status and can be in a documented format
or handed out or reported in a meeting. At kvcinfo, we hold information meetings every
Monday where all the projects are reported about and explained. This also ensures that the
entire organization is aware of all that happens on the projects and project-related
activities within the organization.
Risk Management:
The project plan usually contains a risk plan that describes strategies and methods used
to identify and avoid risks throughout the life cycle of the project. All kinds of risks
are identified here - business risks that are associated with the nature of the work done
or the client and the target environment, risks within the project and the team
environment and finally technical risks involved with the system or other aspects of the
technology of the application.
Configuration management: In
any project, many versions and files are created during the project and thus increasing
the number of versions and components of the product. It is important to identify and
track these versions and document how any changes made to these documents will be handled
and reported. All project documentation; project hardware and software and project outputs
are placed under project management.
Quality management:
Evaluation and testing activities contribute to how the final deliverable in a project
adheres to relevant standards. Quality of a package or deliverable doesn't mean checking
it at the end and ensuring that it is bug free. It also means quality is tracked right
through the project. A quality management plan is developed at the beginning of the
project and a quality check representative is assigned to a project at the beginning of
the project.
Quality assurance implies that the project and
its various phases are continually tracked and evaluated. Different kinds of projects
undergo various kinds of evaluation and testing procedures.
Project Time management: Developing procedures to manage
activities and the schedule of a project involve giving a detailed schedule at the project
definition stage. A work breakdown structure is developed based on the proposal in the
project scope document and agreed to in the project contract.
There are a range of project management
techniques that are used to manage and track time, resources and tasks in a project. At
kvcinfo, we use an in-house software called Operations Management System that doesn't just
help manage projects, but also functions as an employee relationship management tool.
Cost Management: To
ensure that the costs are maintained during the project, the project manager with the help
of the client requirements capture team proposes the budget and the resources involved in
the project at the beginning when the scope of the project is defined. These budgets and
schedules are reviewed at regular intervals, especially when deliverables are iteratively
defined in a project.
| The Project Brief is likely
to contain: |
- A statement of the teaching and
learning problem.
- A summary of the intended outcomes
of the package you are developing.
- A brief description of the
selected potential solution.
- reasons why the solution has been
selected.
- A discussion of how you think this
solution will actually work to solve the problem.
- A discussion of other available
solutions, their strengths and weaknesses.
- A description of who will benefit
from the solution and how.
- An analysis of the views of
these stakeholders.
|
Our project leaders follow a well-established
project leadership process that begins from a complete preplanning of the project to
defining the scope, mission, resource announcements, deliverable definitions and a common
plan. What a PL does is to give a strategic direction to the project.
During the execution of the project, in addition
to monitoring deadlines, tasks, constraints, resources, the Project leaders also check on
the goals, issues, key learning areas, alerts and team dynamics. They plan and deploy
periodic check-ins and conclude by posting a project review, decide on appropriate rewards
and recognition. In other words, they play the role of a process director.
The PL also keeps a journal that records all
issues. The OMS or operating management system is our very own in-house project management
software that acts as MS Project, Outlook, Calendar and was designed and created in-house
and is used by every employee in the organization.
- Requirements Capture Process
- Interface Process
- Project Leadership Process
PROCESSES
We are a process-centric organization and strive
to optimize our processes and achieve maturity levels that would make us part of elite
organizations that have achieved the same worldwide.
What measures a process is it's flexibility, the number of iterations it goes through and
the predictability of its deliverables. Processes in kvcinfo today are approaching SEI CMM
level 3 in maturity. We have tailored the existing defined processes to suit client
requirements and organizational goals. Our goal for the next few years is to establish an
infrastructure that institutionalizes effective software engineering and project
management across the organization.
A Mature Process
| How can an
organization tell that its processes are improving? |
- Chaos levels are reduced
- Surprises are handled in a
preplanned manner
- Common understanding of
roles in the organization
- Work from different groups
doesn't conflict.
- Risks are at a
non-threatening level
- Predictions and revisions
are made with confidence
|
| What is
SEI? CMM? |
- SEI = 'Software
Engineering Institute' at Carnegie-Mellon University; initiated by the U.S. Defense
Department to help improve software development processes.
- CMM = 'Capability
Maturity Model', developed by the SEI. It's a model of 5 levels of organizational
'maturity' that determine effectiveness in delivering quality software. It is geared to
large organizations such as large U.S. Defense Department contractors. However, many of
the QA processes involved are appropriate to any organization, and if reasonably applied
can be helpful. Organizations can receive CMM ratings by undergoing assessments by
qualified auditors.
Level 1 - characterized by chaos, periodic panics, and heroic
efforts required by individuals to successfully complete projects. Few if any processes in
place; successes may not be repeatable.
Level 2 - software project tracking, requirements management, realistic planning,
and configuration management processes are in place; successful practices can be repeated.
Level 3 - standard software development and maintenance processes
are integrated throughout an organization; a Software Engineering Process Group is is in
place to oversee software processes, and training programs are used to ensure
understanding and compliance.
Level 4 - metrics are used to track productivity, processes, and products. Project
performance is predictable, and quality is consistently high.
Level 5 - the focus is on continuous process improvement. The impact of new
processes and technologies can be predicted and effectively implemented when required.
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