Tallinn University

Institute of Informatics

Project management
Peeter Normak

Tallinn 2007

Content
INTRODUCTION......................................................................................................................5 1BASIC CONCEPTS AND MODELS......................................................................................7 1.1.Definition of projects 1.2. Life cycle of a project 1.3.Definition of project management 1.3.1. Project management knowledge areas 1.3.2.Project management process groups 1.3.3.Project management acti ities 1.3.4.Project management artefacts 1.4.Project managers competency de elopment 1.!.Project management maturity model P""" 1.#.$rgani%ational project management maturity model $P"3 7 9 12 13 14 14 14 1! 19 21

2INITIATING A PROJECT.....................................................................................................25
..........................................................................................................................................................................25

2.1.&ssumptions for project initiation 2.2. Determination of t'e o(jecti e of a project 2.3. Determination of sources for financing 2.4. )ources of grant information 2.!. *essource analysis 2.#.Project c'arter 2.7. +omposition of project consortium,team

2! 2! 27 29 31 32 33

3PLANNING A PROJECT.....................................................................................................36 3.1. -eeds analysis 3.2..ime/ta(le for composition of a project plan 3.3.)tructure of a project plan 3.4. Determination of milestones and acti ities 3.!. .ime/ta(le of a project 3.#. Description of project management 3.7.*isk management 3.0.2uality planning 3.9. 3mplementation t'e results of a project and assessment of t'eir impact
2

37 30 39 41 41 44 4# 40 !1

3.11. 4udget of a project 3.11. +omposition of a project plan 3.12. )ummary of a project 3.13..'e logframe matri5 of a project 3.14. +omposition of recommendations for projects 3.1!. *e iewing t'e projects 3.1#.P*/acti ities

!1 !3 !4 !! !# !7 !0

4RUNNING A PROJECT.......................................................................................................59 4.1.)tarting a project 4.2. .'e P*3-+62 met'od 4.3. "anagement of t'e project 4.4.)cope management 4.!. 3nformation management 4.#. *eporting and 7uality control 4.7. *esource management 4.0. Professional de elopment of project team 4.9. 8sing power in project management 4.11. De otion of team mem(ers 4.11. )upporting creati ity 4.12..eamwork !9 #1 #1 #4 #! ## #7 #0 #9 71 72 73 74

It may seem paradoxical but existence of a strong competitor may be a strong motivator for team work as well. ..................................................................................................................................................................74

4.13.9andling conflicts

5CLOSING A PROJECT.......................................................................................................77 !.1.Preparation to t'e project completion !.2.&cti ities after project completion 77 70

6SOFTWARE PROJECTS ...................................................................................................79 #.1.)pecific c'aracter of software projects #.2. +ritical success factors of software projects #.3. )tructure of software process #.4. Preliminary planning of a software project #.!. -eeds for personnel #.#.Personnel management #.7. +'ange management 79 01 02 03 04 0! 07

#.0.*isk management #.9.+o/operation wit' upper management in planning a project #.11. -eeds analysis #.11. 2uality management #.12. )oftware general design and arc'itecture #.13. *elease of a software #.14.+ost models for software de elopment

00 09 91 91 93 94 9#

7SOFTWARE PROCESS MANAGEMENT...........................................................................98 7.1.3ntroduction to software process management 7.2. .'e waterfall model 7.3. .wo p'ase model 90 99 111

LITERATURE.......................................................................................................................102 APPENDICES......................................................................................................................104 &ppendi5 1: +'arter of t'e project ;2uality system of 3+. ocational education; &ppendi5 2: Possi(le structure of a 'istory document of a software project &ppendi5 3: +'aracteristics of effecti e and ineffecti e project managers &ppendi5 4: )uccess factors of 3./projects <(y +'aos of .'e )tandis' =roup> 114 11# 117 110

I !"#$%&!'#
! company t"at will survive in market economy s"ould be able not only #uickly to react to t"e c"anging needs of t"e society but also offer t"eir products attractively$ in good #uality and wit" good price. In a limited time frame and very often wit" limited recourses t"e companies s"ould develop new products and services. %o do t"is effectively$ a plan is needed& ad hoc approac" can probably work only in simplest cases. In many cases t"e plans are evolved to pro'ects. %"e amount of money for running pro'ects is "uge. (or example$ according )*ounds$ 1++,- a yearly spending for 175 ... IC% pro'ects only in /0! was more t"an 25. billion /01. !t t"e same time$ a big part of t"e money was 'ust wasted as was revealed by %"e 0tandis" 2roup 3www.standis"group.com4 in its 5%"e C6!70 8eport 31++449 3www.pm2go.com:sample;researc":c"aos;1++4;1.asp4 analysing success factors of software pro'ects. In 1++4$ t"e basic failure indicators for software pro'ects were t"e following< 1$1= pro'ects were cancelled$ t"e total overspending of completed pro'ects 352$7= of all pro'ects4 was 5+ billion /01.

It was also noticed t"at t"e gap between t"e best and t"e worst pro'ect managers was constantly growing and t"at knowledge and skills of pro'ect managers is crucial for software pro'ects to succeed. !s t"e complexity of pro'ects and pro'ect management tools is also constantly growing$ a separate profession of pro'ect managers emerged& an annual growt" rate of t"is branc" is estimated to be about 2.=. >nowledge can be ac#uired$ skills not always. ?xperienced pro'ect managers usually do not fail in managing middle si@e software pro'ects 32....A25.... lines of code4. Bevert"eless$ according )*ounds$ 1++,-$ only about 2C= of pro'ects were completed on time and did not overrun t"e budget. ! later study of %"e 0tandis" 2roup s"owed t"at t"e total overspending of completed software pro'ects reac"ed 75 billion /01 in 2..1. !s a conse#uence$ t"e universities and ot"er educational institutions introduced in 1++.Aies not only separate courses in pro'ect management but also w"ole curricula. !s people management is one of t"e main tasks of pro'ect managers$ t"e university curricula are usually offered by t"e faculties of social sciences. (or example$ t"e pro'ect management module offered by t"e faculty of social sciences of %D/ consists currently 32..74 of following courses< +ompulsory courses <19?! 6+.)> Ero'ect planning Ero'ect financing Ero'ect management software Farketing communication Ero'ect implementation and evaluation C 4$5 $ptional courses <c'oose 3 6+.)> %"eory of management Esyc"ology of advertising Eersonnel management

!lt"oug" t"e Project Management Institute was formed already in 1+C+ and t"e development of The Guide of the Project Management Body of Knowledge was started in1+,1$ systematic educational activities in pro'ect management began in most countries in 1++.Aies. 6owever$ t"is broug"t its fruits already #uite soon. !ccording t"e Standish Group comparative study$ t"e basic data c"aracteri@ing success factors of IC% pro'ects in /0! for years 2..1 and 1++5 were t"e following< A A A 0uccessful pro'ects< Bumber of successful pro'ects (unctions 3from originally specified4
5

2,= 7, ... C7=

31++5 G 1C$2=4$ 31++5 G 2, ...4$ 31++5 G C1=4.

Bow pro'ect management belongs for a number of specialties into core competences. (or example$ t"e ?uroAInf consortium defines in its Framework Standards and ccreditation !riteria for Informatics Programmes t"e following five descriptors$ based on learning competences and learning outcomes< 1. /nderlying Conceptual *asis for Informatics. 2. !nalysis$ 1esign and Implementation. . %ec"nological$ Fet"odological and %ransferable 0kills. 4. Coverage of ot"er 1isciplines. 5. 0ocial and Project "anagement +ompetences. 6owever$ as we will see below$ Project management puts certain re7uirements to personality of project managers @ especially in projects wit' a (ig num(er of participants @ and t'erefore not e ery(ody is capa(le to run projects effecti ely. Eassing a pro'ect management course will not assure t"at you will be able to prepare and run pro'ects on a "ig" level. Bevert"eless passing t"e course will "elp you to avoid big mistakes. %"is course put emp"asis on 67H to act for successful pro'ect management and not so muc" on H6!% to do in managing pro'ects. %"is constitutes t"e main difference of t"e course from t"e ma'ority of ot"er courses and textbooks in pro'ect management. In t"is t"e aut"or bases on "is own broad experience in managing pro'ects$ small and large$ local and international$ researc" as well developmental pro'ects. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA ! number of international and national institutions for pro'ect management emerged in last decades$ among t"em Project Management Institute "www.pmi.org#$ ustralian Institute of Project Management "www.aipm.com.au4 or Ero'ect Fanagement !ssociation (inland 3www.pry.fi:index;eng."tm 4. Ero'ect management belongs to t"e activity areas of some ot"er institutions as well$ among t"em International Institute for %earning Inc& "www.iil.com or iil.com# t"at developed Project Management Maturity Model and its assessment met"odology. %"ere are companies t"at "ave speciali@ed to consultations and supervision for preparation of pro'ects 3see$ for example$ www.tgci.com$ The Grantsmanship !enter' www.rmcpro'ect.com$ (M! Project Management' www.amsconsulting.com$ d)anced Management Ser)ices Inc' www.4pm.com$ *PM4 'ust to name few. 0ometimes participation on pro'ect calls is like participation in sport competition w"ere t"e best will win. 65ercises 1. H"at are t"e reasons w"y pro'ects 3and t"erefore pro'ect management as well4 grow in importance during last decadesI 2. *ased on more recent data find statistics of success and failure indicators of pro'ects. H"at are t"e ma'or trends during t"e last decade 3see$ for example "ttp<::www.info#.com:articles:InterviewAJo"nsonA0tandis"AC6!704.

1 B()'& &# &*+!) ( $ ,#$*-)

1.1. Definition of projects
%"ere are a number of definitions of pro'ect. (or example$ t"e P(I+!,- met"odology )E8IBC?2$ p 7- proposes two definitions of t"e pro'ect 14 5! management environment t"at is created for t"e purpose of delivering one or more business products according to a specified *usiness Case9& 24 5! temporary organisation t"at is needed to produce a uni#ue and predefined outcome or result at a specified time using predetermined resources9. %"e notion KoutcomeK can be understood very broadly$ it can mean$ for example$ a piece of computer software or "ardware$ a met"odology$ a curriculum etc. !s t"e scope and type of pro'ects is very broad t"ere is no universal set of parameters or c"aracteristics of pro'ects$ neit"er uni#ue set of procedures for pro'ect management. (or example$ if logistics 3coAordination of pro'ect activities4 plays important role in running big pro'ects t"en it can be nearly nonexistent in small pro'ects. If$ for example$ software pro'ects s"ould "ave testing p"ase$ t"en pro'ects in education not necessarily. Bevert"eless t"ere is a number common attributes t"at are present in all pro'ects and t"at actually form t"e framework for pro'ects< 1. ?very pro'ect "as a main ob'ective or main objectives. 2. ?very pro'ect is timely bounded$ "as eit"er a fixed beginning and end or duration. . ! structured system of activities and outcomes/milestones. 4. ?very pro'ect needs certain recourses. 8ecourses can be divided into "uman recourses$ financial recourses$ infrastructure etc. !dditional attributes can be considered$ for example$ t"e following< 5. The funding institution 3or customer4. %"e customer will usually determine t"e main features of t"e pro'ect outcome and formulate t"e main re#uirements 3for example$ #uality re#uirements4. C. ?very pro'ect is a uni#ue undertaking and t"erefore "as certain uncertainty and risks. ?ven if t"e pro'ect team already did run a similar pro'ect before$ meanw"ile occurred c"anges in work environment$ tec"nical and software tools$ team composition or legal regulations cause some uncertainty. 7. The contractor or coordinating institution. 65ample 1.1. %"e attributes of %?FE/0 Joint ?uropean Ero'ect 1241, K!reation of Master Programme in Multimedia and %earning SystemsK were t"e following< 1. %"e ob'ective was to develop a master program in Multimedia and %earning Systems 3including composition of course materials4. 2. %"e pro'ect began in 15.december 1++7 and ended in 14.marc" 2..1. . 8esources< 2,+ 1.. ?uro$ t"e staff of Tallinn Pedagogical .ni)ersity$ .ni)ersity of Tartu$ Tallinn Technical .ni)ersity$ ,stonian rt cademy$ Tampere .ni)ersity of Technology$ .ni)ersity of Twente and Tallaght Institute of Technology in /u0lin$ and t"e premises of t"ese institutions.
7

4. (or completing t"e pro'ect$ 5 outcomes and corresponding activity plans were fixed. 5. %"e pro'ect was financed by ,uropean Training Foundation. C. %"e main uncertainty consisted in t"e fact t"at t"is particular consortium "as not participated in any 'oint pro'ect before. 7. %"e pro'ect was coAordinated by %allinn Eedagogical /niversity. 65ample 1.2. %"e attributes of t"e pro'ect 5Eedagogical foundations and implementation models for constructivist webAbased environments in ?stonian "ig"er education context9. 1. %"e ob'ective< specification of pedagogical$ design and implementation models for a DF0 t"at is 14 designed according to t"e users needs$ 24 compatible wit" emerging semantic web and instructional tec"nology standards$ 4 supporting various learning:teac"ing scenarios and met"ods$ and 44 accessible by various inputAoutput devices 3mobile p"one$ E1!$ screen reader4. 2. %ime< .1..1.2.. A 1.12.2..5 . 8esources< 1 .,2 ... ??>$ 4. !ctivities< a. !nalyse t"e DF0 user needs and implementation possibilities& b. 1etermine t"e pedagogical principles for an academic DF0 and analyse t"eir dependence from implementation context. c. 1etermine factors t"at mostly influence effective usage of DF0 by university teac"ers. d. ?laborate teac"ing and learning assessment met"ods in a web based constructionist DF0 and implementation examples. e. !dapt to ?stonian "ig"er education context learning tec"nology standards t"at serve as base for development of DF0. f. 1etermine principles and tec"nical re#uirements for a simple and flexible user interface 3suitable for users wit" special needs as well4. g. Comparative analyse of different implementation models and user scenarios of DF0 in ?stonian context. ". !nalyse t"e forming process of user community of web based DF0. i. !nalyse t"e implementation possibilities of community based software development model in ?stonian "ig"er education. 5. (unding institution< targeted financing of t"e ministry of education and researc". C. /ncertainty< t"e first relatively big researc" pro'ect in IC% in %DL$ most of t"e pro'ect team did not "ave "ig" level researc" experiences in a researc" group. 7. Erincipal investigator< Eeeter Bormak. 65ample 1.3. %"e attributes of t"e pro'ect 5Curriculum and researc" group in Bew Fedia9. 1. %"e ob'ective were 14 to establis" in %DL a c"air of Bew Fedia and 'ointly wit" t"e partner institutions to develop curricula in new media& 24 Invite an internationally recogni@ed foreign professor in new media& 4 Create a researc" group and start international researc" pro'ects in new media& 44 start coAoperative activities wit" ot"er enterprises in new media. 2. %ime< .1..2.2..5A 1.12.2..7. . 8esources $4C F??> 3about 221 5C. ?/84. 4. !ctivities according t"e ob'ectives.
,

5. %"e pro'ect was financed by ?uropean 0tructural (unds 375=4 and %allinn /niversity 325=4. C. /ncertainty was caused by t"e fact t"at 14 it was t"e first international curriculum in 1epartment of Informatics and t"at 24 %%/ failed in starting an international curriculum. 8isks for not getting a professor was minimised 3t"ere was a good applicant for professors"ip already before submitting t"e application4. 7. CoAordinator< %allinn /niversity. 65ercises. 1. 1oes boiling porridge soup #ualify as a pro'ectI H"at could be t"e values of its attributesI 2. Can composition of master or E"1 t"esis be considered as a pro'ectI . *ring an example of a pro'ectAlike undertaking t"at will not #ualify as a pro'ect. H"at are t"e main differences between pro'ects and programmesI 4. /sing web searc" bring an example of an unsuccessful pro'ect. H"at w"ere t"e main reasons for failingI

1.2. Life cycle of a project

%"e activities related to a pro'ect can be structured and grouped by t"e main aim of t"e activities and groups of activities. %"ese groups of activities are linearly ordered and are called stages. Bormally t"e life cycle of t"e pro'ect consists of t"e following stages< initiation planning execution closing. 0ometimes pro'ect monitoring is considered as t"e fift" stage. %"is stage "as t"en a special status because it is running in parallel to t"e ot"er stages. %"e division of stages into activities depends on t"e type and volume of t"e pro'ect. He list t"e activities t"at are present in most of t"e pro'ects 3t"e main aim of t"e stage is indicated in t"e brackets4. Project initiation 3determination of t"e main ob'ective and forming a clear understanding about t"e necessity and suitability of t"e pro'ect& t"is stage s"ould answer t"e #uestions whatI and whyI4< 1. Identification and initial analysis of t"e business needs. 2. 1etermination of t"e main ob'ective3s4. . 8esource analysis 3people$ e#uipment$ financial& needs and availability 4. 4. Composition of t"e pro'ect c"arter. Project planning 3determination of an optimal sc"eme:algorit"m for pro'ect execution& t"is stage s"ould answer t"e #uestion howI4< 5. Beeds analysis. C. 1escription of t"e pro'ect 3incl. determination of activities and necessary resources4. 7. Composition of a pro'ect plan. ,. Elanning and performing necessary E8Aactivities. Project execution 3ac"ieving t"e pro'ect ob'ectives wit"out violating t"e constraints of t"e pro'ect4< +. 0tarting up t"e execution.
+

1.. 1ayAtoAday management. 11. C"ange management and reporting. Closing the project 3formal completion of t"e pro'ect and building solid bases for followAup activities4< 12. Eroduct acceptance and implementation:application activities. 1 . Composition of t"e final report and t"e %essons %earned document. 14. Elanning t"e followAup activities 3including E8 activities4. 15. (iling and arc"iving t"e pro'ect documentation. %"ere always are some activities related to t"e pro'ect t"at are performed after t"e pro'ect completion. (or example$ t"e final auditing of t"e pro'ect$ correction of errors or supporting t"e customers etc. %"e division of t"e lifeAcycle of t"e pro'ect into stages gives an opportunity to break off t"e pro'ect after t"e initiation and planning stages if it will turn out to be unreasonable to proceed wit" t"e pro'ect. It would cause "uge losses if t"e pro'ect will be cancelled in a more later p"ase. ! pro'ect can "ave two or even more planning p"ases. If$ for example$ a pro'ect propsal was re'ected$ t"en based on additional information 3explanations:reports causing t"e re'ection4 t"e pro'ect plan s"ould accordingly be c"anged. 0ometimes a successful pro'ect can in anot"er context be repeated only wit" marginal modifications. He will discuss t"e stages and activities in a more detail in subse#uent sections& "ere we point out t"e most important aspects only. 3dentification of t'e needs is extremely important as it determines in a great extent success of t"e pro'ect including probability to be financed. %"e probability to be financed is t"e bigger t"e< more corresponds t"e pro'ect to t"e priorities of t"e donor:financing institution& bigger is advancement in relation to t"e solutions used before& bigger is t"e target group benefiting from t"e outcome of t"e pro'ect. In identification of t"e needs is important to understand w"at are interests t"e decision makers. (or example$ if a funding body declared E"1 studies as a priority t"en it would be very risky to prepare a pro'ect t"at asks support for development of a bac"elor program. 6aving necessary resources but wrong ob'ective can result in not"ing< a good bowman "as a good bow but does not aim to a rig"t target.. -eeds analysis s"ould reveal t"e most important factor3s4 t"e pro'ect s"ould deal wit". (or example$ if t"e pro'ect aims to implement in sc"ools IC% as teac"ing:learning tool t"en t"ere could be different solutions like< 1. !rrange continuing education courses for teac"ers. 2. 1evelop a web based support system for teac"ers for disseminating best practice cases. . Introduce in sc"ools a new sub'ect t"at would develop information "andling skills of pupils. 4. 8edesign curricula for initial teac"er training. 5. Eerform researc" aiming to develop a new educational paradigm. H"et"er to c"oose one of t"ese options or somet"ing else depends from a w"ole set of factors 3priorities$ competence and recourses available$ current and possible future trends etc4. %"is is a tricky problem< t"e problem is t"at w"at is 5"ot9 at t"e moment could not be 5"ot9 in t"e future 3example< usage of pocket calculators in sc"ools in1+7.AiesM4. It is even more difficult to recogni@e t"e future needs 3example< Horld wide web in t"e 1+,.Aies4. If you will be competitive t"en you s"ould look a"ead$ s"ould "ave a visionM %"erefore t"e pro'ects s"ould be not only innovative but vision based as well.

1 .

Determination of t'e main o(jecti e and resource analysis are usually performed "and by "and. %"e main ob'ective s"ould be formulated very clearly and in measurable terms. %"e ob'ective cannot be 5to analyse9 or 5to investigate9 somet"ing. !nalysis and investigations can 'ust be tools for ac"ieving t"e pro'ect goal. !mbitious ob'ectives can be reac"ed by two or more pro'ects. (or example$ development of IN! was supported by a number of different bodies< Finistry of ?ducation and 8esearc"$ %allinn /niversity$ ?stonian 0cience (oundation$ international institutions. *esource analysis and especially determination of partners s"ould assure t"at t"e pro'ect will not "ave big problems and t"at if facing difficulties t"e partners will support eac" ot"er. (or example$ a Phare Multi1country pro'ect coAordinated by an ?stonian institution was stopped because of very poor management of t"e pro'ect. .'e project c'arter serves primarily for composing pro'ect team and for obtaining acceptance for pro'ect planning. %"e c"arter is a s"ort 3usually 1A2 pages4 document t"at states t"e main ob'ective$ list of t"e main activities and outcomes$ necessary resources etc. (or example$ in 2... t"ere was a seminar in %allinn t"at suggested to start a researc" pro'ect about support systems for development web based university courses. ! pro'ect c"arter was composed$ but as no institution wanted to coA ordinate t"e pro'ect$ it was never performed. +omposition of a project plan is a good success indicator of t"e pro'ect. If t"e partners will correctly and in time complete t"e tasks in t"e preparation process t"en it can be expected t"at t"e pro'ect will be successful as well. ! perfect pro'ect plan is anot"er success indicator w"ile a poor pro'ect plan can be re'ected even if t"e ob'ective of t"e pro'ect is great. P*/acti ities are necessary for (orming a public opinion towards t"e importance of t"e pro'ect$ Convince potential donors t"at you are t"e best to perform t"e pro'ect. (or example$ Bill Gates convinced t"e IBM leaders in 1+7+ t"at "e can offer t"e best operating system 3F0 1704 for I*F personal computers. ?stonian teac"erOs portal Koolielu 3www.koolielu.ee4 got initial financial support because decision makers ware made clear t"at t"e teac"ers need t"is. 3nitial p'ase of t'e project e5ecution will in a great extent determine t"e w"ole execution process$ will determine t"e devotion of pro'ect members etc. In t"is p"ase t"e support system for pro'ect administration will be implemented& t"e partners agree on details for furt"er activities. *igger c"anges in t"e pro'ect plan if needed s"ould be made in initial p"ase as well because it would cost muc" more if made in later p"ases. (or example$ in T,MP.S 2,P 3-*34 pro'ect it was planned to develop a oneA year master curriculum. *ut after t"e pro'ect was started 315.12.1++74 "eavy discussion began in ?urope about "armoni@ation of ?uropean university system. In spring 1++, it became clear 3alt"oug" officially agreed by t"e ministers of education in 1+++ in *ologna4 t"at ?urope will c"oose P2A sc"eme for university education. %"e pro'ect plan was immediately revised and a twoAyear master curriculum developed. Day/to/day management re#uires from pro'ect managers some"ow different competences t"an preparation of t"e pro'ect. (or composing a pro'ect plan$ analytical and conceptual t"inking as well as writing skills are needed w"ile during pro'ect execution managerial skills are necessary. %"is is w"y people responsible for composition of a pro'ect plan and for pro'ect management are in many cases different$ especially for big pro'ects. +'ange management is an issue importance of w"ic" "as constantly been grown in last years. 7ver t"e course of almost any pro'ect$ t"e scope of t"e pro'ect c"anges. %"is can be t"e result of new tec"nologies$ c"anges in legislation$ s"ifts in user needs$ impacts of t"ird institutions etc. *ecause every c"ange "as certain implications and costs$ introduction of c"anges s"ould explicitly be regulated.

1 1

Product acceptance and implementation measures t"e actual success of t"e pro'ect$ not t"e formal acceptance of t"e final report. %"is may sound trivial but is very often neglected. %"ere is a "uge number of pro'ects t"at were formally successful but t"at "ad almost no impact to t"e development of t"e sub'ect area 3even %?FE/0 J?E 12 41, was not 1..= successful4. Project documentation serves t"e following two main purposes< Faking t"em use in preparing and running t"e pro'ect as well followAup activities and new pro'ects& (ormal reporting and control. Ero'ect life cycle may "ave different modifications. (or example$ ?F% 3?esti Fobiiltelefon$ ?stonian mobile p"one company4 uses a t"ree level decision making process model )5&%ehtsaar$ Diigne bQrokraatia piirab loovust. RripSev$ Ju"timine& oktoober 2.. -< 14 t"e idea will be elaborated and initial pro'ect will be made& 24 middle level management decides w"et"er it is wort" to prepare a full pro'ect& 4 0tarting bigger pro'ects needs a final decision by t"e board of ?F%. %"e pro'ect life cycles 3stages and division of stages into activities4 for different type of pro'ects are relatively similar. 6owever$ t"e productAs de elopment life cycle depends "eavily on t"e topic:sub'ect area. Foreover$ for producing one and t"e same product different life cycle models can be used. (or example$ t"ere are do@ens of lifeAcycle models in development of computer software$ among t"em waterfall model$ incremental release model$ (.P 3(ational .nified Process4 and 6P 3e6treme Programming4 to name few. 0oftware process models we will discuss in more detailed way at t"e end of t"e course. 65ercises 1. *ring an example of a pro'ect t"at "as a different life cycle from t"is one described before. 2. *ring an example of a product development life cycle ot"er t"an software development.
.

1escribe t"e principles of project 0ased learningI H"at activities can be identified 3see$ for example$ "ttp<::"amlin.cc.boun.edu.tr:Tinelmen:pbl++.doc4.

1.3. Definition of project management

Ero'ects are implemented t"roug" pro'ect management. Ero'ect management is defined as application of knowledge$ skills$ tools and tec"ni#ues to activities of t"e pro'ect for ac"ievement t"e pro'ect ob'ectives:re#uirements. Ero'ect management s"ould assure t"at t"e pro'ect outcome< Hill be reac"ed at a time$ Hill be reac"ed wit" t"e resources of t"e pro'ect$ Hill "ave a predefined #uality level. /sing for outcome and #uality combined a generali@ed term scope we can build t"e Ero'ect Fanagement %riangle Time Cost

Scope
1 2

Ero'ect Fanagement %riangle visuali@es t"e fact t"at time$ cost and scope of a pro'ect are interdependent& c"anging one of t"em causes c"anges in ot"er two. Ero'ect management can be considered as solving certain optimisation task< ac"ieving in a certain time frame t"e best possible outcome wit" limited amount of resources. !s a general pro'ect management met"odology structural approac" is most widely used. 0tructural approac" means t"at pro'ect activities are not based on concrete instructions but on certain structures allowing finding optimal solutions t"at take into account individual c"aracteristics and conditions of t"e pro'ect. %"ere are four main sets of structures t"at are considered in relation to pro'ect management< Ero'ect management knowledge areas$ Ero'ect management process groups$ Ero'ect management activities$ Ero'ect management artefacts. 1.3.1. Project management knowledge areas %"e basic document t"at defines knowledge areas and process groups is Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge 3 )PMB7K Guide-4. %"e guide became almost as a standard in pro'ect management and determines in a great extent t"e content of courses and certificates in pro'ect management. %"e guide defines and describes t"e following knowledge areas of pro'ect management< 1. Ero'ect integration management includes activities 3called processes in t"e guide4 t"at ensure coAordination of various elements of t"e pro'ect. 2. Ero'ect scope management includes activities t"at ensure completing all tasks 3and only t"eseM4 necessary for completing t"e pro'ect successfully. . Ero'ect time management includes activities t"at ensure timely completion of t"e pro'ect. 4. Ero'ect cost management includes activities t"at ensure completion of t"e pro'ect wit"in t"e approved budget. 5. Ero'ect 8uality management includes activities t"at ensure satisfaction of t"e needs for w"ic" t"e pro'ect was undertaken. C. Ero'ect human resource management includes activities t"at ensure t"e most effective usage of people involved wit" t"e pro'ect. 7. Ero'ect communications management includes activities t"at ensure timely generation and "andling of ade#uate pro'ect information. ,. Ero'ect risk management includes activities t"at ensure ade#uate identification$ analysis and response to pro'ect risks. +. Ero'ect procurement management includes activities t"at ensure ac#uiring necessary goods and services from outside t"e performing organi@ation. %"ese knowledge areas are applicable to all stages of t"e pro'ect$ in fact during t"e w"ole life cycle of t"e pro'ect. He will discuss knowledge areas in more detail later in t"is course. ! systematic approac" "ow to develop competences of pro'ect managers in t"e knowledge areas 3as well as personal competences4 is presented in Project Manager !ompetency /e)elopment Framework 3PM!/ Framework$ see )EFC1-4.

1.3.2. Project management process groups Ero'ect management is an integrative undertaking t"at deals wit" different type of activities. !ll activities "ave certain common features< t"ey s"ould be initiated$ planned$ executed$ controlled and closed. %"ese features are applicable for different levels starting from a single action up to t"e w"ole pro'ect. Initiating processes are processes t"at start t"e pro'ect$ its eac" p"ase$ activity or action. ?ven pro'ect closing needs to be initiated< t"e activities s"ould be started for convincing t"at t"e outcome satisfies t"e needs of t"e customers$ t"e necessary pro'ect documentation is present etc. Planning processes are processes t"at are necessary for performing executing processes. Elanning processes include scope planning$ activity definition and se#uencing$ sc"edule composition$ resource planning$ cost estimation$ budgeting etc. Executing processes are processes t"at coordinate people and anot"er resources to carry out t"e plan. Controlling processes are monitoring and measuring processes ensuring t"at pro'ect ob'ectives are met and corrective actions are taken w"en necessary. Closing processes are processes t"at lead a pro'ect or its p"ase to an orderly end. %"e processes related to an undertaking can "ave in t"e timeAscale smaller or bigger overlapping. In general initiating processes are performed before planning processes$ planning processes before executing processes and executing processes before closing processes. Controlling processes usually cover t"e w"ole timeAscale of t"e undertaking. 1.3.3. Project management acti ities Ero'ect management activities are activities t"at are in t"e responsibility of pro'ect manager and t"at usually are performed 3if not delegated4 by t"e pro'ect manager. %"ere is no fixed list or taxonomy of pro'ect management activities. In t"e following we will list some of t"em< 1. Elanning$ organi@ing and coordinating t"e work of t"e pro'ect team. 2. !c#uiring and allocation of "uman and ot"er resources. . Controlling pro'ect execution$ tracking and reporting progress. 4. 0olving problems:conflicts bot" inside t"e pro'ect team as well wit" ot"er parties. 5. !ssessing and controlling risk. C. Informing t"e pro'ect team and ot"er parties involved about t"e state of t"e art of t"e pro'ect$ as well as about success and problems. 7. Create necessary work environment. ,. ?ncourage devotion$ excitement and creativity inside t"e pro'ect team. Erobably t"e most systematic approac" to pro'ect management activities is presented in Project Management Maturity Model 3PMMM4. 1.3.4. Project management artefacts Ero'ect managers s"ould additionally to managerial competences be able to use and develop a number of instruments and possess necessary tec"ni#ues 3including computing skills4. Ero'ect management artefacts are documents t"at regulate t"e pro'ect execution. 1epending on t"e pro'ect si@e and type$ t"e list of necessary artefacts can vary$ but most often t"e following artefacts are present< 1. Beeds analysis and:or feasibility study.
1 4

2. Ero'ect c"arter. . %erms of reference:scope statement. 4. Hork breakdown structure and:or pro'ect sc"edule. 5. Ero'ect management plan and:or responsibilities assignment document. C. Communications plan. 7. 8esource management plan. ,. C"ange control plan. +. 8isk management plan and:or table:database of risks. 1.. Dessons learned document:database. %aking into account t"at pro'ect management covers a broad range of competences and activities t"e skills and knowledge necessary for pro'ect management are needed for everybody w"o s"ould< Eerform a task during a certain period of time& 1eal wit" complex problems re#uiring solutions by activities t"at will run partly in parallel& !ccomplis" t"e tasks wit" limited resources& CoAoperate in performing tasks wit" ot"er people& %ake into account t"e c"anging needs of t"e customers etc. 65ercises 1. H"at are t"e main differences between project management and general managementI
2.

H"at are t"e main differences between of t"e PMB7K Guide 1++C version from t"e previous version 3"ttp<::egweb.mines.edu:eggn4+1:Information=2.and=2.8esources:pmbok.pdf4I

. /sing web searc" engines and different keywords 3for example project management careers$ information technology project management etc4$ find at least five interesting web sites devoted to pro'ect management.
4.

/sing virtual bookstores 3for example www.pmibookstore.org and:or www.ama@on.com4 and book descriptions find at least five interesting books of pro'ect management.

5. H"at are t"e most significant c"aracteristics of an effective pro'ect managersI %o w"at extent t"ese can be ac#uired:learnedI C. H"at knowledge areas 3according )EF*7> 2uide-4 re#uire from pro'ect managers more knowledge of sub'ect area t"e pro'ect is dealing wit"I 7. H"at kind of pro'ects need more knowledge from t"e sub'ect are and w"at kind of pro'ects lessI

1.4. Project managers competency de elopment

!fter Project Management Institute developed a systematic approac" to determine pro'ect management knowledge areas 3PMB7K Guide4$ t"e institute also developed a guidance for development pro'ect managers competencies G Project Manager !ompetency /e)elopment Framework 3PM!/ Framework4. %"is is applicable to all pro'ect managers$ regardless of t"e nature$ type$ si@e$ or complexity of pro'ects.

1 5

PM!/ Framework considers competences in t"ree separate dimensions 3denoted by B$ P and 4$ correspondingly4< 14 Project Management Kno ledge 3w"at a pro'ect manager brings to a pro'ect t"roug" "is knowledge and understanding of pro'ect management4& 24 Project Management Performance 3w"at a pro'ect manager is able to demonstrate in "is ability to successful manage a pro'ect4& 4 Personal Competency 3t"e core personality c"aracteristics underlying a personOs capability to do a pro'ect$ adopted from t"e Spencer Model4. %"e competences in eac" direction are structured as follows< /nits U clusters U elements U performance criteria U examples of assessment guidelines. %"e pro'ect management knowledge:performance competences provide a basis for guidance to develop t"e instruments re#uired for development and assessing t"ese competences. (or t"e kno ledge and performance dimensions$ t"e units correspond to t"e knowledge areas of EF*7> 2uide 3numeric identifiers in brackets4< integration management 314$ scope management 324$ time management 3 4$ cost management 344$ #uality management 354$ "uman resources management 3C4$ communications management 374$ risk management 3,4$ procurement management 3+4& and t"e clusters correspond to t"e pro'ect management process groups< initiating 314$ planning 324$ executing 3 4$ controlling 344$ closing 354. ?ac" item "as an identifier of t"e form A.V$ A.V.V$ A.V.V.V or A.V.V.V.V$ starting wit" dimension c"aracter and followed by one ore more numbers& for example$ t"e identifier for knowledge 3>4 about executing 3 4 pro'ect "uman resources management 3C4 is >.C. 4. (or example$ t"e elements of Initiating cluster of t"e Integration management unit are described by t"e following table< /.1 8nit of competence @ Project 3ntegration "anagement /.1.1 +ompetency cluster @ 3nitiating ?lements A.1.1.1 Identify and document pro'ect needs developing pro'ect related product or service descriptions A.1.1.2 Eerform an initial pro'ect feasibility study and analysis Eerformance criteria .1 1etermine product:service c"aracteristics using expert 'udgement as needed .2 Identify:document constraints and assumptions. .1 /tili@e pro'ect selection met"ods:decision models$ including benefit measurement met"ods and constrained optimisation met"ods. .2 ?valuate "istorical information for pro'ects involving similar products and services. . Eerform "ig"Alevel assessment of t"e organi@ational resources for t"e pro'ect. .4 Eerform "ig"Alevel assessment of t"e tec"nical and nonAtec"nical re#uirements of t"e pro'ect.

1 C

?xamples of assessment guidelines >nowledge competences< 1emonstrate a knowledge and understanding of< %"e inputs to pro'ect initiation. %"e tools and tec"ni#ues utili@ed for initiating and appraising pro'ects %"e outputs of pro'ect initiation. Eerformance competences< 1emonstrate an ability to perform a< Beeds re#uirement$ (easibility study:statement

(or t"e personal competency dimension$ t"e units and clusters are t"e following 3identifiers in brackets4< !c"ievement and !ction 3*.14 ac"ievement orientation 3*.1.14 concern for order$ #uality and accuracy 3*.1.24 initiative 3*.1. 4 information seeking 3*.1.44 6elping and 6uman 0ervice 3*.24 customer service orientation 3*.2.14 interpersonal understanding 3*.2.24 Impact and Influence 3*. 4 impact and influence 3*. .14 organi@ational awareness 3*. .24 relations"ip building 3*. . 4 Fanagerial 3*.44 teamwork and cooperation 3*.4.14 developing ot"ers 3*.4.24 team leaders"ip 3*.4. 4 directiveness< assertiveness and use of positional power 3*.4.44 Cognitive 3*.54 analytical t"inking 3*.5.14 conceptual t"inking 3*.5.24 Eersonal ?ffectiveness 3*.C4 selfAcontrol 3*.C.14 selfAconfidence 3*.C.24 flexibility 3*.C. 4 organi@ational commitment 3*.C.44

1 7

(or example$ t"e elements of !c"ievement orientation cluster of t"e !c"ievement and !ction unit are described by t"e following table< *.1 /nit of Competence G !c"ievement and !ction
!c"ievement orientation is a concern for working well$ or for competing against$ a standard of excellence.

*.1.1. Competency cluster G ac"ievement orientation

?lement *.1.1.1 7perates wit" intensity to ac"ieve pro'ect goals

Eerformance criteria .1 (ocuses on task3s4 and standards of excellence set by relevant pro'ect stake"olders. .2 0trives to do 'ob well$ reac"ing goals set by pro'ect stake"olders. . Controls pro'ect risk proactively. .4 0ets "ig" performance standards for selfAacting as a role model for team.

*.1.1.2 Fotivates pro'ect stake"olders in a positive way

.1 0trives to ensure t"at expectations of all stake"olders are ac"ieved. .2 1rives increased effectiveness of t"e pro'ect team and t"e way it does business.

*.1.1. Erovides new solutions in planning and delivering pro'ects *.1.1.4 7perates wit" individual integrity and personal professionalism

.1 Eerforms innovative actions to improve performance of t"e pro'ect team. .1 !d"eres to all legal re#uirements. .2 Horks wit"in a recogni@ed set of et"ical standards. . 1iscloses to all stake"olders any possible conflict of interest. .4 Beit"er offers nor accepts inappropriate payments or any ot"er items for personal gain. .5 Faintains and respects confidentiality of sensitive information.

*efore applying t"e EFC1 (ramework$ organi@ations and pro'ect managers s"ould determine t"e overall relevance of t"e elements and performance criteria. %"ose elements from EFC1 (ramework t"at are not applicable to t"eir situations can be left out of t"eir assessment. %"e general met"odology for ac"ieving competences consists of five stages< 14 1etermine applicable elements and performance criteria$ 24 1etermine desired levels of proficiency$ 4 !ssessment$ 44 !ddressing gaps in competence 54 Erogression toward competence.

1 ,

It is suggested t"at assessment results of competences s"ould be documented by a competency 0ummary scorecard and t"at determines for eac" cluster 14 areas wit" no gaps$ 24 areas wit" marginal gaps and 4 areas wit" significant gaps.

1.!. Project management maturity model P!!!

The International Institute for %earning 3II%$ www.iil.com4 "as developed a model for assessing t"e #uality level of pro'ect management of an institution$ t"e Project Management Maturity Model 3PMMM4. %"e model determines w"at steps s"ould be taken and in w"at order for ac"ieving t"e next level of maturity. II% "as developed web based tools for assessing t"e pro'ect management maturity level of an institution. %"e model differs five levels of maturity< 14 !ommon language$ 24 !ommon processes$ 4 Singular methodology$ 44 Benchmarking and 54 !ontinuous impro)ement. ?ac" level "as indicators 3c"aracteristics4$ main obstacles to reac" t"e level and basic activities for reac"ing t"e next level. %"ese levels are not strongly ordered 3meaning t"at not all criteria of t"e lower level s"ould be satisfied before reac"ing some criterion of next level4. 6owever$ "ig"er level can only be reac"ed after lower level "as been reac"ed. In t"e following we will present a s"ort description of eac" level. 14 +ommon language. %"e organisation recognises t"e importance of pro'ect management and need for common terminology and basic knowledge in pro'ect management. !t t"e same time t"e pro'ect management is not practiced$ t"e upper officers avoid c"anges in management and do not make any investments to introduce pro'ect management. %"e fact t"at t"e managers do not understand t"e necessity to use pro'ect management is t"e main obstacle for reac"ing level 1. (or reac"ing level 2$ t"e following five activities are necessary 3but not sufficientM4< !rrange initial training in pro'ect management& 6ire or educate a certified pro'ect manager& ?ncourage colleagues to use pro'ect management terminology& !ccept and implement pro'ect management tools& 1evelop understanding principles of pro'ect management 3according PMB7K4. 8eac"ing level 1 can be measured by t"e level of understanding of principles of PMB7K 3t"e test "as ,. multipleAc"oice #uestions4. 24 +ommon processes. 7rganisation understands t"e need for determination of common processes so t"at success of one pro'ect can be repeated in subse#uent pro'ects. %"e indicators of level 2 are< %"e benefits of pro'ect management will be evident in t"e organi@ation 3costs decrease$ s"orter sc"edules$ "ig"er satisfaction of customers etc4& Ero'ect management is supported on all level of t"e organi@ation& 7rgani@ation "as completed a number successful pro'ects t"at revealed t"e need in development of pro'ect management met"ods and regulations& 7rgani@ation understands importance of effective finances management& 7rgani@ation "as competency re#uirements in pro'ect management. %"e main obstacle for reac"ing level 2 is t"e resistance to c"anges of workers 35H"y to c"ange$ we "ave managed well until nowI94$ fear in subordination s"ifts$ unwillingness to reveal problems and deficiencies. (or reac"ing level $ t"e following activities are necessary< 1evelop organisational culture t"at would support t"e #uality of pro'ect management&
1 +

1evelop pro'ect management processes t"at would ensure ac"ievement of desired outcome& Implement education of workers in pro'ect management.

8eac"ing level 2 can be measured by t"e implementation in organi@ation of lifeAcycle p"ases of pro'ect management 3embryonic$ acceptance by t"e "ig"er management$ general acceptance$ growt"$ maturity4< 2. re#uirements s"ould be measured in scale G W P . 4 )ingular met'odology. 7rgani@ation understands synergy t"at emerges t"roug" development of a singular pro'ect management met"odology. %"e indicators of level are< %"e processes in organi@ation are integrated& *ased on integrated processes$ a singular pro'ect management met"odology is developed& ?ac" management level understands its role in ensuring usage of singular met"odology& Ero'ect management relies primarily on organi@ational culture$ not on administrative regulations& formal reporting is minimi@ed& %"e benefits of pro'ect management can be described bot" in #uantitative and in #ualitative terms& ! systematic continuing education t"at covers also be"avioural competences is implemented. %"e main obstacle for reac"ing level is belief in formal regulations 35it s"ould not be done if it is not written94$ "eterogeneity of t"e institution and desire not to c"ange patterns of actions. (or reac"ing level 4$ t"e following activities are necessary< (urt"er development of singular met"odology so t"at it will be possible to decide about usefulness of processes& Implement organi@ational culture t"at supports informal 3administratively not regulated4 pro'ect management and multipleAboss reporting. 8eac"ing level can be measured assessing to w"at extent t"e re#uirements for organi@ational culture are satisfied 3a test wit" 42 #uestions4. 44 4enc'marking. *ased on t"e understanding t"at en"ancing processes is necessary for competitiveness. (or t"is purpose t"e pro'ect management practices will be compared and assessed wit" t"e world leaders in t"e field 3for example$ laureates of Malcolm Baldridge ward4. %"e most important key factors s"ould be determined& t"e met"ods used are surveys$ #uestionnaires$ participation on conferences etc. %"ere is a set of principles t"at will be followed like< >eeping legal correctness< >eeping confidentiality$ Futual s"aring of information& Bot distributing information to t"ird parties wit"out written consent& !void asking "ig"ly sensitive data. %"e indicators of level 4 are< ! pro'ect management bureau "as been establis"ed& Ero'ect management bureau is devoted to en"ancing t"e pro'ect management processes& Comparison will be made wit" wide range 3different type4 of institutions& *ot" #uantitative and #ualitative indicators are compared. %"e main obstacle for reac"ing level 4 is reluctance to adapt t"e singular met"odology of t"e institution according to t"e positive experience of ot"er institutions. (or reac"ing level 5$ t"e following activities are necessary< %"e principles for comparison s"ould be developed 3wit" w"om and w"at to measure4&
2 .

1evelop a comparison met"odology& (orm an organi@ation t"at understands t"e benefits of comparison and applies it regularly.

(or determining level 4 t"ere are 25 re#uirements t"at s"ould be assessed in scale G W P . 54 +ontinuous impro ement. 7rganisation analyses information collected and applies it for improving t"e met"odology. %"e indicators of level 5 are< %"e institution composes a case study for every pro'ect$ analyses mistakes:s"ortcomings and elaborates met"ods t"at prevent t"eir repetition 35%essons learned94& Case analyses will be used in inA"ouse seminars and courses& ! supervisory program in implemented for new and inexperienced pro'ect managers& Institution applies strategic planning towards pro'ect management. (or determining level 5 t"ere are 1C re#uirements t"at s"ould be assessed in scale G W P . 65ercises 1. H"y is it necessary for pro'ect managers to know PMMM re#uirementsI 2. 6ow are t"e levels of pro'ect management maturity model developed by FicroA(rame %ec"nologies$ Inc. and Er'ect Fanacement %ec"nologies$ Inc. called and definedI
.

H"at institutions an for w"at Malcolm Baldridge ward will be awardedI (or w"at t"is was awarded to educational institutions 3see "ttp<::www.#uality.nist.gov:Contacts;Erofiles."tm 4I

1.#. $rgani%ational project management maturity model "P!#

International Institute for %earning announced in 2.. t"e introduction of 7PM 37rgani9ational Project Management Maturity Model$ see www.pmi.org:info:EE;7EF .asp$ )7EF $ 2.. -4$ a met"odology for assessing maturity of an organi@ation in programs and portfolio management. 7EF aim is to support organi@ations in developing t"eir pro'ect management practices. %"is document introduces t"e concept of organi@ational pro'ect management< t"is is based on t"e idea t"at t"ere is a correlation between an organi@ationOs capabilities in pro'ect management$ program management$ and portfolio management$ and its effectiveness in implementing strategy. 7PM is comprised of t"ree general elements< 14 Kno ledge$ presenting t"e contents of t"e standard& 24 $ssessment$ providing a met"od for comparison wit" t"e standard& 4 Improvement$ setting t"e stage for possible organi@ational c"anges. 7PM is based on t"e EF*7> 2uide$ and incorporates six "undred best practices. (or assessing t"e organi@ational pro'ect management maturity$ key performance indicators are used. 7EF "as a peculiarity t"at improvement is measured by multidimensional data 3pro'ectAprogramAportfolio$ standardi@eAassessmentAcontrolAimprove 30CFI4$ initiatingAplanningAexecutingAcontrollingAconcluding 3IE?CC44. %"is makes it possible to implement t"e model for solving some single need:problem of an organi@ation. !s in t"e case of pro'ect management$ 7EF considers process groups for program management and portfolio management as well$ and proposes corresponding process models. %"e main differences of program management from pro'ect management are 14 program management considers multiApro'ect management and 24 program management considers also activities t"at take place after pro'ect completion 3for example$ marketing of furt"er development of a product4. 7EF contains t"ree directories<

2 1

a. %est practices directory. ?ac" best practice is described by< I1$ name$ brief description$ indication "ow t"e best practice maps to t"e domains of organi@ational pro'ect management 3pro'ect$ program$ portfolio4 and to t"e four stages of process improvement 3standardi@eA measureAcontrolAimprove4. ?xamples< *est Eract. I1 %itle 1escription E r o ' e c t E r o g r a m E o r t f o l 0 t a n d a r FC e o a n s t u r r o e l I m p r o v e

1...

?stablis" 7rgaA ni@ational EroA 'ect Fanagem. Eolicies

%"e organi@ation "as policies describing t"e standardi@ation$ measurement$ control$ and continuous improvement of organi@ational pro'ect management processes.

P P P P P P P

1.1.

Ero'ect InitiA Ero'ect Initiation Erocess standards are ation Erocess establis"ed. 0tandardi@ation !ssess ConfiA dence in Elans Erogram 0cope 1efinition EroA cess Control Fake 1ecisions Eortfolio and program managers assess t"e confidence in pro'ect plans. Erogram 0cope 1efinition Erocess controls are establis"ed and executed to control t"e stability of t"e process %"e organi@ation practices effective decisionA making t"at enable it to decide "ow muc" pro'ect work it can undertake$ t"e profit level re#uired to return$ and t"e timeframe in w"ic" returns are re#uired. %"e decision makers recogni@e 7rgani@ational Ero'ect Fanagement Faturity 37EF 4 as a part of organi@ational improvement and essential to t"e future of t"e enterprise.

P P P P P P

52. 4. .

P P

7.1.

8ecogni@e Beed (or 7EF

b. Capabilities directory. (or eac" capability$ t"ere is a list of t"e outcomes t"at s"ould be confirmed to claim t"e existence of t"e capability. 65ample. Capability I1< 141...4. Cap. Bame< 1etermine %raining 8e#uirement EEE< pro'ect 0FCI< standardi@e IE?CC< 7t"er Cap. description< %"e organi@ation uses t"e skills database to determine training re#uirements 7utcome I1< 141...4..1. Bame< Training Curriculum Fetrics Bame< ?xists 7utcome description< ! list of resources competent in pro'ect management is available >EI 3key performance indicator4 Bame< 8elevant %raining Curriculum 7utcome I1< 141...4..2. Fetrics Bame< ?xists Bame< Pool of Project &esources 'ith $ppropriate (kills

2 2

7utcome description< ?ac" pro'ect manager can searc" t"e pool for appropriate resources >EI< Current 8esource 0kills Inventory c. Improvement planning directory. 1escribes t"e capabilities necessary for implementation of best practices. ?xample< Fanage %"e organi@ation "as t"e mec"anisms$ systems$ and Ero'ect processes t"at provide pro'ects wit" professional 8esource pro'ect managers and competent$ committed pro'ect Eool team members. Capability Bame 1411.111 Bnow t'e 3mportance of +ompetent *esource Pool 1411.121 3dentify Process *e7uirements for *esource Pool 522... . Implement 0taff !c#uisition Eolicies and Erocedures 1411.131 De elop a )kills Data(ase 14....4. 8eview 6uman 8esource Elan 1.... . 0taff %ec"nical and !dministrative 8esources 5C ...1. !ssign Erofessional Ero'ect Fanagers 1411.141 Determine .raining *e7uirements 1411.1!1 "atc' Project *esource *e7uirements *est Eractice 141. "as 5 capabilities$ 4 prere#uisites and 11 outcomes. 141 . P P

%"e application of 7EF consists of cycles& eac" cycle contains five steps< 1. Erepare for !ssessment< obtain basic understanding of 7EF $ its components and operation. 2. Eerform !ssessment. %"is takes place in two p"ases< 14 a review of w"ic" *est Eractices are and are not currently demonstrated by t"e organi@ation& 24 determining t"e best practices t"at s"ould be implemented. . Elan for improvement. 4. Implement improvement. 5. 8epeat t"e process 3taking anot"er best practice G step G or reassess w"ere t"e organi@ation currently is on t"e continuum of organi@ational pro'ect management maturity G step 24. 7EF describes program and portfolio management process models. ?ac" process model consists of< 14 a set of inputs& 24 tools and tec"ni#ues t"at support t"e execution of t"e process& 4 controls 3activities$ policies and procedures t"at govern t"e execution of t"e process$ so t"at t"e process operates in a consistent$ predictable manner4& 44 outputs. Bext we bring a program scope process model as an example< 1. Inputs< Erogram ob'ective description 0trategic plan Ero'ect mix Erogram selection criteria 6istorical information 2. %oolsX%ec"ni#ues< Ero'ect selection met"ods 0coring met"ods ?xpert 'udgement

. Controls< 0take"older acceptance Customer review and signAoff Fanagement review 4. 7utputs< Erogram c"arter Erogram manager identified:assigned Constraints !ssumptions. 65ercises 1. ?xplain t"e benefits of applying pro'ect portfolios to pro'ects 3see$ for example$ www.cio.com:arc"ive:1..1.1:mat";content."tml 4.

2 4

2 I '!'(!' . ( +"#/*&!
! pro'ect s"ould be initiated only if certain conditions are satisfied. (irst of all$ t"e stake"olders s"ould be convinced t"at t"e pro'ect will contribute to sustainability and competitiveness of institutions involved and t"at t"ere is necessary commitment present.

2.1. &ssumptions for project initiation

*efore initiating a pro'ect t"e following #uestions s"ould be answered< !re resources necessary for completing t"e pro'ect available 3first of all "uman resources4I Is t"e probability for getting finances big enoug" 3t"at is$ is t"e need for t"e pro'ect outcome widely enoug" recognised$ are t"e external conditions favourable etc4I For e:ample$ the re8uirements for project applications to ,. social fund were fi:ed after first su0mission deadline& s a result$ all project applications from all uni)ersities were rejectedM 1oes t"e pro'ect contribute to ac"ieving strategic goals of t"e institution$ or will it ex"aust t"e institutionI For e:ample$ German uni)ersities and other institutions in Germany almost did not take part on T,MP.S projects. Ero'ect initiation is 'ustified only after "aving satisfactory answers to all t"ese and some ot"er #uestions. He will discuss availability of resources separately in t"is c"apter. !dditionally t"ere are some general suggestions< *efore initiating t"e first pro'ect$ one s"ould take part as a partner in a pro'ect managed by someone else& *efore initiating a big pro'ect$ one s"ould "ave managed smallAscale pro'ects& *efore initiating an international pro'ect$ one s"ould "ave participated in international pro'ects. ?xistence of a good idea is t"e most important prere#uisite for a pro'ect initiation. 7ne s"ould "ave a clear understanding w"at will be t"e main goal of t"e pro'ect and w"at problems will be solved by ac"ieving t"is goal. %"e pro'ect s"ould necessarily be inno ati e$ met"ods or procedures will be applied or products developed t"at "ave not been performed or developed before. !s general management and pro'ect management "ave certain similarities and t"erefore every w"o is looking for a managerOs career s"ould start wit" management of pro'ects.

2.2. Determination of t'e o(jecti e of a project

1ecisionAmakers w"o "ave aut"ority to approve pro'ects often do not "ave enoug" time to go deeply into details. %"erefore t"e features t"at will be considered first G first of all t"e ob'ective of t"e pro'ect and sometimes t"e name of t"e pro'ect as well G s"ould be elaborated wit" double care. 7t"erwise K! lot of time can be wasted in producing a very good plan to ac"ieve t"e wrong ob'ectiveK )E8IBC?2$ p. 17 -. %e main ob'ective is important because t"e w"ole planning of pro'ect activities bases on pro'ect ob'ectives. In t"is sence t"e planning can be considered as a backward process$ from outcome:ob'ectives to activities. %"erefore$ t"e better is understanding of t"e goals or problems to be solved t"e more efficient is t"e planning of t"e pro'ect. %"ere is an analogy wit" t"e composition of a pu@@le< knowing t"e picture would make t"e composition muc" easier.
2 5

! number of factors s"ould be taken into account w"en determining t"e ob'ective$ for example< 1. Farket needs 3for e:ample$ production of digital content4. 2. Institutional needs 3educational institution de)elops a new teaching tool for reducing teaching costs4. . Customers needs 3an I!T company offers to an airport to set up a ;iFi network for in a waiting room4. 4. %ec"nological opportunities 3producing )ideogames after introduction of high performance personal computers4. 5. 0ocial need 3pu0lic Internet access points in remote areas4. C. Degislation 3we0 0ased support system on handling property rights for content de)elopers4. ! clear ob'ective is necessary not only for decisionAmakers but for getting support by t"e pro'ect partners and for forming pro'ect team. For e:ample$ a master student proposed to de)elop an IT model for a small company& /iscussing this with his super)isor it turned out that the student is the only person in a company with <= employees who takes care of IT systems and offers support to colleagues& Finally it was decided to de)ote the master thesis to IT risk management in a small company& %"e formation of t"e ob'ective needs time$ dialogue and energy. Eotential users of t"e pro'ectOs outcome s"ould necessarily be involved into t"e pro'ect initiation process already from t"e very beginning& t"ey are able to evaluate t"e outcome from a different perspective. %"e ob'ective and its formulation s"ould be understandable for customers and ade#uate$ reflecting t"e most signifcant aspects. It is recommended to apply t"e SM (T principle. !ccording t"is$ t"e ob'ective and its formulation s"ould be< (imple) ?verybody w"o "as basic knowledge of t"e area s"ould understand w"at exactly t"e pro'ect is aiming to complete. !easurable) It s"ould be possible to measure to w"at extent t"e pro'ect goal "as been ac"ieved. $greed) %"e outcome s"ould meet t"e customers:end users needs$ s"ould solve some problems. !greement bases on information exc"ange wit" t"e customers and as a side effect$ increases devotion of t"e pro'ect team. &ealistic) %"e ob'ective s"ould correspond to t"e resources 3incl knowledge4 available. 7ne s"ould not plan outcomes or activities t"at re#uire muc" more knowledge t"an t"e pro'ect team actually "as& t"is can cause an unexpected need to perform additional researc" or education. H"en nevert"eless some tasks t"at s"ould be performed w"ere t"ere is a lack of competence$ t"en it is recommended to consider t"e possibility to ac#uire necessary goods and services from outside t"e performing organi@ation. Timed) Is a planned duration sufficient for ac"ieving t"e pro'ect goalI H"at possible compensation mec"anisms are available$ in case unexpected delays will occureI %"e 0F!8% principles are applicable to t"e pro'ectOs activities as well. For e:ample$ a 0ank wanted to rise the num0er of customers and hired e:perts to figure out what are the most effecti)e ways for increasing the image of the 0ank& The e:perts suggested to increase the customerfriendlynness& 5ow to measure this> It turned out that nonformal con)ersation "a0out weather$ ha0its etc# with the customers was the 0est indicator& The whole personnel did pass a seminary where rele)ant e:amples$ procedures etc were discussed& The num0er of customers started to rise )ery rapidly&
2 C

65ample 1.4. %"e aims of t"e C!DI*8!%? pro'ect 3"ttp<::calibrate.eun.org 4< %"e key aim of t"e pro'ect is to support t"e collaborative use and exc"ange of learning resources in sc"ools by allowing teac"ers to access resources in a federation of learning repositories supported by six Finistries of ?ducation 3!ustria$ ?stonia$ 6ungary$ Dit"uania$ Eoland and 0lovenia4. C!DI*8!%? is also strategically important as it will "elp provide t"e framework for a Bew ?uropean Dearning 8esource ?xc"ange 3D8?4 t"at will be launc"ed by t"e ?/B in 2..C. %eac"ers participating in t"e pro'ect will be able to searc" for learning resources in t"is network of linked repositories via. a C!DI*8!%? portal$ t"e first operational version of w"ic" will be launc"ed in 0eptember 2..C. !lso included in t"e portal will be a new Ylearning toolboxO for teac"ers. %"is collaborative learning environment will allow teac"ers and pupils to develop communityAdriven learning content repositories and also to carry out collaborative learning activities using bot" content developed by t"e sc"ools t"emselves and resources found using t"e C!DI*8!%? system. Information$ support and advice will also be provided$ culminating in t"e development of a manual for teac"ers t"at will include international examples of good practice on "ow sc"ools taking part in t"e pro'ect "ave used t"e portal for collaborative learning 3additional reading<
www.euroAcscl.org:site:itcole$ "ttp<::C?D?*8!%?.eun.org $ "ttp<::www.eun.org:eun.org2:eun:en:Insig"t;Eolicy:content.cfmIovZ2+51+XlangZen $ 4.

0ometimes it is important 3or even re#uired4 to find an accronyme for t"e pro'ect. %o find a meaningful and spectacular accronyme is a real c"allenge. ,!7%, would be a good example 3accronyme of a ?/ researc" pro'ect ,uropean !olla0orati)e %earning ,n)ironment4 as it corresponds to t"e pro'ect aim 3in (renc"4. 65ercises 1. %"e ob'ectives of researc" pro'ects were formulated as< 1.1. 50tudying diffusion processes in multipleAcomponent systems9$ 1.2. 51evelopment of an optimal met"odology for medical treatment of cold9. H"at are t"e weaknesses in t"ese formulationsI 2. ! master student wanted to develop a new algorit"m for finding optimal pat"ways 3moving from point ! to point *4 in cities and based on t"is to develop a computer program for %allinn. H"at 0F!8% principles are not satisfied and w"yI . Bice acronyms are sometimes artificial< not all aspects representing a c"aracter in t"e acronym are e#ually important and some aspect can missing 3because t"ere is no representing c"aracter left in t"e acronym4. H"at additional 3to 0F!8%4 aspects for forming pro'ect ob'ectives can be consideredI 4. *ring an example of a computer software you need but t"at is currently not available.

2.3. Determination of sources for financing

!s most of t"e financing institutions support certain 3usually fixed4 type of pro'ects only t"e determination of t"e main ob'ective of t"e pro'ect and sources of financing will be made in parallel$ "and by "and. *y t"e financing sc"eme t"e pro'ects can be divided into t"e following t"ree bigger groups< inA"ouse pro'ects. 8esources are given according t"e needs of t"e pro'ect and resources available& pro'ects in t"e framework of bigger programmes. %"e pro'ects are selected usually by open calls& t"e pro'ect t"at will be financed$ usually will not get t"e amount of money t"at was applied for. %"e pro'ect plans are formAbased and t"ere is usually no direct contact between t"e applicant and t"e deciding body&

2 7

 Ero'ects t"at are supported by 3usually privat4 institutions according eit"er on basis of individual negociations or written applications. %"e application procedures can be very different$ from form based pro'ect plans up to 'ust one page application. %"e pro'ects in t"e latter group are usually less formali@ed and are based on sponsors"ip. Eossibilities to find sponsors differ a lot from country to country< sponsoring is wideAspread in some countries and almost nonexistent in ot"ers< if it is almost a matter of "onour for every company in /0!$ it is relatively difficult to find sponsors in ?stonia. %"is is w"y relatively big part of pro'ects in ?stonia are financed by public sources. %"ere are some common principles for looking for sponsors"ip. %"ese principles "ave statistical c"aracter and t"erefore can be only partly applicable in every single case. 1. Present your application as an offer for in estments? not as a c'arity . !ccording 2ohn /& (ockefeller$ 2r&< 5+e)er think you need to apologi9e for asking someone to gi)e to a worthy o0ject$ any more than as though you were gi)ing him an opportunity to participate in a high1 grade in)estment.9 %"e applicant s"ould look attractive for an investor. %"e people tend to invest into progressive:advanced$ successful$ enterprising& 2. Collow t'e wis'es and suggestions of t'e potential donor. If t"e potentioal donor is interested in educational software it is not wise to convince "im:"er to support development of medical software. 0raham %incoln? @;hen IAm getting ready to reason with a man$ I spend one1third of my time thinking a0out myself and what I am going to say$ and two1thirds thinking a0out him and what he is going to say9. %"e best way to get informed about t"e donors wis"es is to ask< asking rig"t people rig"t #uestions can be decisive& people like if t"ere opinion will be asked$ people like to be respected. . +ompare your institution in relation to t'e competitors. !ttractive institutions are visible& t"ey know "ow to present t"eir competence. %"e key is to "ave convincing answers to t"e critical #uestions like< - H"at are your ma'or competenciesI - H"at are your ma'or ac"ievementsI - 6ow does it look if compared to t"is offered by ot"er institutionsI 7ne s"ould t"ink on marketing$ not on selling< if you offer somet"ing t"at is needed t"en selling will follow automatically 3instead of 5Buy this9 you s"ould explain t"at 5ha)ing this you can do this and this94. 4. "ake your case (igger t'an your institution . %"is means t"at you are not asking support to an institution to do somet"ing$ but for a reali@ation of a big idea. %"e aim is to ac"ieve t"at people will consider t"e pro'ect as very important. ! donor s"ould feel t"at t"e pro'ect will make not only "is:"er life better but for c"ildren and grandc"ildren as well$ t"at t"e w"ole nation:region will benefit. %"e best visions can be formulated wit" few sentences or wit" one memorable p"rase. 5. Cew will do t'e most. 1.= will offer +.= of resources 3B*M Bot 2.<,.M4 and t"erefore t"e main attention s"ould be paid to t"e main donors. %"e best donors are t"ose w"o already "ave supported you. %"e early donor sets t"e level of donation< if you already did get 1. ... from one donor you "ardly can expect to get muc" more from t"e next 3even if t"e next donor "as muc" more resources available4. C. 3nform a(out your plans wit'out asking support. Create opportunities to discuss t"e activities and plans of your institution wit" t"e C?7s of local companies. 1oing t"is you will understand t"e position of your intitution in t"eir minds$ you are able to adapt your plans to t"e priorities and wis"es of potential donors. 1irect G faceAtoAface G communication is utmost important$ t"e letters will usually be t"rown directly to t"e wastebox.
2 ,

7. Patience will succeed. 7ne s"ould meet wit" a potential donor repeatedly& usually t"e donors need some 5digesting9 time. 7ne s"ould be very precise and concrete in presenting your offer$ explain for w"at purpose t"e donation will be used$ "ow muc" does t"e w"ole pro'ect cost and w"at is t"e role of t"is particular donor etc. 0entences like 5;hate)er you would gi)e9 are not convincing enoug". ,. *elations wit' t'e donors s'ould (e kept after completion of t'e project as well. %"e donor s"ould be t"anked$ invited to festive meetings$ informed about new initiatives etc. ! number of aspects s"ould be agreed already at t"e beginning of t"e pro'ect$ for example< Hill t"e sponsors"ip publicly announced$ Can t"e donor use t"e sponsors"ip in its E8Aactivities$ 1oes t"e sponsor accept ot"er sponsors. !ll t"e principles listed above can be taken under one fundamental principle< looking for financing s"ould base on interests of potential donors. Benjamin Franklin? 5If you would persuade$ you must appeal to interest$ rather than the intellect9. %"e interests depend more on market conditions$ less on public opinion. 0uccessful institutions and pro'ects wit" good market potential are preferred. 65ercises 1. H"at of t"e abovementioned principles are in your opinion more important to follow w"at not so importantI *ring examples of cases w"ere t"ese principles 3or some of t"em4 are followed and w"ere not. 2. H"at kind of pro'ects would be interesting for institutions offering services to a wide group of persons 3for example$ banks and telep"one companies4 to sponsorI

. Consider t"e following two general procedures< 14 (irst determine an ob'ective for a pro'ect and t"en surc" for financies and 24 (irst determine a donor and t"en t"e ob'ective for a pro'ect. In w"at cases procedure 1 3procedure 24 will work betterI

2.4. )ources of grant information

!naly@ing sources of grant information attention s"ould first of all be paid to t"e following aspects< priorities or actions t"at will be supported by t"is particular sponsor$ type of institutions eligible to apply$ formal re#uirements 3submission deadlines$ forms etc4. Examples* 14 ?stonia was elible to participate in ,. 5t" framework programme on e#ual bases of ?/ countries except eAlearning subprogramme& 24 1!!1 3/eutscher kademischer ustauschdienst G German cademic ,:change Ser)ice4 offers long term researc" grants for young scientists of age up to 2 years. %"e formal re#uirements s"ould be studied wit" care& even t"en misunderstandings can "appen. For e:ample$ 5um0oldt1grants can apply researchers up to *= years& It was not clear whether *= year old researchers are elegi0le or not& (eply to a re8uest from German em0assy assured that researchers of fourty are eligi0le& The application was rejected 0ecause the applicant was already fourty years old&

2 +

=eneral suggestion: c"ances to be financed are bigger from new foundations or programs$ before t"e information about t"ese sources spreads. %"erefore it is wise to be constantly informed about new financing opportunities. !lt"oug" t"e main information about t"e grants can be found in t"e internet t"ere still are some paper based information sources$ for example nnual (egister of Grant SupportTM& directory of funding sources$ (&(&Bowker$ .nit of !ahners Business Information$ +ew Pro)idence$ +ew 2ersey. (rom a "uge number of sources$ "ere are 'ust few of t"em< www.ed.gov:about:offices:list:ope:index."tmlIsrcZmr 1epartment of ?ducation$ /0! www.rescorp.org 8esearc" Corporation www.spencer.org %"e 0pencer (oundation www.nsf.gov Bational 0cience (oundation 3/0!4 www.efaw.org %"e ?ducational (oundation of !merica www.av".de !lexander von 6umboldtA0tiftung "ttp<::ec.europa.eu:grants:index;en."tm 2rants of t"e ?uropean /nion www.daad.de 1!!1 www.volkswagenAstiftung.de Nolkswagen 0tiftung ?stonian sources<
www.tiigri"ype.ee www.oef.org.ee www.irc.ee

%iger Deap foundation 7pen ?stonia (oundation ?/ Innovation Center

Important source of information for pro'ect managers are web pages devoted to t"e following topics< courses in pro'ect management$ learning materials and ot"er documents in pro'ect management$ data bases 3for example$ SPI+ ,urope G Sponsored Programs Information +etwork ,urope G "ttp<::europe.infoed.org 4. (or generating new ideas it is sometimes useful to analyse ot"er pro'ects. !lt"oug" pro'ect plans are usually confidential 3even of pro'ects t"at are already running4 t"e summaries and ot"er documents of t"e pro'ects are reflecting t"e main ideas. For e:ample there is a data0ase of ,. supported research and de)elopment projects? www&cordis&lu' using key words @Information technology$ multimedia$ learningB the list of 34C projects "D&=-&-==C# was presented$ among others @Eirtual amusement parkB$B !omputer aided Multimedia courseware engineering "! M!,#B$ @ uthor support for Student Modelling in Multimedia %earning ProcessB$ @,uropean !olla0orati)e %earning ,n)ironment ",!7%,#B$ @Integrating %earning /esign in !omputersB$ @Training and %earning ,n)ironment with +etwork TutoringB$ @Multimedia Platform for .se in /istance %earningB$ @,uropean multimedia educational software network ",(MM,S#B$ @7pen System for !olla0orati)e uthoring and (euse "7S! (#B etc& 65ercises 1. C"oose an institution t"at finances pro'ects and analyse statistical data of successful pro'ects 3distribution by sub'ect areas$ amount of support$ duration etc4.

2.!. *essource analysis

?ven t"e most generous support does not guarantee success of t"e pro'ect< t"e ob'ectives of t"e pro'ects are ac"ieved as a result of collective work of pro'ect members& success depends "eavily from t"eir #ualification$ devotion$ work conditions etc. %"erefore$ before planning a pro'ect$ a number of #uestions s"ould be answered< 1. &re enoug' 7ualified people a aila(leD %"e problem is t"at as a pro'ect lasts a limited period of time$ t"e pro'ect team is composed on temporary base. %"e following obstacles may arise< a potential pro'ect member is fully occupied by ot"er duties$ a potential pro'ect member already agreed to take part on ot"er pro'ects or activitoes. (or example$ for ?/ pro'ects t"e selection process takes several mont"s and only a small part of t"e pro'ects get financies 3in researc" and development framework programs about 2.=4$ people usally agree to take part in a muc" bigger number of pro'ects t"ey actually are able to do. It is also important to take into account t"e administrative structure of t"e institution 3functional$ pro'ect based$ matrix type4. In a functional type institutions 3for example$ universities4 people "ave permanent positions in structural units 3department$ division$ section etc4 and t"e pro'ect tasks are are additional to t"eir everyday work. In a project 0ased institution people are "ired temporary for a pro'ect period only and t"ey are fully engaged in pro'ect activities. In a matri: type institution people "ave permanent positions but are attac"ed to one or more pro'ects. It is also possible to "ave a mixed structure. 2. 3s necessary infrastructure a aila(leD !vailability of t"e following resources s"ould be analysed< work places$ e#uipment 3incl IC% tools4$ ot"er necessary tools. Elanning of resources is easier if t"e pro'ect will be performed by one institution. If not$ a clear division of work and responsibilities between t"e institutions s"ould be agreed. 3. Does t'e project initiation 'a e necessary acceptance (y: t"e upper management of t"e institution$ potential participants$ upper management of partner institutionsI %"e pro'ect idea can be very good$ but if upper management already "as some ot"er plans or if t"e pro'ect does not fully comply to some political or strategical positions t"en t"e initiation of t"e pro'ect would be a #uite risky undertaking. For e:ample$ de)elopment of ,stonian ,ducation Information System ,5IS "www.e"is.ee# did last almost twice from this initially planned 0ecause it did not 0elong to the priorities of the chancellor responsi0le for ,5IS' this ga)e a clear signal of non1priority to the lower le)el authorities as well. 7n t"e ot"er "and$ if t"e pro'ect "as a strong support by upper management$ receiving additional resources can be expected in case t"e pro'ect s"ould face difficulties. Informing t"e upper management reduces t"e risks t"at t"e pro'ect serves first of all t"e interests of t"e pro'ect team instead of t"e institution as a w"ole. 7ne s"ould also take into account t"at 3especially in case of matrix type institutions4 t"at resource is s"ared by a number of pro'ects and distributing of a critical resource will usually be made by upper management.

!ccording an analysis of Standish Group 32..14$ success factors of I%Apro'ects were t"e following 3see "ttp<::www.softwaremag.com:arc"ive:2..1feb:CollaborativeFgt."tml 4< 14 executive support$ 24 user involvement$ 4 experienced pro'ect manager$ 44 clear business ob'ectives$ 54 minimi@ed scope$ C4 standard software infrastructure$ 74 firm basic re#uirements$ ,4 formal met"odology$ +4 reliable estimates. %"e pro'ectOs ob'ective s"ould be accepted by t"e pro'ect team as well$ because t"is determines in a great extent t"eir later devotion. 4. 3n case t'e project will recei e insufficient financing? are t'ere necessary compensation opportunitiesD 8elatively often t"e pro'ect will receive less finances t"an needed for ac"ieving t"e goals. %"en one or more of t"e following scenarios s"ould be applied< %"e scope of t"e pro'ect will be reduced eit"er by abandoning some of t"e subgoals or by reducing t"e elaboration level 3by reducing t"e functionality in case of software pro'ects4$ 0ome activities of t"e pro'ect will be merged wit" some ot"er pro'ects 3and t"e costs s"ared by t"e pro'ects4$ %"e budget structure will be c"anged 3missing will be covered from t"e budget of t"e institution$ abandoning t"e profit and:or some of t"e developmental work$ reducing t"e salaries$ buying c"eaper materials etc4. +or example the uni)ersities can co)er some of the costs through master and Ph/ studies merging some acti)ities with research of the students while writing theses& 65cercises 1. 6ow does personnell management depend on t"e organi@ational type of t"e institution 3functional$ pro'ect based$ matrix type4I 2. *ring an example of a pro'ect t"at failed because of lack of support by upper management.

2.#. Project c'arter

If a pro'ect will not be financed t"en t"e time used for preparation a pro'ect plan is wasted. *ut even if a pro'ect will be financed t"en usually t"e costs for preparation of t"e pro'ect s"ould be covered by ot"er sources. %"erefore t"e initiation s"ould be motivated for bot" t"e partners and for upper management. (or describing t"e general idea of t"e pro'ect$ a project charter will be composed. %"e pro'ect c"arter "as usually 1A2 pages and its purpose is 3see an example in !ppendix 24< 2et from decision makers 3for example$ from upper management4 approval for initiating or participating in t"e pro'ect& !gree wit" t"e partners about t"e basic c"aracteristics of t"e pro'ect 3ob'ective$ need$ duration$ estimation of resources needed etc4& Eropose basic activities of partners 3tasks and work division4 for preparation of pro'ect plan and:or for running t"e pro'ect.

%"e text in pro'ect c"arter s"ould not necessarily be perfectly elaborated. Fost important is t"at it is clear and understandable. %"e pro'ect c"arter s"ould contain t"e following information about t"e pro'ect< Ereliminary title %"e ob'ective ?xplanation of t"e need and novelty *asic strategy for ac"ieving t"e pro'ect goals Ero'ect team:partners 3incl t"e contact data of t"e coordinator4 and distribution of tasks 8esources need and estimations about t"eir availability 1uration %"e pro'ect c"arter may include some ot"er elements$ like< Identify constraints on time$ money$ #uality and ot"er resource use Identify relevant customer or supplier standards or statements of best practices Consider "ow t"e finis"ed product can be broug"t into use Identify t"e training needs for user pesonnel etc. ?noug" time s"ould be devoted for composition of pro'ect c"arter and for developing t"e strategy to assure interest of partners and to avoid unnecessary:confusing #uestions:discussions. Hit"out an ade#uate strategy bot" t"e planning and running of t"e pro'ect are not focused enoug". Seneca? 5;hen a man does not know what har0our he is making for$ no wind is the right wind9. 6owever$ t"e pro'ect c"arter can be c"anged during t"e pro'ect initiation process& aut"entic involvement of partners into planning process creates feeling of owners"ip and devotion. Ero'ect c"arter is t"e basic document on base of w"ic" t"e team will be formed. Instead of pro'ect c"arter$ t"ere can be documents "aving different names and structure$ or even more t"an one document. (or example$ E8IBC?2 pro'ect management met"od is suggesting to "ave up to t"ree documents< Project Mandate$ Project Brief and Project Initiation /ocument. %"e Ero'ect Fandate would normally be provided by corporate or programme management and may contain t"e following< responsible aut"ority$ background$ pro'ect ob'ectives$ scope$ constraints$ interfaces$ customerOs #uality expectations$ outline business case$ pro'ect tolerances$ reference to any associated documents or products$ an indication of w"o are to be t"e executive and pro'ect manager$ t"e customer3s4$ user3s4 and any ot"er known interested parties etc. Ero'ect *rief is a more elaborated document and based on Ero'ect Fandate. Ero'ect Initiation 1ocument contains additionally an initial pro'ect plan$ initial risk log documenting t"e results of t"e risk analysis$ pro'ect organisation structure$ communication plan and pro'ect #uality plan. 65ercises
1.

1escribe t"e key c"aracteristics of a freely c"osen pro'ect plan 3see$ for example$ "ttp<::www.pmi.org:info:EE;0tndsBewEro'.pdf4.

2. Compose a pro'ect c"arter t"at "as< a. Feasurable indicators for describing t"e pro'ect outcome& b. Convincing explanation of t"e need of t"e pro'ectI

2.7. +omposition of project consortium,team

0election of pro'ect partners is almost as decisive for success as selection of a wife:"usband. Indeed$ planning and running a pro'ect is a collaborative undertaking w"ere t"e result is determined by t"e

#uality and effectivity of every participant. (or c"oosing partners t"e are some general principles t"at are reasonable to follow< 1. .'e partners s'ould (e moti ated. Fotivated partners are interested in ac"ieving t"e pro'ect goals and t"eir attitude to pro'ect activities is not formal. Fotivated partners are supporting eac" ot"er in solving problems. !ttention s"ould be paid to every sign of nonmotivation. For e:ample$ an institute was proposed to take part in a project consortium for applying a T,MP.S 2,P' howe)er$ it was not possi0le during two months to find a suita0le for this institute date to discuss the application& Instead$ another institute was chosen as a partner. 2. Partners w'o already 'a e e5perience in running similar projects? are preferred. 6aving partners w"o already "ave experiences will reduce t"e risks of emerging problems$ first of all in running pro'ects in t"e framework of 3relatively regulated4 programs. 3. Leading institutions <persons> are preferred as partners. 6aving leading institutions as partners< Bew competencies can be a#uired and t"e #uality of t"e pro'ectOs outcome is expected to be "ig"er& %"ere are good opportunities to be invited to participate in ot"er pro'ects and to build up cooperation wit" t"ird parties& It is easier to be accepted in t"e professional communities. 7ne s"ould also mention some possible t"reats. Deading institutions are running a "uge number of pro'ects in parallel and t"eir contribution to t"e pro'ect can t"erefore be smaller as planned. %o avoid t"is t"e tasks of eac" partner s"ould be discussed and agreed in detail. (or example$ possible replacements s"ould be discussed for eac" 5risky9 person. %"is is a real c"allenge to find a good balance betveen t"e principles 1 and because very often t"e leading institutions are not very motivated to devote muc" time to one particular pro'ect 3out of "undred of pro'ects4. 7n t"e ot"er "and$ small and relatively unknown institutions can be very motivated because t"ese institutions s"ould establis" t"emselves in t"e professional community and conse#uently can not allow failures. %"e following principle is generally accepted< if t"ere is a "ig"ly recognised person:institution but it does not "armoni@e wit" t"e pro'ect team$ t"en it would be wise to abandon t"e partners"ip. 4. 3t is wise to prefer partners wit' w'om t'ere already 'a e (een good cooperation. %"e streng"s and weaknesses of suc" partners are known and t"is can be taken into account already in t"e planning p"ase of t"e pro'ect. Hit" completely new partners t"ere is always risks for you not to be understood$ differently interpreted or simply not "aving necessary knowledge. For e:ample$ one of our partners did not come to an important meeting 0ecause of some domestic pro0lems' the tickets went lost and there were huge trou0les to sign off the costs. %"ere also are partners w"o are not answering eAmails or not keeping deadlines. !. 3t is important t'at t'e interests of a single partner would not dominate o er t'e projectAs o(jecti e. In many cases a partner tried to solve its intrinsic problems t"at did not belong to t"e scope of t"e pro'ect using t"e pro'ectOs resources. For e:ample$ a uni)ersity proposed that the project should co)er the study fee of some )isiting students. #. 3t is suggested t'at t'e partners would complement eac' ot'er? would 'a e different e5perience? competency and approac' <academic? pragmatic? commertial etc>. 1iversity is a good precondition for emerging of a new #uality. %"erefore novice actors w"o are not bounded wit" traditional approac"es can sometimes offer remarkable contribution to t"e pro'ect. 7n t"e ot"er "and$ t"is principle is a sourse of certain risks as well. For e:ample$ one
4

task of one ,uropean project relayed in a great e:tent on one e:pert& fter the e:pert mo)ed to another institution the partner institution was not a0le to performe the task and this partner was replaced. 7. .'e partners s'ould accept t'e conditions set (y t'e donors. For e:ample$ one of the partners come to meetings always 0y plane$ and in the 0usiness class while the financing regulations accepted economy class only& In another project$ one partner su0mitted an in)oice for transferring the intellectual property rights to the project consortium$ although according the agreement signed 0y the partners$ all the outcomes of the project were owned 0y the project consortium& fter the partner failed it started to use dou0le salary rates& Finally$ the partner was replaced& %o avoid t"is kind of cases "appen$ it is suggested G even re#uired by most of ?uropean programs G t"at t"e partners will sign agreements on mutual responsibilities. %"e last example s"ows t"at t"is will not always prevent conflicts. 1epending on t"e type of pro'ects$ additional principles will be applied. (or example$ for ?/ researc" and development pro'ects$ an Iris" expert 0ean FcCart"y listed t"e following indicators of a good partner 3see also www."yperion.ie4< !re doing top level researc" only$ ?nd users w"o "ave vision "ow t"e outcome of t"e pro'ect can be applied$ E"1 students w"oOs doctoral t"eses are in a great extent based on t"e pro'ect$ 8esearc" administrators w"o "ave been proven as effective pro'ect managers. !t t"e same time "e c"aracterised people w"o often creates problems and t"erefore s"ould not be taken to t"e pro'ect teams< ?nergetic pro'ect planners w"o are interested in getting t"e financing$ not so muc" in running t"e pro'ect& Eartners t"at will not take t"e responsibility$ 1ominating researc"ers t"at are pretending to be t"e only key person in t"e pro'ect& (ormalistic researc"ers t"at are first of all taking care of pro'ect documentation$ not so muc" on t"e #uality of t"e outcome& Eartners wit" 5fu@@y9 structure w"o always delegate to t"e meetings different people& /ncorrect partners w"o do not "old agreements and are performing t"e tasks at t"eir own discretion& Eartners w"o constantly need to remind t"e tasks and w"o leave t"e tasks to t"e last minute. Eartly different aspects s"ould be considered if you will be proposed to become a partner. (or example$ t"e following problems can arise< 1. Eour work and competence will (e e5ploited. %"is means t"at t"e amount of work expected from you and t"e amount of resources for t"at are not corresponding to eac" ot"er. For e:ample$ a foreign uni)ersity offered to perform a0out -DF of total work in a project with only GF of the 0udget. It is also possible to benefit from a weak partner. For e:ample$ one uni)ersity was not a0le to co1 ordinate a joint project with fi)e participating uni)ersities' the partners agreed to change the co1 ordinating uni)ersity and accordingly redesigned the 0udget. 2. 8ncompetent co/ordination of t'e project can 'arm t'e image not only of t'e co/ordinating institution (ut t'e image of partners as well.

%"e possible arguments and preferences of evaluating expetrts s"ould be taken into account as well in c"oosing t"e partners. For e:ample$ according to Sean Mc!arthy$ the composition of consortium caused rejection in a0out CDF of cases for,. Dth framework projects 0ecause the competence and e:perience in running similar projects were the most important aspects assessed. nother e:ample was a project su0mitted to <th F; program 0y si: open uni)ersities for de)elopment of conceptual models for distance teaching& s most of distance teaching in ,urope is performed 0y traditional uni)ersities$ the project was not accepted 8isks t"at are caused by t"e pro'ect team are considered as one of t"e most dangerous& t"e pro'ect manager s"ould be able to replace t"e members of t"e pro'ect team t"ey are not performing well enoug"$ and able to estimate t"e costs occurred by replacements. =eneral suggestions: 1. -ot too many partnersF %"e complexity of coAordination depends exponentially on t"e number of partners. 2. 3mportant are t'e people working in an institution? not institution as suc'. For e:ample$ a researcher applied for a long1term grant to stay in a German uni)ersity& s there were many applicants to Germany "and only one grant a)aila0le# and no applicant to 2apan "2apan did also offer a long1term grant# the researcher was proposed to go to 2apan& The researcher rejected this proposal 0ecause 2apan did not 0elong to the leading countries in the area of research& Secondly$ GHttingen uni)ersity 0elonged to the leading uni)ersities in the world 0efore the ;old ;ar II' according to the commonly accepted ratings$ today this uni)ersity is not e)en among twenty 0est performing uni)ersities in ,uropeI 65ercises 1. [ou s"ould c"oose between t"e two partners& one is leading in t"e Horld but not very interested in t"e pro'ect$ t"e second is almost unknown but very interested. In w"at circumstances would you prefer t"e first 3correspondingly$ t"e second4 partnerI H"at are t"e main risks in bot" cases and "ow would you deal wit" t"e risksI 2. H"at signs will indicate t"at a partner is not motivated enoug"I 6ow unmotivation and uncompetence can be to differedI

3 P-(

' . ( +"#/*&!

0ometimes 3in fact in most cases4 t"e #uality of pro'ect planning is even more important t"at t"e #uality of pro'ect execution. In programs "aving very "ig" competition t"is is obvious 3pro'ects t"at are not well enoug" planned will not be supported4$ but t"is is true for ot"er pro'ects as well. %"ere are certain similarities wit" arbitrary exercises< finding a good solution algorit"m is more difficult t"an 3sometimes mec"anical4 execution of t"e algorit"m. !nd even if t"e execution of t"e pro'ect fails usually no sactions follow.

3.1. -eeds analysis

%"e determination of needs was performed already during t"e initiating p"ase of t"e pro'ect& "owever$ a detailed needs analysis will usually be made during t"e planning p"ase. In order to do t"is properly$ t"e following preparatory work is needed< t"e analysis of information about similar pro'ects done by t"e partners and elsewere before& 0H7%Aanalysis$ evaluation of strengt"s$ weaknesses$ opportunities and t"reats in relation to t"e pro'ect. Beeds analysis allows< Justify t"e pro'ect to potential donors and decision makers& %o get a better understanding and overview of t"e domain and conse#uently simplify t"e composition of t"e pro'ect plan& %o increase devotion of pro'ect partners 3general acceptance of significance of t"e topicM4. (or big pro'ects t"e needs analysis can be performed as a separate pro'ect. For e:ample$ in pre1,. mem0ership period of ,stonia& nother e:ample? creating a !urriculum /e)elopment !enter "for general education# was made in two phases$ during the first phase a pu0lic competition of projects for composing a de)elopment project was announced' the winner was gi)en the opportunity to present a full project. %"e met"ods used for needs analysis can range from personal experience up to a complex metaA analysis. %"e following list serves as an example of possible met"ods< Farket researc"$ ! public opinion poll$ Interviews wit" a limited group of relevant people 3users$ experts$ donors etc4. (or reliability of results of market researc" and public opinion poll it is suggested to order t"em from experts or speciali@ed institutions. !s t"is can sometimes be an expesive undertaking$ t"e costs and ot"er conditions s"ould be discussed and agreed. For e:ample$ a research project that was supported 0y ,stonian Science Foundation planned for collecting empirical data to perform a pu0lic opinion poll& The price to perform this was so high that researcher had to a0andon the poll and e:pected results of the research were partly not achie)ed. %"e needs analysis can be based on t"e personal experiences and creativity of t"e pro'ect team$ especially in new emerging and #uickly developing areas w"ere t"e need is maybe not widely recogni@ed yet. %"e analysis of similar pro'ects done before can be divided into two ma'or parts< 14 w"at "as been done by ot"er institutions and 24 w"at t"e pro'ect partners "ave been done. %"e information can mainly be obtained from t"e internet$ and partly from scientific literature. !lt"oug" t"e ma'ority of donors do not re#uire performing a 0H7% analysis or is satisfied wit" a partial analysis 3for example$ risk analysis4 it is nevert"eless useful to do t"is. %"is is useful first of all for t"e pro'ect team< analy@ing its strengt"s and weaknesses it is easier to realise t"e potential of t"e team and avoid failure. 0H7% analysis can sometimes lead to unexpected results. (or example$ t"e book JGoldratt 3KKKL descri0es a S;7T analysis of a steel factory that e:perienced long1term losses& It turned out that 0ecause the production has 0een measured 0y weight "tons# the factory was moti)ated to produce 3# 0igMhea)y products only and -# to produce each type of products for a possi0ly long period of time& s a result$ 3# the storehouse was always almost full' -# the a)erage time for deli)ery of ordered

products was )ery long and G# there was a constant lack of raw materials 0ecause it was 8uickly @ela0oratedB into storehouse& The factory 0ecame profita0le soon after the accounting system was changedI 65ercises 1. Eerform a 0H7% analysis of t"e study group you are belonging to. 2. In w"at cases t"e importance of needs analysis is bigger and in w"at cases smallerI

3.2. .ime/ta(le for composition of a project plan

(or assuring t"e completion of t"e pro'ect plan on time$ t"e w"ole process s"ould be determined and agreed. (or small and medium pro'ects t"e following general sc"eme is followed< 1. !fter t"e basic features of t"e pro'ect are decided$ one person is nominated to compose t"e first draft of t"e pro'ect$ before a certain date .1. %"e draft s"ould already "ave a possibly final structure and t"e places are marked t"at s"ould be completed by t"e names of persons and keywords or s"ort desriptions w"at s"ould be added. 2. %"e first draft will be sent to t"e pro'ect team toget"er wit" oblgation to return additions$ comments and improvements until a certan date .2. . *ased on feedback from pro'ect team$ t"e nominated person updates t"e second draft before a date .3 to t"e pro'ect team for acceptance 3and possibly for minor improvements4. 4. %o a date .4 received improvements will be implemented into master document after t"at it will be submitted. 1epending on t"e pro'ect t"e procedure of t"e pro'ect plan can be more complicated. (or example< %"ere can be two or more cycles similar to t"is described before 3t"is "appens w"en completely new ideas or suggestions emerge in t"e course of planning4& %"ere is a need to call meetings to discuss some important aspects of t"e pro'ect & %"e upper management or a partner institution re#uires c"anges in t"e pro'ect plan. *ased on extensive experience t"e following suggestions can be formulated< %imeAtable for composing a pro'ect plan s"ould "ave some spare time 3t"e more partners t"e more spare time4$ %"ere are people w"o do not keep t"e agreed dates and will not contribute before agreed date$ %"e composition of t"e pro'ect plan s"ould be a responsibility of one 3or utmost two very closely working4 person even for relatively big pro'ects. ! bigger number of responsible persons would cause coAordination problems& *usy people are tending to perform t"e tasks on t"e last minute. ,:ample& The financing institutions usually re8uire some self1financing "for e:ample$ almost all ,. projects#& fter a project consortium prepared a project and presented it to the rectors of participating uni)ersities$ one uni)ersity decided to withdraw from the project 0ecause the lack of financies& The project plan was redesigned in some few hours and su0mitted .

3.3. )tructure of a project plan

In terms of structure t"e pro'ect plans can be divided into two big groups< 1. 6aving a given structure 3ma'ority of pro'ects are belonging to t"is group4& 2. Elans t"at do not "ave a predetermined structure or t"at s"ould follow 'ust very general guidelines. %"ere are some sections t"at are present in almost all pro'ect plans< 1. *asic data of t"e pro'ect 3%"e title$ t"e ob'ective$ participating institutions:persons4. 2. *ackground of t"e pro'ect 3need$ basic target groups$ priority description$ previous experience of t"e participants in t"e area4. . Ero'ect description 3work packages$ key deliverables and activities4. 4. %imeAtable of t"e pro'ect. 5. !dministration of t"e pro'ect 3description of partners$ division of work$ work arrangements$ responsibility of partners$ risk management$ #uality management etc4. C. Elans for dissemination and:or application of t"e outcomes. 7. ?stimations of economic and social influence of t"e pro'ectOs outcomes. ,. *udget. +. 0ummary of t"e pro'ect. %"e general development sc"eme of t"e pro'ect plan usually is t"e following< 7utcome:2oal U 0ubgoals:!ctivities U %imeAtable U *udget. !dditional sections in pro'ect plan are depending on t"e type of t"e pro'ect. %"ese can be$ for example$ t"e following< description of t"e previous coAoperation between t"e partners 3for example$ important in ?/ pro'ects4$ coAoperation wit" t"e industry or wit" ot"er institutions t"at could benefit from t"e outcome of t"e pro'ect$ description of t"e met"odology and tools used 3in researc" pro'ects4$ compliance to t"e standards$ perspectives for furt"er development of t"e pro'ect outcome$ international coAoperation 3?/ framework programs4$ glossary:definition of terms used in t"e text. %"e formal re#uirements s"ould be satisfyied not only formally but in reality. For e:ample$ institutions from more than one country should take part in e)ery project of ,. framework program& project that had si: partners from one country and one partner with marginal tasks from another country was rejected. It is very useful< to take part on evaluation of t"e pro'ect plans 3t"e proposals to become a member of evaluation committees s"ould be accepted4$ to study pro'ect plans composed by ot"ers 3unfortunately t"ese are usually confidential and availability depend on personal agreements of t"e aut"ors4$ to study re#uirements and evaluation criteria set up for evaluators. %"e evaluators s"ould ba capable to assess w"et"er or to w"at extend t"e evaluation criteria are satisfied& t"erefore it is sometimes wise to use formulations t"at can be used by evatuators in composing t"e report.

!ll t"ese activities "elp to understand w"at aspects are important in evaluation of pro'ect plans. For e:ample$ in e)aluation of ,. <th framework projects the no)elty was considered much more important than social impact "these criteria had weights * and 3$ respecti)ely4. 65ercises 1. C"oose an institution t"at finances pro'ects 3for example$ t"e Tiger %eap Foundation4 and try to find out a4 t"e indicators t"at are used for assessing t"e #uality of t"e pro'ect plans and b4 t"e assessment criteria.

3.4. Determination of milestones and acti ities

Ero'ect planning means determination of activities for ac"ieving t"e pro'ect ob'ective& in ot"er words$ to find out a possibly good algorit"m for solving tasks set by t"e pro'ect. !s usual in solving excercises$ t"e ob'ective can be ac"ieved in different ways:algorit"ms. %"e way towards t"e ob'ective can be described by milestones and activities leading to t"ose milestones. %"e system of milestones and activities presents t"e lifeAcycle of t"e pro'ect in a more structured way and simplifies resource 3including "uman resource4 planning and advancement during execution of t"e pro'ect. 1etermination t"e structure of milestones and activites is also necessary for assigning roles and responsibilities to working groups and t"e members of t"e working groups. %"is motivates t"e pro'ect members as a certain owners"ip of subtasks:subgoals will be establis"ed. Important is t"at t"e pro'ect team members are involved in determination of t"e milestones and activities. ! general principle is t"at t"e milestones:subgoals s"ould be measurable$ exactly as t"e ob'ective of t"e w"ole pro'ect s"ould be. For e:ample$ for de)elopment of a new study program$ the following general acti)ities "top le)el structure# can 0e formulated? 3# study of similar curricula in other uni)ersities and e:perience o0tained$ -# continuing education of teachers$ G# de)elopment of the curriculum$ *# de)elopment of course materials for the program$ D# de)elopment of necessary en)ironment "e8uipment$ te:t0ooks etc#& (or determination of t"e structure of milestones and activities$ t"e following strategies are mainly used< topAdown met"od 3planning is made by different levels< t"e most general goals:activities are determined first$ t"en more concrete subgoals:subactivities for ac"ieving eac" goal or performing eac" activity etc4$ application of analogy 3t"e experience from previous pro'ects will be used4$ using guidelines 3using given forms4$ bottomAup met"od. %"ese strategies are not exclusive$ parallel or combined application of two or more strategies is possible. 0imilar activities can be grouped into work packages. %"e system of activities toget"er wit" t"eir interrelation is called t"e work 0reakdown structure 3;BS4 of t"e pro'ect. H*0 can be represented by a grap" w"ere activities are represented by vertices and subactivities are marked by edges 3leading from activity to its subactivities4. %"e granularity of t"e structure of activities depend of t"e pro'ect& an average duration of subactivities in software pro'ects can$ for example$ be about two weeks. The first general acti)ity in the pre)ious e:ample "study of similar curricula in other uni)ersities and e:perience o0tained# can contain the following su0acti)ities? 3# study of information material of
4 .

foreign uni)ersities$ -# study )ist to a couple of patner uni)ersities in Finnland$ G# teleconferences with colleagues in some other partner uni)ersities$ *# organi9ation of an international workshop de)oted to curriculum de)elopment etc& Filestones give an opportunity to get feedback during pro'ect execution. *ecause of its importance feedback is also called 5the 0reakfast of the champions9. Filestones give also opportunity to ask from t"e workung groups or individual pro'ect team members intermediate reports$ t"is in turn gives opportunity to stimulate t"eir work. In setting milestones and assigning responsibilities t"e following problems can occur< 1. .'e tasks,acti ities are too small. %"e main attention will be devoted to t"e details$ not so muc" to t"e general ob'ective of t"e pro'ect. 2. .'ere are too many milestones. It is "ard to focus and t"e pro'ect management will be very complicated and expensive$ especially if new milestones will be set during t"e pro'ect execution . 3for t"at t"e term scope creep is used4. . 9ig' responsi(ility? (ut not enoug' rig'ts. %"is can "appen first of all in institutions wit" t"e matrix structure w"ere t"ere is a double subordination. 7ne possibility for avoiding t"is kind of problems is to assign a coAresponsibility to a "ead of department as it is t"e case in ?/ pro'ects 3Super)isory Board4. 4. )timulation of team mem(ers is not ade7uate. (or example$ if t"ere is a competition between t"e working groups t"en t"e priority can be 5to be better t"an ot"ers9$ not so muc" ac"ievement of t"e ob'ective of t"e pro'ect. It bonus will be given for some tasks and not for ot"ers$ t"en execution of some tasks can suffer. n e:ample of four air s8uadrons can 0e found in the literature that had a task to rise the readiness from 4DF to KDF' monthly 0onuses were esta0lished for the 0est s8uadron& The s8uadrons stopped co1operate and started to steal spare parts from each other& To a)oid this the s8uadrons also started -*h sur)eillance& !onse8uently the readiness dropped dramatically& The readiness impro)ed if the 0onus system was changed? to each s8uadron with KDF readiness. 65ercises 1. H"en usage of t"e bottomAup strategy of pro'ect planning is 'ustified. 2. H"at aspects s"ould be taken into account in determination of milestones:subgoals and activitiesI . Bame aspects w"en it is reasonable to base pro'ect planning on milestones$ w"en to activities.
4.

Dist principles of composition of work breakdown structure 3see$ for example$ www.pmi.org:info:EE;!rticlesH*0.pdf4.

3.!. .ime/ta(le of a project

%"e timeAtable of t"e pro'ect is suggested to present in a grap"ical form 35 picture is worth a thousand words94 because it< gives a good overview about t"e progress$ describes w"at activities and in w"at order s"ould be started$ "elps to concentrate attention to critical tasks$ allows to feel bottleAnecks and correct activities before t"e problems are escalating$
4 1

is a tool for en"ancing coAordination between t"e partners$ increases devotion and t"e feeling of dependence from eac" ot"er most importantly$ is a tool for completing t"e pro'ect on time.

(or avoiding time overrunning$ t"e following principles s"ould be taken into account< people are intending to complete t"e tasks by t"e time fixed even if it could be completed sooner. H"en too muc" time is planned for a task$ t"en some time will be wasted or$ )ice )ersa$ t"e task will be completed but not "anded over before t"e deadline. 0ometimes it is not possible to start subse#uent activities before t"e planned date because necessary conditions are not fulfilled 3for example$ if contracts wit" t"ird parties are made for a later G fixed G date4$ t"e activities s"ould be concentrated< performing several tasks at t"e same time means t"at a lot of time is needed for completing eac" task and t"erefore it is not possible to start subse#uend G depending G tasks& it is also suggested t"at t"e tasks s"ould not be divided into several subtasks so t"at t"ese subtasks are not performed on linear order< for e:ample$ the scheme BBB!!! should 0e used instead of scheme B! B! B! $ t"e time overrun will cumulate$ spared time in performing one stage or activity do not s"orten time for t"e w"ole pro'ect. %"is is w"y it is necessary to plan some additional time at t"e end of t"e pro'ect. 7ne possible algoritm for determining t"e duration of t"e pro'ect is t"e following< 14 find period of time t"at is sufficient for completing t"e pro'ect& 24 plan for pro'ect activities 5.= of t"e time found& 4 add 25= of time initially found to t"e end of t"e pro'ect 3 project 0uffer4. 1ouble attention s"ould be paid to t"e activities t"at form critical chain 3or critical path4$ t"ese are activities t"at depend from eac" ot"er and determine t"e end date of t"e pro'ect. %"e dependencies in are of two types< 14 a subse#uent activity cannot be started before a preceding activity is not completed because it uses t"e result of a preceding activity& 24 a subse#uent activity uses t"e same resources as preceding activity. (or assuring timely start of activities in t"e critical c"ain$ it is suggested to plan incoming buffers for eliminating possible delays. If in t"e course of t"e pro'ect t"e delay is bigger t"an it proportionally from t"e time reserved for pro'ect buffer s"ould be t"en some extra measures s"ould be developed and applied. %imeAtables are usually presented by Gantt charts. $ ,antt chart 3or a 0ar chart$ first used in 3K3C 0y 5enry Gantt4 is a twoAdimensional table w"ere "ori@ontal axis represents time flow and vertical axis 3t"e rows4 represent activities. %"e duration of eac" activity is represented by a "ori@ontal bar. *ar c"arts can also be used for progress assessment during running t"e pro'ect 3painting t"e bars t"at correspond to t"e finis"ed tasks wit" a different color4. *ar c"arts can be used for planning ot"er resources as well 3people$ infrastructure$ money etc4. 65ample 3.1. ! bar c"art for development andpiloting a new university course 3unit of measuring G one week4<
1 2 3 4 ! # 7 0 9 11 11 12 13 14 1! 1#

1. Planning seminars 2. *e ision of work plan 3. -eeds analysis 4. +ontracts wit' de elopers and teac'ers,tutors !. +ourse de elopment #. +reation of tec'nical infrastructure 7. .esting of a module

G G \ G

G G G \ G G

G G

G \

G \

G G

\ G

G G G

4 2

0. +omposition of a 7uestionnaire 9. Ceed(ack analysis 11. "odification of t'e course 11. "arketing t'e course 12. De elopment of a support system for t'e curse 13. Piloting t'e course 14. &ssessment of t'e course

G \ \

\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ G G G

(or visuali@ing dependencies between t"e activities arrows from t"e preceding activity to subse#uent activity are used. Filestones can be represented by activities wit" no duration 3t"at is$ a dot or bold line in corresponding cell4. 7t"er possibilities to present t"e sc"edule are Critical path method 3!PM4 and Program Evaluation and &evie Techni-ue 3P,(T4 t"at were developed in 1+5.Aies$ or t"eir modifications. %"e structure of t"e pro'ect can be represented by a grap" w"ere vertices represent t"e milestones:subgoals and edges represent activities leading to t"ese milestones:subgoals. ?ac" vertex is represented by a circle& inside a circle t"ere is written< 14 t"e milestone:subgoal or its number and 24 t"e earliest and latest possible date of ac"ieving t"e milestone:subgoal. ?ac" arrow is marked by t"e name:number of t"e activity and t"e expected duration of t"e activity. !rrow diagrams can not contain loops. 65ample 3.2. 2eneral description of building a computer lab 3unit of measuring G one day4.
2

*egin 11 1+ 11 .C .C

1. 25p 2 1.p

11 25 .7 .7

2p
1 . .7 .7

4 5p

1, 1. .7

.,

!ctivities< 1A building a D!B& 2 G furnis"ing t"e lab& G buying "ardA and software& 4 G installation of software. 2antt c"art met"od as well ot"er met"ods allow to perform an analysis of 5H"at "appens if9 3causeA andAeffect4 type of problems. If a big pro'ect can be divided into relatively independent subpro'ects t"en it is suggested to compose separate bar c"arts or arrow diagrams for eac" subpro'ect separately. (or composing t"e timeAtable and for planning resources t"ere is a vast list of pro'ect management software available. In c"oosing t"e software t"e needs of t"e pro'ect s"ould be taken into account< w"at kind of reports are needed$ does it allow 5H"at "appens if9 analysis$ warns about t"e logical contradictions etc. 6owever$ small pro'ects can usually perfectly be managed by standard office software as well 3text processing$ spreads"eets$ calendar etc4. .%/ In planning and executing projects0 the attention should be concentrated on avoiding time overspending 1not so much on time sparing2)

65ercises 1. In w"at cases it is better to use bar c"arts$ in w"at critical pat" met"odI 2. In composing t"e timeAtable t"ere are t"e following two general met"odologies< 14 t"e timeAtable s"ould consist t"e deadlines of outcomes only and no activities 3example .24& 24 t"e timeAtable can consist activities as well 3example .14. !rguments for t"e case 14< a4 concrete met"odologies$ procedures etc are assumed in determining activities& t"is suppresses creativity and innovation& b4 Composition of timeAtable and determination of dependencies are different processes and t"erefore t"ese processes s"ould not be mixed up. !rguments for t"e case 24< a4 8elations between activities and dependencies describe t"e fact t"at t"e outcome of t"e predecessing activity is needed for t"e subse#uent activity& b4 %"e outcomes of activities can be arranged according t"e "ierarc"y of activities. It is generally accepted t"at t"e pro'ect manager "as to decide about t"e content and type of t"e timeAtable. !lt"oug" PMB7K Guide defines timeAtable as 5deliverablesAoriented "ierarc"y9$ t"e t"is s"ould not be interpreted as 5"ierarc"y of deliverables9& often lowerAlevel elements are described by activities and identified by a concrete person:group$ upper level elements by outcomes. H"at is your position in t"isI . H"at are t"e main reasons of time overrun in your pro'ectsI

3.#. Description of project management

Ero'ect plan s"ould describe< "ow t"e pro'ect team is structured& w"at are t"e tasks of structure units& "ow t"e work 3including t"e work wit" t"e pro'ect management artefacts4 and reporting is organised$ t"e #uality assurance system. .'e structure of t'e project team depends on t"e number of people and institutions taking part in t"e pro'ect. If t"ere are participants from different institutions t"en it is suggested to form a pro'ect board or council t"at consists of people from upper management of t"e institutions. %"e board s"ould assure t"at< t"e pro'ect will serve t"e interests of all participating institutions& t"e pro'ect outcome "as a necessary #uality& support is provided to pro'ect manager in solving possible problems. %"e structure of middle si@e or big pro'ects could be t"e following< Ero'ect board$ Ero'ect manager 3pro'ect coAordinator4$ 0ecretary$ Hork groups. If t"ere are several institutions taking part on t"e pro'ect$ t"en a local coordinator s"ould be nominated for eac" institution. It is suggested t"at< %"e structure of t"e pro'ect team is presented by a grap" 3edges representing subordination between t"e structure units4$ Ero'ect team is explicitly determined$
4 4

%"e tasks of structure units are ade#uately and in necessary detail described 3mainly top1 down met"od is used4$ !vailability of infrastructure necessary for successful execution of t"e pro'ect is s"own.

0ometimes it is purposeful to form an advisory board consisting of people representing different interest groups. 65ample 3.3. %"e tasks of some units in %?FE/0 J?E 1241, pro'ect. Cor t'e coordinating institution <.allinn Pedagogical 8ni ersity>: !dministration and overall pro'ect management$ including day to day administration& organisation of 0teering 2roup and Ero'ect %eam meetings& acting as a secretariat& purc"ase of e#uipment& liaison wit" %?FE/0 office in %allinn and in %orino$ t"e contractor and provision of office facilities and administrative backAup. %o collaborate wit" colleagues from t"e participating universities in all t"e activities. In addition to take responsibility for adaptation of t"e materials w"ere necessary into ?stonian$ provision and selection of staff from %E/ to be trained. CoAordination wit" t"e Contractor$ provision of suitable accommodation$ welfare and "ospitality to visiting colleagues& provision of translation facility. Introducing multimedia programming$ distance learning and computer usage psyc"ology courses. Cor t'e coordinator <project manager>: 1. Erepare t"e pro'ect team 3E%4 general meetings.< Call t"e E% general meetings$ compose initial agenda and mail it to %E members at least t"ree weeks in advance$ Compose:compile and sent to t"e E% members t"e documents discussed on general meeting at least one week in advance. 2. Erepare yearly reports 3[84$ t"e work plan 3HE4 and budget 3[*4 for t"e next year. (irst drafts s"ould be sent to E% members before 1..1ecember$ %"e draft t"e final versions s"ould be sent to E% members before 15.January$ %"e draft of t"e final versions s"ould be discussed on a general meeting before 1.(ebruary$ %"e final versions s"ould be completed before 1..(ebruary. . Coordinate t"e execution of t"e pro'ect< coordinate t"e visits$ collect and analyse t"e reports$ cooperate wit" t"e contractor$ local coordinators and "eads of t"e work groups in t"e planning and execution of t"eir work$ organise t"e work of t"e secretary. Cor t'e secretary< manage t"e E% documentation 3bot" in electronic and paperAbased form4$ manage t"e pro'ect web site$ prepare general meetings t"at take place in %allinn 3tec"nical part only< logging of foreign guests$ composition of minutes etc4$ "elp t"e coordinator and by local coordinators in solving t"e tax problems$ support t"e coordinator in managing t"e pro'ect. Cor local coordinators< nominate t"e members to work groups and visiting persons from t"e "ome university$ prepare t"e general meetigs t"at take place in t"e "ome university$
4 5

cooperate wit" t"e coordinator and contractor in planning and executing activities performed by "ome university$ determine and and perform purc"ases t"at are forseen by pro'ect plan to t"e "ome university$ prepare materials for [8$ HE and [8 concerning t"e "ome university.

Cor 'eads of work groups< plan t"e activities of t"e work group and t"eir smoot" execution$ apply from different foundations and ot"er sources additional resources necessary for successful work of t"e work group$ make recommendations to t"e local coordinators for pur"asing "ardA and software and literature$ inform t"e coordinator regularly about t"e work group activities and results for updating t"e pro'ectOs web site$ prepare necessary materials for !8. %"e %?FE/0 J?E 1241, was planned and started so well t"at t"e audit performed after t"e first year did not find a single deficiency 3for example$ it was indicated t"at t"e first annual repot gave one week as a duration of a visit t"at actually did last six days4. .'e organi%ation of work and reporting is often sufficient to describe in relatively general terms. (or example about reporting t"e following aspects s"ould be covered< w"o will report and w"at will be reported$ "ow t"e reporting will be managed 3incl. fre#uency and type of reporting4. It is usually not necessary to devote too muc" space in t"e pro'ect plan for description to organi@ation of t"e work because< it does not belong to t"e main interests of t"e sponsors 3description of t"e pro'ect outcome and #uality assurance are more important4$ usually t"e pro'ect plans will not be fully reali@ed and t"erefore t"e very exactly described organi@ation of work would not be completely ade#uate anyway. %"e organi@ation of work s"ould be agreed in more detail after t"e pro'ect is launc"ed w"en t"e amount of resources is known. 65cercises 1. 0uppose several institutions are taking part on t"e pro'ect. H"at are t"e advantages and disantvateges if t"e work groups are composed by t"e participating institutions 3participants from one institution form a work group4.

3.7. *isk management

8isk can be defined as a feature of an outcome& risk describes t"e level of uncertainty for obtaining a predefined outcome. 8isk management aims to exposure t"e risks and keep t"e exposure to an acceptable level in a costAeffective way. It is evident t"at availability of relevant information and communication between t"e partners are t"e key factors for reducing uncertainty. !lt"oug" t"e risks are constantly c"anging during t"e execution of t"e pro'ect$ a general pattern of dealing wit" risks remains t"e same< 8isk identification U 8isk analysis U Identification and execution of responses.

4 C

Ero'ect plan s"ould identify t"e ma'or possible risks$ describe "ow t"ese risks will be managed and w"o are t"e 5owners9 of t"e risks 3t"e 5owner9 s"ould monitor t"e risk and propose actions if necessary4. In many cases risk management is considered as a component of #uality management. (or example$ t"e #uality management plan can consider actions t"at will be undertaken if t"e following risks will become true< 0ome resources planned for pro'ect needs will not be available$ 0ome key persons leave t"e pro'ect$ %"e assumptions and solutions planned will not be ade#uate and effective enoug"$ Eroblems caused by external institutions emerge 3for example$ in procurement delays or force majore4. (or eac" risk$ one s"ould try to estimate t"e "arm t"at can occure and propose possible solutions. 7ne possible sources of risks are t"e c"eapest solutions$ for example in subcontracting< a 5= c"eaper service from an unreliable institution can end up wit" a solution of nonAacceptable #uality$ time overrun or fraud. %"e tec"ni#ues for determination of risks can be< analysis of documents 3incl web based4$ brainstorming$ 1elp"iAtec"nic 3t"e answers to #uestions dealing wit" risks will be given to experts w"o determine t"e possible risks4$ interviewing experts$ 0H7%Aanalysis$ diagrammatic analysis 3analysis of cause1and1effect diagrams4. He describe planning of risk management by t"e following example 3t"at "as been accepted by ?/ Ct" (ramework i!amp pro'ect4. 65ample 3.4. *isks and contingency plan %"is pro'ect addresses innovative pedagogical and tec"nological concepts and involves trial collaborative activities of a large number of students from several universities. It is t"erefore necessary t"at during t"e w"ole duration of t"e pro'ect$ risks are constantly assessed and evaluated$ and t"at t"e pro'ect prepares for coverAup actions if re#uired. %"e pro'ect management and assessment approac"es proposed for iCamp provide mec"anisms to identify and resolve potential risks. %"e met"odology to be followed for risk management consists of four steps< (isk identification A areas of potential risk are identified and classified. (isk 8uantification A t"e probability of events is determined and t"e conse#uences associated wit" t"eir occurrence are examined. (isk response A met"ods are produced to reduce or control t"e risk$ e.g. switc" to alternative tec"nologies. (isk control and report A lessons learnt are documented. 8isks wit" medium or "ig" probability and severe impact will be "andled wit" particular caution during t"e pro'ect. !t t"is point$ it is foreseen t"at t"e pro'ect will safely realise its expected results. %"is is also supported by t"e preliminary risk analysis. Bormal pro'ect risks will be managed via 5goodApractice9 pro'ect management. 1etailed pro'ect plan wit" its milestones and critical pat"s will be continuously monitored. %"e close supervision and tig"t control bot" at workpackage 3HE4 level and pro'ect level s"all ensure t"at results are available in time and wit" ade#uate #uality. Bo special problems are t"erefore expected wit" regard to t"e following risks<
4 7

Eartner problems 3e.g. a partner is underAperforming4 or expertise risks 3e.g. a key person wit" a specific expertise is leaving t"e pro'ect4 A in case critical competencies are lost or not available$ it is assumed t"at t"e pro'ect and HE management processes will identify t"e problem at an early stage. !s a first measure$ t"e pro'ect manager will seek comparable competencies amongst t"e pro'ect partners. If necessary$ budgets will be s"ifted from t"e 5defaulting9 partner to t"e partner t"at "as t"e competencies. Ero'ect execution risks 3e.g. key milestones or critical deliverables are delayed4 G pro'ect execution will be closely monitored bot" at t"e HE and pro'ect level. Internal and external peer review procedure will assure t"at deliverables are produced in time and wit" ade#uate #uality. %ec"nological risks 3e.g. key tec"nologies or components are not available for integration at t"e expected time4 G creation of a learning environment will be based on existing open source tec"nologies. It is extremely important t"at t"ese tec"nologies are integrated in time for t"e execution of t"e planned trials. *y t"e management processes$ e.g. reporting and peer reviews$ it is very unlikely t"at unavailability of key components will come as a surprise. %"e pro'ect manager is responsible for analysing t"e problem finding and enforcing a solution$ all of t"ese in consultation wit" t"e work package leader and t"e task leader. If t"e issues cannot be resolved by general management measures$ possible actions are< putting t"e rig"t people in place or adding resources for critical tasks by s"ifting from less critical tasks. 8educing t"e effort and outcome of nonAcritical tasks is only t"e last resort$ and it is not expected to be t"e case in reality$ but rat"er an exception t"at we do not expect. %rials 3e.g. student groups are not available at t"e re#uested time4 G several universities wit" a large number of students will collaborate in t"e pro'ect trials. In order to avoid t"e risk t"at student groups and mentors from different countries are not available at t"e same time$ t"at numbers of students are not as "ig" as initially planned$ or t"at t"e trials are not integrated in regular studies at t"e universities$ a detailed plan "as been prepared toget"er wit" involved institutions long in advance before t"e trials will take place. Doss of focus on vision or communication problems G pro'ect will keep focus on innovative ideas$ bot" tec"nological and pedagogical. Common pro'ect workspace$ internal eAmailing list$ regular audio and video conferences$ as well as p"ysical meetings s"all ensure good communication wit"in t"e pro'ect.

3.0. 2uality planning

65ercise: w"at is #ualityI ]uality management is a process of ensuring t"at t"e outcome of t"e pro'ect satisfies certain re#uirements. %"ese re#uirements are determined by t"e ob'ective of t"e pro'ect$ by t"e needs and expectations of parties concerned. %"e needs and expectations s"ould be determined already during t"e initial analysis& it is important t"at t"e customers needs and #uality expectations are understood and documented. 6owever$ t"e needs and expectations are most often c"anging during t"e pro'ect especially if t"e ob'ective is formulated in very general terms 3for example Kmoderni@ation of teac"er trainingK4. Foreover$ different actors can "ave different needs and expectations. %"erefore$ we "ave t"at .'e 7uality is a relati e? not an a(solute category. ]uality management relies "eavily on t"e following features<

4 ,

Cooperation wit" t"e customers 3including pilot trials4. For e:ample$ feed0ack from students in de)eloping a new uni)ersity course or feed0ack from companies in de)eloping a curriculum. Competences 3including #ualification of pro'ect team members and external experts4. For e:ample$ competences of a uni)ersity teacher in running a course. Cooperation inside t"e pro'ect team 3including assigning feasible tasks and organi@ation of reporting4. For e:ample$ cooperation 0etween the uni)ersity teachers for assuring that there are no significant gaps and repetitions in a curriculum&

PMB7K Guide considers t"e following t"ree ma'or pro'ect #uality management processes< #uality planning$ #uality assurance and #uality control. !s t"e competence is an important component of t"e #uality system$ t"e pro'ect plan 3or a separate Project Nuality Plan4 s"ould explain t"e principles "ow t"e pro'ect team was selected and "ow t"e cases will be "andled if t"ere s"ould emerge a lack of competence. (or an effective #uality management t"e following re#uirements s"ould be satisfied< %"e activities are ade#uately documented$ %"e documents 3t"ose in preparation as well4 are available to t"e pro'ect team. (or assuring t"e #uality of a pro'ect plan t"ere is developed a number of tests 3see$ for example$ !ppendix $ a test in case of software pro'ects4. In t"e following t"ere are some examples t"at stress t"e role of competency in #uality assurance< 3# Internet was used for elections in 3KKK to ,stonian Parliament& s the technical infrastructure was not a0le to process the massi)e flow of data the whole system was )ery slow and the final results )ere considera0le delayed& -# similar to case 3# happened if a TE show chose randomly mo0ile phone num0ers and the first phoned from a selected num0er would win a car& The following happened? as soon a num0er was drawn people started to phone himMher to announce the possi0ility to win and 0locked the phone to call out' moreo)er$ a num0er of people started to phone to the TE show and 0locked incoming calles from winners& utomo0ile company 7pel had a strategy in 3KK=1ies to produce possi0ly all components itself& !onse8uently the 8uality dropped considera0ly&

G#

65ercises
1.

1escribe a "ig" #uality web based course from t"e point of view of a learner$ tutor$ course developer and sc"ool administrationI

2. 1escribe possible risks if t"e cooperation wit" customers is not sufficientI *ring an example$ . %"e International 7rgani@ation for 0tandardi@ation defines #uality as 5t"e totality of c"aracteristics of any entity t"at bear on its ability to satisfy stated or imolied needs9. *ring some examples of #uality in terms of t"is definition.
4.

H"at aspects s"ould be discussed in ]uality !ssurance Elan 3see$ for example$ "ttp<::cio.doe.gov:I%8eform:a#se:template."tm 4I

4 +

3.9. 3mplementation t'e results of a project and assessment of t'eir impact

Fost of t"e donors are interested t"at t"eir investments into pro'ects are successful$ t"at t"e impact of t"e pro'ects are significant and t"at t"e outcome will be widely applicable. !pplicability can be very wide and "ave many layers. (or example< researc" result can be applied in some ot"er researc"$ or in writing a researc" paper:monograp":textbook$ in development of a met"odology etc& new met"odologies can be applied in development a curriculum or a course& a curriculum or course can be applied in executing t"e curriculum:course. 1issemination and exploitation of pro'ect results is considered as one of t"e main success indicators of pro'ects$ especially if t"e pro'ects are financed by public institutions. 3issemination of pro'ectOs results can be defined as a planned process of providing information on t"e #uality$ relevance and effectiveness of t"e results of a pro'ect to ot"er interested institutions:persons. It occurs as and w"en t"e results of a pro'ect become available. Exploitation of pro'ectOs results can be defined as a planned process of transferring t"e successful results of a pro'ect to appropriate decisionAmakers as well as a planned process of convincing individual endAusers to adopt and:or apply t"e results of t"e pro'ect. 65ample 3.! 3/escription of dissemination acti)ities of a project that aimed to de)elop a joint indistrial Ph/ program in informatics4< %"e 1issemination Elan will be reviewed in mont"s and 12 taking into account national and international activities related to 'oint curricula and universityAindustry coAoperation& Ereparation of presentations and information materials for using by pro'ect partners at relevant trade fairs$ conferences etc$ as well as for distributing among t"eir partners in ot"er pro'ects& Identifying broader target groups wit" a potential interest in t"e results$ for targeted information delivery& Information on t"e pro'ect$ including public deliverables$ reports and tec"nical w"ite papers will be made available via t"e JIEAI pro'ect website and via t"e websites of t"e pro'ect partners& Eublis"ing articles on pro'ectOs results& Creating a public repository of best practice cases. 1issemination of knowledge:experience obtained during t"e pro'ect 3for example$ on conferences:works"ops or in publications4 can be considered as implementation of t"e results as well. %"e impact of pro'ects can be divided< by duration< s"ort term or long term$ by t"e coverage< local 3affecting t"e participating institutions only4$ regional$ national or global 3applicable in many countries4$ by t"e strengt"< direct or indirect. %"erefore$ t"e feature in relation to w"at t"e impact will be measured$ s"ould be determined. For e:ample$ direct impact of continouing education of uni)ersity teachers is local "affects one uni)ersity only#$ 0ut indirectly national as uni)ersity teachers are educating 8ualified specialists that will work e)erywhere in the country& The impact of uni)ersity teachers in teacher training institutions is in relation to schoolchildren e)en more indirect 0ut 0igger in the total impact? 0etter uni)ersity teachers prepare 0etter teachers and the 0etter teachers in turn prepare 0etter school graduates&

5 .

?ducation of software specialists "as in relation of basic skills a long term impact$ but in relation of a certain programming language muc" s"orter as t"e life cycle of a single programming language can be relatively s"ort. %"e impact is often bigger t"an it appears to be in t"e first glance& t"ere are aspects t"at are present in almost all pro'ects$ for example< increasing an international dimension and experience and t"erefore international competitiveness& deepening cooperation inside t"e "ome country$ forming a common policy and standards$ better integration into countryAwide institutions etc. increasing t"e resources$ first of all t"e #uality of "uman resources 3bot" t"e pro'ect team as t"e users of t"e pro'ect outcome4. Increased ability to prepare and run pro'ects can be considered as an impact of t"e pro'ect as well. In some cases w"ere t"e ob'ective of t"e pro'ect was formally not reac"ed$ t"e impact of t"e pro'ect was nevert"eless remarkable. For e:ample$ the o0jecti)e of T,MP.S 2,P 33-=- was to de)elop a masterAs program in applications of mathematics& lthough the masterAs program was de)eloped in 3KKK$ it is still "-==C# not implemented& 5owe)er$ the courses de)eloped during preparation of the program were included into already e:isting curricula. 65ercises 1. Considering composition of your master t"esis as a pro'ect$ describe its possible applications and impact.

3.11.

4udget of a project

%"e budget of te pro'ect will be composed in final stage of composition of pro'ect plan. %"e budget s"ould reflect all costs$ including indirect costs and costs t"at will be covered by ot"er sources. %"e general structure of t"e budget is relatively standardi@ed and contains t"e following categories< 1. 0taff costs 3salaries and all taxes4. 2. %ravel and subsistence. . ?#uipment and materials 3incl. software and licences4. 4. ?xternal services 3incl subcontracting and consultancy4. 5. 7t"er direct costs 3incl bank c"arges$ "iring training premises$ translation:publis"ing4. C. 2eneral costs 3incl infrastructure$ communication$ p"otocopies4. ?ac" category can be divided into subcategories< staff costs for example according to t"e International Standard !lassification of 7ccupations 3I0C74 or by t"e staff categories 3manager$ researc"er:teac"er$ tec"nical$ administrative4$ travel and subsistence costs by purpose of 'ourney 3organi@ational$ training$ practical placement4$ e#uipment and material costs can "ave a separate subsection for calculating depreciation costs etc. %"e financing institution can prescribe more detailed structure of t"e budget. (or example$ infrastructure costs can contain costs for cleaning$ surveillance$ electricity$ "eating etc. Calculation of infrastructure costs is sometimes problematic because< given infrastructure will be simultaneously used for ot"er pro'ects and activities as well& infrastructure costs are covered by central administration and are depending on t"ird institutions 3offering services4. %"is is w"y infrastructure costs covered by a single pro'ect will not be calculated& instead$ a certain percentage 3usually 1.A .=4 of total pro'ect costs are reserved for t"is purpose. In case t"e pro'ect

5 1

serves mainly t"e interests of performing institution$ t"e infrastructure costs is often assumed to be covered by t"emselves 3for example$ t"is was t"e case of %?FE/0 Joint ?uropean Ero'ects4. 0ometimes t"ere are fixed some additional re#uirements for financing$ for example obligation for self financing up to a certain level 3usually 25A5.= of t"e total costs of t"e pro'ect4. For e:ample$ projects financed 0y ,. programs co)er the costs of ,uropean partners only& research project needed a partner from .S' this company was in)ol)ed 0y su0contracting "for su0contracting there were no restrictions#. %"e budget s"ould be composed according to t"e activities and stages 3or by years for longAterm pro'ects4 because t"is< decreases probability t"at some direct or indirect costs are not taken into account& gives a better overview of distribution of resources over t"e pro'ect life cycle$ and for redistribution$ if necessary& "elps planning resource ac#uiring from ot"er sources . In planning t"e budget$ t"e possible risks s"ould be taken into account as well< most probably not everyt"ing will run as planned and some work s"ould be redone. 7n t"e ot"er "and$ t"e risks can "ave a positive effect as well. For e:ample$ a project planned to 0uy some teleconferencing e8uipment' in fact the actual costs were a0out D=F of those initially planned 0ecause meanwhile the prices dropped dramatically. In composing t"e budget t"e following aspects are important< %"e formal re#uirements set by t"e finacing institution s"ould be strongly followed 3t"e structure of t"e budget$ t"e proportion between t"e budget categories$ rates for calculating expences etc4. For e:ample$ the organisational costs of T,MP.S 2,P1s could not e:ceed 3=F of the cost of the project. %"e formal re#uirements can determine t"e status and role of participating institutions. (or example$ in pro'ects financed by ?/ structural funds$ t"e selfA financing rate is 25=. Therefore the uni)ersities are interested to apply for those projects only that are targeted to de)elopment of the uni)ersities& %"e budget s"ould be realistic and contain only t"e costs appropriate for ac"ieving t"e concrete ob'ectives of t"e pro'ect& It is useful to study t"e pro'ects financed previously by potential investors. (or example$ 7pen ,stonia Foundation financed a pro'ect of building local area networks in student "ostels& anot"er university applied for a simlar pro'ect and was successful. %"e calculations s"ould be correct and based on legal regulations. %"e rules of good practice s"ould be followed. (or example$ t"e salary rates inside one country s"ould be t"e same for partners w"o "ave exactly t"e same #ualification and tasks. Concerning subcontracting and procurement of services t"e following general suggestion proved to be useful< (or solving a uni#ue task t"at re#uires specific knowledge or specific e#uipment$ it is purposeful to buy t"e solution from a speciali@ed institution.

In case w"en t"ere is a probability t"at t"e pro'ect will not be fully financed$ t"e activities t"at will be omitted can be indicated 3in priority order$ toget"er wit" t"e costs4< 1. 7mitting profitability analysis 35 ... ?/84. 2. 1ecreasing infrastructure costs 3up to ... ?/84. . 8eduction t"e configuration of e#uipment 3up to 2. ... ?/84. 4. 1ecreasing t"e volume of patent researc" 3up to ... ?/84. 5. 7mitting t"e dissemination conference 3 5.. krooni4.
5 2

! leading institution in cost calculating and management is probably t"e ssociation for the d)ancement of !ost ,ngineering through !ost Management 3!!C?4. !!C? also "as a corresponding certification program 3vt. www.aacei.org:certification:welcome.s"tml #. 65ersices 1. H"at kind of support offers !!C? in budget planningI 2. In t"e first call for pro'ects of measure 1.1 to ?/ structural funds 32..4A2..C4 in ?stonia no pro'ect submitted by t"e universities was supported. %"e main reason for re'ection was t"at t"e budget did not correspond to t"e re#uirements. H"at conse#uences can be made from t"isI
.

*ased on t"e data of 7utsourcing Institute find out t"e ma'or problems t"at occure by outsourcing I% services< "ttp<::www.outsourcing.com:content.aspI pageZ.1v:articles:itoutsourcing:index."tml .

3.11.

+omposition of a project plan

Ero'ect plan s"ould form by a reader a clear opinion t"at< 1. %"e applicant is t"e best for a given work. 2. 0olution proposed in t"e pro'ect plan is t"e best from all possible solutions. . %"e resources are planned to use in an optimal way. 0uccess of a pro'ect application depends also from a number of formal indicators$ as$ for example$ is t"e visual design 3t"e outlook4 of t"e pro'ect plan. Ero'ect plan s"ould contain enoug" information for ade#uate evaluation of t"e pro'ect plan. %"erefore it is "ig"ly recommended to read t"e pro'ect plan t"roug" after t"e pro'ect plan is completed$ t"inking "imself:"erself into t"e role of assessor. %"e language s"ould be understandable enoug" to allow easy reading by people w"o are maybe not aware of all details of t"e area and background information. For e:ample$ a training project targeted to in1ser)ice teachers and su0mitted to ,stonian Tiger %eap Foundation$ was composed )ery professionally& The o0jecti)e was to de)elop skills of I!T usage in a classroom& The project application was not supported 0ecause? 3# the assumed prior knowledge and skills of the target group were not descri0ed' -# the goals of training were descri0ed in detail$ 0ut the curriculum was presented in a )ery general form& s the course materials were not attached$ the e:perts were not a0le to e)aluate the application ade8uately "for teachers without necessary prior knowledge it would 0e too difficult' for I!T teachers too easy#& In composition of a pro'ect plan$ t"e following principles s"ould be followed< %"e formal re#uirements for composition s"ould be kept if t"ere are any$ %"e pro'ect plan s"ould be structured in an optimal way$ %"e text s"ould be correct 3no misspellingsM4& incorrect text is an indicator of inv^orrectness$ and t"is increases certainly t"e risks of t"e pro'ect$ %"e parts of t"e text s"ould be co"erent and wit" no contradictions. Fistakes and contradictions can emerge easily if t"e pro'ect plan will be composed by more t"an one person or t"e activities and:or budget will be c"anged and not all parts accordingly c"anged. For e:ample$ a project manager was hired for preparation and e:ecuting a project& s this person was not competent enough in the su0ject area$ he compiled the te:t from te:ts su0mitted 0y other project team mem0ers& lthough on the su0stance the whole te:t was correct$ it was not holistic and was not understanda0le enough' the project was rejected.
5

0ometimes it is purposeful to use sentences$ descriptions and citation t"at can be used by reviewers in composing reviews$ particularly if t"ere is a possibility t"at t"e reviewers are not experts in t"e field and t"ere is a possibility for a not #uite ade#uate reviews. !t t"e same time t"e text s"ould not "arm t"e colleagues. For e:ample$ a researcher showed e)aluators during a research e)aluation a re)iew from a pre)ious e)aluation where he had )ery high marks' in the same re)iew$ his colleagues were rated inade8uately low& The e)aluators were influenced 0y the pre)ious re)iew and ga)e repeatedly inade8uately low marks to the colleagues. !s a rule$ a pro'ect plan is submitted in pdfAformat$ not depending in w"at format it was processed. It is suggested to use numeric data$ tables and figures in 'ustifying t"e pro'ect and describing t"e results of t"e pro'ect. It t"e pro'ect plan is form based t"en possibly all fields:cells s"ould be filled in 35.9$ 5not relevant9 or 'ust 5A5 is better t"an leaving t"e cell empty4. %"e forms s"ould by no means c"anged& if experts evaluating t"e pro'ect plans are not finding answers w"ere t"ese are expected to be t"en t"is can result in re'ection of t"e pro'ect. ?xperienced pro'ect managers organi@e t"e pro'ect documents in catalogues and eAportfolios& t"is allows< %o "ave a good overview w"at was planned and w"at is ac"ieved$ %o automa@e t"e composition of new pro'ect plans. 6ow difficult it sometimes is for unexperienced teams to succeed in t"e 5pro'ect market9 can be understood from t"e fact t"at none of t"e nineteen ?stonian institutions w"o participated in t"e first call of t"e ?/ 5t" framework programm for IC% pro'ects$ did succeed. Dater$ during t"e Ct" (H programm$ success rate was already about 2.=. 65ercises 1. H"at are t"e main differences between a pro'ect plan and a strategy:strategic planI

3.12.

)ummary of a project

Introduction and pro'ect summary s"ould be composed wit" double care as t"e evaluators usually reed t"ese parts of t"e text first and t"erefore form in a great extent t"e general impression about t"e pro'ect. %"e introduction s"ould convincingly 'ustify t"e need of t"e pro'ect$ and t"e summary describe t"e expected outcome and "ow t"e outcome will be reac"ed. For e:ample$ if the software de)eloped will do the jo0 in ten minutes instead of two hours that was needed pre)iously$ then the e:perts tend to support the project e)en without going deeply into the project plan. Introduction s"ould describe s"ortly t"e contribution of ot"er colleagues in development of t"e field. researcher su0mitted an manuscript to a prominent international journal and did get an e:tremely positi)e re)iew& It turned out that the re)iewer has 0een cited in introduction of the article as the leading researcher in the ;orld in this particular field . %"e summary s"ould give an ade#uate descripion of t"e main c"aracteristics of t"e pro'ect and s"ould normally not be longer t"an one page. It includes< %"e name of t"e pro'ect$ %"e name of coordinating institution$ %"e ob'ective of t"e pro'ect$ %"e list of main goals 3in measurable termsM4 and t"e strategy for ac"ieving t"e goals$ 0"ort description of basic concepts and met"odologies used in pro'ect execution.

5 4

%"e summary s"ould not contain a list of activities only& it s"ould consider t"e pro'ect in a wider context$ including relevance to t"e relevant priorities and programmes$ assessment of expected impact of t"e pro'ect etc. Important is t"at t"e summary is understandable to a wide group of people and contains some significant:acute keywords. 65ercises 1. H"at are t"e most significant keywords in t"e following fragment of t"e summary of t"e %?FE/0 J?E 1241, pro'ect 3submitted in January 1++74< %"e courses will involve distance learning$ group work$ pro'ect work and learning wit" t"e use of Internet< t"e ma'ority of course materials developed is intended to be made freely available in Internet. %"ere will be "eld a number 3at least eig"t4 of seminars in ?stonia w"ere all aspects of new courses 3t"e course structure and content& course management and organisation& assessment tec"ni#ues$ instruments and standards& teac"ing met"odologies& academic standards and #uality control mec"anisms and teac"ing materials4 as well as ?/ regulations and experience will be discussed. Eart of t"e courses will involve an industrial and researc" institute placements so it is essential t"at an interface wit" local industry and researc" institutes in ?stonia will be establis"ed. %"e contacts wit" industry$ business and researc" institutes will enable to base t"e pro'ect work on real problems and integrate t"e "ig"er education$ researc" and world of work. !s t"e Faster Erogramme will be developed and run 'ointly by four ?stonian universities t"is will be towards t"e creation of unified 5university space9 in ?stonia w"ere students can take courses at different universities. %"e pro'ect will also promote t"e national %iger Deap Erogramme 3computerisation of ?stonian sc"ools4 according to w"ic" t"ere s"ould be worked out a "uge amount of multimedia based course materials by preparing #ualified specialists for it..

3.13. .'e logframe matri5 of a project

%"e logframe matri: of t"e pro'ect is a twoAdimensional table t"at contains t"e goals and ot"er features$ indicators t"at measure ac"ievement of t"e goals$ means of verification$ assumptions and risks. !lt"oug" t"e logframe matrix can vary to a certain extent$ most often it "as t"e following form< Description
Hider ob'ective of t"e pro'ect 1irect ob'ectives of t"e pro'ect 7utputs of t"e pro'ect !ctivities

3ndicators of ac'ie e/ ment1

Indicators of ac"ievement of t"e wider ob'ective Indicators of ac"ievement of direct ob'ectives 1escription of outputs4

"eans of erification2
Feans of verification of t"e wider ob'ective Feans of verification of direct ob'ectives %"e means for evaluation and description of t"e outputs va"endid 1ocuments about performing and #uality of activities

&ssumptions and risks3

!ssumptions and risks for ac"ieving t"e wider ob'ective !ssumptions and risks for ac"ieving t"e direct ob'ective !ssumptions and risks for ac"ieving t"e outputs !ssumptions and risks for performing t"e activities

%"e list of outcomes of activities and tools necessary for ac"ieving5 8e#uirements to inputs

InputsC

5 5

Indicators in t"e logframe matrix can be measured bot" by #uantitative 3expressed by numerical data4 and by #ualitative 3expressed by properties4 data. Feans of verification include #uality assurance instruments as well 3intrinsic and external4$ incl list of sources t"at contain information about ac"ievement of pro'ect ob'ectives 3reports of t"e pro'ect$ feedback information$ report of t"e auditing institution etc4. !ssumptions and risks cover also aspects t"at do not depent on t"e organisation 3existence of lecal regulations$ environmental conditions$ support by interest groups etc4.

%"e outputs are formulated in general terms 3for example ,ducational technologists are educated for schools4$ description of outputs is described in a more detailed way 3for example 3== educational technologists are educated$ at least * for each county4. %ools necessary for ac"ieving t"e outcomes are described "ere if t"ey s"ould be indicated for eac" activity separately 3in t"is case t"e last row G Inputs G can be omitted4. Inputs describe resources t"at support t"e pro'ect and t"at already are available 3in t"is case ot"er cells of t"e line remain empty4 or will be obtained.

%"e content in logframe matrix s"ould correspond to t"e remaining pro'ect documentation.

3.14.

+omposition of recommendations for projects

0ome financing institutions accept or even re#uire adding recommendation3s4 to t"e pro'ect plan. In some cases t"e recommendations s"ould be sent directly to financing institution wit"out revealing t"e content to t"e applicant. %"e aim of recommendations is to get an opinion about necessity and usefulness of t"e pro'ect outcome from a competent person representing t"e target group of t"e pro'ect. In c"oosing persons for writing recommendations t"e following aspects is suggested to follow< t"e person s"ould be an expert in t"e field& t"e person s"ould not "ave a conflict of interests 3for example$ s"ould not benefit from t"e exacution of t"e pro'ect4& "owever$ senior managers of performing institutions are accepted& t"e person s"ould be accepted by t"e financing institution. 8ecommending a pro'ect$ t"e person puts "is:"er prestige on t"e stake& t"erefore one s"ould c"oose persons w"ose prestige is widely recogni@ed. 0ome busy and eminent people ask for an initial version of a recommendation to be prepared for t"em by t"e applicant. %"e recommendations usually are not form based and t"ere are no guidelines for composing t"em. 6owever$ t"ere are some general suggestions t"at are followed in practice< %"e text of t"e recommendation s"ould be concrete and ob'ective$ contain relevant facts& %"e recommendation s"ould contain information about t"e aspects t"at are important for t"e financing institution 3sometimes t"e list of t"ese aspects is given4& 8ecommendations usually do not make suggestions to t"e content of t"e pro'ect& instead$ t"e possible benefit occurred from t"e outcome of t"e pro'ect will be described. 65ercises 1. %"e following persons were considered for recommending a pro'ect t"at planned to develop learning software in geograp"y< sc"ool principal$ "ead of a department in a county government$ "ead of a department of t"e Finistry of ?ducation$ a teac"er of geograp"y$ t"e
5 C

president of ?stonian 2eograp"ical 0ociety. Eresent your arguments of t"eir suitability:unsuitability.

3.1!.

*e iewing t'e projects

%"e reviews are evaluating suitability of t"e pro'ect. %"e reviewers will be selected by t"e financing institution and t"ey will not be known to t"e applicant. %"e reviews are usually eit"er form based or s"ould analyse a certain 3sometimes predetermined4 set of aspects including t"e following< 1. %o w"at extent t"e pro'ect corresponds to t"e priorities and aims of t"e financing institution. 2. !re t"ere enoug" resources for executing t"e pro'ect 3first of all$ t"e "uman resources< are t"e people competent enoug"4. . 6ow realistic is t"e timeAtable. 4. 6ow ade#uate is t"e budget& "ow effectively t"e resources will be used. For e:ample$ an institution applied for a project that planned to organise a three day discussion in POrnu for 3-= school children from all o)er ,stonia$ in three parallel groups of *= each& Instead$ a re)iewer proposed to organise discussions in three 0iggest towns of ,stonia "Tallinn$ Tartu$ +ar)a#' this would make the 0udget of the project a0out three times smaller "huge sa)ings in transportation and lodging costs#. 5. %"e value added in relation to already existing solutions. C. H"at t"reats and negative conse#uences may t"e pro'ect "ave. For e:ample$ re)iewers of training projects that are su0mitted to the Tiger %eap Foundation should answer the following 8uestions ? ;hether and how is the project related to school curriculum> /oes the project contri0ute to the de)elopment of education in ,stonia and when the results can 0e e:pected> re the outcomes of the project applica0le in majority of ,stonian schools "that is$ is necessary technical and human resource a)aila0le#> %"e usual lengt"s of reviews is 1A pages$ but can also be muc" bigger. 8eview s"ould not be formal as it is often t"e case by recommendations 35I approve and recomment to support t"e pro'ect94. !s t"e main purpose of reviews is to support t"e financing institution to decide about t"e pro'ect plans$ t"e reviewer s"ould< C"eck t"e validity of arguments presented in t"e pro'ect plan as well as t"e correctness of calculations$ !naly@e suitability of t"e proposed solutions and give recommendations for modifications if needed$ %ake into account t"e positions of recommendations 3or oppose4 if needed. In c"oosing reviewers$ similar aspects are followed as in t"e case of recommendations 3see previous section4. (or example$ a university submitted a pro'ect application for developing a distance teac"ing course. !lt"oug" t"e two reviewers were from anot"er institution$ t"e reviews were not considered as bot" of t"e reviewers were planned to be involved in running t"e course. %"e main part of reviews 3wit"out no "int to t"e reviewer4 will usually forwarded to t"e applicant. 6owever$ t"e reviewer s"ould consider t"e possibility t"at "is:"er name will be known to t"e applicant 3t"is "appens often in small communities4. %"is is w"y suggestions and opinions presented in reviews s"ould base on facts$ be correctly 'ustified$ and free of emotions. %"e reviews s"ould be benevolent$
5 7

but ob'ective and "onest& by no means s"ould it be malevolent$ suspicious or conceal important circumstances. Eerfect reviews are creatig a professional image of a reviewer and will increase "is:"er competiveness s"ould "e:s"e sometimes submit "imself:"erself a pro'ect application. 65ercises 1. ?xplain w"at are t"e main differences between t"e persons and procedures related to composition of recommendatios and reviews.
2.

1escribe an evaluation sc"eme of pro'ects in some program 3see$ for example$ PManual of Proposal ,)aluation proceduresP< "ttp<::cordis.europa.eu:fp5:management:eval:rAemA.1."tm or 5Guidelines on Proposal ,)aluation and Selection Procedures9< www.rect.muni.c@:veda:C8E:ges;2.. .1;en.doc4.

3.1#. P*/acti ities

1ecisions on pro'ect applications are determined:affected by various elements& t"ese include< Eersonal knowledge$ preferences and opinions of decision makers& Kpublic opinionK 3in t"e following wit"out #uotation marks4 about t"e priority of t"e area and about t"e competence of t"e applicants. %"e instruments for influencing t"ese elements are partly different< personal communication is more effective in t"e first case$ mass communication in t"e second case. ?ssencial is t"at t"e need is communicated convincingly$ in a problem based or intriguing manner$ and t"at t"e problems are widely discussed. For e:ample$ a scientist initiated a comprehensi)e research program for composing a hand0ook of history of the country& Because humanities did not 0elong to the priorities of science in the country$ the undertaking seemed to 0e 8uite unrealistic& pu0lic discussion was started where mainly two options were considered? 3# to start the composition of the hand0ook from scratch or -# 0ase on e:isting history 0ooks$ re)ise them and add necessary appendi:es& 5igh positioned politicians were in)ol)ed in discussions "including the president of the country#& fa)oura0le 0ackground was created just in few months$ the program was accepted and financed. %"e public opinion is often not been assessed:measured ade#uately$ if at all& often it bases on emotions and political arguments. Eersonal attitude of decision makers is influenced by personal competences of t"e applicants as well. %"e Project Manager !ompetency /e)elopment Framework presents a systematic treatment of t"e personal competences& t"e following additional c"aracteristics are important in performing E8 activities< Eositivity. Eeople like to communicate wit" optimistic and nonembittered persons. Eositivity is also an indicator of t"e fact t"at t"e person en'oys "is:"er profession. %"is in turn is an important success factor$ indicating t"at t"e person "as not reac"ed t"e level of uncompetency. 7n t"e ot"er "and$ unsatisfaction and embitterness indicate t"at t"e person is not able to manage t"ings approapriately. %"erefore$ positivity is an indicator of professionalism.

5 ,

Conviction. %"is s"ows t"at t"e problem is t"oroug"ly t"oug"t over. %"is in turn is necessary for "aving good solutions.

E8Aactivities are important not only for assuring positive decisions in relation to t"e applied pro'ects$ but also for becoming a partner in pro'ects initiated by ot"er institutions< partners"ip is proposed to institutions w"ose activities and ac"ievements are well known. For e:ample$ there was a professor who did not ha)e pu0lished a single article in first class international scientific journals and his pu0lications were not cited 0y other researchers "that is$ he was not known to international community of scientists#& 7n the other hand$ he took care of his pu0lic image? he pu0lished articles in pu0lic press$ organi9ed conferences etc& The general pu0lic knew him as a leading e:pert in the area$ his opinion was asked to different pro0lems$ he was proposed to take part on projects etc& t the same time$ there was a professor who was highly respected in the international community of researchers 0ut who as a person was e:tremely modest& 5e was completely unknown 0y general pu0lic& 5e li)es from his 0asic salary only while the total income of the first mentioned professor was up to four times higherM 0ome E8Aactivities may be needed before submitting revised pro'ect plans t"at were initially not accepted. In t"is case one s"ould clearly state w"at were t"e reasons for re'ection and "ow t"ese problems are dealt in t"e revised version. -4F %"e role of public opinion can be summari@ed by t"e following sentence KImportant is not ho good you really are0 but ho good you ill be perceivedK. %"is is w"y E8 activities s"ould be performed not only in an application p"ase of a pro'ect$ but also in promoting its outcomes.

4 R%
4.1. )tarting a project

' . ( +"#/*&!

!cceptance of a pro'ect causes positive emotions of pro'ect team$ it is wise to convert t"is emotional power to pro'ect activities. %"is is like swarming of bees& t"e bees are extremely productive during few weeks after swarming. (or pro'ect manager it means t"at t"e pro'ect team s"ould immediately be called toget"er to agree t"e basic procedures and start t"e activities. *ig and complex pro'ects can cause a feeling of powerlessness. %"e best recipe in t"is case is< take your timeM 1eep engagement and planning are good instruments for putting you on t"e track. 1etails "ow t"e work is organi@ed certainly depend on a number of aspects$ including t"e personal c"aracteristics of pro'ect team members like ability to en'oy t"e work$ social competences etc. 8unning a pro'ect 3t"at is$ implementation of a pro'ect plan4 starts wit" setting up a met"odological framework t"at will be applied. ?ven if t"e pro'ect team finds it unnecessary to fix t"e met"odology formally$ at least t"e pro'ect manager s"ould "ave a clear understanding w"at are t"e basic principles s:"e is going to apply. %"ere is developed some generalApurpose pro'ect management met"ods:met"odologies as well as met"ods:met"odologies t"at are to be applied in some specific area 3for example$ in software

5 +

development4. In some countries one particular met"odology "as informally obtained a status of a standard 3for example$ P(I+!,- in 2reat *ritain or E1Modell in 2ermany4. %"ere are some principles t"at is suggested to apply< %"e met"odologies base sometimes on #uite different principles. (or example$ P(I+!,3P(ojects I+ !ontrolled ,n)ironments4 is build up on t"e p"ases of a pro'ectOs life cycle& t"e p"ases are based on development cycles of a product. ?xisting met"odologies are to a certain extent flexible and allow taking into account specific conditions and circumstances of single pro'ects& t"is is w"y a pro'ect manager s"ould actually develop "is:"er own personal met"odology t"at is adapted to t"e context of a pro'ect. >nowing different pro'ect management met"odologies support pro'ect managers in development of a met"odology t"at suits in a best possible way in local environment& anot"er important source of information are t"e case studies$ t"at is$ learning from t"e experience of ot"ers. ! number of educators stress t"e importance to develop by pro'ect managers not so muc" t"e ability to apply existing met"odologies and common:standardi@ed procedures$ but first of all creativity as well as t"e ability of critical and innovative t"inking. %"ese abilities allow t"e pro'ect managers contributing to t"e best practices. %"e aim in educating pro'ect managers is to reac" t"e "ig"est possible level of learners according to t"e BloomOs taxonomy 3knowing$ understanding$ applying$ analy@ing$ synt"esi@ing$ evaluation4. 65ercises 1. H"at are t"e personal competences t"at are needed for pro'ect managers and t"at are not so muc" needed for t"ose coordinating t"e composition of a pro'ect planI H"at about t"e oppositeI 2. (ormulate t"e basic principles of E1Modell 6T met"odology.
.

(ormulate t"e basic principles of ?xtreme Ero'ect Fanagement 38adical Ero'ect Fanagement4 3see$ for example$ www.cutter.com4.

4.2. .'e P*3-+62 met'od

E8IBC?2 is a pro'ect management met"od t"at focuses on delivering specified products to meet a specified business case. 6owever$ E8IBC?2 does not cover special tec"ni#ues for creation a product. %"e business case is repeatedly reviewed and progress is measured& opportunities for discovering new benefits$ w"ic" may en"ance t"e pro'ectOs product$ will be looked for. %"e customers are always involved in t"e creation and verification of products. E8IBC?2 "as a processAbased approac"& t"ere are eig"t management processes. !dditionally$ t"ere are eig"t components t"at are applied wit"in t"e activities. %"e processes are t"e following< 1. 0tarting up a pro'ect 3denoted by 0/$ t"e only preApro'ect process4. 2. 1irecting a pro'ect 31E$ runs from 0/ until t"e pro'ects closure4. . Initiating a pro'ect 3IE$ t"e main product of t"is process is t"e Project Initiation /ocument defining w"at$ w"y$ w"o$ w"en and "ow will be done4. 4. Fanaging stage boundaries 30*$ includes a revision of t"e pro'ect plan after eac" stage4. 5. Controlling a stage 3C0$ "andles dayAtoAday management of t"e pro'ect4. C. Fanaging product delivery 3FE4. 7. Closing a pro'ect 3CE4. ,. Elanning 3ED4.
C .

7ne of t"e basic principles of E8IBC?2 is t"at t"e process models are tailored to t"e needs of t"e individual pro'ect. !pplying a process model$ t"e pro'ect manager s"ould always ask 56ow extensively s"ould t"is process be applied to t"is pro'ectI9. %"e components are t"e following 3t"e processes w"ere t"e components are used4< 1. *usiness case 30/$ IE$ C0$ 0*$ CE4 2. 7rganisation 30/$ 0*4 . Elans 3IE$ FE4 4. Controls 31E$ IE$ C0$ FE$ 0*$ CE4 5. Fanagement of risk 30/$ IE$ C0$ FE$ 0*$ CE4 C. ]uality in a pro'ect environment 30/$ IE$ C0$ FE$ 0*4 7. Configuration management 3IE$ C0$ CE4 ,. C"ange control 3IE$ C0$ FE$ CE4 (oe eac" process$ t"e sub processes is defined. (or example$ starting up a pro'ect "as t"e following sub processes< !ppointing an executive and a pro'ect manager$ 1esigning a pro'ect management team$ !ppointing a pro'ect management team$ Ereparing a pro'ect brief$ 1efining pro'ect approac"$ Elanning an initiation stage$ %"e following features describe t"e processes and its subAprocesses< 1. (undamental principles 3w"y to "ave t"is process$ w"at is it aiming to ac"ieve$ w"y is t"is process fundamental4. 2. Context 3puts t"e process in context wit" t"e ot"er processes4. . Erocess description. 4. 0calability 3for processes only$ describes t"e factors to consider w"en tailoring t"e process to fit t"e needs of t"e pro'ect4. 5. 8esponsibilities 3for subAprocesses only4. C. Information needs 3for subAprocesses only4. 7. >ey criteria 3for subAprocesses only4. ,. 6ints and tips. E8IBC?2 differentiates four management levels 3responsible bodies in brackets4< corporate:programme management 3corporate board:programme board4$ directing a pro'ect 3pro'ect board4$ controlling a stage 3pro'ect manager4$ managing product delivery 3team leader4.

65ercises 1. 1etermine t"e basic differences between P(I+!,- met"od and principles described in PMB7K 2uide.

4.3. "anagement of t'e project

H"ile t"e basic structures and principles of pro'ect management are exposed in pro'ect plan$ t"e detailed management plan is usually developed in t"e starting p"ase of t"e pro'ect w"ere t"e procedures and related problems will be discussed and agreed. %"is is ultimately necessary if t"ere are

C 1

people in t"e pro'ect team w"o did not participate in composition of t"e pro'ect plan. %"e main components of t"e management plan are< determination of responsibilities and rig"ts of pro'ect team members$ t"e pro'ectOs information system$ everyday work procedures. Determination of responsi(ilities and rig'ts of project team mem(ers is particularly important in pro'ects wit" many participating institutions. Important is t"at t"e number of subordination levels is optimised 3t"ere is a tendency to "ave too many levels4. Institutional subordination 3w"ere "eads of work groups are from one institution and work group members from ot"er institution4 s"ould be avoided in pro'ects w"ere different institutions are participating. !lt"oug" t"e pro'ect manager "as t"e responsibility in successful running of t"e w"ole pro'ect$ eac" partner s"ould feel to "ave responsibility about "is:"er scope of work. Certain ade#uate amount of freedom in decisionAmaking is a necessary precondition for t"at. %"erefore$ t"e basic principles in assigning tasks are t"e following< 1. %"e tasks s"ould be co"erent:correspond to capabilities 35t"ere is not"ing more une#ual t"an assigning e#ual tasks to t"e people wit" une#ual capabilities94. 2. Bot to c"ange t"e subordination of pro'ect team members. . %o be fair 3t"e contribution of t"e pro'ect team members is ade#uately compensated4. 4. Clearly state responsibilities. ! number of codes of conduct "ave been created. (or example$ a team member of a software pro'ect "as rig"t< 1. %o know t"e ob'ectives and priorities of t"e pro'ect$ 2. %o know w"at is expected from "im and get explanations if needed$ . %o "ave access to t"e customers$ pro'ect manager and ot"er persons t"at decide about t"e functionality of software t"at will be developed$ 4. %o work in a tec"nically purposeful way in eac" p"ase of t"e pro'ect$ is not forced to develop code in a too early p"ase of t"e pro'ect$ 5. to offer deadlines and met"ods to be used for tasks in "is responsibility including getting time for calculating necessary estimations$ C. to inform customers and upper managers about t"e state of art and advancement of t"e pro'ect$ 7. to work in a productive environment$ wit"out unnecessary disturbing and interruption 3especially in critical p"ases of a pro'ect4. In assigning tasks and setting up reporting procedures t"e personal competences of pro'ect team members s"ould be taken into account. (or example$ t"ere are people t"at agree to take w"atever tasks but are actually very ineffective to perform t"em and$ )ice )ersa$ w"o always argument against t"e tasks but nevert"eless are executing t"e assigned tasks correctly. In planning t"e tasks and reporting an old C"inese saying s"ould be taken into account 5People are not performing the tasks a chief wishes 0ut tasks that will 0e awardedK. ! good pro'ect manager addresses always t"e problems "ow t"e subgoals and activities are serving t"e main goal of t"e pro'ect and awards t"e results accordingly. .'e projectAs information system is one of t"e #uality instruments and s"ould t"erefore be implemented in an initial p"ase of t"e pro'ect. %"e keywords in establis"ing an information system are< sufficiency$ ade#uacy and availability. /sually t"e information system "as bot" public and closed area and contains< web based repositories of documents 3pro'ect plan$ minutes of meetings$ information materials etc4& "yperlinks to ot"er sources&
C 2

mailing lists$ discussion groups$ contact information 3eAmail and skype addresses$ telep"one numbers$ W4 etc.

6 eryday work procedures s"ould ensure t"at t"e pro'ect team would work efficiently 3as a team4. %"ese procedures cover meeting and t"eir preparation. %"e latter is a problem in almost all pro'ects& alt"oug" t"e general principles for organising meetings are simple it is more difficult to keep t"em< meetings s"ould serve a purpose& for example$ to decide w"et"er t"ere is a real need to call a meeting one can calculate t"e costs of t"e meeting 3work "ours of t"e participants$ travelling costs etc4 and compare it to t"e expected outcome& t"e dates for meetings s"ould be agreed on time especially if t"ere are partners from different countries 3sometimes up to six mont"s before t"e meeting4& a meeting s"ould be properly prepared$ t"e agenda and documents t"at will be discussed made available to t"e participants in advance. It is also suggested to formulate t"e problems and possible solutions so t"at t"e participants will "ave t"ink about t"em and work out t"eir recommendations& sometimes it is reasonable to discuss t"e most controversial problems in a smaller group w"ere main views are represented& t"e proposals t"at are not supported by everybody s"ould be voted and t"e minutes of t"e meetings s"ould be composed and made available to t"e participants already before official acceptance. For e:ample$ the upper management of an institution presented to the council a proposal to increase the amount of money will 0e allocated to the central needs& The departments did not accept this 0ecause the proposal was not formulated as a decision and was not )oted 0y the council the council meeting. %o follow t"e advancement of a pro'ect status re)iew meetings are organised& t"e purpose of t"ese meetings is to inform mutually about timetable and ot"er problems and to plan additional activities if necessary. (or discussing complex problems a series of 2A meetings can be arranged< 1. first meeting discusses and agrees t"e basic principles$ 2. second meeting discusses t"e regulations t"at are imposed by t"e basic principles$ . t"ird meeting discusses and agrees t"e regulating acts. Feetings are not effective for development of documents. %"is is w"y t"e documents prepared for meetings s"ould be elaborated deeply enoug"< some bigger preparatory work of one or two persons saves considerable amount of time of a number of persons. 6owever$ a meeting can aut"ori@e a person or a small group of persons to implement agreed clauses into documents afterwards. (or meetings a principle of involvement applies< t"e more colleagues are involved in preparation of a meeting t"e more effective t"e meeting is. Eoblems w"ere consensus is apparent can be voted electronically$ wit"out calling a meeting. -4F Feetings can reveal dark side of democracy as well w"ere a competent proposal will not be accepted because of manipulation of facts and evidences or because of demagogic sayings. %"is is w"y t"e arguments s"ould be convincing and backed up wit" necessary examples. ?veryday work also depends on mutual agreements. (or example$ some people like working in late "ours and are ineffective in t"e morning. Important is t"at individual regulations will not perceived as advantages but as a reasonable solution t"at will serve t"e common interests w"ere timely ac"ievement of t"e pro'ectOs ob'ective is t"e ultimate goal. %"e #uality of pro'ect outcome depends on t"e #uality of everyday work$ t"is in turn depends on t"e usage of different tools including IC% tools.

-4F !ll decisions and agreements s"ould be made in written form. %"is "as t"e following reasons< a4 assurance t"at t"e parties understood w"at t"ey agreed on& b4 possibility to inform ot"er people concerned about t"e decisions:agreements& c4 cite t"e relevant documents if needed. 65ercises 1. H"at are t"e basic t"reats and opportunities related to t"e pro'ect team members t"at are product:outcome oriented$ activities oriented or communication orientedI 2. ! person from one department coordinated t"e activities of a work package in a pro'ect. 6ead of t"e department acted as an expert in t"is pro'ect& "is task was to advise in development of a conceptual framework. ! software developer was "ired in t"e department to perform necessary programming for t"e work package. 6ead of department started to assign tasks to t"e software developer t"at sometimes contradicted t"e tasks assigned by t"e coAordinator. %ensions emerged between t"e "ead of department and t"e coAordinator causing significant delays in t"e pro'ect. %"e coordinator left t"e pro'ect and moved to anot"er department. 6ow would you as t"e pro'ect manager solve t"is conflictI
.

*ased on t"e source "ttp<::pro'ectmaga@ine.com:teamAbuilding: formulate t"e problems t"at can arise in managing virtual pro'ect teams.

4. H"at would be t"e main differences in assigning tasks and reporting procedures in case of people "aving t"e following personal c"aracteristics< 14 agrees to take w"atever tasks but actually does not perform t"em properly or performs t"em partly& 24 always argues against t"e tasks but nevert"eless is executing t"e assigned tasks correctly.

4.4. )cope management

0cope management s"ould ensure t"at t"e pro'ect team performs all t"e processes 3and only t"eseM4 t"at are necessary for ac"ievement t"e pro'ectOs ob'ectives. 0cope management determines t"e processes t"at s"ould be performed and t"at s"ould not. %"e pro'ect manager s"ould constantly ask "imself w"et"er an activity or re#uirement is necessarily needed. %"erefore$ t"e scope management begins already wit" t"e determination of t"e pro'ectOs ob'ective. 0cope management contains also c"ange management if t"e need to c"ange initially planned:executed activities s"ould emerge. It is clear t"at scope management can cause t"e need to c"ange t"e activities$ t"e timetable$ t"e budget and ot"er attributes of a pro'ect. 0cope management concerns bot" wit" t"e pro'ect scope as well as wit" t"e scope of a product. Ero'ectOs scope management procedures are relatively independent from t"e type of a pro'ect$ t"e productOs scope management depends on t"e area. It is clear t"at bot" t"ese lines of activities s"ould be performed in an integrated manner. %"e pro'ect scope advancement is measured by comparing against t"e pro'ect plan& t"e product scope advancement by comparing against t"e re#uirements to t"e product. Bext we consider c"ange management more closely& scope management in software pro'ects will be considered in section C. Implementation of c"anges consists of t"ree p"ases< 14 !nalysis of reasons w"y c"anges are necessary& 24 1etermination of c"anges 3incl. determination of costs caused by implementation of c"anges4& 4 Implementation of c"anges. %"e need for c"anges can be caused for example by t"e following reasons a4 mistakes or miscalculations made in determination of t"e product scope in a planning p"ase of t"e pro'ect& b4
C 4

mistakes or miscalculations made in determination of t"e pro'ect scope in a planning p"ase of t"e pro'ect& 4 c"anges in external conditions 3for example$ a better tec"nology is available4. Implementation of c"anges affects t"e budget and work breakdown structure. %"is is w"y t"e procedures s"ould be very exactly regulated< w"o$ "ow and w"om can submit proposals for c"anges$ w"o and "ow t"e c"anges s"ould be accepted$ t"e procedures "ow t"e pro'ect plan will be c"anged etc.

4.!. 3nformation management

%"e main purpose of information management is to assure existence:creation of important information and its effective "andling$ first of all making it available to t"e users of t"is information. %"ere are a number of re#uirements for information& namely$ information s"ould be< identifiable 3files "ave suitable names and possibly ot"er metadata4$ well structured$ enable effectively locali@e its items$ ade#uate and relevant 3appropriate and wit"out superfluous information4$ in agreed and accessible format. 0ometimes it is reasonable to agree on additional conditions$ for example$ on a system of filenames$ t"e maximum lengt" of files$ t"e structure of file system etc. Information management deals wit" verbal information as well. !lt"oug" verbal information will usually not be documented it plays an important role in development of a team spirit and of a common vision. Nerbal communication "as a number functions and purposes< /nderstanding t"e priorities and views of t"e people$ w"at words$ p"rases and attitudes are significant for t"em. ! pro'ect manager s"ould perceive emerging of new solutions$ generate new ideas from opinions and discussions$ and start t"eir implementation. 7n t"e ot"er "and$ if a pro'ect manager will get support to some 5cra@y9 idea t"en t"e people s"ould be prepared for t"is. (or example$ somebody w"o "as very "ig" reputation can present t"e idea$ or t"e idea will be presented 3packaged4 in an exciting manner. (eedback to assure t"at people understand t"e message and its significance. Eeople perceive t"e world differently and one and t"e same message can "ave for different people different meanings. !ssurance t"at people are necessarily informed. 0ome people are relatively la@y to follow official 3written4 pro'ect information& some even do not answer personal eAmails. Nerbal communication lets t"e pro'ect manager know w"et"er people "ave read important information. Informing t"e pro'ect team strengt"ens t"e team spirit and trust against t"e pro'ect manager w"ile not informing t"e pro'ect team and acting in a secret manner may ruin t"e w"ole pro'ect. For e:ample$ a transportation company recei)ed a multi million project& In order to a)oid leaking confidential information to the competitors$ the tasks of project team mem0ers were strictly determined' moreo)er$ passing project information to unauthori9ed team mem0ers was prohi0ited& s a result$ some people left the company and founded a new company. Communication and composition of t"e pro'ect documentation can take considerable amount of pro'ect managerOs time 3especially in complex pro'ects4. 8elatively ineffective and time consuming is receiving of verbal information& t"e tests "ave s"own t"at in average only 25= of verbal information will really be received. In order to increase t"is percentage$ t"ere are a number of suggestions< 1. *e prepared to listening. %"e messages s"ould continuously be scanned to detect important bits of information. 2ood pro'ect managers are in t"e initial p"ase of discussions very often mainly

C 5

2. . 4. 5.

C. 7. ,.

listening and processing t"e received information$ and will come up wit" good ideas and proposals at t"e later stage of discussions. 1o not talk too muc" 35Bo good idea will come t"roug" t"e open mout"M94. %alking can detect "ow ideas are accepted by ot"ers$ listening can receive and understand t"e ideas of ot"ers. Disten wit" compre"ension. Concentrate on t"e content of a message$ put you in t"e position of a speaker if needed. 1o not interrupt a speaker. !sk #uestions for assuring t"at you received messages ade#uately. %o avoid possible misunderstanding$ try to figure out w"at additional information can be be"ind of spoken message. For e:ample$ a ministry wanted to get rid of a pu0lic li0rary& The chancellor of the ministry asked a uni)ersity under what conditions the uni)ersity would take the li0rary o)er& The uni)ersity interpreted this as an offer& %ater it turned out that the same 8uestion was posed to two other uni)ersities as well. (ollow t"e way a message was spoken< feelings$ body language$ timing etc. *e patient. 2ive enoug" time to present t"e ideas. 2ive feedback "ow did you understand t"e message and w"at you are going to do wit" t"is knowledge.

! good tool for assuring ade#uacy of received information is t"e 5repeat9Arule w"ere a listener will repeat t"e message. If t"e partner is not #uite satisfied$ "e can specify t"e message until it will be ade#uately received. 0ometimes a speaker may assume t"at t"e listener is aware of some additional:background information t"at in reality may not be t"e case. 65ercises 1. H"at are t"e main functions of speaking and listeningI
2.

! researc" revealed 3see www.emeraldinsig"t.com:1 CCA5C2C."tm 4 t"at communication is one of t"e most critical competences of pro'ect management. (or w"at kind of pro'ects is it particularly significantI

4.#. *eporting and 7uality control

%"e aim of reporting and control is to assure t"e advancement of pro'ectOs execution according t"e plan and wit"in t"e legal framework. %"e reporting can be external 3initiated by t"e sponsor or by t"e customer4 and internal. !dditionally immediate control:auditing can be performed. %"e latter can be topical w"ere activities and results are compared against t"e pro'ect plan$ and financial w"ere t"e purposefulness of financial spending will be c"ecked. 0ome sponsors re#uire t"at t"e w"ole pro'ect documentation s"ould be kept for a certain period of time so t"at it will be possible to perform audits after pro'ect end as well 3for example$ t"e financial documents of ?/ pro'ects s"ould usually be kept 5A7 years after t"e pro'ect end4. %"e pro'ect manager is responsible for external reporting& as usually reports are composed by a copy and paste met"od from information received from a number of people$ t"e pro'ect manager s"ould "armonise t"e w"ole text 3t"e ability to create texts can be ama@ingly differentM4. (or effective composition of ade#uate reports t"e reporting and #uality control s"ould be properly managed. /sually it is "ierarc"ical< a pro'ect team member reports to t"e "ead of a work group$ t"e "ead of a work group to t"e pro'ect manager$ t"e pro'ect manager to t"e board or steering group of t"e pro'ect. 1epending on t"e type of a pro'ect$ t"e products:outcomes of t"e pro'ect can replace t"e formal reporting 3for example$ for software pro'ects4.

C C

0"ould in t"e course of t"e pro'ectOs execution arise a need for significant c"anges t"en it s"ould be documented and before implementation agreed wit" t"e sponsors:customers. If t"e proposed c"anges are 'ustified t"en t"e decision makers usually accept t"em 3t"e sponsors are interested in success of t"e pro'ect as wellM4. !s smaller or bigger c"anges in a pro'ect plan are usually inevitable$ c"ange management system s"ould be planned already in a preparation p"ase of a pro'ect. 8eporting s"ould be "onest& even if unaut"ori@ed activities can be "idden so t"at sponsors will not notice it$ t"e colleagues will certainly notice. !nd even if t"e colleagues s"ould support t"e pro'ect manager$ t"is is a sign t"at "e is not trustful. %"is can cause problems in initiating new pro'ects 35Bow "e is not "onest in relation to ot"ers$ later "e can not be "onest to me94. (or example$ a temptation to 5optimise9 t"e costs may come if t"ere arises a possibility to merge some activities wit" ot"er pro'ects 3t"at is$ some costs will be covered twice4. +or example0 a professor recei)ed a grant from Science Foundation to take part on a conference& It turned out later that the cademy of Sciences of the country where conference took place agreed to co)er all local costs of the professor& Moreo)er$ the organising committee of the conference offered co)ering of all costs of this professor as well& s a result the professor? a# rejected the offer of the organising committee' 0# accepted the offer the cademy of Sciences and G# applied for Science Foundation a permission to spend the money for other purposes& ! summary< t"e pro'ect execution s"ould be transparent and documented. 65ercises 1. 6ow t"e reporting and stages:sub goals s"ould be related to eac" ot"erI 2. H"at is t"e basic idea of Total Nuality Management "TNM#I
.

H"at are t"e basic re#uirements to t"e #uality of data 3see$ for example www.gartner.com \ data #uality4I

4.7. *esource management

(or completing tasks certain resources are needed$ tasks wit" more resources allocated will "ave a "ig"er probability to be completed timely t"an tasks wit" relatively smaller resources. 1istribution:assigning of resources between t"e work groups or individual team members or more generally$ managing resources$ is one of t"e main tasks of a pro'ect manager. %"ere are some general principles concerning resource management< (alanced and purposeful& resources s"ould cover t"e needs possibly at t"e same extent$ so t"at all activities "ave more or less t"e same conditions. If t"ere is a fear t"at resources will not be used effectively enoug"$ continuing education courses or "iring additional experts is maybe needed. For e:ample$ ,stonian Science !ompetence !ouncil follows the principle @The higher the competence the more support for researchB& The competence is measured mainly 0y the num0er of so1called ISI pu0lications that is not 8uite rele)ant for ,stonian1centred research& The scientific competence is mainly created during the so)iet era$ according the priorities of So)iet .nion& This is why most of the research money is spent for researching the @pro0lems of the worldB and local pro0lems remain unsol)ed. ade7uate& rewarding s"ould correspond to t"e results. 0ometimes it is very difficult to ensure ade#uacy because< 14 !ctionA and conversationAoriented people w"o are not so effective in pro'ect work are often more demanding t"at outputAoriented people 35w"y do I earn less$ I am working all t"e timeMI94$ 24 0ome people are always unsatisfied wit" t"e salary w"ile ot"er people never argue. %"e pro'ect manager s"ould be fair in deciding about rewarding and s"ould
C 7

not be too muc" influenced from t"e first group of people. For e:ample$ a manager got an impression that the cleaning costs are too high in one of the three 0uildings "meaning that there are too many cleaners#& n analysis re)ealed that$ on the contrary$ there are too few cleaners in another 0uilding "two instead of three#& n additional cleaner was hired. collegial. %"e principles of resource distribution s"ould be discussed and agreed by t"e pro'ect team. *efore bringing to a general discussion it is always wise to discuss t"e principles wit" one or two senior team members. ?veryt"ing s"ould be well foundedM

In spending finances some 3legal4 5optimisation9 procedures are often used. (or example$ instead of paying premium for outstanding results$ "ig"er daily subsistence or better "otel during a visit can be paid 3no taxesM4& a mobile p"one costs or additional payment for usage of personal car can compensate a lower salary. %"ose w"o manage resources s"ould also avoid t"e conflict of interests. %"is was not a problem in ?stonia some years ago$ but "armonisation of ?stonian legislation wit" t"e ?uropean inevitably forces pro'ect managers to follow ?uropean practices. 65ercises 1. H"at does t"e conflict of interests meanI *ring examples of conflict of interests. 2. H"et"er to allocate more resources to more efficient work groups but t"at are maybe not so important for t"e pro'ect or more to t"e less efficient work groups t"at do not bring results but are more important for t"e pro'ectI . [ou are t"e pro'ect manager of a big pro'ect. 7ne partner t"at carried t"e main workload presented to a midAterm report a muc" bigger budget t"an was agreed in t"e pro'ectOs initial budget. H"at will you do if a4 t"e role of t"e partner ended in t"e pro'ect& b4 t"e role of t"e partner is not endedI 4. ! person in your pro'ect applies for a bigger salary. H"at will you doI

4.0. Professional de elopment of project team

%"e strategy for professional development of people depends on t"e type of institution. ! pro'ect type institution usually does not bot"er about t"e professional development of pro'ect team members ot"er t"an maybe permanently employed pro'ect managers. Ero'ects t"at "ave tig"t budget often spare t"e training costs. %"is may cause no significant "arm to a particular pro'ect$ but it can cause serious problems in long run because< every pro'ect s"ould benefit to t"e development of t"e w"ole institution$ s"ould be an investment to t"e future. %o be competitive in a lifeAlong learning society$ t"e latest knowledge and experience is needed& training is a part of professional development. ! person w"o perceives t"at t"e institution invests into "is training is more loyal and devoted. 6ig" professional #ualification does not guarantee success of a pro'ect< c"anges in legislation$ property rig"ts or not knowing clauses in different regulations can sometimes cause severe conse#uences. For e:ample$ purchasing e8uipment 0y ,. funds was sale ta:1free& 5owe)er a special permission was necessary& n institution su0mitted an application directly to the ta: inspector who promised to register it officially what he actually did not& Moreo)er$ he did not process the application& ;hen the

C ,

institution turned to the ta: office for e:planations$ the ta: office demanded to pay the sale ta: 0ecause the institution did not ha)e a needed permissionI By another e:ample of a ,. project$ two institutions taking part on a joint project 0ought I!T1 e8uipment& The costs were less than 3= === euros 0ut more than 3= === euros if taken together ",. regulations re8uire pu0lic tender for purchases that cost more than 3= === euros#& later audit asked for other offerings& (or reducing t"is kind of cases$ different services and cases studies repositories are created. (or example$ an information service for protection of intellectual property rig"ts in ?/ pro'ects is created 3www.cordis.lu:iprA"elpdesk:"ome."tml 4$ regular courses and seminars are organised. ?xperiences in applications of IC% tools in education in different ?/ countries can be found at www."tk.tlu.ee:I>% & some cases of IC% related pro'ects are at www.course.com:mis:sc"walbe.

4.9. 8sing power in project management

5Eower9 means "ere 5being capable9$ and can be divided into personal power:capabilities 3belong to t"e personal competences4 and positional power:capabilities 3t"at is given by t"e position4. It can be furt"er divided into t"e following two and t"ree subtypes$ respectively< power by example< t"e capability to make people voluntarily to follow you$ power of an expert< t"e capability to make rig"t decisions$ legitimate power< capability to force subordinates to execute t"e orders$ supportive power< t"e capability to provide resources$ restrictive power< ability to take resources away$ ability to punis". %"e first two types G personal power G are instruments for increasing prestige:aut"ority of a person. 0tudies "ave s"own t"at t"e more personal power and t"e less positional power people perceive to be used by t"e manager t"e "ig"er is t"eir devotion to t"e pro'ect$ t"e "ig"er work efficiency and t"e more open t"ey are in vertical communication. %oo muc" positional power may lead to t"e situation w"ere communication between t"e manager and subordinates will not be sufficiently ade#uate< t"e problems will not be discussed openly& t"e views and possible reactions of t"e managers are taken into account$ and conse#uently some important aspects could not be dealt wit". %"ere are different possibilities for making use of personal and positional power< 1. &pplying power (y e5ample depends on personal be"avior. (or example$ if #uality is t"e most important problem of t"e pro'ect$ t"en discussion of #uality problems s"ould "ave priority on meetings. 2. &pplying power of an e5pert means t"at a4 t"e colleagues are aware of your ac"ievements and b4 you are belonging to different expert bodies 3reviewing:auditing:accreditation:evaluation teams$ councils$ steering groups etc4. It is also important to be informed about t"e latest ac"ievements in t"e area$ about t"e development trends and to contribute to t"e development. . Legitimate power will be used in giving orders. %"is s"ould be done in a way t"at makes subordination pleasant to t"e people$ or at least people s"ould be "elped to accept t"e orders. (or example< a4 Eresenting an order as a re#uest 35Hould you please W94$ b4 ?xplaining t"e purpose:idea of t"e order$ c4 Citing to official regulations:document:contracts if needed etc. 4. 8sage of supporti e power depends very often from t"e #uality of work of subordinates$ or on t"e level "ow t"e orders will be executed. ?xtensive use of supportive power may cause a situation w"ere people are obedient but not very muc" devoted& t"e tasks:activities t"at are not visible may

C +

be performed formally$ if at all. %"ere are aspects w"ere usage of supportive power can never be too "ig"$ for example$ support in professional development of colleagues. 5. 8sage of restricti e power s"ould be avoided if possible$ especially punis"ment. %"is is accepted only if significant "arm "as been caused 3t"eft$ sabotage$ purposeful violation of security regulations etc4. %o diminis" t"e need for punis"ment$ preventive actions are used< Inform subordinates about t"e regulations and possible sanctions if regulations are violated& *e resolute in assuring t"e discipline& Harn and talk before punis"ment& *e peaceful and avoid "ostility. Instead of punis"ment$ it is suggested to make clear t"e reasons w"y t"e conflict situation emerged and redistribute t"e tasks if necessary. For e:ample$ an engineer did o)errun all deadlines for completing the drawings 0ecause he hoped to assure the manager to hire an additional engineer. If t"e punis"ment is inevitable$ t"en< Collect enoug" evidences before punis"ment$ ?xplain to t"e person concerned t"e reasons of punis"ment$ /se an ade#uate punis"ment$ Harn and punis" privately$ if possible. For e:ample$ a uni)ersity teacher had permanent conflicts with students& The head of department discussed repeatedly the possi0le ways to a)oid further conflicts' ne)ertheless the pro0lems remained& It ended up with the proposal to the teacher to lea)e the uni)ersity 0ecause he was not suita0le to keep a teacherAs profession& Qears later he was )ery thankful a0out this decision 0ecause he was )ery happy with his new profession "engineering#& In cases w"ere problems are caused by general attitude and nobody personally takes responsibilities$ an indirect 5punis"ment9 can be applied. For e:ample$ workers in an institution did not take security regulations seriously enough$ and things started to disappear& n incon)enient for workers sur)eillance system was started? the doors were locked and e8uipped with card readers$ a guard was hired who started to register the )isitors. ! number of studies are performed to find out w"at personal c"aracteristics are mostly wanted from t"e managers& one possible list is t"e following 3starting from t"e most important4< 1. 9onesty. %"is will be decided by t"e be"avior of t"e manager$ to w"at extent t"e words and actions correspond to eac" ot"er. ,:ample? salaries. 2. +ompetency. %"e manager s"ould completely understand w"at "e does. %"e manager s"ould acknowledge competency of colleagues as well. . &ppre'ension of trends? "aving a vision. 4. 3nspiration$ ent"usiasm$ energetic$ positive. Ero'ect manager s"ould "ave a reputation of a person w"o never fails. %"is reputation assumes existence of t"e following abilities< !bility to make a significant contribution$ !bility to motivate ot"ers to make a significant contribution$ !bility to ac"ieve priority for t"e pro'ect$ !bility to ac"ieve acceptance of professional met"ods of actions. %aking into account t"e last list$ it is understandable w"y general pro'ect management is often taug"t by faculties of social sciences.
7 .

!n aspect t"at is related to t"e topic is delegation of responsibilities. %"is is an instrument for increasing responsibility of subordinates$ if done wisely and in a balanced way. %"e manager s"ould not try to 5reAeducate9 t"e team members& t"e ability of finding a best possible application of every single team member belongs to t"e competences of a pro'ect manager. 65ercises 1. H"at advantages and t"reats t"ere may be if t"e manger keeps certain distance to t"e pro'ect team membersI

4.11.

De otion of team mem(ers

Ero'ect success depends in a great extent from t"e level of devotion of t"e team members$ are t"ey en'oying t"e pro'ect activities or are t"ey performing t"e tasks unwillingly. 0tudies "ave s"own t"at workers are using in average only .= of t"eir potential$ and t"e aim is to release as muc" as possible from remaining 7.= for t"e pro'ect. %"ere are different factors for increasing devotion< perception of importance of t"e pro'ect& pleasant work atmosp"ere& fascination of t"e tasks& organi@ational culture t"at values efficiency$ #uality$ "ard working$ loyalty etc. Hork atmosp"ere depends on t"e personal relations between t"e pro'ect team members. (or strengt"ening t"e team spirit$ it is suggested to arrange informal undertakings. (or making tasks more interesting$ t"e capabilities and competences s"ould be taken into account& everybody s"ould feel t"at "e is an important actor. 6ow to stimulate devotion depends on concrete conditions& "owever$ t"ere are some general principles for stimulating devotion< 1. %"e contribution of every single team member s"ould be recogni@ed. 2. ! common vision about t"e aims of t"e pro'ect s"ould be formed. If t"e aims are accepted by t"e team members t"en t"ey are more loyal$ productive$ and do not complain about t"e difficulties. . %"e activities s"ould be transparent. If t"e team members are informed about eac" ot"er tasks t"ey can better cooperate and provide support:"elp if needed. ,:ample? Tampere technology park. 4. Eeople s"ould be provided necessary resources and aut"ority. Hork conditions s"ould be a priority$ not saving of resources. 5. Eeople like to be t"e winners. !c"ievements s"ould be celebrated$ at least verbally. For e:ample$ a mem0er of the 0oard of trustees of a uni)ersity R the president of a large company R did not do for the uni)ersity anything 0ut participated on the 0oard meetings& 5e was asked to participate on composing a de)elopment plan of the uni)ersity& 5e interested in the pro0lems of the uni)ersity$ and his company started to sponsor the uni)ersity& %"erefore$ if you will get real support you s"ould offer real involvement. 65ercises

7 1

1. H"at are t"e possibilities to ac"ieve devotion if t"e ob'ectives of a pro'ect do not "armonise wit" t"e personal ob'ectives of t"e team membersI 2. 6ow could it be 'ustified if a manager will ask "is secretary to arrange:solve "is personalI

4.11.

)upporting creati ity

Competitiveness assumes innovation t"at in turn assumes creativity and taking risks. 1ifferent aut"ors are formulated a number of general principles concerning creativity and innovation. (or example$ Jo"n Couc" G a pro'ect manager of !pple G proposed t"e following< It is muc" more interesting to be a pirate t"at serve in Bavy&O 1o not discuss about diamonds if t"e w"ole world "as only coal& 8eward consists in adventure& It two people "ave t"e same opinion t"en one of t"em is superfluous& 1evelop t"ings t"at you want yourself 35+eed is a mother of creation something new94. %"ere can be formulated t"e following four basic strategies for innovation< 1. Pro(lem sensi(ility. %"is means ability of perceiving:finding of a real problem$ not so muc" of a solution of t"e problem. Nery successful pro'ect s"ould not necessarily be very innovative$ it can be #uite similar wit" some ot"er pro'ect implemented somew"ere else. For e:ample$ a group of four people disco)ered that the two e:isting mo0ile phone operators did not co)er the whole fre8uency area that was possi0le to use for mo0ile phones& They composed a 0usiness plan$ took a0out 3$< million .S/ loan and founded a third mo0ile operator company& fter successful start they sold the company for a0out D= Million .S/. 2. =eneration of new ideas. %"e more ideas t"e "ig"er is t"e probability for finding a good solution. Erofitability s"ould not be t"e main criterion because economical benefits can become evident after some time. ?xc"ange of ideas$ conscious avoiding immediate acceptance of obvious solutions are some examples of tools for increasing creativity. For e:ample$ the GM !ompany in)ented @Post ItB slips for supporting memori9ing and e:change of ideas. ! good recipe "ere is continuously asking #uestions from yourself< 5H"at did we learnI9$ 56ow could it be done betterI9 etc. . $riginality. Nariation of conditions$ finding new ways or using different context for solving already known problems. 0ometimes it is useful to present a problem in a nontraditional 3for example$ in a grap"ical4 form. For e:ample$ customers complained that waiting lifts takes too much time' the company did put mirrors on the walls 0esides of lift doors. 4. Cle5i(ility? bot" in dealing wit" problems as well as in composing work groups. /sing different points of views in dealing t"e problems$ for example$ putting yourself in t"e position of customer$ manager$ 'ournalist etc. %uino uni)ersity is a good e:ample of organi9ational fle:i0ility& For de)elopment a new curriculum a head of the curriculum will 0e nominated and the head will compose the courses from the whole uni)ersity& This interdisciplinary approach allows to de)elop curricula that meet the needs in a 0est possi0le way. (or implementation t"e strategies$ appropriate measures s"ould be c"osen. %"ere are various suggestions for determination of t"e measures$ for example t"e following< 1. People prefer structured approac' 3goals$ deadlines etc4$ t"ey s"ould know expectations of managers$ and "ow success will be measured$ w"at indicators are used. For e:ample$ the aim of president 2ohn F&Kennedy to send a man to Moon 0efore 3KC= started massi)e technological inno)ation in .S .
7 2

2. .'e work s'ould not (e dispersed? people s"ould be given t"e possibility to concentrate 3one task at a time4. 6enry (ord< 5+othing is particularly hard$ if you di)ide it into small jo0s9. Eerforming several tasks in parallel causes superficiality and nervousness. . +ontinuous ent'usiasm and tension s'ould (e kept. ! positive work climate$ optimism and trust among t"e team members as well as synergy of different events are necessary. 4. *eser ing enoug' time for t'inking and e5perimentation? especially for leaders. Creative process needs time. For e:ample$ it was announced that GM !ompany reser)ed 3DF of the time of its workers for unplanned acti)ities. 5. "eetings can be used for< 0timulation$ inspiration$ informing and acknowledgement of people$ Increasing sense of responsibility$ ?nsuring keeping t"e timetable 3results are needed for reporting4. %"ere are also factors t"at may suppress creativity$ for example< Eersonal c"aracteristics like stress$ fear not to be understood ade#uately etc& (ear to fail$ to make mistakes. Innovation is often accompanied by failures 3%"omas ?dison< 5I failed on my way to success94. 7ver regulation of institutional procedures 3formal rules$ political decisions$ procedures etc4. 0trong keeping of subordination suppresses free exc"ange of information$ slows down t"e communication inside t"e institution$ increases t"e probability for transforming information etc. %"e role of t"is factor in innovation becomes clear from t"e fact t"at small and medium si@ed enterprises are t"e main source of innovation. For e:ample$ it is interesting to compare two 0ig I!T companies here R IBM and pple$ the first much more regulated' !learly$ pple is the greater inno)ator of personal computers. Bew ideas are often accompanied wit" contradictions< implementation of a new idea will cause certain c"anges$ t"e existing relations between people and subordination can c"ange as well. !t t"e same time t"e implementation of new ideas s"ould be performed relatively #uickly$ ot"erwise t"ere is a t"reat t"at people will loose t"eir ent"usiasm. In t"e following we list some p"rases t"at ruin innovation and s"ould be avoided$ if possible< He "ave it already tested$ He "ave different conditions It does cost too muc"$ He do not "ave time for t"at$ Det us do market researc" first$ %"is does not belong to t"e priorities of t"e company$ H"y c"angeI It already works$ [ou are rig"t$ but W$ Det us form a commission. !s a seed$ every new idea needs care and nutrition before it becomes ripe. 0upporting and encouraging creativity is one of t"e main prere#uisites for longAterm competitiveness.

4.12. .eamwork
Teamwork and cooperation is t"e first personal competency cluster in managerial unit *.4 of t"e PM!/ Framework 3see section 1.44. %"is is fully 'ustified because lack of cooperation is one of t"e
7

main bottlenecks and reasons for failing of pro'ects& lack of teamworking and social skills was also broug"t up by IC% companies in ?stonia as t"e main #uality deficiency of university graduates 3)Bormak$ 2..5-4. !mong t"e indicators of insufficient cooperation are t"e following< %rying to perform tasks alone& Bot trusting colleagues& Dow ability to accept point of views of colleagues. 7n t"e ot"er "and$ t"ere are several factors t"at influence t"e level of teamwork< Ere'udice and related expectations. If we t"ink a person is not competent enoug"$ we distrust "is proposals and solutions 3alt"oug" "e can actually be t"e most competent in t"e team4. 7nly a significant opposite result:activity can c"ange t"e pre'udice. ?xpectations influence "uman be"avior as well< if we t"ink a person possesses certain #ualities$ t"en "e will 3praising a la@y person "e becomes more diligent& blaming a diligent person "e becomes more la@y4. (or example$ studies "ave s"own t"at students w"o are introduced to t"e teac"er as belonging to t"e top are for t"e same performance getting better marks as t"ose introduced as la@y students. (irst impression of t"e person or situation "as relatively lasting impact. For e:ample$ an e:cellent first lecture sets positi)e attitude toward the whole course "and )ice )ersa#. !ttitude of people depend on t"e roles assigned to t"em. For e:ample$ psychology students performed the following e:periment? a group of 0eggars were washed up$ dressed in dress1 coats$ instructed and applied as waiters in a restaurant& The 0eha)ior of 0eggars changed dramatically. !ttitude of people depend from t"eir interests and needs. %"is is w"y before 'udging about somet"ing t"e reasons s"ould be found out. Eeople are aiming to satisfaction t"eir individual needs& knowing t"em 3as well as wis"es$ expectations and goals4 will "elp t"e pro'ect manager to take t"e most appropriate measures to motivate t"e team members. 7ne s"ould take into account t"e "ierarc"y of needs< "ig"er level needs do not motivate t"e people if t"e lower level needs are not satisfied. It s"ould also be mentioned t"at satisfaction of t"e needs of a person does not motivate "im for a better work. 0trong identity of t"e team motivates to cooperate. %"e people are identifying t"emselves not so muc" as individuals but as members of a team. It may seem paradoxical but existence of a strong competitor may be a strong motivator for team work as well.

4.13. 9andling conflicts

!lt"oug" t"e PM!/ Framework avoids t"e word conflict in describing t"e competences of pro'ect managers in fact t"is is a topic every pro'ect manager "as dealt wit". Conflicts are "andled "ere very broadly and mean all kind of inconsistencies. Coordinating and "armoni@ing positions and solving related problems is sometimes very time consuming 3takes in average up to 5.= of pro'ect managerOs time4. Nariety of opinions is sometimes an advantage 35dispute reveals t"e trut"94 ensuring innovation$ interest and detection of potential problems& contradictions can generate energy 3according t"e studies one reason for divorce is t"at t"ere are no conflicts between spouses4. 7n t"e ot"er "and$ conflicts can ruin t"e w"ole pro'ect. %"erefore t"e conflicts s"ould not necessarily be eliminated$ t"ey s"ould be managed. (or example$

7 4

t"ere are people w"o oppose almost every statement$ and people w"o offer cra@y ideas. !rguing wit" t"ese types of people can lead to completely new solutions. %"e main sources of conflicts are< 1ifferent priorities$ administrative procedures 3incl. aut"ority and duties of pro'ect manager$ agreements between work groups etc4$ tec"nical #uestions 3t"e more routine t"e less conflicts4$ distribution of tasks$ costs and budget$ timetable 3deadlines and planning of activities4$ interpersonal relations 3status$ power$ friends"ip4. %"e studies "ave s"own t"at for different stages t"ere are different reasons of conflicts< 3n planning p'ase: priorities of t"e pro'ect$ timetable$ budget and partners. 0olutions< reserving enoug" time for planning and involving all partners. 3n starting p'ase< timetable$ priorities$ tec"nical #uestions. 0olution< feedback and acknowledgement for t"e first results 3relatively fre#uent meetings$ solving of emerging conflicts in t"e early p"ase4$ integration of t"e pro'ect team. During t'e main e5ecution period< timetable. 0olution< keep t"e team members working and track t"e pro'ect advancement. Cinal p'ase< expenses and timetable. !greements are effective tools for preventing conflicts. (or coming to an agreement$ t"e following main strategies are used< Creating a common ground< w"at are t"e common interests of t"e team membersI Coming to an understanding t"at success of t"e pro'ect bases on success of every single team member. Hidening of t"e area of common understanding$ looking for compromises. Collection of information. %"e manager s"ould know t"e arguments of different parties$ possible mediators etc. (ocus on t"e problem$ not to a person 3not to be personal4. 7rientation to t"e future$ not to finding guilty persons. %"e basic tec"ni#ues of successful negotiations are< *e straig"tforward& find t"e cause of t"e problem$ be clear in presenting your interests and needs$ Fark your be"avior making introductions to your statements. (or example< 5Could I please make a suggestion t"at W9$ !void superfluous arguments$ t"ese are often emotional and disperse attention from finding solutions. *e aware of limitations of logic& interests prevail over t"e logic& it is vitally important to understand "ow t"e partners are perceiving t"e problems under discussion. For e:ample$ so called su0ject coefficients pre)iously were used in financing Ph/ studies at the uni)ersities "for e:ample$ humanities 3$=' natural sciences -$3' dentistry <$<#& rector of one uni)ersity that had a relati)ely high a)erage su0ject coefficient strongly opposed the proposal to a0olish the su0ject coefficients$ although he admitted in pri)ate discussions that the current system is not rele)ant. 1o and aim at t"ings w"at you want to yourself. ?xpressing wis"es and interests brings discussions forward$
7 5

8epeat your expectations in a manner t"at it will make difficulties for ot"ers to oppose$ 1o not 'ustify 3indicates t"at you are on defending position4. Illustrate your arguments by facts if needed$ !void irritation. 0entences like 5?verybody knows t"at W9$ 5%"is "as always been done in t"is wayW9$ 5Fy generous offer is W9 force t"e partners eit"er oppose or escape$ 7ffer alternative solutions t"at are satisfying you and t"e partners in a possibly better way.

%o avoid conflicts follow t"e level of satisfaction of different needs. %"e needs can be divided according to t"e significance& satisfaction of less significant need can be performed after all more significant needs are satisfied. %"ere are five need levels< 1. 0urviving< pro'ect will not be interrupted$ pro'ect team not dismissed. 2. 0tability and security:certainty< keeping agreements about t"e timetable and scope. . 0olidarity< sound team spirit. 4. 0elfAconfidence< believing in importance of t"e pro'ect$ perceiving by individuals its role of in ac"ievements. 5. 8eali@ation of t"e potential$ professional development of team members. ! good tool for avoiding conflicts is respecting rig"ts of ot"er parties involved 3incl. t"e customers4. !lt"oug" t"ese rig"ts are usually not fixed$ t"ere are certain commonly accepted principles. (or example$ t"e customer of a software pro'ect "as t"e following rig"ts 3compare to t"e code of conduct for software pro'ect team member$ section 4. 4< (ormulate:accept t"e ob'ectives of a pro'ect& >now "ow muc" time t"e pro'ect needs and "ow muc" does it cost$ 1ecide about t"e functionality of developed software$ C"ange t"e re#uirements in t"e course of t"e pro'ect and know t"e costs caused by t"e c"anges$ >now t"e stand of t"e pro'ect$ *e informed about t"e risks t"at may affect t"e costs$ timetable and #uality and be informed about solutions of possible problems$ !ccess to t"e intermediate results of t"e pro'ect. 65ercises 1. In w"at cases t"e following tec"ni#ues are more and in w"at cases less efficient in resolving conflicts< argumentation$ delegating t"e task to anot"er person$ smoot"ing t"e contradictions$ decreasing t"e role of reasons of contradictions 35in fact it is not so importantK4$ dividing t"e differences$ persuading$ looking:searc"ing for a common ground. 2. H"at are t"e basic re#uirements of t"e code of conduct for pro'ect managers completing t"e EFI training 3Project Management Professional !ode of Professional !onduct4 3"ttp<::www.pmi.org:prod:groups:public:documents:info:ap;memet"standards.pdf4I

7 C

5 C-#)' . ( +"#/*&!
Fain ob'ective of t"is stage is to assure t"at t"e ob'ectives or aims of t"e pro'ect "ave been met.

!.1. Preparation to t'e project completion

!lt"oug" every single pro'ect is a uni#ue undertaking$ its results and experiences obtained from t"e pro'ect can in a great extent be exploited for preparation and execution of subse#uent pro'ects. %"e final elaboration and packaging of t"e pro'ectOs results in t"e final stage of t"e pro'ect can be decisive for success of t"e pro'ect. %"e following activities s"ould normally be performed during t"is stage< 6anding over and accepting by customers t"e pro'ectOs deliverables& Ereparation t"e final report of t"e pro'ect& Faking recommendations for future work. !t t"e end of t"e pro'ect successful as well not successful decisions and procedures s"ould be documented and analysed 3%essons learned4. !ppendix 7 presents an example< experience obtained during an international conference 5Dearning organisation G 2erman experience$ ?stonian opportunities9 as well as recommendations for organisation of similar big conferences. Eroper completion of t"e pro'ect is important for all parties involved 3pro'ect team$ customers$ partners4$ positive emotions and desire to cooperate in subse#uent pro'ects s"ould prevail. %"e end of t"e pro'ect can be marked$ for example$ by public presentation$ press announcement$ a festive signing of an act for "anding over t"e pro'ectOs results and:or documentation etc. 7n t"e ot"er "and$ incorrect completion of a pro'ect can cause problems bot" for customers and for t"e pro'ect institution. For e:ample$ an IT1company de)eloped a system of we0 pages for a uni)ersity& t the end of the project a we ser)er together with installed we0 pages was deli)ered& The uni)ersity did not accept it 0ecause the we0 system was not documented. ! relatively common problem is a project drift w"ere t"e control over t"e pro'ect execution weakens significantly. %"is can be caused by t"e following< 1. Ero'ect team members are before t"e end of a pro'ect actively considering t"e possibilities for t"eir furt"er professional activities$ negotiating about participation in new pro'ects$ looking for ot"er employment possibilities etc& 2. %"e customer will make some significant c"anges:improvements before t"e end of t"e pro'ect& . %"e procedure for completion of t"e pro'ect or acceptance of t"e pro'ectOs deliveries is not agreed. It may "appen t"at t"e final report or a document declaring t"e completion of t"e pro'ect starts to circle between different decision makers. Completion of t"e pro'ect s"ould be planned well in time already during t"e execution of t"e pro'ect. Earticularly important is to consider t"e possibilities to cover t"e costs t"at may occur after t"e formal end of t"e pro'ect. For e:ample$ an institution hired a project manager for a two1year ,. %eonardo project& s according to the regulations e:penses can 0e made until the pre)iously fi:ed deadline$ the 0udget was completely used 0efore the formal end of the project& For composing the final report$ the institution had to pay additional two months salary& Moreo)er$ it turned out that the official

7 7

)acation was not registered "that is$ formally the project manager did not ha)e any )acation# and the institution had to compensate the ne:t two months as well. (or composing a final report$ a copy and paste met"od is fre#uently used using reports of work groups. %"is may cause certain inconsistence of t"e w"ole text 3especially if different formats are used4& additional problems can be caused by tec"nology used for preparing:printing t"e text. For e:ample$ a thoroughly checked report was sent to the secretary for printing it out& 0rand new printer was used for that' howe)er$ the printer was not installed correctly and the formulas and some figures were just unreada0le& The project manager signed the report without additional check and su0mitted it& The report was not accepted.

!.2. &cti ities after project completion

!ctivities after t"e pro'ect completion depend "eavily on t"e pro'ect. ! general principle is t"at activities after a pro'ect s"ould pave t"e way for ac"ieving subse#uent goals. %"e following actions can be considered< 1. Hide dissemination of t"e pro'ectOs results. %"e possible instruments are$ for example< Eress releases to t"e news agencies$ !rticles in public press or issuing a collection of articles$ Eresentations on conferences$ 7rgani@ation of a conference t"at is devoted to t"e pro'ect etc. %"e common goals of t"ese activities are 14 increasing t"e 5market value9 of t"e pro'ect institution t"roug" ex"ibition of t"e pro'ectOs ac"ievements and 24 introducing t"e institution:pro'ect team to t"e possible future partners. 2. Hide application:implementation:exploitation of t"e pro'ectOs results. %"is is t"e main success indicator for a pro'ect. %"e goal "ere s"ould not be 'ust application of t"e results but solving some problems t"roug" t"e application 3focus on solving some problems4. . Ereparation and execution of followAup processes. Bo pro'ect will solve all possible problems$ usually solving a problem creates a number of new problems. Ereparation and execution of followAup pro'ects are often some"ow easier because t"e domain:scope is familiar and t"e problems naturally grown from t"e previous pro'ect. 4. Completion of t"e "istory document of t"e pro'ect. 65ercises 1. H"at are t"e main differences between dissemination and e:ploitation of pro'ects resultsI 2. H"at additional possibilities can be used for informing about t"e results of a pro'ectI . *ring examples about t"e completed pro'ects and about application of t"e results.

7 ,

6 S#0!1("* +"#/*&!)
1uring t"e seminars of informatics students t"at were "eld in ?stonian companies in years 2...A2..2 it became evident t"at t"ere is a "uge need in pro'ect managers. %"e lack of good pro'ect managers and managers in general is not a peculiarity of commercial institutions only& for example$ t"e report of an international evaluation of computer science in ?stonia 32..14 found t"at missing of a coordinating person of IC% researc" activities in one of ?stonian universities s"ould be considered as a serious obstacle in #uality improvement< small researc" groups t"at are not coordinating t"eir researc" activities do not allow to become internationally competitive.

#.1. )pecific c'aracter of software projects

/ntil t"e second "alf of 1+,.Aies software was developed mainly for running on a single computer wit"out interoperability possibilities between different software solutions$ platforms or computers& computer security was almost no topic. %"is is not any more t"e case today< most of software is operating in computer networks and is able to work in different environments and fulfill various re#uirements. %"erefore$ modern software is extremely complex. %"is is w"y software development assumes creativity$ motivation$ concentration and ability to carry "uge work load. %"e complexity of modern software is also t"e main reason w"y software pro'ects "ave relatively "ig" risk factor and low success rate. 0tudies of software pro'ects of mid 1++.Aies "ave revealed t"e following< 7nly about 15= pro'ects were completed timely and wit" predetermined budget& (ailure of pro'ects were mainly caused by low #uality of process management& %"e maturity of processes is determined by t"e level of redesigning of software.

Continuous and increasing problems in software development led in t"e beginning of 1++.Aies to a common understanding t"at software development in general is in crisis. Dist next some specific aspects t"at s"ould be taken into account in planning and executing software development pro'ects< 1. I% solutions s"ould support t"e main processes of institutions t"at are using I% solutions& I% s"ould facilitate optimi@ation of usage of personnel and ot"er resources$ as well as #uality of organi@ational culture in general. %"is assumes competences of I% developers in broad areas 3psyc"ology$ sociology$ cognitive sciences etc4. 2. !s I% solutions are in general widely used t"e 3sometimes opposite to eac" ot"er4 needs of a wide user group s"ould be satisfied. %"is is w"y users s"ould be involved in software development. . C"anges in society and industry prescribe #uick implementation of software products and possibility to adapt it to different needs< t"e needs at t"e end of a pro'ect can sometimes be very different to t"ose at t"e beginning of t"e pro'ect. 0ome aspects t"at may not be significant in ot"er pro'ects can be decisive for software pro'ects. (or example$ productivity of software developers is "ig"er if t"ey are working in small rooms for one or two persons. I% companies "ave been forced to fire good specialists w"o constantly disturbed t"e colleagues in t"eir work.
7 +

%"ese and some ot"er specific aspects of I% pro'ects cause certain uncertainty and "ig"er risks if compared wit" t"e pro'ects in ot"er areas. !lt"oug" t"ere are developed different software process models and standards to support software pro'ects$ according to t"e 5?xtreme C"aos9 document 32..14 of 0tandis" 2roup t"e average success rate of software pro'ects during 1++CA2... remained almost unc"anged. %"is means t"at t"e pace of software complexity increase was almost on t"e same level as improvement of skills of pro'ect managers and pro'ect team members. 0oftware pro'ects are output oriented< if a training pro'ect fails t"en t"is affects only a small number of people& a few number of mistakes in a software pro'ect may make t"e software unusable. Conditions for pro'ects may vary a lot& procedures t"at are successful in certain conditions may not be applicable to some ot"er conditions. Case studies may be "elpful in deciding about applicability of some procedures 3see$ for example$ www.cse.dcu.ie:spire:case."tml or www."tk.tlu.ee:I>% lists of some case studies4. 0oftware pro'ect managers form a network:community 3Software Program Managers +etwork$ "ttp<::www.spmn.com$ see also "ttp<::www.itApro'ectAmanagementAbeacon.com: 4. Content development pro'ects and pro'ects about content usage can be considered as software pro'ects as well 3www.elearningpro'ectmanagement.com 4. 65ercises 1. *ased on available sources 3for example$ "ttp<::www.itAcortex.com:?xamples;f."tm$ "ttp<::www.coding"orror.com:blog:arc"ives:...5,,."tml$"ttp<::spectrum.ieee.org:sep.5:1C,5 find out t"e most common factors for IC% pro'ects failing. H"at are t"e main failure factors of software pro'ects 3see$ for example$ www.pro'ectsmart.co.uk:seven;rules;to;guarantee;pro'ect;failure."tm 4I 2. !nalyse t"e description of I!T Project Management profession developed by !areer Space consortium 3"ttp<::www.careerAspace.com:downloads:index."tm4. H"at aspects s"ould be more stressed and w"at aspects are overemp"asisedI . H"at are t"e ma'or differences of I!T Project Management and I!T Management professions developed by !areer Space consortiumI

#.2. +ritical success factors of software projects

Critical success factors and critical failure factors are strongly related to eac" ot"er< absence of a success factor can often be considered as a failure factor. %"e following factors are often be considered as t"e most significant factors of success:failure of software pro'ects< 1. 4ser involvement) The Standish Group study in 1++5 based on analysis of , ,. software pro'ects s"owed t"at user involvement was t"e most significant success factor and )ice )ersa$ insufficient user involvement was t"e most significant failure factor. %"e fact t"at t"e users wis"es and needs often c"ange in t"e course of a pro'ect s"ould be taken into account in a planning p"ase of a pro'ect already. %"e users s"ould be involved from t"e very beginning of t"e pro'ect by applying relevant means 3informing t"e users about t"e pro'ect$ including users into t"e pro'ect team$ inviting users in pro'ect meetings etc4. 2. Change management) !dditionally to t"e users$ upper management$ donors and ot"er institutions:persons may re#uire c"anges. %"e total amount of work may rise considerably if
, .

t"e c"anges are performed in a nonAcoordinated or nonsystematic way$ or t"e c"anges are not properly documented. %"e general conclusion of t"e Standish Group study mentioned before was t"at software pro'ect management is c"aotic 3www&standishgroup&comMsampleSresearchMinde:&php4. . 5uality assurance) %esting and correction of mistakes can turn to an endless task if t"e mistakes are not corrected immediately after t"ey are detected& some mistakes t"at were detected in initial p"ase of t"e pro'ect can later even be forgotten. (or ensuring "ig" #uality$ one s"ould try to ac"ieve 'ustified simplicity in all t"e p"ases of a software pro'ect. 4. Integration of components) If t"e integration of components developed by different aut"ors is made in a later p"ase of a pro'ect$ t"en additional work for development of interfaces t"at would assure interoperability of components may re#uire too muc" time. 5. Changes in time6table) If t"e timeAtable can not be followed 3t"at occurs very often4 t"en priority will be given to personal deadlines. %ime for communication wit" users$ upper management$ testing people etc will be reduced. ]uality of coAordination of t"e pro'ect will suffer and risks for emerging new problems will rise. +onclusion: some more process management in initial p'ase of a project can a oid 'uge o erspendings for correcting mistakes in a final p'ase of a projectH pro(lems s'ould (e sol ed immediatelyF For e:ample$ + S Software ,ngineering %a0oratory decreased after applying 4 years Software Process Impro)ement "SPI# method the software de)elopment costs in a)erage 0y D=F$ and the num0er of mistakes 0y CDF& pplication of SPI increases a general work culture as well? in companies where SPI is not used only -=F of workers are considering the work culture in their institution to 0e high "comparing to <=F in institutions that are applying SPI# JMc!onnell 3KK4$ p& -<1-CL& ! roug" estimation is t"at t"e costs for correction of an error:bug t"at was made in t"e p"ase of determination of re#uirements in a final p"ase of t"e pro'ect are two degrees "ig"er 3t"at is$ about 1.. times4 t"an if it would corrected immediately. %"e reason for t"at is t"at decisions t"at are made in initial p"ase are more important t"an t"ose made in a final p"ase of a pro'ect 3for example$ in initial p"ase will be decided w"at platform will be used& in final p"ase "ow to design "elp information4. !lt"oug" it is usually not possible to assess t"e #uality of a software in initial p"ase of a pro'ect 3because t"e amount of decisions t"at are not made to t"at time is too big4$ general opinion is t"at success or failure of a software pro'ect will be determined during t"e first 1.= of a pro'ect. %"is emp"asis once more t"e importance of initial p"ase of a pro'ect. In initial p"ase t"e development model of a software pro'ect will be fixed as well. %"is model describes t"e general structure of activities and principles for performing t"em t"at s"ould lead to a completion of t"e pro'ect. 65ercises
1. 2.

H"at conclusions of t"e researc" performed by The Standish Group are most surprising for you 3see www.standis"group.com:sample;researc": 4I *ased on t"e article 5Turning !5 7S into S.!!,SS9 of Jim Jo"nsoni in Software Maga9ine 3www.softwaremag.com:D.cfmI1ocZarc"ive:1+++dec:0uccess."tml 4$ describe t"e most significant personal c"aracteristics of software pro'ect managers.

, 1

#.3. )tructure of software process

%"e activities of software development can be divided into certain type of activities 3 S;,B7K G The Guide to the Software ,ngineering Body of Knowledge G uses t"e notion knowledge areas4. %"e most general and probably t"e most often used model bases on //I, model$ w"ere means analy9e$ / R design$ / R de)elopment$ I R implementation$ , R e)aluation. //I,Amodel can be applied for small scale software pro'ects. (or large scale software pro'ects it is not suitable because< t"ese five type of activities do not describe ade#uately enoug" all activities of software development& Dinear order t"at is assumed for performing t"e activities in //I, model is usually not effective enoug".

1ifferent aut"ors use some"ow different division into activities of t"e life cycle of software development& t"e basic division usually is t"e following< determination of re#uirements of t"e software$ software design$ coding$ testing and implementation. &e-uirements "as t"e goal to determine t"e functional specification of t"e system. Eossibilities to use previously developed 3sub4systems s"ould also be taken into account. (oft are design "as t"e goal to compose software arc"itecture$ to determine input:output interfaces and tec"nologies used. %"is p"ase can be divided into two sub p"ases$ general design and detailed design. Coding contains also integration of modules$ composition of a test plan and of a preliminary version of user documentation. Testing "as t"e aim to c"eck satisfaction of re#uirements and availability of functionality. (inal versions of user documentation will be composed. Implementation of soft are depends "eavily on t"e type of software 3for example$ was it developed for a certain company$ or as a general purpose software for w"ole sale4. %"ese activities intersect on a time scale< determination and analysis of re#uirements prevail at t"e beginning of t"e pro'ect w"ile t"ese activities can almost be nonexistent at t"e final part of t"e pro'ect. %"e structure of activities depends on t"e development model used. 1etailed design s"ould be t"e more formal t"e more complicated t"e pro'ect is and t"e less experienced t"e developers are. It is better to put a little bit more emp"asis on design< reduced risks compensate "ig"er design costs. 1etailed design consists of a system of design diagrams possibly wit" some pieces of code. 1ifferent aut"ors can use different classification. (or example$ S;,B7K considers ten basic p"ases& t"ese in turn are divided into sub p"ases 3for example$ re#uirements p"ase is divided into t"e following six sub p"ases< 14 t"e process of determination of re#uirements$ 24 determination of re#uirements$ 4 re#uirement analysis$ 44 specification of re#uirements$ 54 fixation of re#uirements$ C4 re#uirements management. 0ome sets of indicators are developed t"at allow to estimate t"e advancement of a software pro'ect 3see$ for example$ www.construx.com:survivalguide4. 1ifferent software development models are considered in t"e next c"apter& in t"is c"apter we consider some aspects t"at are common for almost all p"ases. %ec"nologies used for software development is topic of a software engineering course.

, 2

#.4. Preliminary planning of a software project

1uring a preliminary planning of a software an initial software development plan will be developed 3initial version of C"arter4. %"is plan contains t"e following< %"e vision of t"e pro'ect$ %"e main aut"ority:decision maker$ %"e ob'ectives of t"e pro'ect$ %"e main risks$ Beeds in personnel$ ?stimated duration of t"e pro'ect. The vision of the project. *efore initiation of a software pro'ect a clear vision about t"e pro'ectOs main goal s"ould be formulated. %"is s"ould be ambitious and realistic. %"e worse t"at can "appen is if t"e pro'ect team understands t"at t"e main goal is not realistic& in t"is case t"eir motivation becomes very low. For e:ample$ de)elopment of MS ;ord for ;indows 3&= took fi)e years "instead of one year that was planned initially# 0ecause the goals were set too high& %"e main goal 5%o develop t"e best text processing software in t"e Horld9 is too general& 51evelop t"e most user friendly text processing software in t"e world9 would be muc" better because it gives some guidelines w"at s"ould and w"at s"ould not t"e software s"ould be. 3etermination of the main authority/decision maker. %"e main decision maker can be one person or a group of people 3pro'ect board4. In case of pro'ect board$ it s"ould consist representatives of all interest groups. 3etermination of the objectives of the project) %"e ob'ectives can be c"anged or concreti@ed during t"e pro'ect execution depending on t"e resources available$ on advancement of t"e pro'ect etc. For e:ample$ + S S,% "Software ,ngineering %a0oratory# concreti9es the o0jecti)es of its projects up to fi)e times taking into account certain adjustment coefficients according to the following ta0le? The coefficients are determined fter specification of re8uirements fter re8uirements analysis fter general design fter detailed design fter coding fter testing 4pper bound coefficient -$= 3$CD 3$* 3$-D 3$3 3$=D 7o er bound coefficient =$D =$DC =$C3 =$4= =$K3 =$KD

(or increasing t"e ade#uacy of t"e ob'ectives and work plans$ t"e w"ole pro'ect team s"ould be involved. If t"e pro'ect team does not accept t"e plans t"ese usually will not be followed. %"e advancement of a pro'ect s"ould be available to t"e pro'ect team 3for example$ t"roug" t"e Intranet4$ at least t"e following< < Dist of completed tasks 0tatistics of errors Dist of basic risks Completion rate of t"e pro'ect 3by duration and:or by resources4 8eports of t"e pro'ect 8isk management and personnel management are discussed in separate sections. H"en it is to be decided w"et"er or not to prepare and submit a bid$ an analysis of all essential aspects of t"e possible pro'ect s"ould be done. (or example$ Jo"n F.0mit" suggests in )0mit"$ 2..1- to

compose a 7pportunity ]ualification Horks"eet$ w"ere t"e followig eleven #uestions s"ould be ansvered:evaluated on scale . 3low4 W 5 3"ig"4< 1. %angible re#uirementsI 2. !ligned wit" your strategyI . 8elations"ip wit" t"is pro'ectI 4. 2ood solutionI 5. ?ffort available to bid and executeI C. %ime available to prepare a winning bidI 7. 0i@e of budget known:ade#uateI ,. Competition known P strengt"s:weaknessesI +. 7nly meM 1o you "ave uni#uesI 1.. Erice t"at will winI 11. ?ngagement wit" prospect possibleI %o "ave "ig" marks to t"e #uestions $ 4$ +$ 1. and 11 is most important. *efore decision t"e following #uestions s"ould be answered as well< 1. He will win because W 2. If we lose$ it will because W . %"e top t"ree risks are W !nswers to t"ese #uestions "elp you to emp"asi@e your streg"ts$ eliminate t"e reason w"y you mig"t lose and mitigate t"e possible risks.

#.!. -eeds for personnel

1epending on a software development model t"e needs for a personnel varies a lot during t"e development process$ bot" in terms of t"e amount and #ualification. 6ig"er #uality and more experience is needed in initial p"ase. 1istribution of total work load and duration can be$ for example$ t"e following< Hork load 1etermination and analysis of re#uirements 1.= 2eneral design 1.= 1etailed design 2.= Coding .= %esting 2.= Implementation 1.= 15= 2.= 25= 15= 1.= 1uration 15=

In fact duration of p"ases is very difficult to measure because t"e activities t"at belong to different p"ases are sometimes combined and performed in parallel 3for example$ a small piece of new code tested immediately by t"e developer4. %"e corresponding numbers in two columns indicate t"e need of personnel& for example$ t"e fact t"at general workload for general design 31.=4 is smaller as duration of general design 315=4 means t"at t"ere are relatively smaller amount of people involved in general design. It is estimated t"at in case of classical waterfall development model t"e testing can take up to 4.= of t"e total work load. (or a bigger software pro'ects$ Brooks rule for estimating t"e duration can be applied< 1: of t"e total time will be devoted to planning$ 1:C G coding$ 1:4 G testing and integration$ 1:4 G integration testing. Eersonnel costs are usually t"e biggest costs in software development pro'ects. %"erefore t"e pro'ect team s"ould be composed wit" care$ c"anges in personnel in later p"ases can be very expensive 3according a study t"at was performed in /0! in 1++.$ replacement of a single software developer during a software pro'ect did cost 2. ... G 1.. ... /014.
, 4

!not"er aspect t"at determines t"e need of personnel is t"e #uality of people involved. 6owever$ it is relatively complicated to take t"is aspect into account because actual practice s"ould not necessarily be co"erent to knowledge and skills of t"e people as was clearly proved by 2unnar Ei"o )Ei"o$ 2.. -. (or example$ +5= of I% specialists agrees on necessity to "ave a "olistic #uality system& in fact only few software companies "ave it. In order to reduce t"e risks for time overrunning some experts are suggesting to plan only up to 75= of available resources 3including personnel4. 65ercises 12. H"at are t"e main indicators you as a pro'ect manager of a software pro'ect would consider in composing of a small pro'ect team 3 A5 members4I H"at are t"e main differences in t"ese indicators if you would "ave a pro'ect wit" a muc" longer durationI

#.#. Personnel management

In t"is section we discuss t"e aspects of effective personnel management. %"e basic idea "ere is t"at a pro'ect manager "as a responsibility to ensure a better #uality of "uman resource as one of t"e pro'ectOs outcome. ! company will "ave considerable losses if$ for example$ five people will leave a pro'ect:company because of poor management. %"is is w"y t"e following aspects are important< ?very team member s"ould "ave opportunities for "is:"er professional development& %"e ability to keep:consolidate a pro'ect team is one of t"e #uality indicators of a pro'ect manager. It is suggested to spend more efforts to find competent team members rat"er t"an to "ire inexperienced persons and "ope to t"eir professional development. !ccording to a widespread opinion top #uality developers are up to ten times more effective t"an low level developers. ! study 3*.Dak"anpal$ Information and Software Technology$ 5 3,4$ 4C,A7 4 of 1 software development teams s"owed t"at "armony between t"e pro'ect team members is t"e most significant social success factor of a software pro'ect$ t"at is "ow smoot" is t"e cooperation between t"e pro'ect team members. %"is is w"y people causing problems in interacting wit" t"e colleagues s"ould not be invited to a pro'ect team$ even if t"ey are good experts. !not"er study 3Carl ?.Darson$ (rank F.J. Da(asto4 t"at was based on t"e analysis of 75 pro'ects s"owed t"at t"e week ability to solve problems of problematic people was considered as t"e biggest weakness of pro'ect managers. ! pro'ect manager s"ould "ave a full aut"ority to compose t"e pro'ect team and s"ould not immediately agree to take people suggested$ for example$ by upper management. (oger ;oolfe from 2artner 2roup suggests t"at preference in c"oosing pro'ect team members s"ould be given to personal c"aracteristics& t"ese are difficult to c"ange w"ile tec"nical skills can be ac#uired relatively #uickly. 6e proposes 25 key competences of an I% organi@ation$ ten of t"ese are personal competences 3ot"er six describe tec"nical skills and nine describe business processes4. 1ifferent roles of people s"ould be taken into account as well in composing a pro'ect team$ all basic roles s"ould be present. 8ob %"omsett )%"omsett$ 1++.- determines t"e following eig"t basic roles< 1. !hairman< determines t"e basic met"ods of pro'ect execution& is able to determine t"e strengt"s and weaknesses of a pro'ect team and t"e most effective usage of every single person.

, 5

2. Shaper< formulates t"e results of discussions and ot"er 'oint activities& t"is role "as usually t"e pro'ect manager or lead designer. . Plant< suggests new ideas and strategies$ tries to implement new tec"nology and find new solutions. 4. Monitor1e)aluator< analyses possibilities to solve problems as well as suitability to implement new tec"nologies. 5. !ompany worker< executes t"e tasks& most of t"e analysts$ programmers$ testers etc are belonging to t"is category. C. Team worker< "elps and motivates t"e team members$ tries to improve interpersonal relations and strengt"en t"e team spirit. 7. (esource in)estigator< organi@es communication wit" t"e partners outside t"e pro'ect team$ tries to find additional resources& "as personal contacts to a broad range of people t"at "e also intensively exploits. ,. !ompleter< observes and motivates t"e pro'ect team members to be goal oriented$ tries to minimi@e emerging of mistakes and domination of personal interests over t"e pro'ectOs interests. It s"ould be assured t"at t"e roles pro'ect people "ad:"ave in some ot"er context will not dominate in forming t"e pro'ect team. For e:ample$ in Eictoria uni)ersity " ustralia# students formed the project teams for performing a project in software engineering themsel)es' as a rule the teams consisted of 0odies of friends& Success rate of the projects )aried a lot 0ecause the roles in friendship communities and software engineering are totally different& In su0se8uent years when the project teams were composed 0y the uni)ersity teacher the success rate was considera0ly higher& ?ffective personnel management assumes effective time management as well. %"e main tool "ere is monitoring t"e time usage by t"e pro'ect team members$ especially during in initial p"ase of a pro'ect. %"is improves t"e #uality of time estimation for furt"er activities as well as in planning new pro'ects. !n example of time usage categories 3t"at is$ activities t"at will be measured and analy@ed4 can be found in www.construx.com:survivalguide. 0pecial software for time management "as been developed as well 3see$ for example$ time1accounting programs on t"e cited web site4. 0ometimes G for solving an urgent problem G it is suggested to form a small 31A2 persons4 temporary 5tiger team9 t"at will made free from ot"er duties to t"at time. 6ere possible different attitudes of people s"ould taken into account< some are perceiving members"ip in a 5tiger team9 as a promotion$ ot"ers as 'ust disturbing t"e main duties. 65ercises 1. *ased on t"e document 5I,,, Standard for Software Project Management Plans9 3I??? 0%1 1.5,.1A1+,74 of I??? 3Institute for ,lectrical and ,lectronic ,ngineers4$ compose its commented summary. 2. H"at are t"e basic differences of abovementioned roles proposed by 8.%"omsett of t"ose proposed by 8. F. *elbin 31+++. Management Teams? why they succeed or fail . 7xford& *oston<*utterwort"A6einemann.4I

, C

#.7. +'ange management

It became evident in 1++.Aies t"at t"e pro'ect planning s"ould last during t"e w"ole pro'ectOs life cycle< it was more and more difficult and even not purposeful to keep initially planned activities and procedures very exactly. C"anges in t"e market$ in tec"nology usage and in t"e needs of customers s"ould be reflected by t"e development process. !lt"oug" most of t"e c"anges concern t"e source code it is suggested to apply c"ange management principles to all activities. It is also suggested to form a special change management 0oard$ especially for big pro'ects. %"e board s"ould contain representatives of all interested parties$ bot" from t"e pro'ect team and from outside t"e pro'ect team. %"e main task of t"e board s"ould be approval 3or re'ection4 of c"ange proposals. Elanning and implementation of c"anges s"ould be performed according to a commonly accepted and transparent sc"eme like$ for example< Initiators of a c"ange s"ould compose and submit a written Proposal for a !hange t"at describes t"e reasons w"y c"anges are needed and w"at are t"e expected results w"en c"anges will be implemented$ %"e board forwards t"e proposal for acceptance and improvement suggestions to t"e parties concerned possibly accompanied by comments:suggestions:opinions of t"e board& t"e parties concerned are asked to estimate t"e possible costs and benefits from t"eir point of view as well& *ased on t"e feedback t"e board will make a conclusion and informs about it t"e parties involved. %"e board s"ould take into account a variety of aspects$ for example< 14 "ow t"e c"anges affect to t"e time table$ #uality and distribution of resources 3for example$ will t"e work load of busy people increase or not4 of t"e pro'ect& 24 H"et"er it will be reasonable to postpone t"e c"anges& 4 H"at are t"e risks t"at accompany t"e implementation of c"anges etc. %"e list of documents considered by t"e board can$ for example$ be t"e following< 1. 2. . 4. 5. C. 7. C"ange management plan Eroposals for c"anges %"e main ob'ective of software 2eneral software development plan Elans for p"ases:stages Coding standards ]uality assurance plan ,. %"e basic risks +. 0oftware tests 1.. 2rap"ical and ot"er media elements 11. /ser interface prototype 12. /ser manual 1 . Installation program 14. 0oftware delivery c"eck list

! systematic c"ange management "as a number of advantages< 0olutions used for software development are more broadly discussed and motivated 3a re'ection s"ould be explained as wellM4 and software developers are secured from un'ustified re#uirements of upper management& %"e pro'ect advancement is constantly monitored& for example$ a nonworking version can not be declared to be finis"ed$ %"e pro'ect is documented more completely$ t"e documents are available to t"e pro'ect team& C"ange management encourages cooperation between t"e pro'ect team members& people are able to discuss eac" ot"er problems.

, 7

#.0. *isk management

%"e ma'ority of pro'ects do not pay enoug" attention to reduction of risks. ?xperts suggest t"at about 5A1.= of pro'ect resources s"ould be spent to risk management. 6ig"er costs for risk management will make t"e pro'ect too bureaucratic and clumsy as well as affects to t"e #uality of outcomes of t"e pro'ect 3as less resources will remain for software development4. 8isk management bases on t"e risk management plan t"at will regularly be renewed:updated. (or mid si@e and big pro'ects it is suggested to "ire a risk manager. 8isk manager s"ould "ave a duty to compose regularly 3for example in every two weeks4 t"e list of t"e most significant current risks as well as possible solutions for reduction of t"ese risks. %"ere exists no reliable met"odology for measuring:assessing t"e risks$ mainly expert evidences are used. 6owever$ some met"ods and modeling tec"ni#ues for assessing t"e risks of software development pro'ects are developed 3see$ for example$ "ttp<::reportsA arc"ive.adm.cs.cmu.edu:anon:isri:CF/AI08IA. A1.1.pdf4. 65ample #.1. ! table of t"e most significant risks. Br. 6ow many %itle of t"e risk weeks in t"e list 4 Dow #uality of software Eossibilities for risk reduction ! prototype of a user interface is developed for assurance in userOs satisfaction. ! systematic development process model will be used. %esting will cover t"e w"ole functionality. %"e system will be tested by independent testers. %"e time table will regularly be updated. !ctive process monitoring reveals t"e s"ifts in time table. ! suitable software development model will be used. 1etailed planning creates clear expectations. ?nvironment supports "ig" productivity$ motivation and saving. !fter t"e prototype is developed$ new rooms will be rented.

1.

2. . 4.

4 1 5

%ime table will not be kept 6ig" expenses %"e premises are used not effectiA vely enoug"

!dditional columns can be used in t"e table$ including for example t"e columns for persons w"o will be involved in reducing t"e risks or for t"e reasons t"e risks became evident. (or eac" risk a document t"at answers to t"e relevant #uestions s"ould be composed. %"is can include$ for example< 1. %"e probability t"at risk will be reali@ed and its conse#uences. 2. Eossible ways for risk reduction. . Concrete steps and measures t"at s"ould be taken if t"e risk can not be reduced. 4. 8esponsible persons for performing t"e measures. 5. 1eadlines. C. 8esources t"at are delivered for risk reduction$ separately for eac" step:measure. (or risk management it is vitally important to monitor t"e advancement of t"e pro'ect. 0ometimes t"e people are not willing to articulate t"e problems& t"erefore it may be purposeful to create some anonymous or "idden c"annel for receiving bad news.
, ,

#.9. +o/operation wit' upper management in planning a project

!s it was previously s"own 3see !ppendix C4$ success of a pro'ect depends "eavily on support of upper management of t"e institutions involved. %"erefore$ cooperation between pro'ect managers and upper management is vitally important in all p"ases of a pro'ect. 0tudies revealed t"at t"ere exist some general sc"emes:attitudes t"at are relatively often used by pro'ect managers and c"ief executive officers 3C?74. In t"e following we list some of t"em< 1. (or securing timely execution of a pro'ect t"e pro'ect manager tries to reserve for a pro'ect some"ow more time t"an ultimately necessary. 2. !s C?7s are aware about attempts to increase t"e duration of pro'ects in planning a pro'ect$ t"ey are often cutting it down sometimes even wit"out necessary analysis or explanation. . ! C?7 "as a personal opinion about an ade#uate duration of a pro'ect but "e does not tell it$ for avoiding responsibility. %"e pro'ect plan will not be accepted until t"e timeAtable is not close enoug" to t"e opinion of C?7. 4. ! C?7 critici@es a pro'ect plan wit"out knowing t"e details. 6e "opes to ac"ieve t"at better solutions will be found in t"e next version t"e pro'ect plan.. 5. ! C?7 promised to deliver a software to a certain date& "e insists to complete t"e work before t"at date as ot"erwise "is prestige will suffer. C. !n institution is interested to get a contract for development a certain software and makes an unrealistic offer wit" a dumping price. It can "ave several unpleasant conse#uences like< 5political9 agreements wit" t"e customer$ low #uality software$ overspendings$ replacement of t"e pro'ect manager 3if a scapegoat s"ould be found4 etc. %"is kind of actions are mainly based on political decisions and are not taking into account t"e real possibilities. %o w"at extent t"ese political decisions are made depends first of all on personal capabilities of t"e pro'ect manager. %"ere are also some indirect met"ods used by C?7s to c"eck t"e #uality of planning and execution of pro'ects. 7ne of t"ese met"ods is called 5alco"ol test9. %"is met"od consists in asking different 3sometimes unexpected4 #uestions from pro'ect manager and team members t"at allow to decide w"et"er t"e pro'ect is realistic or runs smoot"ly enoug". !mong t"ese #uestions can$ for example$ be t"e following< H"o are t"e main customers of t"e pro'ectI H"at exactly are your responsibilities in t"e pro'ectI H"at are t"e most significant risks of t"e pro'ectI H"at are t"e most significant external factors t"at can influence t"e pro'ectI H"at si@e will t"e software "aveI 6ow did you calculate itI H"at knowledge "as t"e pro'ect team from t"e area software is developed forI

(or securing from unpleasant situations t"e pro'ect manager and ot"er team members s"ould constantly ask t"is kind of #uestions from t"emselves and from eac" ot"er and try find answers.

, +

#.11.

-eeds analysis

!ccording a 0tandis" 2roup study$ users involvement is t"e most important success factor of software pro'ects 3see !ppendix C4. %"e main ob'ective of users involvement is to develop a software t"at will as muc" as possible satisfy t"e users needs. %"is is particularly important in t"e p"ases of determination and analysis of re#uirements for t"e software. 1uring t"ese p"ases a market analysis will be made as well. /sually customers needs some support for understanding and formulating t"eir real needs. %"ere can be a number of reasons for t"at< customers and software developers are using 5different languages9$ customers are not experienced in software usage$ customers are not aware of possibilities and limitations of computer software etc. %"e needs analysis can consist$ for example$ from t"e following steps< 1. 1etermination of a group of reliable end users w"o would "elp to decide first of all on implementation of users activity patterns and user interface. %"e representatives from all main user groups s"ould be involved starting from completely inexperienced users up to expert users. 2. Interviewing t"e users for determination of t"e initial set of re#uirements. Fost often t"e understanding of a #uality software are different by users and software developers. It is suggested to arrange 'oint seminars and works"ops$ t"at is to use 2oint pplication /esign 32 /4 met"ods. . 1etermining and modeling t"e activities:actions of users to develop a set of use cases. 4. 1evelopment of some 3different4 user interface prototypes. %"e prototypes s"ould be relatively simple but give an ade#uate understanding about t"e work wit" t"e software. ! prototype s"ould be en"anced until t"e customers are accepting it. 7n t"e ot"er "and t"e customers s"ould understand t"at t"is is 'ust a prototype and t"erefore not too muc" time s"ould be devoted to it. It is suggested to use some ot"er tools for development of a prototype t"at for development of a software 3for example$ drawings on a paper4. 5. 1evelopment of a style guide. %"e guide determines visual elements of t"e software< font types and si@e of fonts$ buttons and icons and t"eir positions$ style of messages$ mnemonics of basic operations etc. C. Composition of a user manual t"at is based on t"e user interface prototype. In practice t"e user manuals are often composed at t"e very end of a pro'ect& but t"en t"ere are risks t"at< a4 no time is left to get and implement t"e users feedback and b4 t"e structure and logic of user manual does not "armoni@e wit" t"e activity patterns of t"e users 3t"e users are interested t"at performing certain tasks are optimi@ed$ not so muc" every single operation4. 7. (or determination of functions t"at cannot be described by user interface or user manual 3for example$ different algorit"ms$ interoperability wit" ot"er software:devices etc4 a separate document s"ould be developed. 8e#uirements s"ould be in written form and s"ould be available to all stake"olders. H"at can "appen if t"is is not t"e case we will see from t"e following. 65ample #.2. ! system for registering students to sub'ects. !n I% department of a university was asked to develop a software allowing students to register over t"e Internet to t"e sub'ects. !s t"e academic information system of t"e university did contain all t"e necessary databases t"e task seemed to be relatively easy and t"is was given to a novice developer wit"out any list of re#uirements from academic departments. !fter a couple of mont"s t"e system was opened for testing. Immediately "uge amount of problems emerged< 14 as not all timeAtables were available in t"e internet 3for example$ final versions of timeAtables for labs were put into Internet after
+ .

registration$ as t"e usage of labs depended on t"e number of registered students4 t"e students "ad c"eck t"e timeAtables in academic departments& 24 only users of t"e university computer network 3D!B4 "ad opportunity to register over t"e web 3aut"enticationM4$ and t"erefore t"e departments were forced to introduce a parallel registration 3as not all students were users of t"e university D!B4& 4 in registering to t"e sub'ects no control was performed w"et"er all prere#uisite sub'ects are already completed etc. !s a result$ only 1$5= of t"e students used t"is service& some academic departments even suggested t"eir students not to use t"e system. %"e university administration decided t"at t"e w"ole system s"ould be developed from scratc". !n additional analyst was involved and t"e pro'ect was repeated. 65ercises 1. (ind in t"e web t"ree cases of pro'ects t"at failed because of t"e scope creep.

#.11.

2uality management

]uality of a software measures t"e level to w"at t"e software satisfies t"e re#uirements 3needs of t"e customers4. ]uality is t"e most important indicator of software. (or$ t"e fact t"at a software was delivered some weeks later t"an expected will soon be forgotten$ but dissatisfaction caused by bad #uality lasts until t"e software will be replaced. ]uality control s"ould base on t"e following general re#uirements< #uality control activities s"ould be planned$ t"ese activities s"ould run t"roug" t"e w"ole pro'ect 3started at t"e beginning of a pro'ect4& #uality assurance s"ould form a separate task wit" clearly stated responsibilities& person3s4 responsible for #uality assurance s"ould be appropriately educated& #uality assurance activities s"ould be appropriately been financed. %"e basic instrument for #uality assurance is t"e Nuality assurance plan. 7ne of t"e main topics of ]uality assurance plan concerns organi@ation of testing. %esting is a structured activity t"at can consist$ for example$ from t"e following activities< Error check. ?very error s"ould be documented 3t"e location and description& "ow critical t"e error is$ w"o found and corrected etc4 and announced. 0pecial software is developed for error c"eck 3see$ for example$ www.construx.com:survivalguide: 4& Examining the source code by an interactive checker. %"is is usually t"e duty of a developer and s"ould be done before integration& Integrity testing is made by developer and its aim is to ensure interoperability of t"e code wit" t"e earlier code. 50moke tests9 w"ere t"e code will be integrated every day can be used as well& t"is gives an opportunity for #uick detection and solving of integration problems& 4nit testing. %"is is usually t"e duty of a developer& Technical examination for controlling t"e #uality of tec"nical results 3user interface prototype$ re#uirements specification$ arc"itecture$ detailed design etc4. %"is is usually t"e task of a designated person 3tester4 or of a #uality group t"at follows some fixed procedure like< 14 a developer submits necessary materials& 24 tester3s4 analyses t"e results& 4 developer and tester3s4 discuss t"e results& 44 Composition of a report 3includes a list of errors and correction plans4& 54 Correction of errors. %"ere are some general suggestions for tec"nical examinations< 14 %"e aim is to detect t"e errors$ not to propose solutions& 24 It is purely tec"nical$ customers and upper management will not be involved& 4 1ouble c"eck t"at t"e errors really will be
+ 1

corrected& 44 %"e results of examination s"ould be made available to t"e pro'ect team& 54 0pecial time s"ould be reserved for error correction. It is important t"at developers are taking part on tec"nical examination as well because< 14 different people find different errors& 24 people are informed about eac" ot"er work and are able to replace eac" ot"er if needed 3illness$ business trip$ vacation etc4. For e:ample$ a school information system was primarily de)eloped 0y a single person& ;hen this person mo)ed to another company then no0ody was a0le to replace him and a new tender was needed& 4 an unnecessary code can be detected. It was reported t"at riadne missile was exploded because some superfluous code from t"e previous version of software was not removed& 44 corresponding to standards can better be assured& 54 usually s"ortens by 1.A .= t"e duration of a software pro'ect. (ystem testing is used for testing completed components. 0ome general principles< 14 /sers or customers s"ould "eavily be involved 3certainly not only developers4& 24 %esting s"ould cover 1..= of features 3functions$ use cases etc4& 4 %"ere s"ould be sufficient amount of resources available. %"e more critical software will be developed t"e more testers s"ould be involved.

]uality assurance plan describes t"e general procedures as well. (or example$ t"e general sc"eme from code creation until integration can be described as follows< 14 developer composes a new code& 24 t"e developer tests t"e code& 4 t"e developer integrates t"e new code into its private copy of t"e software& 44 t"e developer submits t"e code to tec"nical examination& 54 software will be tested& C4 developer corrects t"e errors& 74 improved software will be c"ecked& ,4 t"e code will be integrated into t"e master copy. 7ne s"ould notice t"at testing allows to assess t"e #uality level of a software and is not a #uality assurance tool 3like weig"ting does not reduce t"e weig"t4. !s ,.<2.Arule 3,.= errors are in 2.= of modules4 applies it is important to determine t"e problematic modules as soon as possible. %"e process is assessed to be effective if at least +5= of errors will be corrected in t"e p"ase of t"eir emerging. %esting belongs usually to a critical pat" because most of t"e testing is performed at t"e end of pro'ect or modules. ]uality assurance plan s"ould determine t"e indicators for deciding w"en software can be released 3for example$ 5if all critical errors are corrected9 or 5average interval between determination of two error is at least , "ours9 etc4. (or #uality assurance it is important to assess advancement of t"e pro'ect. (or assessment t"e following general principles are used< 14 It is possible to assess software pro'ects ade#uately& 24 !de#uate assessment is time consuming$ it s"ould be properly planned and documented& 4 ]uantitative met"ods are necessary and possibly some assessment tools& 44 !de#uate assessment bases on analogy wit" previously completed pro'ects& 54 !ssessment s"ould systematically be refined during t"e pro'ect. 7ne s"ould assess t"e basic features t"at are determined in Software de)elopment plan 3incl. deadlines of stages:modules4 and correct t"em if needed. !ll relevant aspects s"ould be taken into account. (or example$ in correction of timeAtable national "olidays$ falling ill of developers$ correction of errors$ training pro'ect team members$ time for servicing previous pro'ects$ implementing c"anges$ cooperation wit" clients etc. %"ere exists software for assess advancement 3see$ for example$ !onstru: ,stimate$ www.construx.com:survivalguide4. %"is software can be used for simulation as well< c"anging certain conditions we can assess c"anges in t"e budget and timeAtable caused by t"ese c"anged conditions. !s it was t"e case in arbitrary pro'ects$ so for software pro'ects< if some stage re#uires more time as initially planned t"en catc"ing up during subse#uent stages is almost unlikely& most likely t"e pro'ect will lag even more be"ind at t"e end. %"erefore$ t"e pro'ect team members s"ould not be forced to unrealistic development speed& instead$ t"e time table s"ould be redesigned.
+ 2

4eta/testing. Complex software will often be given to a broader community 3experts$ 'ournalists$ customers etc4 for testing. %"e goal is to get as broad and compre"ensive feedback as possible 3for example$ about interoperability wit" all possible "ardware and ot"er software4. *etaAtesting is relatively ineffective because 14 big part of testers do not bot"er to report t"e mistakes and 24 elaborating "uge amount of information of different #uality is very time consuming. (or betaAtesting it is more effective to "ire representatives of user groups t"at are testing under guidance of experienced support persons. ! #uality group s"ould take part in development of 0oftware development plan$ standards and procedures. %"ere are special #uality assurance institutions 3for example$ www.s#i.gu.edu.au $ Software Nuality Institute4$ web pages 3for example www.cs.umu.se:T'ubo:Ero'ects:]F0?$ Nuality Management for Small ,nterprises4. 7verview of testing software can be found at "ttp<::opensourcetesting.org: . 65ercises
1.

Compose a s"ort 3up to one page4 overview of International Software Nuality Institute 3www.is#i.org4.

2. H"at are t"e main principles of Software Nuality Function /eployment 30](14 modelI

#.12.

)oftware general design and arc'itecture

%"ere are no commonly accepted definitions of general design and arc"itecture of a software. !s most of software engineers treat t"ese two notions almost as synonyms G especially for smaller pro'ects G we will not differentiate t"ese notions 3alt"oug" general design can be used as a verb4 and are using t"e term architecture in t"is section only. 0oftware arc"itecture determines t"e general structure of subsystems and t"eir interaction principles of software. (or t"e sake of simplicity and conceptual integrity$ t"e number of subsystems s"ould not be very big. (or example$ it can consist of t"e following subsystems< 14 user interface$ 24 functional subprograms$ 4 storing data$ 44 output$ 54 user tools$ C4 lower level tools 3for example$ memory management4. (unctions and division into modules s"ould be described for eac" subsystem as well as information exc"ange between t"e subsystems& interaction between t"e subsystems s"ould be optimi@ed. It is suggested to determine t"e components t"at will be adapted from already existing software 3skilful usage of readyAmade components can considerably save time and ot"er resources4$ t"at will be purc"ased and t"at most likely will undergo t"e biggest c"anges during development. ]uestions related to t"e functionality t"at s"ould be answered during t"is p"ase can$ for example$ be t"e following< Hit" w"at software$ protocols and data s"ould t"e new software be able to interact$ %o w"at extent t"e user interface is related to t"e ot"er components of t"e software$ H"at is t"e structure of data bases$ 6ow t"e data will be stored$ H"at basic algorit"ms will be used$ 6ow t"e concurrent processes and multipleAusers network operations are solved$ %"e principles of data protection and security$ Docali@ation possibilities to ot"er languages and platforms$ ?rror "andling principles.
+

%"e document t"at describes software arc"itecture s"ould formulate t"e general principles of arc"itecture 3for example$ to w"at extent t"e software s"ould be extended by adding functions4 and outline "ow t"e arc"itecture p"ase is related to ot"er p"ases of t"e pro'ect. 6ere t"e ,.<2. principle can be applied 3development of arc"itecture can be started w"en about ,.= of work in re#uirement analysis is completed4. !rc"itecture determines in a great extent t"e si@e and duration of t"e pro'ect. .M% 3.nified Modeling %anguage4 is currently t"e main tool for describing t"e arc"itecture of software. It is often purposeful to consider different views of arc"itecture t"at cover some predetermined elements of arc"itecture only& especially for complex software t"e views would make it easier to understand t"e logic of software. In case if /FD models were used t"e views are abstractions or subsets of t"ese models. (or example$ 8ational suggests to use t"e 4P1 model for describing software arc"itecture 3see "ttp<::www .software.ibm.com:ibmdl:pub:software:rational:web:w"itepapers:2.. :Ebk4p1.pdf 4< 1esign view 3logical view4 describes t"e basic structures of software$ functions and relations between t"em. Classes form t"e basic components and first of all t"e users needs determine t"e view. Erocess view describes t"e aspects of concurrency and timely dependency. %"e view bases on nonfunctional re#uirements 3performance$ integrity of software$ fault tolerance etc4. ! process is defined as a w"ole performed unit "aving tasks as t"e basic components. %"e process view can be presented on different abstraction levels. Components view 3development view4 describes t"e structure of software modules. Fodules and subsystems form t"e components. E"ysical view describes interaction of t"e software wit" p"ysical infrastructure 3computes$ networks$ ot"er devices4. 1ifferent devices are t"e components.

%"e views described above are related to eac" ot"er$ especially design view to process view and to components view as well as process view to p"ysical view. !n additional view of scenarios is defined 3t"is is w"y t"e model is called 4P1 model4& scenarios can be considered as certain use cases. /se case is an activity pattern to perform a certain task t"at is described in user terms:language w"ile a scenario is not necessarily described in terms used by t"e users. Example "P&Kruchten#& The following scenario is composed for de)elopment of a dial up software? 3# controller of a phone detects if the recei)er has 0een raised from the telephone apparatus and sends an acti)ation signal to the terminal' -# terminal reser)es necessary resources and transmits a signal for sending a dial1up tone to the controller' G# controller detects the code inserted 0y the user and transmits it to the terminal' *# terminal analyses the code' D# in case of a )alid code the terminal opens connection to the user&

#.13.

*elease of a software

%o decide about release of software different tec"ni#ues are used& we describe "ere t"ree of t"em. 1> Counting of errors. %"e errors are divided according to t"e gravity into t"ree groups< critical$ significant$ cosmetic. %"e simplest met"od is to decide on t"e density of errors 3t"at is measured by average number of errors for 1... lines of code4. If$ for example$ t"e density was 7W+ in previous pro'ects and 25. errors "ave been detected in a new software wit" 5. ... lines of code t"en t"e

+ 4

software is most probably not ready for release. ?stimating t"e average time spent for correcting an error one can estimate t"e total duration for correction of errors. 2> Predicting the number of errors using t o test groups. If t"e two groups detected F and B errors correspondingly of w"ic" D were detected by t"e bot" groups t"en t"e total number of errors is estimated to be B_F:D. /sing two test groups is relatively costly& t"is will mainly be used for development of a critical software were a small number of errors is vitally important. 3> The probability method. ! number of errors will be generated and t"e total number of errors will be estimated on t"e number of detected errors< if F errors were generated and B errors were detected of w"ic" D were from t"e set of generated errors t"en t"e total number of errors is estimated to be B_F:D. %"e generated errors s"ould in some sense be representative 3t"e generated errors s"ould subse#uently be correctedM4. 1ecision to release a software s"ould base on more t"an one indicator. !dditionally$ a c"eck list of different activities necessary for release s"ould be used. %"e c"eckAlist can consist on some few up to some "undred of positions. (or a general purpose software it could consist$ for example$ of t"e following 3responsible person in t"e brackets4< /pdate t"e version information 3developer4 8emove information necessary for testing from t"e code 3developer4 8emove t"e generated errors 3developer4 C"eck t"at all registered errors are removed 3tester4 Install t"e program from a C1 3tester4 Install t"e program from Internet 3tester4 Install t"e program from C1 into a computer w"ere an earlier version "as been installed 3tester4 C"eck t"at t"e installation program creates correct HindowsAregisters 3tester4 /ninstall t"e program 3tester4 (ix t"e list of distribution files 3release group4 0ync"roni@e t"e date and time of all release files 3release group4 *urn t"e final program C1 3release group4 C"eck t"at all t"e program files are present on C1 3release group4 Eerform t"e virus c"eck 3release group4 Eerform t"e c"eck of bad sectors 3release group4 Create a spare copy and apply t"e c"ange management sc"eme 3release group4 C"eck t"e version of readme.txt file on C1 3documents group4 C"eck t"e version of "elp files on C1 3documents group4 C"eck t"e copyrig"t$ license and ot"er 'uridical materials 3pro'ect manager4.

!ll key persons in t"e pro'ect team s"ould sign a protocol certifying readiness of software. %"e project8s history is based on pro'ect logs and basic data and contains bot" #uantitative and #ualitative information 3see$ for example$ !ppendix 44& opinions of pro'ect team members can be collected by specially designed #uestionnaires w"ere certain aspects are assessed$ for example$ on Dikert scale. %"e "istory document s"ould be discussed on pro'ect team general meeting wit" t"e aim to gain maximal benefit for subse#uent pro'ects.

+ 5

#.14. +ost models for software de elopment

(or furt"er development of software process models it is important know t"e ma'or cost factors of software. ! general dependency of software costs can be expressed by t"e formula 3in t"e order of decreasing influence on t"e costs4< !mount of work Z 3Si9eProcess 43Personnel43,n)ironment43Nuality4$ w"ere Si9e< is expressed by si@e of code or number of functions$ Process< ability to avoid nonproductive activities 3redesign$ bureaucracy etc4 and optimi@e supporting activities 3process monitoring$ risk analysis$ financial analysis$ #uality control$ testing$ continuing education$ administration etc4$ Personnel< competency of developers$ incl. experiences in performing similar pro'ects$ ,n)ironment< usage of development tools and tec"nologies$ Nuality< #uality of software 3performance$ adaptability etc4.

!s Process \ 1 we "ave t"at t"e bigger is t"e si@e of code t"e more expensive is an average unit 3for example$ t"e average cost is at least 1$5 times "ig"er for a program t"at is 1. times larger4. %"erefore it can "appen t"at if development of a program wit" 25 ... lines of code re#uires 2. manAmont"s t"en 14. manAmont"s are needed for development of a program wit" 75 ... lines of code 3relative expenses are more t"at two times "ig"er4. !de#uate application of t"is formula is relatively complicated because its elements are dependent from eac" ot"er< for example$ usage of new development tools and tec"nologies may cause reduction of si@e of code as well. %"e formula takes into account code created by developers only and can not be applied if ready made components and automatic code generation is used. ! big number of different cost models and tools "as been developed including C7C7F7 and C7C7F7 II$ C6?C>E7IB%$ ?0%IF!C0$ knowledgeElan$ EriceA0$ Ero]F0$ 0??8$ 0DIF$ 07(%C70%$ 0E]8:2.. 0ome web sites devoted to cost models are developed as well 3see$ for example www.'sc.nasa.gov:bu24. H"at model to c"oose depends from a number of aspects< !lt"oug" measuring t"e number of lines of code is easy it is in many cases not ade#uate enoug" 3especially in using ob'ect oriented programming4& using t"e number of functions is in many cases preferred because t"is does not depend on tec"nologies used. %"ere exists even The International Function Point .ser Group. In general it seems t"at usage of number of functions is more ade#uate in initial p"ases of a pro'ect and usage of lines of code in final p"ases of a pro'ect. (or converting between different models t"ere are found average numbers for lines of code t"at is needed for programming one function in different programming languages< assembler G 2.$ C G 12,$ CPP G 5C$ Java G 55$ Nisual *asic G 5 etc. Cost models can be used for risk analysis and pro'ect planning in case t"e costs are given 3c"anging parameters until t"e costs fall into a given area4. ?stimation of costs s"ould base on competent analysis of existing practices and t"erefore pro'ect manager and ot"er key persons s"ould be involved& it can not be done solely by outsiders. ?stimation of costs s"ould be made sufficiently detailed allowing to understand t"e basic risks and success opportunities. *ased on t"e above formula we list t"e main opportunities for cost reduction< +or reduction of si9e*

+ C

 Fultiple usage of design elements$ processes$ development tools and software components. If a number of usage is up to ten times t"en t"e costs are in logarit"mic dependency 3for example$ double usage increases t"e costs in average by 5.=$ five usages by 125=4. /sage of ob'ect oriented tec"nology 3incl. .M%4 makes it easier to visuali@e t"e software and to concentrate on important aspects& t"is increases t"e ability to understand t"e problem and of interested parties 3incl. end users4 to participate in development process. /sage of automatic code generation 3C!0? tools$ visual modeling tools$ tools for development of grap"ical interfaces4 and components. /sage of "ig"er programming languages. !pplication of t"ese principles may reduce t"e number of lines of code 2A times& t"is in turn increases simplicity and decreases probability of errors in t"e program. Process is considered on t"ree levels< Feta level 3t"e level of an organi@ation4 covers long term strategies of an organi@ation$ return on investments and organi@ation wide regulations. *asic problems< bureaucracy and standardi@ation. Facro level 3t"e level of a pro'ect4 concerns application of meta level processes in t"e context of a pro'ect& covers policies in relation to t"e pro'ect$ procedures and practices aiming to produce a predetermined software product wit" planned resources. *asic problems< #uality and optimi@ation of costs. Ficro level 3t"e level of a pro'ect work group4 covers policies$ procedures and practices necessary for ac"ieving mid term sub goals. *asic problems< content and time table. Erocess may considerably reduce t"e total amount of development work. (or example$ in case of an nAstep process one can try to increase efficiency of eac" step$ but one can try to eliminate some steps and run some steps in parallel. %"e overall goal is to increase resources for productive activities and decrease t"e demand of supporting activities for resources necessary for productive activities. Personnel s"ould cover t"e needs and s"ould be balanced 3like a football team4. Ero'ect manages "as t"e central role< perfectly managed pro'ect is usually successful even by an modest pro'ect team w"ile poorly managed pro'ect usually fails even if t"e pro'ect team is of "ig" #uality. %"e pro'ect team members s"ould be mutually supported by eac" ot"er$ a team t"at consists of ambitious persons only is in terms of cooperation very risky. It is estimated t"at t"e average difference in productivity between beginners and experts is four times& alt"oug" educating people is a role of an institution proper training is sometimes needed in t"e framework of pro'ects as well. Concerning personnel t"e following general principles are often used< /se less and better people$ !dapt t"e tasks according t"e competences and motivation of people 3promoting of an top designer to a pro'ect manager may "ave catastrop"ic conse#uences4$ Eeople s"ould be motivated to ac"ieve selfAreali@ation$ C"oose people t"at "armoni@e and complement eac" ot"er. Conse#uently$ t"e pro'ect manager s"ould be able to< 6ire appropriate people$ !void unfriendly relations between different parties$ Fake 'udgments$ 1evelop team spirit$ trust$ common positions$ motivate ac"ievement etc$

+ 7

5sell9 "is decisions$ priorities$ positions etc to parties involved.

Environment covers tools for planning$ "andling of re#uirements$ visual modeling$ programming$ c"ange management$ configuration management$ #uality analysis$ testing and development of user interface. %"e overall goal is to reduce manual work. ?ffective usage of appropriate tools may reduce t"e total amount of work up to 4.= and usage of a single tool usually up to 5=. 5uality improvement is possible by several different ways$ for example by< Concentrating on most important re#uirements in early stages of a pro'ect already$ /sing indicators and metrics t"at measure advancement and #uality of a pro'ect$ /sing integrated development tools t"at cover t"e w"ole life cycle of a software$ support c"ange management$ documentation and automation of testing$ /sing of visual modeling and "ig"er level languages t"at support designing$ programming$ multiple usage of components and ade#uate passing information between t"e p"ases$ 6aving an early and continuous information on t"e level of software. Hork flow control can sometimes be used as well 3especially of novice workers by experts4& t"is can also be considered as a certain training for development of a work culture and for rooting out bad practices. ! total control is very costly and t"erefore attention s"ould first of all be concentrated on critical aspects. 1ifferent dynamic models are developed for detecting interdependence between t"e different factors. (or example$ overtime work may give s"ort term effect but will be ineffective if used long term< labour productivity will decrease$ amount of errors will increase etc. 65ercises 1. merican Institute of !ertified Pu0lic ccountants 3 I!P 4 suggests in its Statement of Position 3S7P K4134 t"at t"e costs related to a failed pro'ect s"ould be counted off in a #uarter w"en pro'ect was braked off. H"at procedures are foreseen in relation to t"atI

2. !nalyse parametric cost models 3see$ for example$ www1.'sc.nasa.gov:bu2:pce"g."tml$ www.'sc.nasa.gov:bu2:"amaker."tml and www.costxpert.com:resource;center:articles."tml4.

7 S#0!1("* +"#&*)) ,( (.*,* !

7.1. 3ntroduction to software process management
Increased complexity and low success rate of software pro'ects were reasons w"y researc" in software pro'ect life cycles and process models was intensified in 1++.Aies. !s a result a number of different models and development met"ods were elaborated& proponents on agile software development founded 5%"e !gile !lliance9 3see www.agilealliance.org4 in 2..1. In t"is c"apter we will describe some models and met"ods< t"e waterfall model$ two p"ase and multi p"ase models$ 8ational /nified Erocess 3(.P4 and extreme programming 36P4. !s we will see later$ t"ese met"ods "ave some similarities but "ave sometimes significant differences as well. 0ome general suggestions "ave already been formed for c"oice and implement of software development met"ods<

+ ,

1. Competent usage of a met"od is more important t"an t"e met"od itself. %"erefore$ implementation of a new met"od s"ould be 'ustified and could be performed after a competent analysis only. 2. ! met"od s"ould be adapted to t"e organi@ational culture as well as to skills and "abits of t"e pro'ect team& a ma'ority of t"e team s"ould accept t"e 3adapted4 met"od. . %"e development and ot"er tools depend sometimes from software process met"od. It is suggested to use t"ree level division in usage t"e tools< compulsory$ recommended$ acceptable. %"e tools used in software pro'ects s"ould additionally to process met"ods take into account some ot"er factors as well. (or example$ ?dward [ourdon )[ourdon$ 1++7- t"at t"e following tools s"ould be compulsory or recommended in running complex software pro'ects< ?lectronic mail and groupware %ools for prototyping %ools for configuration management %ools for testing and debugging %ools for pro'ect management and assessment 8epositories of reusable components C!0? tools.

7.2. .'e waterfall model

The waterfall model 3sometimes t"e term caskade model is used4 consits of a c"ain of conse#utive activities t"at usually are t"e following 3cf section C. $ 0tructure of software process4< 1etermination of re#uirements !nalysis of re#uirements 2eneral design 1etailed design Coding %esting Implementation. 1epending of t"e type of a software some more types or configuration of activities can be considered. (or example$ integration of software can be considered separately 3between coding and testing4& 'ust design can be used instead of general design and detailed design or t"e term architecture can be used instead of general design etc. *emark. %"e name 5waterfall model9 comes from t"e fact t"at if to present t"e activities as boxes on xyAcoordinate plane w"ere xAaxis represents time and yAaxis represents t"e costAaxis 3t"e costs of an error if made during t"is particular period of time and corrected at t"e end of t"e pro'ect4 t"en a waterfall s"ape will be obtained. %"e waterfall model "as a ma'or deficiency$ most of t"e errors will be detected during testing and t"e correction may "ave "ig" costs. !not"er deficiencies< 14 software developed is re#uirements centered 3t"ese often c"ange during t"e pro'ect4 24 advancement and risks of t"e pro'ect are difficult to trace and are mainly based on reports. %"ere are different met"ods for mitigating t"e risks$ like for example$ t"e followig<

+ +

Eerforming preliminary design of software between determination and analysis of re#uirements 3planning memory management and data flows$ interfaces$ input:output etc4. 1ocumenting software design& documenting supports cooperation and later modification of software. 1elivering t"e second version to t"e customers only 3t"e first version will be used for complex tests and controlling of "ypot"eses. Elanning and controlling t"e testing using speciali@ed testers 3testing re#uires relatively big amount of resources4. Involving t"e customers o t"e development of software from t"e very beginning.

*arry *oe"m "as offered t"e basic economic c"aracteristics of waterfall model. %"ese can s"ortly be formulated as follows< 1. Correction at t"e end of t"e pro'ect of an error t"at was made during design is "undred times more expensive t"an it would cost w"en corrected immediately. 2. 1uration of software develoment can be s"ortened not more t"an 25= compared to t"e nominal duration< "iring more developers complicates t"e coordination of t"eir work 3for example$ w"en 1. developers would need 1. mont"s to complete a pro'ect$ t"en 2. developers would need at least 7$5 mont"s4. . (or 1` spent for development of a software 2` is needed for administration. 4. 1evelopment and administration costs depend primarily on t"e number of lines of code. 5. %"e competence of developers is t"e main productivity factor in software development. C. %"e ratio of softA and "ardware between 1+55 and 1+,5 "as been c"anged from 15<,5 to ,5<15. 7. Erogramming consumes only 15= of software development costs. ,. 7ne code line of software systems costs t"ree times more t"an of singular programs. +. *y reading t"e code only C.= of errors can be detected. 1.. Pareto rule is applicable in software development as well< ,.= of problems are caused by 2.= of elements 3,.= of activities to 2.= of re#uirements& ,.= costs to 2.= of components& ,.= errors in 2.= of components& ,.= of results ac"ieved by 2. = of developers etc4. 65ercises
1.

H"at are t"e main principles of t"e *oe"m spiral model 3see$ for example$
www.sce.carleton.ca:faculty:a'ila:41.CA5..C:0piral=2.Fodel=2.*oe"m.pdf4I

2. H"at are t"e main principles of Ficrosoft 0olutions (ramework 3F0(4 Erocess FodelI
.

(ormulate t"e basic principles exposed in t"e document

www.ctp.di.fct.unl.pt:]/!0!8:csmr2..1:documents:abstracts:karol(rue"auf;C0F8.E1( .

1 .

7.3. .wo p'ase model

!ccording t"e two p"ase model a software pro'ect is performed in two p"ases$ t"e first mainly for planning and second for programming and subse#uent activities. %"e first p"ase covers 1.A2.= of t"e total pro'ect and consists mainly of analytical work. In fact a two p"ase model can be considered as a model of two conse#uent pro'ects. %"e two p"ase model "as a number of positive aspects& it 1. gives an opportunity to interrupt a pro'ect if it turns out unreasonable to be completed after relatively few costs are& 2. allows to plan a pro'ect more ade#uately 3because activities and costs are planned in two p"ases4& . motivates t"e pro'ect managers to turn more attention to pro'ect planning. During t'e first p'ase t"e pro'ect plan is composed. %"e plan contains t"e following< A %"e vision and ob'ectives of t"e pro'ect$ A 1etermination of t"e pro'ect team$ A C"ange management sc"eme$ A 8e#uirements$ A 0oftware arc"itecture$ A Erototype of a user interface$ A /ser manual$ A ]uality assurance plan$ A 0oftware development plan incl. estimations of work$ time table and costs$ A 8e#uirements:standards for design and code composition$ A 8isk analysis. %"e second p"ase is planned based on t"ese t"ese documents 3or it will be decided to interrupt t"e pro'ect if costs or risks will be too "ig"4. !de#uate planning is t"e main instrument for mitigating t"e risks. 1uring t"e first p"ase a software development process model s"ould be determined as well. (ollowing common standards in code generation it is muc" easier to understand eac" ot"er work. %"ese common standards may$ for example$ cover t"e following aspects< Nisual design of different parts 3modules$ subprograms$ classes4 of t"e program$ Commenting$ Farking of code t"at need furt"er elaboration& Bames of variables and functions$ %"e maximal number of lines of code 3subprograms4 in a subprogram 3correspondingly in a cluster4$ !greements on tec"nical #uestions 3max. number of inserted cycles$ usage of G7T7 command etc4$ !greements on tools and repositories:stacks. %"e bigger is t"e development team and t"e bigger t"e pro'ect t"e more important is to agree on common standards. .'e second p'ase is purposeful to divide into stages. ?ac" stage can be considered as a small pro'ect 3see t"e next section4.

1 .

L'!*"(!%"*
)*auer 1++ - *auer$ 1avid 2.$ %"e K"ow toK grants manual< successful grantseeking tec"ni#ues for obtaining public and private grants$ 1++ & I0*B .A,+774A,.1A,. )*oe"m 2...- *oe"m$ *arry$ et al$ 0oftware cost estimation wit" Cocomo II$ ErenticeA6all$ 2...& I0*B .A1 A.2CC+2A2. )*ounds$ 1++,- *ounds$ 2ene$ %"e last word on pro'ect management$ II? 0olutions$ v. .$ n.11$ p.41A 4 . )2olden 1++,- 2olden$ 0usan D.$ 0ecrets of successful grantmans"ip$ JosseyA*ass Eublis"ers$ 1++,& I0*B .A7,7+A. .CAa. )2oldratt 1+++- 2oldratt$ ?liya"u F.$ >riitiline a"el. 8omaan pro'ekti'u"timisest 'a "aridusest$ %artu 1+++$ I0*B ++,5AC.A752Aa. )>er@ner 2..1- >er@ner$ 6arold$ 0trategic planning for pro'ect management using a pro'ect management maturity model$ Jo"n HileyX0ons Inc.$ 2..1& I0*B .A471A4.. +A4. )Dauffer 1++7- Dauffer$ !rmand$ 2rants$ ?tc$ 0!2? Eublications$ 1++7& I0*B .A,. +A54C+A7. )FcConnell$ 1++,- FcConnell$ 0teve$ 0oftware pro'ect survival guide$ Ficrosoft Eress$ 1++,& I0*B 1A572 1AC21A7. )FSgi$ 2...- FSgi$ !rvo$ Ficrosoft Ero'ect 2...$ %allinn< 2% %arkvara 7L$ 2...& I0*B ++,5A +25+A1A2. )Bormak$ 2..5- Bormak$ Eeeter$ ! model for university seminars "eld in companies. In 5Informa tion and Communication %ec"nologies and 8ealAlife Dearning G Bew ?ducation for t"e >nowledge 0ociety9 p.2.5A211 32..5$ ?dited by %om van Heert and !rt"ur %atnall4& 0pringer$ I0*B .A ,7A25++CA1 3"ttp<::dx.doi.org:1..1..7:.A ,7A25++7Aa;2 4. )Eerens$ 2..1- Eerens$ !lgis$ Ero'ekti 'u"timine$ >Qlim$ 2..1. I0*B ++,5A,5.A,.A7. )Ei"o$ 2.. - Ei"o$ 2unnar$ Implementation of aE met"od in a small ?stonian software company. Faster t"esis$ %allinn Eedagogical /niversity$ 2.. . )EF*7> 2uide- ! 2uide to t"e Ero'ect Fanagement *ody of >nowledge 3EF*7> b 2uide4< 2... ?dition. Ero'ect Fanagement Institute$ 2..1& I0*B 1,,.41.222. )EFC1- Ero'ect Fanagement Institute. Ero'ect Fanager Competency 1evelopment 3EFC14 (ramework$ 2..2. I0*B 1A,,.41.A+ A1. )E8IBC?2- Fanaging 0uccessful Ero'ects wit" E8IBC?2& 2..5 edition. 7ffice of 2overnment Commerce. %07$ Dondon. I0*B .11 .+4C5 )8andolp" 1+,,- 8andolp"$ H.!lan and Eosner$ *arry c$ ?ffective pro'ect planning and management$ Erentice 6all$ ?nglewood Cliffs$ Bew Jersey .7C 2$ 1+,,$ 1C E& I0*B .A1 A244,15A7. )8ies$ Deukefeld 1++,- 8ies$ Joanne *. and Deukefeld$ Carl 2.$%"e researc" funding guidebook< 2etting it$ managing it$ and renewing it$ 0!2? Eublications$ 1++,& I0*B .A7C1+A.2 1A7. )8oyce 1+++- 8oyce$ Halker$ 0oftware Ero'ect Fanagement. ! /nified (ramework$ !ddison Hesley$ 1+++$ I0*B .A2.1A .+5,A.. )0alla 2..1- 0alla$ 0igrid$ Ero'ekti planeerimine 'a 'u"timine. %Siendav loengumater'al pro'ekti'u"timise Qlidpilastele$ %allinna EedagoogikaQlikool$ 2..1$ I0*B ++,5A5,A2. A+.

1 .

)0c"walbe 2..1- 0c"walbe$ >at"y$ Information %ec"nology Ero'ect Fanagement$ 0econd ?dition$ 2..1$ I0*B .AC1+A. 52,A5. )0mit" 2..1- 0mit"$ Jo"n F.$ %roubled I% Ero'ects< prevention and turnaround$ %"e Institution of ?lectrical ?ngineers$ 2..1. I0*B . ,52+C 1.4 +. )%"omsett$ 1++.- %"omsett$ 8ob$ ?ffective Ero'ect %eams< ! 1ilemma$ a Fodel$ a 0olution. !merican Erogrammer$ JulyA!ugust 1++.. )[ourdon$ 1++7- [ourdon$ ?dward$ 1eat" Farc". %"e Complete 0oftware 1eveloperOs 2uide to 0urviving 5Fission Impossible9 Ero'ects$ Erentice 6all$ 1++7$ I0*B .A1 A74, 1.A4 3venekeelne tdlge< I0*B5A,55,2A.,5A,4

1 .

A++* $'&*)
&ppendi5 1: +'arter of t'e project ;2uality system of 3+. ocational education;
&pplicant: %allinn /niversity Participating institutions 3partners in t"e first p"ase of pro'ect initiating4< 1. 7ne computer company$ 2. %wo institutions of vocational education$ . 7ne university. Preliminary (udget: 7 222 ... ??>$ )ource: 6uropean )ocial Cund I 6stonian "initry of 6ducation Eriority 1.1< ,ducation syst e m that is afforda0le to e) er y 0 o d y and suppor ts life long learning and fle:i0ility of working force . Eriority 4.5< /e) elo p m e n t of infor m a tio n societ y Duration: 1..5.2..4A 1..4.2..C .arget groups:
0tudents in vocational sc"ools and graduated learners %eac"ers$ researc"ers$ specialists in andragogy ?ducational institutios Earticipants in company based learning 3learners and tutors4 kar'SSriA 'a kutsendustamisteenuse pakku'ad 'a saa'ad people involved in professional certification system.

=eneral o(jecti e< 1evelopment I% education #uality system for vocational education. 4ackground and need 3relevance to development plans4< 1evelopment of information tec"nology "as declared as priority in different strategy documents. (or example 5%"e ?stonian strategy for researc" and development 2..2 G 2..C 5>nowledge based ?stonia99 states information tec"nology as one of t"e key areas. %"e priority of IC% in general and "ig"er education is expressed in t"e fact t"at 5%iger Deap (oundation9 and 5?stonian Information %ec"nology (oundation9 "ave been founded. 6owever$ for vocational education similar support institutions are still missing. %"is causes a number of problems in IC% vocational education$ including< 1. IC% framework curriculum is missing$ as well as accreditation system for curricula . 2. Cooperation between vocational education institutions and industry is almost nonexistent. . 0ystem of professional #ualification and certification is missing. 4. Continuing education system for vocational teac"ers is missing . 5. 0upport system for eAlearning is missing& t"e principle of e#ual opportunities is violated in for students wit" special needs. C. %"ere is no common system for development and delivery of educational software 3like %eac"ers Eortal for general education4 7. International cooperation in curriculum development$ teac"er training and industrial placement is minimal or missing.
1 .

Deli era(les and acti ities 3estimated number of manAmont"s in t"e brackets4< 1. Compose IC% normative documents for vocational education 31,4< a. Bational curriculum $ b. Eroposals for implementing accreditation system of curricula . c. Eroposals for implementing systems of professional #ualification and certification. 2. 1evelop support system for IC% curricula of vocational sc"ools 32C4< a. 1evelop pilot curricula for bot" vocational sc"ools and community colleges& b. 1evelop and implement a web based course for development of a sc"ool curriculum& c. 1evelop a pool of 0est practices in composing of some most significant modules and aspects 3for example$ coAoperation wit" t"e industry4. . 1evelop a system for basic education and continuing education of vocational teac"ers 32.4< a. 1evelop a system of continuing education of vocational teac"ers. b. 1evelop a continuing education system in usage of IC% tools n classroom. c. 1evelop proposals for introducing a certification of vocational teac"ers in IC%. 4. 1evelop an electronic support system for vocational education 3,C4< a. 1evelop:adapt a learning management system 3DF04 for vocational education. b. 0tart development of courses based on t"e DF0. c. 1evelop a met"odology for composition of eAlearning materials. d. 1evelop a course of eduational tec"nology and a repository of learning ob'ects. e. 1evelop educational software for teac"ing at least t"ree sub'ects. !dditional 45 manAmont"s is needed for analytical work and 7 manAmont"s for managment of t"e pro'ect. 1evelopment of curricula is based on t"e following principles. %"e curricula s"ould< a. *e compliant to t"e relevant ?stonian professional standards& b. *e compliant to t"e relevant international documents 3for example$ ?/CIE4& c. Costitute a "olistic system enabling t"e graduates to proceed t"e studies on t"e next level 3for example$ compliance wit" CC2..14& d. ?nable to a#uire an internationally competitive education. %"e pro'ect board will be formed& t"e board will meet at least once in #uartal 3 mont"s4.

1 .

&ppendi5 2: Possi(le structure of a 'istory document of a software project

3ntroduction 2eneral information about t"e ob'ective of software$ target group etc. Progress re iew 1escription of 3sub4goals$ main risks$ timeAtable$ personnel etc for eac" p"ase of t"e pro'ect 1escription of t"e p"ases< 1etermination of re#uirements and prototyping user interface Elanning of #uality assurance !rc"itecture Elanning of stages 0tages 1Wn 1elivery of software 4asic data of a project 1escription of an organisational structure$ team members and t"eir roles as well actual contribution. !ctual timeAtable and amount of work< 1ata on time counting %"e number of subsystems Fultiply used lines of code /sage of media tools 3voice$ grap"ics$ video etc4 Bumber of errors Eroposed and accepted c"anges Comparison of actual timeAtable to one initially planned Comparison of actual amount of work to one initially planned 3grap"ically4 2rap" expressing t"e weekly growt" numbers of lines of code 2rap" expressing t"e weekly numbers of detected and corrected errors. =ained e5perience Elanning< Here t"e plans usefulI 6ave t"e plans followedI Has t"e personnel sufficiently #ualifiedI Has t"ere enoug" personnel in eac" sectorI 8e#uirements< Has t"e amount of re#uirements sufficientI Here t"e re#uirement stable enoug" or were t"ey considerably been c"angedI Here t"ey understandable or were inade#uately been interpretedI 1evelopment< 2eneral description of design$ coding and testing. 6ow t"e work was organisedI 6ow integration was organisedI 6ow deliverables did workI %esting< 6ow planning of testing$ development of test cases and smoke testing was organisedI 1escription "ow automatic testing was performed. Bew tec"nology< 6ow did new tec"nology influence t"e costs$ timeAtable and #ualityI 1id t"e managers and developers interpret t"is influence similarlyI

1 .

&ppendi5 3: +'aracteristics of effecti e and ineffecti e project managers

%"e following table is composed on t"e basis of #uestioning of 1.. pro'ect managers 3cimmerer$ %"omas H. and Fa"moud F.[asin$ 5! Deaders"ip Erofile of !merican Ero'ect Fanagers9$ Ero'ect Fanagement Journal 3Farc" 1++,4$ 1A ,4& t"is article is reprinted in C0?F Bewsletter$ "ttp<::www.csemAscgi.ca:Bewsletters:C0?F. ++.pdf 4< .'e most significant c'aracteristics of an effecti e project manager Deaders"ip by example Nisionary %ec"nically competent 1ecisive ! good communicator ! good motivator 0tands up to upper management w"en necessary 0upportive team members ?ncourages new ideas Cactors contri(uting to making t'e project manager ineffecti e 0ets bad example Bot selfAassured Dacks tec"nical expertise Eoor communicator Eoor motivator

1 .

&ppendi5 4: )uccess factors of 3./projects <(y +'aos of .'e )tandis' =roup>

"ttp<::www.info#.com:articles:InterviewAJo"nsonA0tandis"AC6!70

%op ten reasons for success< 1. /ser involvement 2. ?xecutive Fanagement 0upport . Clear *usiness 7b'ectives 4. 7ptimi@ing 0cope 5. !gile Erocess C. Ero'ect Fanager ?xpertise 7. (inancial Fanagement ,. 0killed 8esources +. (ormal Fet"odology 1.. 0tandard %ools and Infrastructure

1 .