project management Flashcards
characterstics of successful project managers (5)
communication and planning skills
motiviate development team
negotiate with stakeholders
resolve conflict
ensure project progresses within budget and time constraints
communication skills necessary to deal with others (5)
active listening
conflict resolution
negotiation skills
interview techniques
team building
active listening
strategy to improve listening skills
aim of active listening (2)
to better receive and understand speakers intended message
fors peaker to know listener has received and understood message
techniques of active listening (5)
mirroring
paraphrasing
summarising
clarifying questions
motivational responses
mirroring
repeating back key words
paraphrasing (2)
listener uses own words to explain what speaker just said
reflects both feelings and meaning
summarising (2)
refocuses and directs speaker to important topics
reachagreement so conversation can end
clarifying questions
asking questions/making statements that encourage speaker to provide more detail
motivational responses
encourage speaer and indicate interest in what they are saying
conflict resolution (2)
conflict is not always bad unless personal or unresolved
alternative decisions being rejected cause conflict
common conflicts (4)
allocation of limited resources to development tasks
different goals of team members
scheduling of tasks
personal differences
allocation of limited resoruces to development tasks
as time/money is added to one are itis reduced in another
different goals of team members
e.g. graphic designer expectations vs software developers
scheduling of tasks (2)
must be completed in sequence
one taks behind delays other people’s work
personal differences
culture, age, religion, experience etc
strategies to resolve conflict (4)
attack problem not person
brainstorming
mediation
group problem solving
group problem solving
all involved on equal footing and are encouraged to contribute equally
negotiation skills (2)
we negotiate to reach a compromise that suits both parties
commences with both parties arguing for more than they expect
techniques of negotiation skills (6)
know in advace all you can about person, product, service, organisation prior to negotiation
consider range of acceptable arrangements in advance
approach other party directly to make appointment in advance
lower expectations rather than raise them
prior research and planning will increase confidence/assertiveness
establish trust/credibility prior to negotiations
interviews are used to (3)
identify rpoblems with existing system
get feedback during development
recruit and assess staff performance
interview techniques (2)
planning and preperation is crucial
when scheduling interviewee should be made aware of purpose of interview and be given time to prepare
positive interviewer attributes (7)
well-prepared questions
attention and careful listening
personal warmth and engaging manner
ability to sell ideas and communicate enthusiasm
putting interviewee at ease
politeness and generosity
focus on topics needing to be covered
negative interviewer attributes (6)
lack of preperation
not allowing enough time for interview
talking too much
losing focud
letting interviewee direct conversation
biased towards people with similar ideas/styles to their own
team
2 or more people with complementary skills, behaviours and personalities who are commited to achieve a common goal
advantages of groups that can function as a team (3)
increased productivity
enhanced job satisfaction
development of quality system
consequences for groups that fail to function as a team (3)
financial loss
employment loss
missed oppurtunities
traditional system development approach (6)
waterfall model
understanding the problem
planning
designing
implementing
testing, evaluating and maintaining
project management tools (5)
gantt charts
scheduling of tasks
journals and diaries
funding management plan
communication mamagement plan
gantt charts
tool for planning and monitoring the progress of development tasks
horizontal bar charts which graphically schedule and track individual tasks
social and ethical issues (2)
system designers must ensure that their systems comply with ethics and morals
participants must use it in an ethical way
parts of social and ethical issues (7)
privacy of the individual
security of data and information
accuracy of data and information
changing nature of work
appropriate information use
health and safety
copyright laws
understanding the problem (2)
determine purpose and requirements of new system
what needs to be achieved to make system a asuccess
what does understanding the problem need (4)
understand existing system
identify needs of:
users
participants
management
system analyst (4)
person who analyses system
determines requirements
designs new systems
problem solvers with strong analytical and communication skills
individual system
simple processes
larger systems
group of developers
more structured activities
approaches to identify problmes with existing systems
interviewing/surveying users
performing task analysis activities
(determine how it works, what it does, who uses it)
requirements report
information gathers is fromulated int o a list of needs/requirments
requirements (2)
features, properties or behaviours a system must have to achieve purpsose
each requirement must be verifiable
requirements prototype (3)
a working model of an information system, built in order to understand the requirements of the system
repetitive process fo prototype modification and partcicipant’s feedback until problem is understood
can be basis for further system development
when is the requirement prototype used
when the problem is not easily understood
planning
to dertmine possible solutions and make decision on which if any should be implemented
solutuon proposals must include (4)
details of required participants
data/information
info technology
info processes
project management aims to
ensure system development lifecycle results in a system that achieved purpose on time and within budget
areas taken into account in planning (3)
scheduling
funding
communication
feasibility study
conducted to assist with selecting what option to develop
feasible
capable of being achieved using the available resoruces and meeting the identified requirements
economic feasibility (3)
Will the new system be cost effective?
How long will it take for the cost of the new system to be recovered as a result of increased profits?
Could money invested be more effectively used elsewhere?
technical feasibility (3)
Is info tech available?
Will info tech work with existing tech?
Do participants possess required technical skills?
operational feasibility (4)
Will the system work in practice?
Are management and employees in favour of the new system?
Will ongoing support and training be available in the future?
Will the system operate well with existing systems?
scheduling feasibility (4)
Can the solution be completed on time?
What are the consequences if it is not completed on time?
Are strict deadlines required and if so how will they be enforced?
What training is needed, how long will it take and how will existing duties be performed whilst training occurs?
choosing the appropriate development approaches (6)
traditional
outsourcing
prototyping
customisation
participant development
agile methods
outsourcing (3)
using another company to develop parts of the system
may be more cost effective
may be used when highly specialised skills are required than may not be available “in house”
requirement prototype
working model of an informaiton system
why is a requirement prototype built
built in order to understand requirements of system
prototyping approach
extends use of requirements prototype so it evolves to a point where then actually become the final solution
prototyping loop
each iteration through loop produces a more enhanced prototype that meets mor eof the system’s requirements
customisation
existing system is customised to suit the specific needs and requirements of the new system
may involve alterations to system settings withing the hardware and software or it may involve inderlying customisation of the actual hardware or software itself
more cost effective than developing form scratch
participant development
same people who will use and operate system develop system
disadvantage of participant development
need for professional skills and technical knowledge
advantages of participant development
small business and home users who would not be able to afford professional solution
agile metods
methods place mphasis on team devleoping system rather than following predefined structure development processes
what are agile methods generally used for
developing software rather than total information systems
requirements reports should (6)
detail time frame
detail subprojects and time frame for them
identify participants
identify relevant informaiton technology
identify data/information
identity needs of users
system requirements requirements report should detain (5)
physical
performance
security
data-information
system operation requirements
designing
actual solution is designed and built
describing infor processes and specifying system resources to perform processes
hardware and software is chosen and built
system models (2)
context diagrams
dataflow diagrams
when are context diagrams used
when understand the problem to define the data entering and leaving the existing system
tools used in designing (5)
context diagrams
data flow diagrams
decision trees
decision table
data dictionaries
data modelling
process of identifying entities, relationship between entities and attributes of entities
what is data modelling used for
to develop schema for database
tools used in data modelling (3)
data dictionaries
schematic diagrams
normalisation
if a database is well designed they can (3)
avoid problems (data redundancy, lack of data security)
address data integrity
address data validity
data redundancy
undesirable duplication of data within database
lack of data security
data cna me manipulate, destroyed or stolen
data integriy
reliability of data so it is accurate an current
data validity
correctness of data entered to tensure that it is of the correct data type and its value is sensisble
data dictionaries
comrehensive description of each field (attribue) in database
data dictionary categories (6)
field name
data type
data format
field size
field description
example
data dictionaries (field name)
name of field
data dictionaries (field size) (3)
also known as width
number of characters allowed in each field
should be limited to smallest numebr fo characters as smaller fields izes let database work faster
data dictionaries (data type) (3)
also known as field type
kind of data that can be stored in a field
each field stores single data type
examples of data types
text
memo
number
currency
yes/no
data/time etc.
logical fields
contain logic values (true or false)
data dictionaries (field description)
specifies contents of field
what does a data dictionary consist of
metadata
metadata
information about data
advantage of data dictionaries (2)
provides common ground for people working on project at same time (checking whether a particular attribute already exists)
reduces data redundancy
calculating size of database
sum of field sizes in bytes x number of records
numeric data types (3)
integer
real number
currency
integer
whole number
length depends on bytes allocated to them
real numbers
also called floating-point and fixed-point datat typed
represent decimal places
currency
if number is to be used for money value
importan when available to choose currency option as it follows special rules for two decimal placed used in monetary calculations
test data (testing, evaluating matinaing)
volem data
simulated data
live data
testing, evaluating, maintaining (4)
aspects of stange continue throughout life of system
acceptance testing
ongoing evaluation
maintaining system
acceptance testing
ensures system meets requirement
ongoing evaluation (2)
monitor performance
review effect on users and participants
maintaing system
ensure it continues to meet requirements
implementing
new system is installed and commences operation
what is involved with implementing (6)
Installing network cabling and outside communication lines
Purchasing and installing new hardware and software
Configuring the new hardware
Installing, customising and configuring the software
Converting data from the old system to the new
Training the users and participants
methods of conversion (4)
direct
parallel
phased
pilot
direct conversion
company stops using old system and start using new one at a specific point in time
parallel conversion
when the process is run on the old and new system for a period of time
phased conversion
intrdouction of new system in stages, gradually replacing parts of old system until completely replaced
pilot conversion
company uses system in test environment for a period fo time to work out bugs
an implementation plan details
participant training
method for conversion
how system will be tested
conversion of data for new system
