Week 8 Software Project Management - I: Flashcards
What is software project management (SPM)?
SPM involves activities to ensure software is delivered on time, within budget, and meets customer expectations while maintaining an effective development team.
What are the key success criteria for software project management?
Deliver software on time.
Keep costs within budget.
Ensure software meets customer expectations.
Maintain a well-functioning development team.
List factors that influence software project management.
Company size
Software customers
Software size
Software type
Organizational culture
Software development processes
What are the main activities involved in project management?
Project Planning – Assigning tasks, estimating time/cost, and scheduling.
Risk Management – Identifying and addressing risks.
People Management – Choosing team members and ensuring collaboration.
Proposal Writing – Writing project proposals to win contracts.
Reporting – Providing progress updates to stakeholders.
What is project planning?
Project planning involves breaking work into parts, assigning tasks, anticipating risks, and creating a project plan to guide development.
What are the key stages of project planning?
Proposal Stage – Estimating costs for project bidding.
Startup Stage – Allocating resources and defining monitoring mechanisms.
Development Stage – Adjusting the plan based on new information.
What is the purpose of project pricing during the proposal stage?
To estimate development costs, including staff, hardware, and software expenses, to set a fair project price.
Why is a project startup plan necessary in Agile development?
Even in Agile, a startup plan is needed to allocate resources and define key project objectives.
What is plan-driven development?
A structured approach where the development process is planned in detail before execution, common in large projects.
What are the advantages of plan-driven development?
Helps manage organizational resources effectively.
Identifies potential risks early.
Provides clear scheduling and progress tracking.
What is the main argument against plan-driven development?
Early decisions may need to be revised due to changes in the project environment, leading to unexpected adjustments.
Why must a project plan be regularly updated?
As more information becomes available, updates help align the plan with changes in requirements, schedule, and risks.
What are the key components of a project plan?
Introduction
Project organization
Risk analysis
Hardware/software requirements
Work breakdown
Project schedule
Monitoring & reporting mechanisms
How do changing business goals impact project plans?
They may require re-planning of all projects to align with new priorities.
What is risk mitigation in software project management?
Actions taken to reduce project failure risks, such as re-planning schedules and renegotiating constraints with customers.
When should risk mitigation actions be initiated?
When serious development issues may cause significant project delays.
What are some examples of collaboration tools in software project management?
Tools like Jira, Trello, Slack, Microsoft Teams, and Confluence help teams communicate and track progress.
What is the purpose of project reporting?
To update customers and company managers on the project’s progress and any necessary adjustments.
