Information Processes and Technology

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Project management tools

Project Management is the management of teams and resources associated with a particular project so as to gain maximum use of resources and personnel to achieve the goals of the project by the scheduled date and within financial constraints of the project.

The elements to examine are:

Outcomes
The Importance of Planning
Project Plans
Scheduling
Gantt Charts
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Outcomes

This material addresses aspects of the following syllabus outcomes:

A student:

H1.1 applies and explains an understanding of the nature and function of information technologies to a specific practical situation
H2.1 analyses and describes a system in terms of the information processes involved
H2.2 develops and explains solutions for an identified need which address all of the information processes
H3.2 demonstrates and explains ethical practice in the use of information systems, technologies and processes
H6.2 selects, justifies and applies a methodical approach to planning, designing or implementing a solution.

Source: Board of studies NSW, Stage 6 Information Processes and Technology, Preliminary and HSC Courses (2007)

The importance of planning

Planning is very important to the successful completion of any task and becomes critically important when we are referring to team oriented projects. A team cannot work effectively unless each person in that team knows what their role is, how to complete that task and then they also know the deadline.

Elements of project management

All projects have three basic elements: tasks, resources and time.

elements of project management

These are interrelated and any change in one has an effect on the other two.

Project plans

A project plan is essential to equitably divide the work up, to ensure that work is completed efficiently, to ensure that everyone in the team understands what their role is and how it fits in and to ensure that there is not an undue delay while one section of the team waits for another section to complete their work. A project plan organises the project by specifying who, what, how and when. It includes Gantt charts, scheduling of tasks, journal and diary entries, a funding management plan and a communication management plan. The project leader starts by breaking down the development of a new system into smaller tasks. They identify all the tasks, an estimate for the cost of each task and a schedule for each task. Project leaders use information management software and project management software to construct and manage a project plan.

These are critical to successful teamwork and project completion. They allow monitored control of a team of people and clarify tasks and time frames. At a glance the project manager or other members of the team are able to know who is doing what and when things are due.

For HSC purposes you can understand the project plan as being a table which will set out all the various tasks and subtasks required to finish the project. Each task will be delegated to a team member. It will have a set start and finish date as well as having any tasks which need to be completed prior to starting. These prerequisite tasks are called predecessors.

ID	Description	Who	Scheduled Start	Scheduled Finish	Predecessor
1	Draw up a series of possible advertisements to place on the website	Peter	10/10	13/10	logo needs to be completed
2	Approach companies about possible sponsorships based on advertisements	Debra	14/10	28/10	range of ads need to be ready to show sponsors

Activities 1

What is the effect on the team if tasks are not divided equally?
List the reasons that an effective plan will help to have a project completed quicker and more efficiently.
Draw up a project plan using a table in Word and fill out the details in each cell.
Draw up a project plan using Excel. Compare the two tools and describe the advantages and disadvantages of each method

Answers

Scheduling

Scheduling refers to the timing of major tasks and who will do the work. Accurate time estimates for each task need to be made if the project is to be successful. During the 'making decisions' phase of a project, a feasibility study is carried out.

Feasibility studies analyse potential solutions in terms of known constraints:

technical feasibility - determines if the required information technology available
economic feasibility - compares the costs of development with expected benefits
organisational feasibility - determines if the new system will be accepted and support the goals of the organisation
schedule feasibility - determines if adequate time is available to implement the new system

A project plan must provide an overall schedule for the project and a schedule for each subproject. The roles of participants, information technology and data/information required by the system must be identified. Projects that do not run to schedule can incur significant increases in costs. A useful tool for scheduling is a Gantt Chart.

Gantt charts

Gantt charts are a visual aid in the management of a project. It graphically shows the start and finish dates of all aspects of a project. This means that it is easy to see where there are hold ups and how each team's work fits into the overall picture. Once a project plan is created it is a reasonably easy job to then create a Gantt Chart.

Microsoft Project and Dot Project (freeware) are two big project management packages which will create Gantt Charts and a number of other charts as well. Unfortunately many people do not have access to this software. One way to do Gantt Charts is through using spreadsheets such as Excel.

Instructions for creating a Gantt chart in Excel can be found here: http://office.microsoft.com/en-au/excel/HA010346051033.aspx

gantt chart

Activities 2

Read the notes on methods to create Gantt Charts on the SDD section of HSC Online Click Here
Describe the advantages of using Gantt Charts.
Make yourself a template for a Gantt Chart using a spreadsheet.
Use your template to draw up Gantt Charts for some simple tasks you individually do such as getting ready for school. In doing this it is not much of a team task but it will get you used to doing Gantt Charts.
Imagine you are an event organiser for The Entertainment Centre. A famous band is coming and it is your job to manage the event. There are five people in your team. You must try to ensure that no one is waiting for others as far as possible, equitably divide up the tasks. You have six weeks to prepare and need to create a Gantt Chart to cover the following:
- posters and advertising (design, art work, printing and distribution)
- ticketing (pricing, printing, sales)
- lighting and sound