Project management personnel in Computing

Project Management
Personnel
Presenter: C014046

Introduction
 A software project is undertaken when
there a need for a system to be enhance,
modify or overhaul.

What is a project?
 A project can be considered as any series
of activities and task that:
Has a specific objective to be completed
within certain specifications;
Has a defined start and end date;
Consume both human and non human
resources (i.e. money, people, equipment …)
 Kerzer (2013)

 A project is a unique venture with a
beginning and end conducted by people to
meet established goals within parameters
of cost, schedule, and quality (P.3)
 A project is a temporary endeavor
undertaken to create a unique product or
service (P. 4)
 Pinto (2007)

What is Project management?
 Project management involves use of set of
techniques and skills to steer a project to
success (Pinto, 2007 P. 85)
 Project management is the process of
planning, scheduling, monitoring,
controlling and reporting upon the
development of an information system
(Shelly and Rosenblatt, 2012)

 The main goal of software management is
to enable a group of developers to work
effectively towards the successful
completion of a project.
 Mall (2014)

 Each software project has an objective
and it is the duty of the project personnel
(developers) to ensure that it meet the
system original objectives
 A development team will include users,
system analysts, programmers, technical
specialist, project manager and other
stakeholders.

Development Teams
 A development team is responsible for
determining the specific objectives of the
proposed system objectives;
 Each person in a development team has a
particular role to play;
 Look at it like in building a house, from the
architects, future occupants, construction
managers, and construction workers,
among many others
 Each contributes to the success of the
project. Zandbergen(2003-2016)

Project management personnel in Computing

Project Manager
 An experience member of developers
whose main duty lies in administrative
leader of the developers (team);
 Responsible for controlling the quality of
the system being developed, facilitating
communications among team members
and provide various resources needed by
different developers
Note
 The managers are likely not to do the programming themselves

Responsibility of a software
manager
 Responsible for the project success;
 Building up team morale (invisible);
 Project proposal writing;
 Project cost estimation;
 Project Scheduling;
 Project staffing;
 Project monitoring and control
 Software configuration management

 Risk management;
 Managerial report writing and
presentation;
 In-facing with clients;
 This activities can be divided into 2:
Project planning and
Project monitoring and control

Project planning
 This is undertaken immediately after the
feasibility study phase and before the
starting of the requirement and
specification phase.

Project monitoring and
controlling
 Project monitoring and controlling are
activities undertaken once the
development of the software starts.

Skills needed by Project
Manager
 Decision taking capability;
 Have knowledge of latest software project
management techniques such as
 cost estimation,
risk management, and
configuration management
 Good communication skill
 Ability to get work done
 Team building

 Managerial presentation; and
 Customer interaction

Skills
technical
business
People
skills

Who is a system analysts?
 A system analyst is a professional with
expertise in analyzing and designing
business systems (Zandbergen, 2003-
2016);
 A system analyst are service provider who
are required to work closely with users for
the purpose of defining, developing and
implementing computer based system
(Green, 1989)

 System analyst a person who plans,
analyzes, and implements information
systems.
 He/she May work internally within a
company’s IT department, or be hired by a
company as an independent consultant
(Shelly and Rosenblatt (2012), 30-33)

 System analyst has a curial role in
understanding how the previous system
works in order to design a new system;
 Communication between the system
analyst and the user is very key (executive
overview, 1989);
 The achievement of the project largely
depends on the understanding of the
stakeholders and working together;

 Lack of communication can lead to failure
in the project like poorly developed
system, dysfunctional system and
negative user satisfaction which can be
costly (Green, 1989);
 Role of a system analyst:
Facilitator
Change agent
Liaison and
Technical resource person (Executive
overview, 1989)

 A system analyst is also called
Business Analyst;
Business System Analyst
System Analyst
Requirement Analyst
 The main responsibility of a system
analyst is to capture and document the
requirement needed to implement a
solution to meet the user’s need and
satisfaction

 System analyst researches problems,
plans solutions, recommends software and
system, at least at the functional level and
coordinates development to meet
business and other requirements
(Chaudhary, 2015)
 The academic and personal qualifications
of a system analyst include marketing and
sales, operational management, model
building, and production control.

Roles of a system analyst
 Defining system requirement
He/she has to understand the requirements
of the users through interviewing,
observation, questionnaires, hands on, …
 Change agent
The system analyst suggests a way forward
through selecting a candidate system that
will achieve the goal and objectives which
will have minimum resistance

 Investigator and monitor
Investigates on the existing problem through
information gathered and determine why
the present system does not work well and
what changes can be used to correct the
problem
He/ she monitors the project in relation to
time, cost and quality.
 Gathering facts, data and opinions of
users
 Solving problems
 Motivator

 System analyst is central person on the
development team. Users focuses on
workability of the system, programmers on
writing codes, and manager ensures that
project is on time and on budget.
 System analyst interacts with all the
stakeholders in ensuring a design that
meets the objectives and satisfy the users.
 A system analyst in constructing a building
is like the architect who provides a blue
print for the house

 A programmer is a technical specialist
responsible for developing specific computer
programs that meet the specifications;
 He/she is responsible in writing the actual
code to produce a working system
(Zandbergen)
 Programmers generally attempt to fulfill the
design specification given to them by a
system analyst (Bourgeois, 2014);
 A programmer is like a contractor working on
a building by following the blue print from the
architect

Who is a programmer?
 Programming normal takes time in system
development because a single system
analyst may require different programmers
to develop a functioning system;
 Bouregeois (2014) suggest that a
programmer should understand complex
processes and the intricacies of one or
more programming languages;

 Also, that a programmer should be proficient
in mathematics, as mathematical concepts
underline most programming code;
 A programmer is expected to translate
algorithms and technical specifications into
code that can be executed on a computer
system (Bogue, 2005)

Who is a user?
 Users are people that will interact with the
system on regular basis;
 Users can be anyone who will use the
system such as employees, customers;
 In the house analogy, the users are like
the future occupants. They are those that
will be living in the house and so, there
need has to be meant, since they are the
ones to use the property or own the
property;;

Roles of the users
 Defining the requirements for a system
 How the system should work with respect
to the business (Ryan, 1993)

Why users are important in
development of an IS
1. To improve system quality by users
providing a more accurate and complete
assessment of user information
requirement
2. Providing expertise about the
organization
3. To avoid development of unacceptable or
unimportant features

4. Users are involved to improve their
understanding of the system;
5. To increase user acceptance of the
system;
6. Provide an arena for bargaining and
conflict resolution about design issues;
7. Fostering system ownership by users;
8. Decreasing user resistance to change
9. Committing users to the system
10. User participation leads to users’
satisfaction (Mckeen, Guimaraes and
Wetherbe, 1994)

Category of user’s involvement
1) No involvement: users are unwilling or
not invited to participate
2) Symbolic involvement: user input is
requested but ignored
3) Involvement by weak control: user
have “sign-off” responsibility at each
stage of the system development process
4) Involvement by advice: advice is
solicited through interview and
questionnaires

5) Involvement by doing: a user is in the
design team or is the official “liaison” with
the information system development
group
6) Involvement by strong control: user
may pay directly for new development of
IS out of their own budgets
(Tait and Vessey, 1988)

Others
 Database programmer: a person who
focuses on creating and supporting large-
scale database systems (Shelly &
Rosenblatt, 2012 P 579).
 Database administrator:
 System tester:

Conclusion
 A project comes as a result of problem or
need for modification in an organization.
 A project to be a project has a starting and
ending time.
 The project manager is fully in charge of
the realization of the project
 The realization of a functioning system
requires all the project team members.

 The project team has to work together in
order to achieved the stated goals and
objectives and no wonder as it is said that
team stands for
 “Together
 Everybody
 Achieves
 More”
 The users are vital in the realization and
acceptance of a working system.

 Hence, project management personnel
are those who are part of the realization of
the project. None is more important than
the other but each has a specific or dual
role to play.

References
Banerjee, S., & Lin, W. (2006). Essential Entry-
Level Skills for Systems Analysts. Journal Of
Education For Business, 81(5), 282-286.
Bogue, R. (2005). Cracking the Code: Breaking
Down the Software Development Roles.
Retrieve on 14, Oct., 2016 from
http://www.developer.com/mgmt/article.php/3
490871/Cracking-the-Code-Breaking-Down-
the-Software-Development-Roles.htm

Bourgeois, D. T. (2014). Information systems
for business and beyond. Retrieved on 13th
Oct., 2016 from
https://bus206.pressbooks.com/chapter/chap
ter-people/
Executive Overview. (1989). MIS
Quarterly, 13(2), 114.
Green, G. I. (1989). Perceived Importance of
Systems Analysts' Job Skills, Roles, and
Non-Salary Incentives. MIS Quarterly, 13(2),
115-133.

Kerzner, H. (2013). Project management: A
systems approach to planning, scheduling, and
controlling. (Project Management.) Hoboken,
NJ: Wiley.
Mall, R. (2014). Fundamentals of software
engineering. Place of publication not identified:
Prentice-Hall Of India.
McKeen, J. D., Guimaraes, T., & Wetherbe, J. C.
(1994). The Relationship Between User
Participation and User Satisfaction: An
Investigation of Four Contingency Factors. MIS
Quarterly, 18(4), 427-451.

Pinto, J. K. (2007). Project management:
Achieving competitive advantage. Upper
Saddle River, N.J: Pearson/Prentice Hall.
Ryan, H. W. (1993). User-driven systems
development. Information Systems
Management, 10(3), 66.
Shelly, G. B., & Rosenblatt, H. J.
(2012). Analysis and design for systems.
Australia: Course Technology Cengage
Learning.

Tait, P., & Vessey, I. (1988). The Effect of
User Involvement on System Success: A
Contingency Approach. MIS
Quarterly, 12(1), 91-108.
Zandbergen, P. (2003-2016). Project Roles
in Systems Development in Organizations:
Development Teams. Retrieved on 13th
Oct., 2016. from
http://study.com/academy/lesson/project-
roles-in-systems-development-in-
organizations.html

Project management personnel in Computing

More Related Content

What's hot (20)

Similar to Project management personnel in Computing (20)

More from TUC (12)

Recently uploaded (20)

Project management personnel in Computing