Systems Development Methodology

Systems Development Methodology

A system development methodology consists of two components, a System Development Life Cycle (SDLC), and a Project Management methodology.

The System Development Life Cycle is the guide, or "cookbook" which the project team will follow in developing the system. The SDLC defines the tasks which must be performed during the system development process. Further, it provides for correct ordering and interrelationships between these tasks. An SDLC should provide those stable and repeatable work processes referred to earlier as essential to productive system development planning and control. Without this definition, large projects are simply too complex to successfully plan and control.

Project Management is not software. An automated project management system will not manage projects. Software is merely a tool to automate some of the functions of project scheduling and status reporting. In the hands of an effective project manager using a proven methodology, software may provide some benefits. However, the chief benefactors of these tools are higher level management who want to know where resources have been expended.

Without a proven System Development Methodology, an organization cannot hope to successfully accomplish projects requiring the effort of more that one or two persons. They can literally "muddle through" on smaller projects but are in trouble when they try to tackle anything larger.

System Development Standards

A second factor which limits an organization's ability to productively utilize optimum levels of project resources over time is lack of standards. Personnel are limited in their ability to work independently on concurrent tasks because no one knows what will be produced by a task until that task is completed. Quality of the work becomes purely subjective.

Where standards do not exist, management span of control is reduced. Project managers must directly supervise personnel at a much closer level of detail. A manager may be able to supervise the work of ten to twelve persons on a project where standards are in force. That same manager may only be able to coordinate the efforts of three or four persons without standards. For the organization, this has the further negative effect of reducing the contribution of the best people as they must closely monitor the work of others. Lack of standards has an extreme effect on lowering overall organizational productivity.

Task Splitting

A third factor which will reduce an organization's ability to productively utilize resources is "task splitting." By assigning personnel to more that one project, management may think that more things are being accomplished or that resources are being more productively utilized. In fact, the opposite is true.

A person can devote 100 per cent of their time to one project. That same individual will be productive only 40 per cent of the time on each of two projects, 20 per cent on each of three, and so forth. Deciding among tasks adds coordination and decision time. Time is lost in switching from one task to another. Task splitting is a notorious resource stealer. Dedicated resources are the most productive.

PROJECT STATUS REPORTING:

MONITORING PROGRESS AGAINST THE PLAN

For the Project Manager, project execution involves monitoring progress against plan and schedule on a regular basis, recognizing deviations and taking appropriate corrective action. The Project Manager is chiefly responsible for ensuring that the work meets all quality standards and that it conforms to requirements and specifications. Providing high project visibility to users and management is also a primary project management task.

It's 90 Per Cent Done, or -

Work Completed, Resources Expended, Time Used

The project manager must invoke regular and formal status reporting. All project team members should report progress against the plan and schedule on a weekly basis. This reporting should be done at the lowest task level.

Each week, the project team members should answer the following questions about their assigned tasks:

* Is it done?

* If it isn't done, when will it be done?

* If it's behind schedule, what are the reasons?

The intent of status reporting is to chart real progress and at the same time to verify the efficacy of the project plan, schedule and estimates. What must be avoided is any reporting of "percentage of completion" on any task. This reporting is invariably overly optimistic and conveys no real information which the Project Manger can use. In any event, the tendency to report percentage of completion usually indicates that tasks are too large to be accomplished in a time period where they can be effectively controlled.

Provide High Visibility

The Project Manager must report status to management and users. Emphasize deliverable products. Report progress against major milestones and major deliverable products as defined in the project plan.

A project cannot be too visible. High visibility ensures management support. Management "meddles" in projects when they don't know what is going on. When and if the project hits rough sledding, the Project Manager will need the support of management to take action. This support must be nurtured through confidence which will come from keeping management informed.

Frequency of Status Reporting

Each member of the project team should have at least one task due for completion each week. They will always have something definite to report. Under no circumstances, should a team member ever have more than two weeks