Project Planning tasks

PROJECT PLANNING The success of a digital media project will depend critically upon the effort, care and skill applied in its initial planning. • Following the acceptance of the feasibility report a project plan can be developed for the approved option. •

The plan commences with a clear definition of the project and its deliverables and a schedule illustrating the tasks to be completed and the important key events (milestones) in the project’s plan.

The Project Definition •

A project definition describes exactly the project, its extent and nature, among the key people involved in a project.

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The definition provides a foundation upon which successful projects are built.

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In many cases a definition serves as a sort of contract between the parties participating in a project, clearly stating expectations for project time, resources, and results.

The Project Task List •

The Project Task List is used by the team as a guide to reaching milestones and eventually completing the project.

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The task list changes over time.

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The initial task list is a list of tasks that need to be accomplished in order to at least reach the first milestone.

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Each task in the list should include who is responsible for doing it and when it is due by (these dates are used in the Project Schedule).

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The project task list is updated as needed as the project progresses.

The Project Schedule •

Scheduling project work is an essential element of project management.

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A project schedule makes clear to all participants when work is expected to be completed.

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It also shows the time-related dependencies between different project tasks.

Module 3 EXERCISES Download this Project Planning handout to assist you to complete the following exercises: PROJECT PLANNING handout.doc FOR YOUR REBRANDING PROJECT The plan commences with a clear definition of the project and its deliverables and a schedule illustrating the tasks to be completed and the important key events (milestones) in the project’s plan.

1. Project Definition. Use the template in the handout to complete a Project Definition for your project. Embed your template in your wiki space. All projects need to go through the definition process. Lack of a definition leads to unclear and ambiguous goals, confusion, misunderstanding, and poor communication. Failure to formalize and document scope, goals, and expectations puts a project at risk before it even begins. Use the following template to clearly define your project:

PROJECT DEFINITION TEMPLATE Element Project Name Project Sponsor(s) Project Manager Web Site Project Team Problem Statement Project Benefits Constraints Specific Objectives Specific Deliverables Start Date/Est. Timeline

Description Short, descriptive, official project name. Customer/client Name Provide URL Individual names and roles of team members The problem to be addressed by the project. Project’s expected benefits. Obstacles to achieving the project objectives. What will be achieved? What will be delivered to the customer? Start date and planned schedule. Refer to the task list/schedule

Completion Target Date

Delivered to customer.

2. Project Task List Refer to the handout and prepare a task list and work schedule with milestones for your project. The Project Task List is used by the team as a guide to reaching milestones and eventually completing the project. The task list changes over time. The initial task list is a list of tasks that need to be accomplished in order to at least reach the first milestone. Each task in the list should include who is responsible for doing it and when it is due by (these dates are used in the Project Schedule). The project task list is updated as needed as the project progresses. Milestones — markers of important completion points — should be identified at the end of each major activity to measure progress. It is a good practice to give milestone tasks a name that conveys completion or reaching an important point in the project lifecycle. The purpose of the Project Task List is that it provides a clear method of communicating: • Which tasks needs to be done • Who is doing each task • When each task is to be completed Add your task list, schedule and milestones to your Project Management Plan in the next exercise.

3. Project Management Refer to the following Scribd document and develop a Project Management Plan for your project using the information from exercises 1 and 2 and the Creative Pro Office web service. Add a screen shot with a link to your Management Plan's URL, to your wiki space. Scheduling project work is an essential element of project management. A project schedule makes clear to all participants when work is expected to be completed. It also shows the time-related dependencies between different project tasks.

Setting overall completion dates and estimating times for completion of project tasks is usually the role of the project manager with stakeholders. Once an overall schedule is set, the project manager is responsible for monitoring the progress of the project and revising the schedule if needed. This must be done in consultation with project team members who are doing the work. The project manager must balance the needs for honesty and realism with appropriate motivation to keep the project on track despite inevitable surprises. It is essential for the project manager to keep all participants informed as to current schedule status. The Gantt chart is a popular format for displaying schedule information You can specify the time that you estimate it will take to complete the tasks by entering either work or duration. Work is the amount of effort or person hours needed to complete a task. Duration is the amount of actual time that will pass before the task is completed. Thus, if a task takes 16 hours of work and one person does the work, its duration is two days (assuming an 8-hour work day). If two people do the work, its duration is one day. Work schedule example: 1.Preparation 1.1.Developer training 30h 2.Inception 2.1.Requirements gathering 30h 2.2.Requirements specification 20h 2.3.Requirements validation 10h 3.Elaboration 3.1.High-level design 5h 3.2.Low-level design (break down by component) 3.2.A.Object design 10h 3.2.B.User interface design 10h 3.2.C.Database design 3h 3.3.Design review and evaluation 5h 4.Construction….etc. References: http://www.see.ed.ac.uk/~gerard/Management/art8.html