Planning a Software Development Project

Overview

This assignment consists of two sections: a written project plan, and a project plan that is created using MS Project. You must submit both sections as separate files for the completion of this assignment. Label each file name according to the section of the assignment it is written for.

Scenario

Imagine that you have been hired as a project manager assisting in the development of an iOS application and cloud-based solution that is designed to streamline your organization’s delivery operation. As the project manager, you are to manage the development and release of the mobile client platform in the cloud-based infrastructure that will use GPS to track the shipment and delivery of goods in airplanes across the United States.

The iOS mobile client will have three modules consisting of a search customer screen, a search address screen, and confirm delivery screen. Programmers have reviewed the requirements and estimate that each module will take one programmer 300 hours to complete.

In addition to delivering the iOS mobile application, your project will require upgrading the internal network and application infrastructure to a cloud-based model to support the new iOS mobile platform. This effort will require your team to procure network appliances to optimize the security factors of the cloud-based platform.

One last component of the project scope is to provide training to operation support staff and 30 cargo airplane pilots staffed across four regions of the United States. Your project team consists of three programmers, a technical writer, three technical trainers, two network engineers, and one system administrator.

Instructions

Section 1: Written Project Plan

Write a 4–6-page paper in which you:

1. Determine the factors that must be considered and observed throughout the work breakdown structure (WBS) development process and explain why.

2. Create a work breakdown structure for the scope of the project. 
Note: The WBS must be in the indented format as shown in Figure 5-3 in Chapter 5 of the text. (See below)

3. Analyze the various activities required for this project and provide an estimate of the duration for each activity based on the number of resources available for the project. Include assumptions and basis for each estimate.

4. Recommend the estimation technique that should be used for each activity (that is, PERT, Delphi, analogy, expert judgment, or rule of thumb).

5. Determine the major milestones that the project will encounter.

6. Describe the logical sequence of planned activities required to achieve the project and analyze how monitoring durations on the critical path influences the success of the project.

Section 2: Gantt Chart

Use Microsoft Project (or its equivalent) to create a Gantt chart in which you:

1. Document all resources that would be required for this project within the Resource Sheet form.

2. List the activities required for the project. Break down the activities by the major milestones.

3. Enter the estimate of required durations and dependencies and assign the resources for each activity.

4. Generate a Gantt chart that shows all of the project deliverables, from beginning to end.

Section 2 of your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:

· Include charts or diagrams created in Excel, Visio, MS Project, or one of their equivalents such as Open Project, Dia, and OpenOffice. The completed diagrams/charts must be imported into a Word document.

FIGURE 5-3 Sample intranet WBS organized by product:

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