Software Project Practices and Management

Aims and objectives

• Identify the fundamental issues that a project manager has to consider, and describe, chiefly in the context of software development projects, what approaches exist to manage these issues 
• Identify and analyse software project activities using contemporary work breakdown techniques 
• Identify and apply selected techniques for estimating the effort and duration of project activities 
• Construct a schedule of project activities using contemporary planning techniques 
• Construct a quality model for a software development project, including identification of suitable quality attributes, suitable metrics for measuring these, and suitable threshold values for these metrics to indicate acceptable quality 
• Describe implications in terms of scope, time, cost and quality in taking a certain action for a given project scenario
• Identify and record the nature of software quality defects in such a way that facilitates reproduction and correction 
• Identify and prioritise project risks based on the impact and probability within the context of the project and propose techniques to manage these risks 
• Select, use and describe techniques for tracking the progress and status of a project

• Discipline Specific: Proficiently applies advanced technical knowledge of the specific discipline within that context. 
• Professional Practice: Appreciates the principles of professional engineering practice in a sustainable context. 
• Engineering Methods: Applies engineering methods in practical applications.
• Problem Solving: Systematically uses engineering methods in solving complex problems. 
• Project Management: Systematically uses engineering methods in conducting and managing projects. 
• Communication: Demonstrates effective communication to professional and wider audiences. 
• Information Management: Demonstrates seeking, using, assessing and managing information. 
• Professional Self: Demonstrates professionalism. 
• Management of Self: Demonstrates self-management processes.

Teaching methods

Assessment

Examination, assignments, on-going assessment tasks

Content

Project Management Issues

• Scope, Time, Cost, Quality
• Risk
• Work breakdown structures
• Estimation techniques
• Project Planning techniques

Risk management

• Common project risk categories
• Risk identification and prioritisation
• Managing risks using spikes

Quality Management

• Defect identification and classification
• Quality reviews
• Defect reporting
• Change logs

• Size and complexity metrics
• Metrics tools
• Relationships between defects and metrics

Tracking and Reporting