Page 149 - DCAP304_DCAP515_SOFTWARE_PROJECT_MANAGEMENT

Unit 7: Activity Planning

 Estimate resources required for performing activities. Notes
 Estimate durations for activities.

Step #1: Set up Activities

The first step of project activities planning and scheduling requires the project manager to
define what amount of actions and tasks are necessary for producing project deliverables in a
timely manner. The input for this process will be the project deliverables statement. The project
manager can use this document to define high-level activities that will be used later in creating
the project implementation schedule. The project manager should also work on developing
project activities templates that help simplify the process of project scheduling and planning.
In cooperation with experts and the project team, the manager should make project activities
lists that will be the output of the process for project activities planning and scheduling. For each
of the listed activities accurate milestones should be identified and approved. All the identified
milestones should be gathered into a single milestones list.

Step #2: Define Relationships

The next step for planning project activities and tasks requires the project manager to make a
sequence of all the activities identified at the previous step. The manager will use project activities
lists, the milestones list and the product scope statement to define relationships among the
activities. With help of project management software that person can set up priorities for each of
the project activities and make task sequences organized and sorted by importance and urgency.
There is also a need to define dependencies between the activities. Dependencies can be internal
and external. Activities with internal dependencies refer to any actions that the project team will
take to produce the deliverables within the existing working environment. Activities with
external dependencies refer to non-project factors that define success of project-related activities.
Both types of activity dependencies should be identified and added to sequenced and prioritized
activity lists. Once the relationships are defined, the project manager should update project
activities templates, outline the dependencies and link them to the product scope statement.

Step #3: Estimate Resources

At this step, the project manager needs to review stakeholder requirements and the product
scope statement to estimate an amount of resources required for performing project activities
and tasks. Also expert judgments and alternatives analysis should be used for this purpose.

The constraint of time needs to be considered when estimating activity resources. The project
manager in cooperation with experts and the team should develop resource calendars and
define types of required resources. Once all this information is collected and analyzed, it should
be used to make a decomposition of activity resources categorized by types, priorities and time.
This decomposition is critical to creating the project implementation schedule.
Step #4: Estimate Durations

The final step in project activity planning and scheduling requires the project manager to define
and estimate an amount of working time required for accomplishing each identified activity.
This is about setting up durations for project activities and tasks. Durations will depend on
(1) the amount of work effort and (2) available of activity resources.

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