Page 277 - DCAP304_DCAP515_SOFTWARE_PROJECT_MANAGEMENT

Unit 14: Small Projects

Project Boundaries identify inclusions and exclusions — things that we do or don’t want to do in Notes
conjunction with the goals and objectives. These are things that may not be related to the
project, but that must be considered anyway. For example:
 Personnel not wishing to transfer will be replaced and arrangements made for
outplacement.

 Company vehicles will be sold and replaced with new ones in Houston.
 Disposal of current facilities is not part of this project.
Project Constraints define cost, schedule, or quality requirements. These may include budget
limitations or schedule requirements or minimum acceptability. For example:
 The cost of the entire move can’t exceed $50,000.
 The move must be completed during the month of June, next year.

 Payments on outplacement services can’t exceed $1200 per employee.
 The new Offices must support 200 office workers.
 Involve others in defining the project scope. Unless you are the only one involved, you
shouldn’t be defining the project scope by yourself. You can’t go off and start putting
down ideas in a vacuum. You need to get the sponsor, the customer, and other stakeholders
involved. If it’s a family project, you’ll want to get family members involved. A business
project may require a more formal approach with meetings and written documentation.
You may even want one or more of your team members involved to validate the definition
and to begin translating it into requirements and workload.
 Be prepared to multi-task. Remember that project management is not done step by step. If
you’re working with a tight deadline then managing your project may involve several
activities that may need to take place at the same time and be part of a repeating process.
For example, if your goal is to relocate the company headquarters, you may not know the
location that you are moving to until the first phase of the project, an analysis, is finished.
You may have to perform the same steps several times until you find a suitable location —
and you may be doing that at the same time you are making arrangements for the move.
 Beware of the predefined project. You may be handed a “project scope definition” when
you first pick up the assignment. If that’s the case, you’ll need to go through the motions
of defining the scope, just to be sure that the definition is complete and accurate. You
should always verify information that is given to you that you haven’t helped develop.
 Guard against creeping project scope. Once your project definition is completed you will
want to guard against scope creep. This happens when work is added that wasn’t in the
original definition, requirements or tasks list. The project scope is developed as you
define the project. It includes goals and objectives, descriptions, constraints and boundaries.
The scope is further defined by the list of requirements and the task list. You’ll want to
avoid adding requirements or tasks that are outside the original goals and objectives, but
just as important, you’ll want to watch for work being performed that isn’t in the
requirements or the task list. Make sure you keep a copy of the original project scope for
comparison purposes. You can use it to call attention to work that is out of scope and
initiate a redefinition if necessary.
 Get the ball rolling early. When it comes to defining the project scope, you should
get started early, get everyone involved that should be involved, and get agreement on
the goal, objectives, boundaries and constraints.

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