Expected duration
2 hours per team member
Deadline
2359 on Lesson 9
Points
25 points

Learning Objectives

  • Create a project management plan
  • Practice technical writing skills

Help Policy

Authorized Resources
Any, except classmates working on other teams
Notes
Never copy another person’s work and submit it as your own

You must document all help received from all sources, including the instructor and instructor-provided course materials (such as the textbook)

Assignment

Your project team must cooperate to develop a management plan for the course project. Use the W5HH principle to identify key characteristics as part of an initial analysis of the project.

There is no required length for the management plan, but the result should indicate that the project has received considerable thought from a project management perspective. (1–2 pages single spaced is likely a minimum to provide the requisite amount of detail.) You may use figures, bullets, etc. – whatever is best to communicate the ideas – but regardless of the format, the content should be presented in a professional manner.

As a practical matter, it may be helpful to designate one team member as the “project manager” who will assume responsibility for this document; nevertheless, writing responsibilities should be divided among the team members. The acting project manager is responsible for soliciting input, ensuring a consistent style and tone (e.g., by asking others to rewrite sections if necessary), and submitting the final version of the document.

Use the template in the project repository for your project management plan.

W5HH Principle

Objectives: Why is the system being developed?
The background should describe the project, including its rationale (i.e., importance) and alternatives. A small amount of original research may be appropriate: What already exists that might address the underlying need? The description should go beyond the information provided in any initial project description that you receive.
Milestones and schedules: What will be done by when?
Is the scope for the project clearly defined? Is it unambiguous and understandable at the technical and managerial levels? Does it address all the (un)stated requirements of the project? Are the tasks to complete the objectives defined, at least at a high level?

Is a tentative project schedule included? Are there milestones to identify separate phases of the project? Are there clear deliverables for each milestone? Is the schedule realistic? For tasks that require coordination, are the respective schedules consistent?

Responsibilities: Who is responsible for a function? Where are they organizationally located?
With multiple people working together on the project, it is important for each person to have clear responsibilities. What organizational paradigm will be used? Are the responsibilities for each role defined? Are the integration points with others (including software libraries) identified?

Are the responsibilities of those outside the project team (e.g., the customer and end user) enumerated? Such responsibilities also include integration points with other teams.

Approach: How will the job be done, technically and managerially?
Is there a project and technical management strategy? If not, who will resolve disagreements should they arise? How will tasks that require coordination among individuals or teams be managed?
Resources: How much of each resource is needed?
Are the available resources, including individual contributors, appropriate for the scope of the project? Are specialized computing resources identified (if applicable)?

Submission

Create a pull request in GitHub for your project management plan. In Canvas, submit the URL for the pull request and include your documentation statement as part of your submission.

Only one person on each team should submit this assignment.

Grading

The following grading rubric will be used for this assignment:

Superb (100%)
Content
Describes rationale for project, its importance, and alternatives; scope is unambiguous and understandable at technical and managerial levels
Tentative schedule with milestones and well-defined deliverables; estimates are realistic and achievable
Describes organizational paradigm and technical management strategy for team; enumerates responsibilities for each role, including integration points; identifies risk mitigations
Enumerates required resources, including those that are external
Mechanics
Professional document, no mistakes or editorial comments regarding the presentation of material
Proficient (90%)
Content
Describes project rationale and alternatives; scope is defined at technical and managerial levels
Tentative schedule with milestones and well-defined deliverables; estimates optimistic, but may be feasible
Describes organizational paradigm and technical management strategy for team; enumerates responsibilities for each role, including integration points
Enumerates required resources
Mechanics
Professional document, no mistakes but minor editorial comments regarding the presentation of material
Competent (75%)
Content
Restates project description; scope is defined at either technical or managerial levels but not both
Tentative schedule with milestones but ill-defined deliverables; estimates may be optimistic, but feasible
Describes organizational paradigm or technical management strategy for team; enumerates responsibilities for each role
Enumerates some resources that are required for the project
Mechanics
Professional document, 1–3 grammatical mistakes and minor editorial comments regarding the presentation of material
Marginal (50%)
Content
Restates project description; scope is ambiguous but defined at technical and managerial levels
Schedule is high-level and lacks specifics; estimates optimistic and unlikely to be feasible
Ill-defined technical management strategy; enumerates responsibilities for some roles
Enumerates some resources that are required for the project
Mechanics
Document is not professional, 3+ grammatical mistakes and minor editorial comments regarding the presentation of material
Unsatisfactory (25%)
Content
Omits project description; scope is not defined
Schedule is high-level; estimates are unrealistic
No technical management strategy or description of responsibilities
Required resources are not enumerated
Mechanics
Document is unprofessional, 3+ grammatical mistakes and significant criticisms of presentation of material