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U4 SPM - Ing sw unidad 4

Ingeniería en Requerimiento de Software (Instituto Profesional IACC)

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MG6088 Software Project Management

UNIT IV
PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND CONTROL
Framework for Management and control – Collection of data Project termination –
Visualizing progress – Cost monitoring – Earned Value Analysis- Project tracking –
Change control- Software Configuration Management – Managing contracts –
Contract Management

PART A
1) How do Earned value management helps project Manager? (Nov/Dec
2018)
Answer:
 Earned value management is a project management technique for
measuring project performance and progress. It has the ability to
combine measurements of the project management triangle: scope,
time, and costs.
 In a single integrated system, earned value management is able to
provide accurate forecasts of project performance problems, which is an
important contribution for project management.
 Essential features of any EVM implementation include:
 A project plan that identifies work to be accomplished
 A valuation of planned work, called planned value (PV) or budgeted cost
of work scheduled (BCWS)
 Pre-defined "earning rules" (also called metrics) to quantify the
accomplishment of work, called earned value (EV) or budgeted cost of
work performed (BCWP)

2)What is Contract management? (Nov/Dec 2018)

Answer:
 Contract management or contract administration is the management of
contracts made with customers, vendors, partners, or employees.
 Contract management includes negotiating the terms and conditions in
contracts and ensuring compliance with the terms and conditions, as well
as documenting and agreeing on any changes that may arise during its
implementation or execution.

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 It can be summarized as the process of systematically and efficiently

managing contract creation, execution, and analysis for the purpose of
maximizing financial and operational performance and minimizing risk.

3) How to Visualize Progress? (APR/MAY 2018)

Answer:
 The project manager plans initially, kick starts activities , collects data and now
the records all these collected in a presentable form. The presentable form of
the collected data gives the visual representation of the progress of the
project . There are various ways of presenting the data. Some of the
commonly used methods are
 Gantt chart
 Slip chart
 Ball chart
 Timeline graph

4) Distinguish between Earned Value Analysis and Earned Value

Management. (APR/MAY 2018)
Answer:
Earned Value Analysis
 Earned value analysis is based on assigning a ‘value’ to each task or work
package as identified in the work breakdown structure (WBS) based on the
original expenditure forecasts.
 The assigned value is the original budgeted cost for the item and is known as
the planned value (PV) or budgeted cost of work scheduled (BCWS). A task that
has not started is assigned the value zero and when it has been completed, it,
and hence the project, is credited with the value of the task.
Earned Value Management
 Earned Value Management (EVM) helps project managers to measure project
performance. It is a systematic project management process used to find
variances in projects based on the comparison of worked performed and work
planned.
5) What is change control? (NOV /DEC 2017)(Nov/Dec 2019)
Answer:
 Change control is a systematic approach to managing all changes made to a
product or system.

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 The purpose is to ensure that no unnecessary changes are made, that all
changes are documented, that services are not unnecessarily disrupted and
that resources are used efficiently.
6) Define outsourcing. (NOV /DEC 2017) (Nov/Dec 2019)
Answer:
 Outsourcing is a practice in which an individual or company performs tasks,
provides services or manufactures products for another company -- functions
that could have been or is usually done in-house. Outsourcing is typically
used by companies to save costs.
7) Define configuration management. (APR/MAY 2017)
Answer:
 Configuration management (CM) is a systems engineering process for
establishing and maintaining consistency of a product's performance,
functional, and physical attributes with its requirements, design, and
operational information throughout its life.
8) Name the methods used for assigning earned value in s/w project
(APR/MAY 2019)
Answer:
Control Costs is the process of monitoring the status of the project to update
the project costs and managing changes to the cost baseline.
 Planned Value (PV) is the planned expenditure of funds to the date of
analysis, taken from the project schedule.
 Earned Value (EV) is the actual progress of the task to the date of analysis.
This is expressed as the percentage of the total effort and/or resources
expended, and could be measured in units completed (such as number of
fence posts driven or number of holes dug), or hours of labor expended.
 Actual Cost (AC) is the actual expenditure of funds to the date of analysis.
This is usually tracked via software or manually with receipts, etc
9) What are the categories of reporting?
Answer:
 Oral formal regular: Weekly or monthly progress meetings
 Oral formal ad hoc: End-of-stage meetings
 Written formal regular: job sheets, progress reports
 Written formal ad hoc: Exception reports, change reports
 Oral informal ad hoc: Canteen discussion, social interaction

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10) What are the activities that are carried out in project termination
process?
Answer:
 Project survey
 Collection of objective information
 Debriefing meeting
 Final project review
 Result publication
11) What are the reasons for project termination?
Answer:
 Project is completed successfully and handed over to the customer.
 Incomplete requirements
 Lack of resources
 Some key technologies used in the project have become obsolete during
project execution.
 Economics of the project has changed.
12) Draw the project control cycle model.
Answer:

13) Draw the project reporting structures.

Answer:

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14) Name the popular visual tools used for monitoring and tracking the
project progress.
Answer:
 Gantt chart
 Slip chart
 Timeline
 Ball chart

15) What is Gantt chart?

Answer:
 One of the simplest and oldest techniques for tracking project progress. An
activity bar chart indicating scheduled activity dates and durations. Reported
progress is recorded on the chart by shading activity bars .Today cursor
provides visual indication of which activities are ahead or behind schedule.
 Disadvantage: do not show clearly the slippage of the project completion date
through the life of the project.

16) What is slip chart? Mention its use.

Answer:
 A slip chart is a very alternative favored by some project managers who
believe it provides a more striking visual indication of those activities that are
not progressing to schedule-the more the slip line bends, the greater variation
from the plan.
 Additional slip lines are added at intervals and, as they built up, the project
manager will gain an idea to whether the project is improving or not.
 A very jagged line indicates a need for rescheduling.

17) What is the timeline chart?

Answer:
 The timeline chart is a method of recording and displaying the way in which
targets have changed throughout the duration of the project.
 Planned time is plotted along the horizontal axis and elapsed time down the
vertical axis.
 The lines meandering down the chart represent scheduled completion dates

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18) List the methods for assigning an earned value in earned value
analysis
Answer:
 The 0/100 technique: where a task is assigned a value of zero until that is
completed when it is given a value of 100 %.
 The 50/50 technique: where a task is assigned a value of 50 % until that is
completed when it is given a value of 100 %.
 The 75/25 technique: where a task is assigned a value of 75 % until that is
completed when it is given a value of 100 %.
 The milestone technique: Where a task is given a value based on the
achievement of milestones.
 The percentage complete: where a task is given a value based on the amount
of work completed.
19) What forms the basis for cost performance measurement using Earned
Value?
Answer:
 Three quantities form the basis for cost performance measurement using
Earned Value Management. They are
 Budgeted Cost of Work Scheduled (BCWS) or Planned Value (PV)
 Budgeted Cost of Work Performed (BCWP) or Earned Value (EV) and
 Actual Cost of Work Performed (ACWP) or Actual Cost (AC).
20) List the advantages of fixed price contracts.
Answer:
 Known customer expenditure
 Supplier motivation
 Higher prices to allow for contingency
 Difficulties in modifying requirements
 Upward pressure on the cost of changes.
 Threat to system quality
21) Show the stages in awarding a contract.(APR/MAY 2019)
The complete process of awarding contract can be summarized as follows.
Stage 1. Preparation of contract document.
Stage 2. Advertising the tender, tender notice.
Stage 3. Submitting Tender by contractor.
Stage 4. Study of the tender by owner

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Stage 5. Clarification regarding conditions or specifications

Stage 6. Preparing comparative list
Stage 7. Awarding contact
PART B
1) Give the need for EVA. Is it necessary for WBS for EVA? Justify with
measure progress. (Nov/Dec 2018)
Or
Explain with an example how the earned value chart depicts scheduled
progress, actual cost and actual progress (earned value) to allow the
determination of spending, schedule and time variances. (NOV /DEC 2017)
Or
What is earned value analysis? Explain with an example. (Nov/Dec 2019)
Answer:
EARNED VALUE ANALYSIS
 Earned value analysis is based on assigning a ‘value’ to each task or
work package as identified in the work breakdown structure (WBS) based
on the original expenditure forecasts.
 The assigned value is the original budgeted cost for the item and is
known as the planned value (PV) or budgeted cost of work scheduled
(BCWS). A task that has not started is assigned the value zero and when
it has been completed, it, and hence the project, is credited with the
value of the task.
 The total value credited to a project at any point is known as the earned
value (EV) or budgeted cost of work performed (BCWP) and this can be
represented as a value or as a percentage of the PV.
 Where tasks have been started but are not yet complete, some
consistent method of assigning an earned value must be applied.
Common methods in software projects are:
 The 0/100 Technique: A task is assigned a value of zero until such time
that it is completed when it is given a value of 100% of the budgeted
value
 The 50/50 Technique: A task is assigned a value of 50% of its value as
soon as it is started and then given a value of 100% once it is complete

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 The Milestone Technique: A task is given a value based on the

achievement of milestones that have been assigned values as part of the
original budget plan.
 The 0/100 technique is the preferred technique. The 50/50 technique can
give a false sense of security by over-valuing the reporting of activity
starts.
 The milestone technique might be appropriate for activities with a long
duration estimate

 The project is not expected to be credited with any earned value until
day 34, when the activity ‘specify overall system’ is to be completed.
 This activity was forecast to consume 34 person days and it will therefore
be credited with 34 person-days of earned value when it has been
completed.
 The other steps in the baseline budget chart coincide with the scheduled
completion dates of other activities.

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Monitoring Earned Value

 Once the baseline budget has been created the next task is to monitor
earned value as the project progresses. This is done by monitoring the
completion of tasks or activity starts and milestone achievements.
 Figure 6.13 illustrates earned value analysis at the start of week 12 of
the project. It can be inferred that the earned value (EV) is clearly
lagging behind the baseline budget, indicating that the project is behind
schedule.
 By analyzing Figure 6.13 can it can easily be told what has gone wrong
with her project and what the consequences might be.

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 As well as recording EV, the actual cost of each task can be collected as
actual cost (AC).
 This is also known as the actual cost of work performed (ACWP). The
same is illustrated in Figure 6.14, which, in this case, records the values
as percentages of the total budgeted cost.
 Figure 6.14 illustrates the following performance statistics, which can be
shown directly or derived from the earned value chart.
Schedule Variance
 The schedule variance is measured in cost terms as EV - PV and indicates
the degree to which the value of completed work differs from that
planned.

 Figure 6.14 also indicates the schedule variance in time which indicates
the degree to which the project is behind schedule. A negative SV means
the project is behind schedule.
Cost Variance
 Cost variance as computed as EV- AC and indicates the difference
between the budgeted cost and the actual cost of completed work. It is

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also an indicator of the accuracy of the original cost estimates. A

negative CV means the project is over cost.
Performance Ratios
 Two ratios are commonly tracked. They are listed below:
 The cost performance index (SPK = EV / AC) the schedule performance
index (SPI = EV / PV). They can be thought of as a ‘value for money’
index.
 A value greater than one indicates that work is being completed better
than planned, whereas value of less than one means that work is costing
more than and / or preceding more slowly than planned.
 CPI can be used to produce a revised cost estimate for the project or
estimate at completion (EAC). EAC is calculated as BAC/CPI where budget
at completion BAC is the current projected budget for the project. Figure
6.15 illustrates an earned value chart with revised forecasts.
• Estimate at completion EAC= BAC/CPI (Budget at completion)

2) With neat diagram bring the importance of software Configuration

Management(SCM). (Nov/Dec 2018) (APRIL/MAY 2017)
Answer:
 Throughout development, software consists of a collection of items (such
as programs, data and documents) that can easily be changed. During
software development, the design, code, and even requirements are
often changed, and the changes occur at any time during the
development.
 This easily changeable nature of software and the fact that changes
often take place require that changes be done in a controlled manner.

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 Software configuration management (SCM) is the discipline for

systematically controlling the changes management is a process
independent of the development process largely because most
development models cannot accommodate change at any time during
development.
SCM can be considered as having three major components:
 Software configuration identification
 Change control
 Status accounting and auditing
 Configuration identification:
 The first requirement for any change management is to have clearly
agreed-on basis for change. That is, when a change is done, it should be
clear to what changes has been applied. This requires baselines to be
established. A baseline change is the changing of the established
baseline, which is controlled by SCM.
 After baseline changes the state of the software is defined by the most
recent baseline and the changes that were made. Some of the common
baselines are functional or requirements baseline, design baseline, and
product or system baseline. Functional or requirement baseline is
generally the requirements document that specifies the functional
requirements for the software. Design baseline consists of the different
components in the software and their designs. Product or system
baseline represents the developed system.
 It should be clear that a baseline is established only after the product is
relatively stable.
 Though the goal of SCM is to control the establishment and changes to
these baselines, treating each baseline as a single unit for the purpose of
change is undesirable, as the change may be limited to a very small
portion of the baseline.
Change control:
 Most of the decisions regarding the change are generally taken by the
configuration control board (CCB), which is a group of people responsible
for configuration management, headed by the configuration manager.
For smaller projects, the CCB might consist of just one person. A change
is initiated by a change request.

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 The reason for change can be anything. However, the most common
reasons are requirement changes, changes due to bugs, platform
changes, and enhancement changes. The CR for change generally
consists of three parts. The first part describes the change, reason for
change, the SCIs that are affected, the priority of the change, etc.
 The second part, filled by the CM, describes the decision taken by the
CCB on this CR, the action the CM feels need to be done to implement
this change and any other comments the CM may have. The third part is
filled by the implementer, which later implements the change.
Status accounting and auditing:
 For status accounting, the main source of information is the CRs and FRs
themselves.
 Generally, a field in the CR/FR is added that specifies its current status.
The status could be active, complete, or not scheduled. Information
about dates and efforts can also be added to the CR, the information
from the CRs/FRs can be used to prepare a summary, which can be used
by the project manager and the CCB to track all the changes.

3) Who is responsible for project Tracking? Brief the different ways to

track a project. (APR/MAY 2018)(13M)
Analyse the methods used for tracking project progress (APR/MAY 2019)
Answer:
Project tracking
 The project manager is responsible for the success of a project which means
every aspects of the project time, cost, quality, resources,and satisfaction(both
customer, contractor management, his/her team members and subcontractor
huge task!)
 In exercising his responsibilities and to achieve success, he need to prioritise
and monitor, some key aspects of the project. they are
 Critical path activities
 Activities with no free float
 Activities within less than specified float
 High risk activity
 Activities using critical resource
Critical path activities

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 Close monitoring of critical path activities are essential as any delay in these
activities will result in the entire project getting delayed.
Activities with no free float
 Activities with no extra time on hand will delay subsequent activities.
 But subsequent activities may involve critical resources and we cannot delay
such resources.
Activities within less than specified float
 Generally , activities with very less float or a specified float are also need
to be watched because these small delays can be eaten up before being
recogninzed.
High risk activity
 While planning stage itself, the project manager will estimate and
designate a few activities as ‘high risk activties’ because these activities
might jeoparadise the planned cost/planned schedule/ image of the
organization etc, if allowed to deviate.
Activities using critical resource
 A high cost/high profile/multi tasking resource may be identified as
acritical resource and effective use of such resource must be ensured.
 For example, if a highly experienced, high profile, well respected software
design engineer is available in the country.
Getting Project back to target
The project schedules are drawn initially even before any activity has
started. The PM only uses his/her team experience and knowledge and
guestimate the time for various activities.
There are two main techniques every PM takes up to bring the project back
to track if it gets slipped.
1. Shorten the critical path
2. Reconsider precedence requirements
Shorten the critical path
While planning stage itself, we will identify critical paths and ensure they
are not extended at all this can be ensured by
1. Making available the required resources for these critical activities
2. Making available resources work overtime to meet the deadline.
Reconsider precedence requirements

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1. Consider possibility of any parallel activities e.g starting the training

when the documentation is not fully complete as final but available as
draft
2. Consider training ‘Outside business hours’-with some incentives.

4) Discuss in detail the types of contracts with its checklist. (APR/MAY

2018)
Answer:
A contract is an agreement between two parties that creates an obligation
to perform (or not perform) a particular duty.
Types of contract
 Fixed price contracts
 Time and materials contract
 Fixed price per delivered unit contracts
Fixed price contracts
 As the name implies, in this situation a price is fixed when the contract is
signed. In other words when the contract is to construct a s/w system, the
detailed requirements analysis must already have been carried out.
Advantages
 If there are few subsequent changes to the original requirements,
the customers will have a known outlay.
 The supplier has a motivation to manage the delivery of the system
in a costeffective manner
Disadvantages
 Higher prices to allow for contingency:
 Difficulties in modifying requirements
 Upward presence on the cost of changes
 Threat to system quality
Time and materials contracts
In type of contract, the customer is charged at a fixed rate per unit of
effort.
Advantages
 Ease of changing requirements
 Changes to requirements are dealt with easily, where a project has a
research orientation and the direction of the project changes as

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options are explored, then this can be an appropriate method of

calculating payment.
 Lack of price pressure
 The lack of price pressure can allow better quality software to be
produced.
Disadvantages
 Customer liability
 The customer absorbs all the risks associated with poorly defined or
changing requirements.
 Lack of incentives for supplier: the supplier has no incentive to work
in a cost effective manner or to control the scope of the system to be
delivered.
Fixed price per unit delivered
 This is often associated with function point (FP) counting. The size of
the system to be delivered is calculated or estimated at the outset of
the project.
 The size of the system to be delivered might be estimated in lines of
code.
 A price per unit is also quoted.
 The final price is then the unit price multiplied by the number of unit
sit delivered contracts
Advantages
 Customer understanding: the customer can see how the price is
calculated and how it will vary with changed requirements
 Comparability : pricing schedules can be completed
 Emerging functionality: the supplier does not bear the risk of
increasing functionality
 Supplier efficiency:- the supplier still has an incentive to deliver the
required functionality in a cost-effective manner
 Life-cycle range: - the requirements do not have to be definitively
specified at the outset. Thus the development contract can cover
both the analysis and design stages of the project.
Disadvantages
 Difficulties with software size measurements
 Changing requirements

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 Another way to categorize contract

 Open
 Restricted
 Negotiated
 Open tendering process
 Any supplier can bid to supply the goods and services
 Invitation to tender must be considered and evaluated in the same
way as all others
 Restricted tendering process
 In this case , there are bids only from suppliers who have been
invited by the customer
 Reduce the number of suppliers
 Negotiated procedure
 Single supplier might be justified

5) i) Scope and deliverables of software projects are changed frequently.

This has server implications on the projects. How can a project manager
minimize their impact on the project? (NOV /DEC 2017)
Answer:
ii) Appraise the activities involved in software configuration
management. (NOV /DEC 2017) (N/D 2019)
Answer:
Repeat the same answer from [Link](2)

6) Explain with an example how the earned value chart depicts scheduled
progress, actual cost and actual progress (earned value) to allow the
determination of spending, schedule and time variances. (NOV /DEC 2017)
Answer:
Repeat the same answer from [Link](1)

7) Explain with examples software configuration management. (APR/MAY

2017)
Answer:
Repeat the same answer from [Link](2)

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8) Discuss the framework for project management and control. (APR/MAY

2017)
Answer:
CREATING THE FRAMEWORK
 Exercising control over a project and ensuring that targets are met is a
matter of regular monitoring, finding out what is happening, and
comparing it with current targets.
 If there is a mismatch between the planned outcomes and the actual one
then either preplanning is needed to bring the project back on target or
the target will have to be revised. A model of the project control cycle is
illustrated in Figure 6.1
Responsibility:
 The overall responsibility for ensuring adequate progress on a project is
often the role of the project-steering committee or Project Board. Day-to-
day responsibility will be with the project manager and, in all but the
smallest of projects; aspects of this can be delegated to team leaders.
 Figure 6.2 llustrates the typical reporting structure found with medium
and large projects. With small projects employing less number of staff
individual team members usually report directly to the project manager.
But in most cases team leaders will collate reports on their section’s
progress and forward summaries to the project manager.

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 These, in turn, will be incorporated into project-level reports for the

steering committee and, via them or directly, progress reports for the
client. Reporting may be oral or written, formal or informal, or regular or
ad hoc. Some examples of each type are tabulated in Table 6.1.
 With small projects employing less number of staff individual team
members Usually report directly to the project manager. But in most
cases team leaders will collate reports on their section’s progress and
forward summaries to the project manager.

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 These, in turn, will be incorporated into project-level reports for the

steering committee and, via them or directly, progress reports for the
client. R
 Reporting may be oral or written, formal or informal, or regular or ad hoc.
Some examples of each type are tabulated in Table 6.1.

Assessing the Progress

 Progress assessment will be made on the basis of information collected
and collated at regular intervals or when specific events occur.
 Wherever possible, this information will be objective and tangible -
whether or not a particular report has been delivered.
 Progress assessment will have to rely on the judgment of the team
members who are carrying out the project activities.
Setting Checkpoints
 A series of checkpoints in the initial activity plan need to be set.
Checkpoints maybe:
 Regular (Daily, for example)
 Tied to specific events such as the production of a report or other
deliverable
Taking Snapshots
 The frequency with which a manager needs to receive information about
progress will depend upon the size and degree of risk of the project or
that part of the project under their control.

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 Team leaders, for example, need to assess progress daily whereas

project managers may find weekly or monthly reporting appropriate.
 In general, the higher the level, the less frequent and less detailed the
reporting needs to be. A formal weekly collection of information from
staff carrying out activities is favoured.

9) Derive the steps involved in change control procedure.(APR/MAY

2019) 9m
Different factors of Change Control process
There are various factors that a Change Control process should consider

Steps in Change Control Action taken in Change Control

Process

 Change request initiation  Request for changes should be standardized

and Control and subject to management review
 Change requestor should be kept informed

 Impact Assessment  Make sure that all requests for change are
assessed in a structured way for analyzing
possible impacts

 Control and  A change log should be maintained that tells

Documentation of the date, person details who made changes
Changes and changes implemented
 Only authorized individual should be able to
make changes
 A process for rolling back to the previous
version should be identified

 Documentation and  Whenever system changes are implemented

Procedures the procedures and associated document
should update accordingly

 Authorized Maintenance  System access right should be controlled to

avert unauthorized access

 Testing and User signoff  Software should be thoroughly tested

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 Version Control  Control should be placed on production

source code to make sure that only the
latest version is updated

 Emergency Changes  A verbal authorization should be obtained,

and the change should be documented as
soon as possible

Control of changes and documentation ought to be the responsibility of

someone who may variously be named the Configuration Librarian, the
Configuration Manager or Project Librarian.
Among this person's duties would be:
• The identification of all items that are subject to change control;
• The establishment and maintenance of a central repository of the master
copies of all project documentation and software products;
• The setting up and running of a formal set of procedures to deal with
changes:
• The maintenance of records of who has access to which library items and
the status of each library item (e.g. whether under development, under test
or released).
It will be recalled that it was suggested that the setting up of change control
procedures might be one of the first things the Brigette might want to do at
Brightmouth College.

Change control procedures

A simple change control procedure for operational systems might have the
following steps.
I. One or more users might perceive a need for a modification to a system and
ask for a change request to be passed to the development staff.
2. The user management consider the change request and if they approve it
pass it to the development management.
3. The development management delegate a member of staff to look at the
request and to report on the practicality and cost of carrying out the change.
They would, as pan of this, assess the products that would be affected by the
change.
4. The development management report hack to the user management on the
findings and the user management decide whether, in view of the cost quoted,
they wish to go ahead.
5. One or more developers are authorized to take copies of the master
products that are to be modified.
6. The copies are modified. In the case of software components this would
involve modifying the code and recompiling and testing it.

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7. When the development of new versions of the product has been completed
the user management will be notified and copies of the software will be
released for user acceptance testing.
8. When the user is satisfied that the products are adequate they will
authorize their operational release. The master copies of configuration items
will be replaced.

10) Outline the advantages of fixed price contracts (APR/MAY 2019) (4m)
The advantages of this method are the
Known customer expenditure: If there are few subsequent change!
original requirements. then the customer will have a known outlay.
Supplier motivation The supplier has a motivation to manage the del the
system in a cost-effective manner.
 Higher prices to allow for contingency
 Difficulties in modifying requirements
 Upward pressure on the cost of changes.
 Threat to system quality

11) Discuss various ways of visualising the project progress (Nov/Dec

2019) (7M)
A Gantt chart, commonly used in project management, is one of the
most popular and useful ways of showing activities (tasks or events) displayed
against time. On the left of the chart is a list of the activities and along the top
is a suitable time scale. Each activity is represented by a bar; the position and
length of the bar reflects the start date, duration and end date of the activity.
This allows you to see at a glance:
 What the various activities are
 When each activity begins and ends
 How long each activity is scheduled to last
 Where activities overlap with other activities, and by how much
 The start and end date of the whole project
To summarize, a Gantt chart shows you what has to be done (the activities)
and when (the schedule).

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A simple Gantt chart

THE SLIP CHART:

 A slip chart is simply a chart of a product's schedule slips, connecting
points made by the pair of a ship date and the date it was announced.
For example, on Day 0 of the project you announce you will ship in 90
days. On day 90, you ship. Your slip chart consists of the point (0,90) and
(90,90).
 On a weekly or monthly basis milestones are plotted on a grid to show when
they are scheduled to occur. In the example 0 represents the start of the
project or programme. In the baseline schedule milestone M1 is due to occur
in week 2; M2 in week 5 and M3 in week 7.
 At the end of the first week of work, all three milestones are on schedule, by
the end of week two they are all running a week late. At the end of week
three M1 finishes a week late and the other milestones are still running one
week late.

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 In week four M2 is back on schedule but M3 is still running a week late. M2

finishes on time in week five but by week six M3 has been delayed a further
week.

 A slip chart (Figure 9.6) is a very similar alternative favoured by some

project managers who believe it provides a more striking visual indication of
those activities that are not progressing to schedule - the more the slip line
bends, the greater the variation from the plan. Additional slip lines are added
at intervals and. as they build up.

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 the project manager will gain an idea as to whether the project is improving
(subsequent slip lines bend less) or not. A very jagged slip line indicates a
need for rescheduling.

BALL CHARTS:
 A somewhat more striking way of showing whether or not targets have been
met is to use a ball chart as in Figure 9.7.
 In this version of the ball chart, the circles indicate start and completion
points for activities.
 The circles initially contain the original scheduled dates. Whenever revisions
are produced these are added as second dates in the appropriate circle until
an activity is actually started or completed when the relevant date replaces
the revised estimate (in bold italic in Figure 9.7).
 Circles will therefore contain only two dates, the original and most recent
target dates, or the original and actual dates. Where the actual start or finish
date for an activity is later than the target date, the circle is coloured red
(dark grey in Figure 9.7)- where an actual date is on time or earlier than the
target then the circle is coloured green (light grey in Figure 9.7).
 Such charts are frequently placed in a prominent position and the colour
coded balls provide a constant reminder to the project team. Where more
than one team is working in close proximity, such a highly visible record of
achievement can encourage competitiveness between teams.
 Another advantage of ball charts over Gantt and slip charts is that they are
relatively easy to keep up to date - only the dates and possibly colours need
to be changed, whereas the others need to be redrawn each time target
dates are revised.

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THE TIMELINE:
 One disadvantage of the charts described so far is that they do not show
clearly the slippage of the project completion date through the life of the
project. Knowing the current state of a project helps in revising plans to
bring it back on target, but analysing and understanding trends helps to
avoid slippage in future projects.
 The timeline chart is a method of recording and displaying the way in which
targets have changed throughout the duration of the project. Figure 9.8
shows a timeline chart for Brigette's project at the end of the sixth week.
 Planned time is plotted along the horizontal axis and elapsed time down the
vertical axis. The lines meandering down the chart represent scheduled
activity completion dates - at the start of the project analyse existing system
is scheduled to be completed by the Tuesday of week 3, obtain user
requirements by Thursday of week 5, issue tender, the final activity, by
Tuesday of week 9, and so on.
 At the end of the first week Brigette reviews these target dates and leaves
them as they are - lines are therefore drawn vertically downwards from the
target dates to the end of week one on the actual time axis.
 At the end of week two, Brigette decides that obtain user requirements will
not he completed until Tuesday of week six - she therefore extends that
activity line diagonally to reflect this. The other activity completion targets
are also delayed correspondingly.

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 By the Tuesday of week three, analyse existing system is completed and

Brigette puts a blob on the diagonal timeline to indicate that this has
happened. At the end of week three she decides to keep to the existing
targets.
 At the end of week four she adds another three days to draft tender and
issuer tender. Note that, by the end of week six, two activities have been
completed and three are still unfinished. Up to this point she has revised
target dates on three occasions and the project as a whole is running seven
days late.
 The timeline chart is useful both during the execution of a project and as
part of be post-implementation review. Analysis of the timeline chart, and
the reasons for be changes. can indicate failures in the estimation process or
other errors that night. with that knowledge, be avoided in future.

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