CHAPTER 3 Project Planning

CHAPTER 3

3.1 The Concept

The concept behind software project planning is to provide a framework that enable the manager to make reasonable estimates of the resources, cost and schedule. The appropriate estimates are formulated within a time limit and the objective is achieved through a process of information discovery, which leads to reasonable estimates.

In our Context

We studied and went through all set of tasks and activities regarding software and identified them before software project is to be implemented. With the help software project planning we constituted an identified works and resources required to complete the project and also the time required for the completion of project. Planning helped us in decision-making process while we were studying how to initiate and what steps to follow to accomplish the task. We also planned to finish the assigned task within appropriate cost, effort and resources to maintain the system feasible.

Our planning was about all kinds of resources required and estimation regarding total cost. We also finalized how much time it will take to launch the s\w with in the given constraint of the cost, effort and resources. In resources we also considered human resources, reusable software resources and environmental resources.

3.2 Software Scope:

Scope of software is the parameter under which the software is applicable or it is the unambiguous and understandable domain of the software in which the system is applicable. The scope of the software can be determined by following factors:

The Context: By understanding the context of the software (i.e. how does the software to be built to be fit into a large system, product, or business context and what constraint are required as a result of the context?), we can easily determine the scope of the software.

The Information objectives: Here, we try to know the user visible outputs and inputs. By understanding the end-user visible data objects (inputs/outputs), we determined the range of the information on which we have to work upon and for what purpose.

Function and performance: Here, we tried to know about the different functions, which transform the input data into output. By knowing about the different functions, we came to know about the different processes of the system.

The above said factors and their analysis helped us to exploit and implement the following features of software scope:

Reusability: Reusability is possible as and when we required in this application. We can update it next version. Reusable software reduces design, coding and testing cost by amortizing effort over several designs. Reducing the amount of code also simplified understanding, which increases the likelihood that the code is correct. We followed up both types of reusability as sharing of newly written code within a project and reuse of previously written code on new projects.

Extensibility: This application software is extended in ways that its original developers may not expect. The following principles enhance extensibility like Hiding data structures, avoiding traversing multiple links or methods, avoiding case statements on object type and distinguishing public and private operations.

Robustness: its method is robust and it will not fail even if it receives improper parameters. There are some alert pages and messages is flashed out with some dialogue boxes to warn and inform the end user about the current processes going on. It also interacts with the user by alerting them about invalid parameters.

Understandability: A method is understandable if anyone other than the developer of the method can understand the code (as well as the developer after a time-span).

Cost-effectiveness: Its cost is under the budget and developed within given time period. It is always desirable to aim for a system with a minimum cost subject to the condition that it must satisfy all the requirements.

To implement Software Scope we considered it by looking out on the future scope of the software. The software is being implemented on a web site having server any were and Clint any computer on the net. The codes being embedded and installed at the root directory of the server with support for ORACLE and Internet Information Services. The database space taken at ORACLE server and connected with the site server will be main power for the resource utilization on the site. The software scope enlarges ultimately with the use of internet technologies when universities organization institutes and individual can use and extract the vast and huge possibility of this site engulfed by the net technologies.

3.3 Resource Estimation

The second task of planning is estimation of resources required to accomplish the software development effort. The development environment encapsulates hardware and software tools are the foundation of the resource and provide the infrastructure to support the development effort. At a higher level we encounter reusable software components – software building blocks that can dramatically reduce development costs and accurate delivery. At the highest level is the primary resource – people.

3.3.1 Human Resources

Human resource is the primary resource and lies at the topmost level of the resources hierarchy. It is the resource, which says about the people who are technically sound and develops the software. We started by evaluating scope and studying the skills required to complete the development. Both organization position and specialty are specified. Since I am only in my team with one project coordinator so we evaluated our skills and updated ourselves with the required skills and divided the work among us and so calculated the estimated schedule.

3.3.2 Reusable Software Resources

It lies at the second priority level of resources but any discussion would be incomplete without recognition of reusability. Since the task we are assigned is a new one and is to be developed from the very bottom level so we do not perform the planning and estimation regarding reusable software resources.

3.3.3 Environmental Resources

The environment that supports the software project often called a software engineering environment (SEE) incorporates hardware and software. Hardware provides a platform that supports the tools (software) required to produce the work products that are an outcome of good software engineering practices. Because most software organizations have multiple constituencies that require access to the SEE, a project planner must prescribe the time window required for hardware and software and verify that these resources will be available. When a computer-based system (incorporating specialized hardware and software) is to be engineered, the software team may require access to hardware elements being developed by other engineering teams. The software project planner must specify each hardware element.

3.3.4 Project Estimation

Software is most expansive element of any computer-based information system. So, the estimation of cost and effort applied to the project is crucial factor in system development. The major problem with software project estimation is that there are so many variables that affect the estimation and these too are difficult to quantify. Some of the variables that affect the estimation are – human, technical, environmental, and political. This does not mean we don’t have the solution. There are a number of techniques, which has been developed for the estimation purpose. Some of the important techniques we adopted are as follows:

a) Decomposition Techniques

b) Empirical Estimation Models and

c) Automated Estimation Tools

3.4 Decomposition

Software project estimation is a form of problem solving, and in most cases, developing a cost and effort estimate for a software project is too complex to be considered in one piece. So, we decompose the problem, and recharacterize it as a set of smaller problems. But no matter which technique we apply for our project, the first primary step in software project estimation is “The determination of the size of the software project ”.

The accuracy of estimation of software project is dependent on the degree to which the size of the software has been estimated. The direct method to find the size of the software is to find the LOC (Lines of Code) of the software but this method is very difficult at the very beginning of the project. Because even the most experienced people will find it next to impossible to predict LOC before hand. There are various approaches to major the size of the software. Some of the important approaches are as follows:

a) “Fuzzy logic “ Sizing

b) Function Point Sizing

c) Standard Component Sizing and

d) Change Sizing

Here, in our case, we have used the functional point sizing of the project. Let us have a brief review of the Function Point sizing concept.

Function Point Sizing: Albrecht first proposed the concept of functional point. Function Points are derived using an empirical relationship based on countable (direct) measures of software’s information domain and assessment of software complexity. Functional points are computed by the formula

FP= Count Total X [ 0.65 + 0.01 X å(Fi) ]

Where, Fi is the value in the range of zero to five for various types of complexity factors in the project.