Software
Project Management Tools
Need software project management
tools for an information management project and want some practical
suggestions to ensure rapid project delivery?
Information management projects require the same set of tools
that most
other projects require with some specific exceptions.
The
following identifies some of the software project management tools I
have used on
projects together with some things you might want to consider early in
the project.
Project
planning
Project scheduling tools such as Microsoft Project or Omni Plan are
needed and licenses are expensive. Consider...
- Can you publish the project schedule, in pdf
format, in a central repository, to minimize the number of
copies needed; and
- Can you use other tools like Microsoft Outlook
or Ical to assign tasks and follow-up with team members?
Project
reporting
Many
organizations have a link from the project schedule to a central time
reporting system. The project plan is uploaded to the time reporting
system and tasks are assigned to team members by the time reporting
system. Some
thoughts…
- All team members will need to be assigned to
your project in the time reporting tool;
- Access request may be required;
- You
may need to be attentive to assigning project tasks as some systems
will not allow team members to report time without assigned tasks;
- Some
contractor payments are tied to completion and approval of automated
time reporting—this requires attention to the approval process to avoid
delayed payments; and
- Time reporting orientation might be a good
topic for the project “kick-off” meeting.
Requirements
management software project management tools
Many
organizations use a requirements management tool like IBM Rational
RequisitePro. These tools are very powerful and offer many features
that may not be required for your project. Consider...
- An
administrator may be required to tailor the tool for your use
and
to maintain user access (most team members will need read access);
- Team orientation will be required and some one
will need to prepare this (perhaps an external project team resource
can help?);
- How will requirements traceability
be handled? (This should be tailored for your specific
project);
- What is the base-line process?
- How to ensure requirements are not changed
after base line.
If
you don’t have a requirements management tool, you will need some
method of creating the requirements and base-lining them. Consider
posting a pdf version of the base-lined requirements in a team folder.
Data
modeling
software project management tools
Data
modelers will need a data-modeling tool e.g. Oracle Designer, CA
Allusion ERwin Data Modeler, or Sybase Power Designer, and
perhaps
access to a central repository. Consider...
- Access request for the repository;
- Licenses (these are expensive); and
- Training, if team members are not familiar with
the specific tool set.
Data Analysts will need some form of data flow diagram and data
movement
modeling tool like Microsoft Visio. Licenses may be
required.
Data
profiling tools
Data analysts will need a tool for data quality analysis and data
profiling. Sometimes, the ETL tool can perform this task. Consider...
- What tools will be used and who will use them?
- Source
system access request to conduct the data profiling (or make
arrangements to get sample data moved to a location where your team has
access); and
- This is usually a “one-time” effort—can a
shared license work?
Data
movement tools
You
will need ETL tools and licenses for each development member.
You
will probably need to request access to the code repository.
Testing tools
Many
organizations use a testing tool like IBM Rational ClearQuest
or
Mercury Test Director. These tools are very powerful and offer many
features that may not be required by your project. Consider...
- An
administrator may be required to tailor the tool for your use and to
maintain user access (most team members will need read access);
- Training (basic training plus project specific
training); and
- If these tools can handle defect reporting.
Configuration
management tools
Does
the organization use a software configuration management tool such as
Serena ChangeMan or a configuration management database? Consider...
- Access for appropriate development team
members; and
- Basic training.
Documentation
management
Many organizations use a common document management system
such as Microsoft SharePoint. Consider...
- Folder structure set-up (who will handle this?);
- Access request for all team members;
- A project team administrator; and
- Can it be accessed off-site?
If you plan to use a shared folder
for all documentation—Consider...
- Folder structure;
- Can it be accessed off-site?
- How to “lock” documents after they are
base-lined; and
- How to avoid documentation proliferation.
Communications
Many
project teams today are geographically dispersed with some team members
working remote. Email is not always the best means of communications
and team members will need remote access to project resources.
Consider...
- Conference calling lines;
- Instant messaging;
- Collaborative desktop sharing software for
presentations and deliverable review;
- Firewall limitations that may prevent instant
messaging and desktop sharing; and
- Web-based services like Web Ex, or Adobe
Acrobat that will work with your firewalls.
Summary...
Project
resources and software project management tools are required
to ensure successful information management
projects. It is critical that these be identified early in the project
management plan together with any training required.
It’s a lot
easier to get approval for software project management tools at the
project
planning stage than to have to justify expenses part way thru the
project.
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