Applying Combined Efforts of Resource Capability of Project Teams for Planning and Managing Contingency Reserves for Software and Information Engineering Projects

In project management, an important means to reduce risks is to provide adequate quantities of contingency reserve in terms of capital (fund), person, time (person hours), in the estimate of required project resources. Experienced project managers usually provide more accurate estimate of these quantities. The traditional project management methodologies, such as System Development Life Cycle (SDLC), were developed to handle software and information engineering projects of longer duration and larger number of project members. Many projects in modern days have short duration and smaller number of project members. They tend to follow newer methodologies, such as Agile Development, to adapt to the faster changes of modern technologies, processes, and user requirements. For a project manager, gathering information to properly create an effective project plan is like identifying a collection of problems and solving them. Solving problems needs supporting resources, which is analogous to the fact that projects need adequate supporting resources. This paper proposes an approach that applies combined efforts of the resource capabilities of project teams for planning and managing contingency reserves of a modern-day project in software or information engineering

Software engineering risk management : a method, improvement framework, and empirical evaluation

This dissertation presents a method for software risk management, its improvement framework, and results from its empirical evaluations. More specifically, our objectives were: Develop a comprehensive, theoretically sound, and practical method for software engineering risk management. Develop a framework and supporting software tools for the continuous improvement of software engineering risk management and for improving knowledge about risks. Evaluate the method in practice to provide information on its feasibility, effectiveness, advantages and disadvantages, and to improve it. Although risk management has been considered an important issue in software development and significant contributions to risk management have been made over the past decade, risk management is rarely actively and explicitly applied in practice. Furthermore, most risk management approaches in software engineering use simplistic approaches and fail to account for the biases common in risk perception. We have developed a method, called Riskit, that complements existing risk management approaches by supporting qualitative and structured analysis of risks through a graphical modeling formalism. The method supports multiple stakeholder views to risks by considering their potential utility losses. The Riskit method is comprehensive, i.e., it supports all aspects of risk analysis and risk management planning in a software development project. We propose that our method has a sound theoretical foundation, avoids common biases in risk evaluations, and results in a more thorough understanding of the risks than traditional approaches. Associated with the method, we have also developed a risk management improvement framework that supports continuous, systematic improvement of the risk management process. The improvement framework is based on the Quality Improvement Paradigm, and is supported by the eRiskit application. The eRiskit application supports the management of risks while simultaneously acting as a risk management repository that captures risk management data for improvement purposes. The eRiskit application also acted as a proof of concept for the correctness of the underlying concepts in the Riskit method. We have validated the feasibility and effectiveness of the Riskit method in a series of empirical studies. The empirical studies were designed to provide characterization information and feedback on the method, as well as to act as initial validation of the method. The empirical evaluations showed that the method is feasible in industrial context and it seemed to improve participants' confidence in risk management results. In addition, our research indicates that industry needs sound, systematic, yet cost effective methods for risk management, a common and customized approach to improve communications within an organization, and support and enforcement of the common approach.reviewe

Software Projects Risk Management Support Tool

Management projektů a jejich rizik je v současnosti rozvíjející se disciplína, která si získává stále větší pozornost a uplatnění v praxi. Tato práce popisuje úvod do problematiky řízení rizik, zkoumání metod jejich identifikace, vyhodnocení a managementu, předcházení jejich následkům a jejich zvládání. V další části práce byla provedena analýza vzorků rizik z reálných projektů, byly popsány metody pro identifikaci a vyhodnocení následků rizik v úvodních fázích softwarového projektu, taktéž byly popsány atributy rizik a navržen způsob jejich dokumentace. V závěrečné části zadání byl navržen a implementován prototyp modelové aplikace pro podporu managementu rizik softwarových projektů.Management of projects and contained risks is a fast developing discipline, which attracts increasingly broader attention and gets more prevalent practical implementation. This work describes introduction to the problem of risk management, examination of risk identification methods, risk evaluation and management, preventing risk consequences and their handling. Following part contains analysis of real projects risk sample, description of methods for risk identification and evaluation of risk consequences in preliminary phases of software project. In subsequent part, attributes of these risks were depicted and suggested a way of risks documentation. A prototype of application tool supporting software project risk management was designed and realized in the last part of this work.

Planning effort as an effective risk management tool

In project management, high levels of risk are considered to be a significant obstacle for project success. This paper investigates whether improving the project plan can lead to improved success for high-risk projects. A quality of planning index was designed to explore how the presence of high risk affects the quality of planning and project success. The index includes managerial aspects such as costs, human resources, procurement and quality, as well as organizational support aspects based on organization maturity models. In a field study based on data collected from 202 project managers regarding their most recent projects, it was found that the levels of risk at the beginning of projects has no effect on their final success. Drilling down to find an explanation for this surprising phenomenon, we found that in the presence of high risk, project managers significantly improve their project plans. Hence, in high-risk projects, better project plans improve all four dimensions of project success: schedule overrun, cost overrun, technical performance and customer satisfaction. However, in low-risk projects, better project plans did not contribute to reducing schedule or cost overruns. In other words, while endless risk management tools are developed, we found that improving the project plan is a more effective managerial tool in dealing with high-risk projects. Finally, the paper presents the most common planning tools currently being used in high-risk projects

Investigating the Feasibility of Open Development of Operations Support Solutions

The telecommunications Operations Support Systems supply chain must address many stakeholders: R&D, Product and Requirements Management, Purchasing, Systems Integration, Systems Administration and Users. While the management of next generation networks and services poses significant technical challenges, the present supply chain, market configuration, and business practices of the OSS community are an obstacle to rapid innovation. Forums for open development could potentially provide a medium to shorten this supply chain for the deployment of workable systems. This paper discusses the potential benefits and barriers to the open development of OSS for the telecommunications industry. It proposes the use of action research to execute a feasibility study into the open development of OSS software solutions within an industry wide Open OSS project

Instruments to support decision competencies of an investment project manager

From among many competencies of a manager, the abilities of team, project and organization management become especially important. However, to make right decisions, one needs to have appropriate tools supporting effective company management. In case of companies carrying out investment, modernization or innovative projects, it is especially important. Implementation of those projects takes place in various conditions resulting from changing and turbulent environment. Thus, if the manager does not have sufficient information support, provided in time and allowing for effective decision making, which mitigates negative effects of previous actions, he is basically doomed to failure. In such a case, what decides about the situation in the project execution process is a coincidence, not intentional actions of the staff, based on their knowledge about potential risks. Such a knowledge, gained early enough, allows for taking more effective corrective actions. This paper is an attempt to define an operational model of a company along with principles of monitoring actions of an enterprise that carries out projects and functions in the current economic situation, illustrated by an example of a construction company. Its implementation is supposed to provide the managing staff with stores of information that efficiently support the company management process

UK Research Information Shared Service (UKRISS) Final Report, July 2014

The reporting of research information is a complex and expensive activity for research organisations (ROs). There is little alignment between funders of the reporting requests made to institutions and requests made to individual researchers about their research outputs and outcomes. This inevitably results in duplication and increased costs across the sector, whilst limiting the potential sharing and reuse of the information. The UK Research Information Shared Service (UKRISS) project conducted a feasibility and scoping study for the reporting of research information at a national level based on CERIF (Common European Research Information Format), with the objective of increasing efficiency, productivity and quality across the sector. The aim was to define and prototype solutions which are compelling, easy to use, have a low entry barrier, and support innovative information sharing and benchmarking. CERIF has emerged as the preferred format for expressing research information across Europe. To date, CERIF has been piloted for specific applications, but not as a format for reporting requirements across all UK ROs. The final report presents the work carried out by the UKRISS project, including requirements gathering, modelling and prototyping, as well as recommendation for sustainability. UKRISS was divided into two phases. Phase 1, mapping the reporting landscape, ran from March 2012 to December 2012. Phase 2, exploring delivery of potential solutions, began in February 2013 and ended in December 2013