Systems Development Projects

Performance measures which can be used to evaluate systems development projects can take many forms.  Some of them are adherence to the timeline, staying under budget, user acceptance, and user feedback.  The first two mentions are related to the initial planning.  If the planning is not performed correctly or thoroughly enough then the project will most likely be off track and under rated.  The last two options relate to how the user perceives the product wile in construction and after it is delivered.  Ultimately if the client is unhappy with the finished product it will be hard to categorize the project as a success.  The user requirements must be obtained and followed through with in the project to ensure the success of the project.

Outsourcing in Projects

                The use of outsourcing has the potential to have a major impact on the way projects are conducted.  Many factors have to potential to come into play.  Some of them are time zones, cultures, communication difficulties and work practices.  These factors may or may not come into play.  Outsourcing does not mean the work will be done in a different country but differences across companies can still create problems.

                It is essential to have a thoroughly planned and agreed upon approach to project at hand.  Everyone involved must know what is to be done and when.  To facilitate this, regular communication is an aspect which is nonnegotiable.  This is the only way the project has a chance of success.

Module So Far

     This module so far has been informative and enlightening in many different aspects.  The areas of knowledge which are focused upon are of interest to any who is conducting any type of project, not just an IT related project.  Some of the aspects of project management would not have occurred to me if they had not been taught, or personally experienced in some cases.

     The inclusion of a real world project to manage has been enlightening, if not frustrating.  The difficulties which have presented themselves while working on the project seem to continue to present themselves.  The issue of time management and delivery dates seems to now the primary concern while in the end of this module.

Assessing Performance

            Assessing a team member’s contribution during a progress review will require the inclusion of many factors.  The amount and quality of their work should be taken into consideration.  The importance and complexity of the work completed should also be taken into consideration.  These factors will add up to create a picture of the team member’s work contribution.

            There is also the highly subjective issue of how has the team member been performing within the team.  This analysis will include factors such as communication and teamwork.  While the manager can send out surveys to illicit responses from co-workers, this information will be ultimately up to the manager to determine the team member’s effectiveness in this area.

            Both of the production and social aspects of team a team member’s performance are important and should both be evaluated.  A combination of the two evaluations should provide a fairly accurate depiction of the team member’s overall performance. 

User Involvement in Projects

            Involving the user in the project development process will leads to a greater chance of project success.  Listen to the user’s requirements is the first and possibly most important step in this process.  You must know what the user wants and what they expect.  The user involvement should not end after this point.

            The user should be involved throughout the project.  As milestones are completed, user feedback should be gained and improvements made with insight gained from them.  Also during the analysis phase it may help to observe how the user will use the envisioned system.  This will help you understand how they would like to have their system function.

            Involving the user also gives them a sense of worth and they feel like they have a stake in the project.  With their stake in the project they are more likely to assist in the project development.  Overall, once the project is completed you can both share in the success and maintain good working relationships.

My Presentation

Strength:  I believe that I had a wealth of information included in my presentation which was presented in a logical manner.

Improvement:  I believe I could improve on the delivery of my speech i.e. eliminate pauses and “ums.”

Insight:  By using note cards with simplified outline structure next time I will hopefully eliminate becoming lost in my notes.

Tips for Presenting

• Come prepared to present
• Speak in a calm and clear voice which can be heard throughout the audience
• Use your body language to convey the entire message
• Use facial expressions to help the audience stay interested
• Keep the audience involved with questions or activities
• Use note cards, it may be difficult to find where you are on an entire sheet of paper