Week 1: Introduction. Transcript of Week 1 Podcast

August 4, 2016 | Author: Christal Carr | Category: N/A
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Transcript of Week 1 Podcast

Week 1: Introduction This is the Week 1 Podcast for the course, Information System and Service Analysis and Design. This week is about Project Management. Systems development can be approached by using a myriad of methodologies. The systems development cycle (SDC) generally always includes the following four steps: project management and planning, systems analysis, systems design, and systems implementation and operation. This week, you will focus on project management—a process that involves planning, organization, and management of resources for successful completion of project goals and objectives.

In the project management stage the project activities are defined in detail. People are assigned to activities, schedules are created, project progress and activity accomplishment are monitored and controlled, and changes in scope, design, and time lines of the project are managed. A project schedule typically is created using tools such as Gantt Charts and Network Diagrams, to help allocate resources, monitor project task completion, and adhere to time lines. A Gantt Chart is a bar chart that shows the start and finish dates of the activities in a project, the dependency relationships between project activities, and the current schedule status. A Network Diagram is a pictorial representation of project tasks that depicts the tasks by connecting them to their predecessor and successor tasks.

This week, you will learn how to create Gantt Charts and Network Diagrams. You will also learn how to determine the critical path for a project schedule through a Network Diagram. The critical path is used to identify a sequence of project activities that help determine the shortest time to complete a project. In addition, you will discuss the skills that a project manager should apply in each phase of a project. By the end of this week, you will be able to: •

Describe the phases of the systems development cycle



Describe the skills a project manager should apply at each phase of the project management process



Represent a project schedule by using Gantt Charts and Network Diagrams



Identify the critical path for a project by using Network Diagrams

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List commercial project management software used for managing and representing a project schedule

Week 1: Resources Let’s take a look at the resources you’ll be using this week. During Week 1, you will use a variety of resources including selections from the course textbook, audio versions of key readings, and Web resources. The Weekly Schedule (a navigation link under Week 1) outlines the resources you will need to participate in Discussions and complete the Application Assignment. In Week 1, you will read Chapters 1, 2, and 3 of the textbook. Chapter 1 explains the objectoriented systems analysis and design (OOSAD) approach for software development. Chapter 2 focuses on the basic concepts of object-oriented programming—objects, classes, encapsulation, inheritance, and polymorphism. Chapter 3 explains the important issues involved in managing an object-oriented software development project, the role of project managers, and the creation of schedules by using Gantt Charts and Network Diagrams. You will visit a Web site that provides historical information about Gantt Charts. You will also learn how to determine the critical path through a Network Diagram for a project schedule. In addition, you will watch videos to learn how to create Gantt Charts and Network Diagrams.

Click on the buttons below to get the weekly media files through iTunes, the RSS feed, and the online classroom. Recall from the Course Home Resources page how the media files are delivered in three formats. Be sure to subscribe to the weekly podcasts in iTunes by clicking on the iTunes icon below. Outlook, Internet Explorer 7, Firefox, Safari, and other applications save lists of RSS Feeds to which you can subscribe. You can determine how you want to receive your RSS Feeds. Let’s outline the individual resources that you will need for this week.

Week 1 > Video 1 The weekly podcast video provides an introduction to the week's resources and assignments.

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Week 1: Reading 1 Chapter 3 describes the unique characteristics of an object-oriented software project and the skills required by project managers at each stage of the SDC. In the section “Representing and Scheduling Project Plans,” you will learn how to create graphical schedules using Gantt Charts and Network Diagrams. Please read the entire chapter to prepare for this week’s assignments.

Week 1: Audio 1 You will now hear a summary of Chapter 3. This is a summary of Chapter 3 of the George, Batra, Valacich, and Hoffer textbook titled ObjectOriented Systems Analysis and Design, second edition, published by Prentice Hall. The chapter is Managing the Object-Oriented Information Systems Project.

Chapter 3 introduced the skills, both technical and managerial, that an effective project manager needs. The project manager is responsible for determining the features of a project, including its size, scope, and resource requirements. After a decision to proceed with the project has been made, the project manager is expected to deliver a system that meets the customer’s requirements, within budget and on time.

During the lifetime of a project, the project manager performs four primary activities: initiating the project, planning the project, executing the project, and closing down the project.

A unique characteristic of an OOSAD project is the use of iterations in the development process. Each iteration includes all phases of the systems development cycle (SDC). Each iteration of the project introduces more functionality or reduces uncertainty. Each iteration is planned to last for a fixed period of time, usually between 2 and 8 weeks.

You should become familiar with Gantt charts and network diagrams because they are common in project management and scheduling. Both are graphical techniques for planning and monitoring projects. A Gantt chart represents the beginning, duration, and end of each activity of a project by a horizontal bar. Network diagrams depict the dependencies among activities; they help you understand critical paths for the project. These critical paths include every activity that cannot be delayed without delaying the entire project.

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In summary, Chapter 3 provides a look at the responsibilities of a project manager and some of the techniques a project manager can use to carry out those responsibilities. This concludes the summary of Chapter 3.

Week 1: Web Site 1 The “Gantt Charts” Web page provides information about Gantt Charts.

This Web page provides information about the origin of Gantt Charts, the steps involved in creating them, a few examples, and a glossary of terms used in reference to Gantt Charts.

Week 1: Video 2 This video explains how to use Microsoft Excel to create a Gantt Chart.

This video explains how to use Microsoft Excel to create a Gantt Chart for the project Lilly Langley’s Baking Goods Company, which is described in Chapter 3 of the textbook (pp. 88–89).

Note: Although this video describes how to draw a Gantt Chart manually, in practice, project managers tend to use software tools, such as Microsoft Project, to create Gantt Charts. You can download a free current trial version of Microsoft Project from the Microsoft Office Web page.

Week 1: Video 3 This video explains how to create a Network Diagram.

This video explains how to create a Network Diagram for the Lilly Langley’s Baking Goods Company project.

Note: There are software tools that help in generating Network Diagrams. Some of these tools integrate the project data representation in various formats. For example, in Microsoft Project, you can switch from the Gantt Chart representation to the Network Diagram by changing the view of the task data.

Week 1 > Supplemental Resources Overview © 2008 Laureate Higher Education Group, Inc. All rights reserved. -4-

You will find references to other Resources in the online classroom. You will need access to an Internet-enabled computer to access these Resources.

Week 1: Reading 2 Chapter 1 defines an OOSAD project and describes its different steps and the evolution of system development methodologies. The section “Why Should We Use Object-Oriented Systems Analysis and Design (OOSAD)?” provides the reasons for using the OOSAD approach. Please read the entire chapter to prepare for this week’s assignments.

Week 1 > Audio 2 You will now hear a summary of Chapter 1. This is a summary of Chapter 1 of the George, Batra, Valacich, and Hoffer textbook titled ObjectOriented Systems Analysis and Design, second edition, published by Prentice Hall. The chapter is “The Object-Oriented Systems Development Environment.” Chapter 1 introduces the concepts and goals of systems analysis and design, with particular emphasis on the object-oriented approach. Systems analysis and design emerged in the 1970s, when it was called structured analysis. Object-oriented systems analysis and design (OOSAD) aligns the analysis and design activities with contemporary object-oriented programming practices.

You perform systems analysis and design to develop and operate effective information systems. All of the major systems analysis and design processes have four major steps in common: project management, systems analysis, systems design, and systems implementation.

In the project management step, someone identifies a system that should be either modified or replaced. The organization considers its information needs and proposes the scope for a new system and a baseline project plan. This step provides answers for the question “what.”

The systems analysis step elaborates more precise requirements for the new system and then organizes these requirements into logical or functional groupings. The analysts propose and evaluate alternative ways to produce a satisfactory system.

In the systems design step, the proposed system is converted into logical specifications and physical systems specifications. This step provides answers for the question “how.” © 2008 Laureate Higher Education Group, Inc. All rights reserved. -5-

In the systems implementation step, the system is coded, tested, and installed. After the system becomes operational, maintenance activities may be performed to correct errors, adapt to changing needs, or to improve function. These four steps help in the problem-free development of information systems.

In summary, Chapter 1 provides an overview of the object-oriented systems development environment.

This concludes the summary of Chapter 1.

Week 1: Reading 3 Chapter 2 defines the basic concepts of object-oriented programming and systems modeling. The section on Unified Modeling Language (UML) explains the history of OOSAD and the evolution of UML. Please read the entire chapter to prepare for this week’s assignments.

Week 1: Audio 3 You will now hear a summary of Chapter 2. This is a summary of Chapter 2 of the George, Batra, Valacich, and Hoffer textbook titled ObjectOriented Systems Analysis and Design, second edition, published by Prentice Hall. The chapter is Introduction to Object Orientation.

Chapter 2 reviews the basic concepts and vocabulary of object orientation that support OOSAD. These include objects, classes, attributes, operators, and encapsulation. The concepts of generalization, polymorphism, interfaces, components, and packages, which are familiar from object-oriented programming, serve a vital role in OOSAD. In addition, you will need to understand how to define the identity of an object and to express the relationships among classes.

OOSAD relies heavily upon two relationships in addition to the class hierarchy relationship: associations and aggregation. An association is a generic relationship between objects of classes. Aggregation models a whole-part relationship between an aggregate, which is called the © 2008 Laureate Higher Education Group, Inc. All rights reserved. -6-

whole, and its parts. A stronger form of aggregation in which the parts completely belong to the aggregate is known as composition.

This chapter also provides a brief introduction to the Unified Modeling Language (UML). UML is a modeling language that provides a means of modeling an information system, examining it from various perspectives, and documenting the features of the information system. Imagine trying to make changes to a design after you have coded for it and found faults! Using UML in designing provides different design strategies and their constraints. Therefore, you can select the best possible design strategy before implementing the system in code. Although there are 11 different types of UML diagrams, the class diagram is the most widely used diagram. The textbook uses class diagrams to illustrate the various object orientation features.

In summary, Chapter 2 provides an introduction to the basic concepts of object orientation.

This concludes the summary of Chapter 2.

Week 1 > Discussion 1 This week you will participate in two Discussions. The first Discussion is based on projectplanning skills. Here is the prompt. This week’s first Discussion is designed to help you understand the skills required at each phase of the SDC. Suppose you are a project manager in a consulting company that is building a Webbased e-commerce site for Poodles & Noodles Incorporated. You are assigned the task of planning for this project. Answer the following question: •

For planning a project, which skills are more important than the skills required in other phases of the SDC? Justify your response.

To participate in the Discussion, respond to the Discussion Prompt by Day 2 of Week 1. Then, read a selection of your colleagues’ postings. Finally, respond to at least one classmate by Day 5 of Week 1. Follow the directions in the online classroom to participate in this Discussion.

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You will need access to an Internet-enabled computer to complete this assignment.

Week 1 > Discussion 2 This week you will also participate in a Discussion based on project management software evaluations. Here is the prompt. This week’s second Discussion is designed to help you evaluate the software applications that have been developed to assist project managers in their job of planning and managing software development projects. Search computer magazines or the Web for recent reviews of project management software. Answer the following questions: •

Which packages seem to be the most popular? What are the relative strengths and weaknesses of each package?



What advice would you give to someone intending to buy project management software for a personal computer? Why?

Follow the directions in the online classroom to participate in this Discussion. You will need access to an Internet-enabled computer to complete this assignment.

Week 1 > Application This week you will complete an Application Assignment. The topic of this assignment is creating a Gantt Chart and a Network Diagram. For this assignment, you will work on completing Problem 14 from the “Problems and Exercises” section on page 87 of Chapter 2 in the textbook. Follow the directions in the online classroom to complete the Application Assignment.

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