Software Project Planning | Project Planning in Software Engineering

Project planning is an organized and integrated management process. The goal of project planning is to develop a plan for software development. A software plan is usually produced before the development activity begins. It describes the activities and the resources needed to complete the project successfully. The major activities of project planning are cost estimation, schedule and milestone determination, staffing and quality control plans, controlling and monitoring plans.

Software project plans allow software development teams to deliver timely and high-quality software to their clients. Project planning also helps in better utilization of resources and optimal usage of the allotted time for a project. 

The other objectives of project planning are listed below.

• It defines the roles and responsibilities of the project management team members.
• It ensures that the project management team works according to the business objectives.
• It checks feasibility of the schedule and user requirements.
• It determines project constraints.

Several individuals help in planning the project. These include senior management and project management team. Senior management is responsible for employing team members and providing resources required for the project. The project management team, which generally includes project managers and developers, is responsible for planning, determining, and tracking the activities of the project.

Project planning comprises project purpose, project scope, project planning process, and project plan.

Project Purpose:

Software project is carried out to accomplish a specific purpose, which is classified into two categories, namely, project objectives and business objectives. 

The commonly followed project objectives are listed below:

Meet user requirements: Develop the project according to the user requirements after understanding them.

Meet schedule deadlines: Complete the project milestones as described in the project plan on time in order to complete the project according to the schedule.

Be within budget: Manage the overall project cost so that the project is within the allocated budget.

Produce quality deliverables: Ensure that quality is considered for accuracy and overall performance of the project.

Business objectives ensure that the organizational objectives and requirements are accomplished in the project. Generally, these objectives are related to business process improvements, customer satisfaction, and quality improvements.

Project Scope:

With the help of user requirements, the project management team determines the scope of the project before the project begins. This scope provides a detailed description of functions, features, constraints, and interfaces of the software that are to be considered. Functions describe the tasks that the software is expected to perform. Features describe the attributes required in the software as per the user requirements. Constraints describe the limitations imposed on software by hardware, memory, and so on. Interfaces describe the interaction of software components (like modules and functions) with each other. 

Project scope also considers software performance, which in turn depends on its processing capability and response time required to produce the output.

Project Planning Process:

The project planning process involves a set of interrelated activities followed in an orderly manner to implement user requirements in software and includes the description of a series of project planning activities and individual(s) responsible for performing these activities. In addition, the project planning process comprises the following:

1.  Objectives and scope of the project

2.  Techniques used to perform project planning

3.  Effort (in time) of individuals involved in project

4.  Project schedule and milestones

5.  Resources required for the project

6.  Risks associated with the project.

Project planning process consists of the following activities:

Identification of project requirements: Before starting a project, it is essential to identify the project requirements as identification of project requirements helps in performing the activities in a systematic manner.

Identification of cost estimates: Along with the estimation of effort and time, it is necessary to estimate the cost that is to be incurred on a project. The cost estimation includes the cost of hardware, network connections, and the cost required for the maintenance of hardware components. In addition, cost is estimated for the individuals involved in the project.

Identification of risks: Risks are unexpected events that have an adverse effect on the project. Software project involves several risks (like technical risks and business risks) that affect the project schedule and increase the cost of the project. Identifying risks before a project begins helps in understanding their probable extent of impact on the project.

Identification of critical success factors: For making a project successful, critical success factors are followed. These factors refer to the conditions that ensure greater chances of success of a project. Generally, these factors include support from management, appropriate budget, appropriate schedule, and skilled software engineers.

Commencement of the project: Once the project planning is complete and resources are assigned to team members, the software project commences.

Project Plan:

A project plan helps a project manager to understand, monitor, and control the development of software project. This plan is used as a means of communication between the users and project management team. 

There are various advantages associated with a project plan, some of which are listed below.

• It ensures that software is developed according to the user requirements, objectives, and scope of the project.
• It identifies the role of each project management team member involved in the project.
• It monitors the progress of the project according to the project plan.
• It determines the available resources and the activities to be performed during software development.
• It provides an overview to management about the costs of the software project, which is estimated during project planning.