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CHAPTER 7 PROJECT SCHEDULING AND TRACKING 189

7.10 THE PROJECT PLAN

Each step in the software engineering process should produce a deliverable that can
be reviewed and that can act as a foundation for the steps that follow. The Software
Project Plan is produced at the culmination of the planning tasks. It provides baseline
cost and scheduling information that will be used throughout the software process.
The Software Project Plan is a relatively brief document that is addressed to a diverse
audience. It must (1) communicate scope and resources to software management,
technical staff, and the customer; (2) define risks and suggest risk aversion techniques;
(3) define cost and schedule for management review; (4) provide an overall approach
Software Project Plan to software development for all people associated with the project; and (5) outline
how quality will be ensured and change will be managed.
A presentation of cost and schedule will vary with the audience addressed. If the
plan is used only as an internal document, the results of each estimation technique
can be presented. When the plan is disseminated outside the organization, a recon-
ciled cost breakdown (combining the results of all estimation techniques) is provided.
Similarly, the degree of detail contained within the schedule section may vary with
the audience and formality of the plan.
It is important to note that the Software Project Plan is not a static document. That
is, the project team revisits the plan repeatedly—updating risks, estimates, schedules
and related information—as the project proceeds and more is learned.

7.11 SUMMARY

Scheduling is the culmination of a planning activity that is a primary component of
software project management. When combined with estimation methods and risk
analysis, scheduling establishes a road map for the project manager.
Scheduling begins with process decomposition. The characteristics of the project
are used to adapt an appropriate task set for the work to be done. A task network
depicts each engineering task, its dependency on other tasks, and its projected dura-
tion. The task network is used to compute the critical path, a timeline chart and a
variety of project information. Using the schedule as a guide, the project manager
can track and control each step in the software process.

REFERENCES

[BRO95] Brooks, M., The Mythical Man-Month, Anniversary Edition, Addison-
Wesley, 1995.
[FLE98] Fleming, Q.W. and J.M. Koppelman, “Earned Value Project Management,”
Crosstalk, vol. 11, no. 7, July 1998, p. 19.
[HUM95] Humphrey, W., A Discipline for Software Engineering, Addison-Wesley, 1995.
[PAG85] Page-Jones, M., Practical Project Management, Dorset House, 1985, pp. 90–91.