The goal of the Software Project Monitoring and Tracking Key Process Area (KPA) is to provide sufficient information about project performance so that the project manager can detect variances between performance and plan and take preventive or corrective action. This KPA influences all PMBOK knowledge areas and is most closely associated with the Monitoring and Control process group. As with the other KPAs, software project tracking and monitoring is organized into goals, commitments, skills, activities, measurements, and checks.

goals

The objectives of this KPA relate to and support project monitoring and corrective actions. The goals are for results to be tracked against project plans, for corrective action to be taken when there is a variance between planned and actual results, and for affected groups to agree on corrective action that changes the project plan. All skills and activities support the achievement of these goals.

Performance Commitment

Commitments to this KPA are required at the executive level. The first commitment is that a software project manager be assigned to the project. This commit will be done by default for most IT projects. The project manager responsible for the entire project is likely to be someone who considers himself a “software project manager” or at least has software project management experience. When larger projects require that a subproject be defined for the creation of a software application or system, this engagement requires that a project manager be assigned to manage the subproject. This is an organizational commitment, but it may require that you identify and assign a project manager to manage the software subproject if you are the general manager of the project.

The second commitment is also at the organizational level and is that project management follows a written organizational policy for software project management. PMs working in a PMO or PMC should have such a policy to follow. If you are a project manager leading the charge for CMM/CMMI certification, you should undertake the writing of this policy to govern your project and future projects in your organization.

ability to perform

5 skills are required to meet CMM/CMMI level 2 criteria. The first skill is that the software project has a project plan. The second is that the software project manager assigns work to the project team. This means not only that the project manager defines, organizes, and schedules the work in the project plan, but directs individual team members to get the work done. I believe that meeting the criteria for this skill requires that the software project manager have the authority to direct the work of the project resources for the duration of the project. The best way to officially grant this authority is through the Project Charter that governs the project.

The third capability requires that adequate resources be provided for monitoring and supervision activities. The planning of the activities will be based on the plans and schedule of the project. The budget for resources to carry out monitoring and follow-up activities, which are part of the approved project budget, will demonstrate adequate funding. Skill 4 requires that the software project manager be trained to manage the “staff and technical aspects” of the software project. I would argue that there is no better way to demonstrate this skill than by becoming a Project Management Professional (PMP®) software project manager certified. The Project Management Institute oversees this certification and is recognized worldwide as a leader in the area of ​​project management certification and project management best practices. Certification of your software project manager is easy, as long as the PMI criteria for project management experience are met. As long as they are, the project manager can choose from a host of quality PMP® courses or PMP® exam preparation training products to prepare them for the certification exam. These courses will train project managers in project management best practices and their implementation, as well as help the project manager pass their exam.

The final skill calls for front-line software managers to receive “guidance in the technical aspects of the software project.” CMMI defines a first-line software manager as someone who has direct management responsibility, including responsibility for providing technical direction, personnel, and activities for a single organizational unit. This definition coincides with the PMBOK® definition of functional manager. The front line manager must be educated on the tools, processes, procedures, and standards used for the project.

Activities

Activities requested by CMM include:

1. Use the project plan to track activities and communicate project status. The plan should be updated with information on completed work and made available to project stakeholders. Your MS Project file will meet this criteria and convert your WBS/Schedule into various formats that can be accessed by stakeholders who don’t have MS Project on their desktop.
2. Project plans are reviewed according to a documented procedure. This procedure will be your Change Management plan, or Integrated Change Control System (ICCS). The various components of the project plan specify how the ICCS approved changes/change management plan will be implemented. The activity also requires a review of the revised project plan.
3. Commitments to external groups and any changes to those commitments are reviewed with senior management in accordance with a documented procedure. In the context of monitoring and supervision, this activity will be described in the project’s change management plan.
4. Approved changes to the software project are communicated to members of the software engineering group and other software-related groups. Your change management plan, or communications management plan, should describe this.
5. Work product sizes or changes to work products are tracked and necessary corrective action is taken. CMM uses the word “size” to refer to the number of lines of code, .html pages, or documentation pages produced. The idea is to compare the actual size with the estimates in order to identify the actions needed to correct the estimation procedure and future estimates.
6. Effort and costs are tracked and corrective action is taken when necessary. The cost management portion of the project plan will govern the tracking and control of expenses and identify how corrective actions will be identified. The change management plan governs how changes to cost estimates are to be made. Since software development projects are often not directly driven by budgets, this can be accomplished in the time management plan for the project.
7. Critical computing resources are tracked and corrective action is taken when necessary. These will be tracked, along with other project resources, in the resource management plan.
8. The schedule is tracked and corrective action is taken when necessary. The Time Management portion of the project plan will describe how this happens, including discussion of early and late delivery dates in the plan.
9. Technical activities are tracked and corrective action is taken when necessary. Technical activities refer to the methods, procedures, and processes used to develop and test software. Test activities will be described in the quality management plan. Most of the methods, procedures, and processes associated with software development should be captured in the Configuration Management plan. Activities not covered by the Configuration Management or Quality Management plans should be described in a separate plan.
10. Project risks are tracked. This is achieved through the Risk Management plan.
11. Measurement data and replanning data are recorded. This includes estimates and data associated with estimates, as well as data that measures work completed. The estimates will be captured in the WBS and the schedule. Estimation tools and methods such as function point analysis (FPA) will be described elsewhere.
12. The software engineering group conducts periodic internal reviews to track technical progress, plans, performance, and plan-related issues. The software engineering group includes the front line managers and the software project manager. This activity is covered by their weekly status review meetings.
13. Formal reviews to address achievements and results are held at selected project milestones. These formal reviews will correspond to your gate reviews.