Planning and Management | Tools and Techniques
Overview: WorkForce Technologies, Inc. (WFT) has developed Solutions
Implementation methodologies that combine best practice project management
methods with unique web tools and processes that have a proven track record
with past clients. WFT employs committee level planning and management to
provide the critical connection between corporate strategic goals and project
goals. The tools and techniques used with WorkForce's methodologies provide the
structure needed to get consistent results and the flexibility to be applied
easily by all project staff.
PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT
WorkForce Technologies' best practice methods are founded on the
company's unique subject matter expertise in voice and web technologies and
on its history of delivering successful solutions for a wide range of
industry types and client sizes. The resulting Project Management Model
can be easily scaled according to the complexity of the project.
Minimum Expectations
At WFT, a project must go through a planning phase resulting in a project plan,
including project objectives, scope, deadline, budget, resources, and phases. Projects
then follow the phases outlined in the project plan. Depending on the complexity of the
project, a more comprehensive approach is followed, as outlined below.
Develop and Follow a Project Plan. The project plan is a working document intended for use by the
respective Project Managers and the project team. It takes the results of the entire planning
process and puts them into a detailed, coherent document that is used to:
- document approved baselines: scope, time, cost, quality management and risk management
- document planning assumptions and decisions
- facilitate communication with project staff
- guide project execution and project control.
Select and follow a Life Cycle Model. The selection of the lifecycle is part
of the planning phase. The different models outline evolving levels of requirement gathering,
development, testing, and progress visibility. The correct lifecycle bridges the gap between
the capability of the model and the complexity of the project we undertake.
Execute and Control. WFT follows a systematic, disciplined approach with planned phases that
are documented in the project schedule.
A project may or may not start in the Concept phase, but will always go through a Planning phase, and
continue through Requirements, Design, Development, Integration, Testing, Implementation, and Maintenance.
Concept Phase: Proposed Idea or project proposal. This could be informal
discussion, or a more formal contract proposal. It is the foundation of the original requirements
and the planning.
Planning Phase: The project plan includes the following:
- Task list
- Deliverables
- Milestones and delivery dates
- Cost estimation
- Risk assessment
- Roles and Responsibilities
Requirements Phase: This phase captures and scopes the problem - the "what and what for." The documentation
covers the following:
- Functions (inputs and outputs)
- Interface
- Reports
- Screens
- Business Rules - should be testable
Design Phase: The output of this phase is design documents describing how the end product will function.
The following design documents are created:
- Database Design
- Class and object Design
- Module Design
- Interface Design
Development Phase: During this phase, we complete the definition of "how" - the code and the
database (if necessary) is developed and goes through internal unit testing.
Integration Phase: This phase is a step-by-step assembly of the pieces into a complete system. In
many instances, the voice and software applications share a common back end, with slightly different
integration issues and technical components. The WFT engineering team will analyze the current production
environment and propose a configuration that will meet project goals, including traffic, load, and security.
Testing Phase: In this phase, we prove the product satisfies the "what" specifications.
- Create Test Plan - who, what, when, how
- Create Test Cases - should be traceable back to the Requirements Phase
- Execute Test Cases
- Problem Tracking - WFT uses issue logs to track and resolve problems that are identified
during testing. This issue log is published on the Project Management website and is available
to the project staff.
Implementation Phase: The focus of the implementation phase is to install the project into a production
environment. Additionally, there could be other items that WFT can supply that support organizational
readiness, such as:
- Write user documentation (Optional)
- Write Help Desk documentation (Optional)
- Training users and Help Desk (Optional)
Release and Maintenance: WFT continues to solve the end user's evolving problem for a specified period
of time after the release of the application.
Back to Top
TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES
Tools:
Project Management Repositories. WFT provides a unique and comprehensive approach to project management
with our online project management repositories. A custom website is developed for each client when the
project is in the planning stage. This common portal for project documents and deliverables gives project
staff effective and timely communication. This facility is particularly useful in today's Information
Technology environment where project activities and resources may span several geographic areas and time
zones. The following products are all published and kept up-to-date:
Project Schedule. The project schedule outlines the planned phases and the overlap of the phases and resources.
It is available by all project staff online.
Templates. WFT provides examples and templates for project management tools such as requirement documents,
test plans, and use cases. Use of these templates and examples reduces delivery and development time and
assists in building historical data that can be re-used.
Diagrams and Flow Charts. Process flows, voice scripts, class diagrams and other deliverables are provided
to the client throughout the life cycle to facilitate understanding of the requirements and design to the
entire project staff.
Stress Test Software is available for high volume application use. WFT uses stress test software to
validate performance of delivered systems and supply performance statistics for load and traffic
on a proposed system.
Techniques:
With any project, the focus of project management is control and communication; the goal is to follow the
Project Plan to provide structure and constrain scope, while allowing enough flexibility to achieve the
client's requirements on time and within budget. The following represents some of these management techniques.
- Follow WorkForce's Project Management Model, outlined above.
- Provide consistent project reporting via regular telecons, issue logs, and the project management repository.
- Provide historical project data for management and benchmark use.
- Provide on-line communication and examples of deliverables via the project management repository.
- Adhere to formal project change control. In developing deliverables WFT uses a program version software (PVCS) to manage and coordinate development and implementation calendars.
Back to Top
