Central Washington University Software Project Plan main content
Assignment Learning Objectives
Be able to
- Use a Microsoft Office Word template to format a technical report
- Use sections and page breaks to break up and format a multi-page document
- Use Microsoft Word's automatic table of contents to generate and update table of contents for a technical report based on headings
- Use tables with captions and row/column headings to effectively present information
- Use the inverted pyramid style of writing to present key information and conclusions first
- Write paragraphs that begin with strong topic sentences, demonstrate unity, and flow logically and smoothly from one to the next
- Use Microsoft Office Project 2007 to revise and update a project schedule
Assignment
Use a Microsoft Office Word template (your choice) to create a Software Project Plan containing the following sections:
- Title Page
- Include your team name & logo, project name, and date. The title of the document is "Software Project Plan"
- Include the name(s) of the document editor and the name(s) of the authors who wrote content for this document
- Do not list as authors team members who did not write content for this document
- Include your faculty advisor and client's names
- Table of Contents
- Use Word's built-in automatic table of contents feature (under References ribbon in Word 2007)
- The first page of the Introduction Section should appear as page 1.
- Do not include page numbers on the Title Page or the Table of Contents page
- Do not include the title or table of contents sections in the Table of Contents
- Introduction
- Briefly describe the project vision statement, real-world problem description, and project stakeholders.
- Describe the project's scope and identify any major constraints that affect your project's scope (software compatibility, hardware, people, etc.)
- Conclude this section by describing the purpose, scope, and intended audience of this document. Preview the sections of the document that follow.
- Process Model and Team Organization
- Begin this section with a carefully written introduction paragraph(s) summarizing the section's contents and previewing the subsections that follow
- Describe your team's software process model and team organization
- Explain the rationale behind choosing this process model and organizational structure in terms of your project (not in generic software engineering terms)
- Identify the team members, their roles within the team, and their individual duties. Include the rationale behind the assignment of roles and duties
- Include a reference to Appendix A in this section
- Risk Management
- Begin this section with a carefully written introduction paragraph(s) emphasizing the key risk(s) and previewing the subsections that follow
- Describe the project's risks, their likelihood & impact, and the strategies for managing these risks
- Include a Risk Table sorted by likelihood (and then impact) or some other logical sorting order.
- Hardware and Software Requirements
- Begin this section with a carefully written introduction paragraph(s) summarizing the section's contents and previewing the subsections that follow
- Describe the hardware and software required for both the target installation and the development effort
- Specify CPU speed, memory, and disk space available on the target and development platforms
- Note any differences between the target platform & the development platform and your strategies for dealing with these differences
- If applicable, detail Web server, database, and network requirements
- Work Breakdown Structure
- Begin this section with a carefully written introduction paragraph(s) summarizing the section's contents and previewing the subsections that follow
- Describe the breakdown of the project into activities and identify the milestones and deliverables associated with each activity for both CS 480 and 481
- You may use last year's CS 481 assignments for help with next quarter's deliverables and dates
- Your CS 481 work breakdown structure should agree with your team's process model
- Include a reference to Appendix B in this section
- Project Schedule
- Begin this section with a carefully written introduction paragraph(s) summarizing the section's contents and previewing the subsections that follow
- Estimate the effort required for the project's major activities and deliverables for both CS 480 and CS 481
- Explain the team's approach to estimating effort, the dependencies between activities, and the strategies behind the allocation of people to activities
- Include a reference to Appendix C in this section
- Conclusion
- Include a short conclusion section to signal to the reader that the document is ending
- Appendices
- Appendix A: CS 480 Resource Usage (prepared with MS Project)
- Appendix B: CS 480 Task Sheet (prepared with MS Project)
- Appendix C: CS 480 Gantt Chart (prepared with MS Project)
- Any others as appropriate (optional)
Note: to reduce effort, you are not required to use Microsoft Project to generate detailed CS 481 resource usage, task sheet, and Gantt chart reports. However, include a description of CS 481 team roles and duties, its work breakdown structure, and scheduling strategies (in general terms using words) in the appropriate sections of this document.
Grading criteria
Your team may select an appropriate report template. While I encourage the team to use Word 2007, the use of Word 2003 is acceptable for this document.
A Sample Project Plan [PDF] is provided to illustrate formatting and style requirements. This example used the MS template Business report (Contempory design). Tips appear in blue colored font, styles appear in red colored font.
Your grade will be based on both your demonstrated writing proficiency (50%) and on the contents (50%) of the Software Project Management Plan.
Two scoring rubrics will be used in assessing this document: a content scoring rubric [PDF] and a writing proficiency scoring rubric [PDF]. You are encouraged to print these rubrics and use them as check lists for expectations, writing guidelines, and quality assurance.
You may wish to examine the previous years' CS 480 Software Project Plans kept in the computer science department. Ask LaVelle to show you where the binders containing the documents are stored. Note: These binders are not to leave the department office.
Honor code: The work needs to be your own. You may wish have someone from outside the team help by proof reading a draft version and identifying problems, but the words and content contained in the documents should be your own. Be especially careful about simply repeating the content of previous years' Software Project Plans made available for review. This is a violation of academic policy and considered as plagiarism.
Submission Guidelines
Turn in two printed copies of your Software Project Plan. One copy is graded and returned to you; the other copy is archived in the computer science department's files.
Include a link to your Software Project Plan (saved as a *.doc(x) file) and project schedule (*.mpp) on your team's Web site. I will download the files from your site to help with my grading.
Ask, and if desired, provide your faculty advisor and/or your client with a printed copy of your Software Project Plan.