Project Management

Operations

Operations affect the project differently depending on the phase. In early phases, word processing and PCs must be available for documentation. Computer-aided software engineering tool access might be required. Timing, type, and needs of access should be planned and negotiated well in advance. The kinds of problems a team might suffer from no access may delay documentation but does not delay the work of analysis. In the worst case, the work can be done manually. 

During design, the database administrator must have access and resources allocated for the definition and population of a test database. This must also be negotiated well in advance.

During implementation, old data must be converted to the new format and environment, programs must be placed in production, and users begin using the application. At this time, the operations department assumes responsibility for running the application. This responsibility must also be planned and negotiated in advance. 

When programming and testing begin, all project members need access to compilers, test database, editors, and, possibly, testing tools to work on their programs. Absence of resources at this time can severely delay project completion. For each day of person-time lost, there can be one day of project delivery time lost. Timing, type, and volume of access are all negotiated items. Advance negotiation should begin at least one month prior to the need. Most operations managers will tell you they want to know about a demand for their resources as soon as you can identify the demand and the date needed. Most operations managers will also tell you they want all requirements at once. So you should be prepared to discuss analysis, design, and implementation needs before much work takes place.

In general, operations managers need to know what the project needs from them and when. They also should be sent progress reports and told of any problems that affect the use of their resources.