BPR Diagnostics on a Completed Project

Assignment 1 - Summer 2008 BPR Diagnostics on a Completed Project Business Process Reengineering (BPR) and Software SEN 649 S.M. Saiful Islam ID # 0712004 Program – M.Sc. in SE June 18, 2008 1. INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................................. 3 1.1 ASSIGNMENT DESCRIPTION........................................................................................................... 3 1.2 DEVELOPER COMPANY INFORMATION.......................................................................................... 3 1.3 CLIENT COMPANY INFORMATION ................................................................................................. 4 1.4 PROJECT INFORMATION................................................................................................................. 4 2. DESCRIPTION................................................................................................................................. 4 2.1 BUSINESS PROCESS IMPROVEMENT PURPOSE AND SCOPE OF THE PROJECT .................................. 4 2.2 GAP ANALYSIS BETWEEN PROCESS IMPROVEMENT PURPOSE AND KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS ......................................................................................................................................... 5 2.3 QUANTIFICATION GAP ANALYSIS OF PIS USED IN THE PROJECT .................................................. 10 2.4 IMPLICATIONS OF THE DETECTED GAPS OF PIS ON REQUIREMENTS STABILITY AND DISAGREEMENT DURING ACCEPTANCE TEST ..................................................................................... 16 2.5 EFFECT OF REQUIREMENTS INSTABILITY AND DISAGREEMENT DURING ACCEPTANCE TEST ON COST, TIME AND QUALITY ASSURANCE OF DELIVERY ....................................................................... 19 2.6 ESTIMATED COST OF IDENTIFYING, DEFINING AND MEASURING RELEVANT PIS AND USING THEM IN THE PROJECT TO QUANTIFY, VERIFY, AND VALIDATE PURPOSE .................................................... 23 2.7 EXPECTED TANGIBLE AND INTANGIBLE BENEFITS OF QUANTIFICATION EXERCISE OF PIS IN DELIVERING BUSINESS PROCESS IMPROVEMENT SOLUTIONS DURING REQUIREMENTS COLLECTION AND BASE-LING, CHANGE MANAGEMENT, AND IMPLEMENTATION/ DEPLOYMENT/ACCEPTANCE TEST .......................................................................................................................................................... 26 2.8 ROOT CAUSES OF PRESENCE OF DETECTED GAPS AND HOW THEY COULD BE ADDRESSED ......... 30 1. Introduction 1.1 Assignment Description Take a completed in the category of business process or government work process improvement with the help of software and other IT devices/services. Investigate this project and answer the following questions related to BPR: 1. Describe business process improvement purpose and scope of the project. 2. Perform a gap analysis between process improvement purpose, whether implied or explicitly stated, and key performance indicators according to following template: Purposes Relevant performance indicators (PIs) Performance Indicators used in the project Gap between related PIs and PIs used in the project Causes for detected gaps 3. Perform quantification gap analysis of PIs used in the project. Purposes PIs used in the projects Scope of quantification (H, M, L) Level of quantification used in the project Gap between scope and used level of quantification of PIs Causes to detected gaps 4. What are implications of the detected gaps of PIs on requirements stability and disagreement during acceptance test? 5. What is the effect of requirements instability and disagreement during acceptance test on cost, time and quality assurance of delivery? 6. What is the estimated cost of identifying, defining, and measuring relevant PIs and using them in the project to quantify, verify, and validate purpose? 7. What are expected tangible and intangible benefits of such quantification exercise of PIs in delivering business process improvement solutions during requirements collection and base-ling, change management, and implementation/deployment/acceptance test? 8. What are root causes of presence of detected gaps and how could they be addressed? 1.2 Developer Company Information The ITNet Limited (www.ITNet.com ) is a leading software outsourcing company in Bangladesh which is providing primarily software services to the Nordic countries. This company is a sister concern and is an Offshore Software Development Centre (ODC) of the Danish IT company ITcare A/S (www.ITcare.dk). The ITNet has started its journey in December, 2005 and during this period it has completed a number of medium and large-scale projects successfully. 1.3 Client Company Information ITcare A/S (www.ITcare.dk) is the leading supplier of web-based collaborative tools in Denmark. Today, more than 450,000 users and 90 companies communicate and collaborate via ITcare's software. ITcare offers professional solutions (ITcare Business Solutions) for extranet, intranet, project management and web-based collaboration. ITcare’s software has been developed in order to create optimal conditions for effective communication, co-operation and knowledge sharing. 1.4 Project Information The concern project is a web portal which is the ITcare’s flagship product. This product enables to communicate fast and easy within organization, community, group or family- create new groups and manage events, share files, photos, polls, e-mail lists and many other things within ones’ groups. 2. Description 2.1 Business process improvement purpose and scope of the project The main purpose of this project was to dramatically improve collaboration ability among the group of people. The purpose is to provide the facility to communicate within the group in all means and all purposes in secure way based on the web technology. There could have many levels of groups in parent child relations. Following are the currently available collaboration modules of this project: Address Book The address book gives the detail view of the members and contact of a user. This module enables a user to invite others to join his/her group and add contacts. Message Board The message board gives the detail view of all the messages created in his/her group. This module enables user to create new message, reply message, show message thread, message history, etc. File Archive The file archive gives the detail view of all the files and folders in his/her group. This module enables user to create new folder, upload files, share files and folders, create network drives, zip and download files. This module also handles all the files from other modules message board, calendar, project etc. Calendar The calendar provides the different views – day, week and month. The calendar shows list of events in these views. This module enables to create new events, sending invitations to the members, limit participation, close event etc. This module enables to create both one time event and recurrent event. The reminder can also be sent for the event. There is also a special kind of event which is birth day event. This event is auto generated. Project Management The project management provides detail view of active and closed projects. This module enables to create new project, add resources to the project, create new activity, create actions to the activity, register time for the project element, etc. This module shows the different charts and graphs for the progress monitoring. Polls The Polls module shows the detail view of the polls. This module enables user to create new poll, invite members to participate in poll, vote to the poll, closes the poll. This module determines and shows the result of the poll. Chat This module enables the user to chat with other members. This module allows creating chat room and keeps the history of chats. Video Meeting This module enables the users to conduct video meeting among the members and keeps the meeting history. Note This module shows the detail view of all the notices. This module allows the user to create new note, new link and new folder. Solution Administration This module allows the solution administrator to configure the portal. This module enables to define the modules, different level permissions, and other characteristic. This module allows the solution administrator to customize the portal for client. Group Administration This module allows the group administrator to set the group characteristics and permissions. This module also allows the user to configure the modules for the group. 2.2 Gap analysis between process improvement purpose and key performance indicators Following table shows the gap analysis between process improvement purpose, whether implied or explicitly stated, and key performance indicators: Purposes Relevant performance indicators (PIs) Ease of use Intelligent display – most used member/contact on the top Configure the view – the columns for the address, paging Performance Indicators used in the project Ease of use Configure the view – the columns for the address Gap between related PIs and PIs used in the project The gap is medium. The intelligent display is missing. Causes for detected gaps Show detail view of the members and contacts of a user Lack of innovative thinking Invite others to join the group and add Ease of use Tracking status Ease of use Tracking status of There is a gap about the medium Didn’t consider SMS as the Purposes Relevant performance indicators (PIs) of invitation – accepted, declined Different medium of invitation – Email, SMS Add unlimited number of contacts Performance Indicators used in the project Gap between related PIs and PIs used in the project Causes for detected gaps contacts invitation – of invitation. This accepted, declined only supports Email. The gap is Add unlimited medium. number of contacts medium of invitation. Shows detail view of all the messages created in his/her group. Ease of use Intelligent display – most recent on the top, sorting, filtering Configure the view – the columns for the message, paging Ease of use Intelligent display – most recent on the top, sorting, filtering Configure the view – the columns for the message, paging No Gap detected No Gap detected Create new message, reply message Ease of use Secure Message Very fast delivery - <10 secs Accessible form Message Board, Email Client and Mobile SMS Ease of use Secure Message Very fast delivery - < 20 secs Accessible form Message Board, Email Client Gap is Low. Gap is about medium of accessing messages and replying. Mobile Client – SMS is missing. Didn’t consider SMS as the medium of message communication. Show message thread, message history Ease of use Complete Message Thread History of messages Ease of use Complete Message Thread History of messages Tree like views of files and folders Fast view - <5 No Gap detected No Gap detected Shows detail view of all the files and folders in his/her Windows like views of files and folders Gap is low. Not all windows like views available Lack of knowledge on users choice Purposes Relevant performance indicators (PIs) Configure view – tree, windows like Fast view - <5 Ease of use Performance Indicators used in the project secs Configure view Ease of use Gap between related PIs and PIs used in the project Causes for detected gaps group. Create new folder, upload files, share files and folders, create network drives, zip and download files. Ease of use Very Fast operation – create folder <3 secs, network drive <10 secs, accelerated upload and download Secure file sharing Ease of use Very Fast operation – create folder -<5 secs, network drive <10 secs, normal upload and download Secure file sharing Gap is low. Upload and download of file is not accelerated. Didn’t consider bandwidth and internet speed Handles all the files from other modules viz. message board, calendar, project Ease of use Secure archiving of file attachments from message board, email, calendar and project Ease of use Fast showing of views - <5 secs Configure the views – event list Ease of use Very fast event creation - <10 secs Drag and Drop of events Different medium of invitation – Email, SMS Ease of use Secure archiving of file attachments from message board, email, calendar and project Ease of use Fast showing of views - <10 secs Configure the views Ease of use Very fast event creation - <10 secs Drag and Drop of events Different medium of invitation – Email, SMS No Gaps detected No Gaps detected Provides the different views – day, week and month of the calendar. Shows list of events in different views. Create new events, sending invitations to the members, limit participation, close event etc. Gap is low. Event list display is not flexible Lack of knowledge on the customers choice Gap is Low. Gap is about sending invitation through SMS. SMS client is not considered. Purposes Relevant performance indicators (PIs) Performance Indicators used in the project Gap between related PIs and PIs used in the project Causes for detected gaps Create both one time event and recurrent event. Send reminder for the event. Highly Configurable recurrent event Very Fast creation of recurrent event - < 10 secs Preset reminder for the events Configurable reminder through SMS, email Highly Configurable recurrent event Fast creation of recurrent event < 20 secs Preset reminder for the events Low gap is detected. Medium performance. Reminder through SMS is missing Lack of technological solution for performance improvement. SMS reminder is not considered. Generate automatically special kind of event for birth days. Provide detail view of active and closed projects. Auto generated birthday event for the members Ease of use Configure the views – the columns, statistics Ease of use Very fast operation - <5 seconds for each action Configure project elements and hierarchy Gant chart, Bar chart, Pie chart etc to indicate progress Configurable charts and graphs Auto generated birthday event for the members No Gap detected No Gap detected Ease of use Configure the views – the columns, statistics Ease of use Very fast operation - <5 seconds for each action No Gap detected No Gap detected Create new project, add resources to the project, create new activity, create actions to the activity, register time for the project element, etc. The gap is medium. The project elements and their hierarchy is not configurable. For the sake of simplification of project management. Show the different charts and graphs for the progress monitoring. Gant chart, Bar chart, Pie chart etc to indicate progress The gap is medium. The graphs and charts are not configurable. For the sake of simplification of project management didn’t pay much attention Show the detail Ease of use Ease of use No gaps detected No gaps detected Purposes Relevant performance indicators (PIs) Configurable view of lists – the columns Ease of use Very fast operation - < 5 secs for creation of poll Diverse medium – Email, SMS for invitation Secure Poll Performance Indicators used in the project Configurable view of lists – the columns Ease of use Very fast operation - < 10 secs for creation of poll Secure Poll Gap between related PIs and PIs used in the project Causes for detected gaps view of the polls. Create new poll, invite members to participate in poll, vote to the poll, closes the poll. Low gap detected. The medium of invitation is only Email. The SMS is not considered as a medium of collaboration. Show the result of the poll. Accurate Result Very Fast Result Graphical Result Accurate Result Very Fast Result Medium gap detected. The graphical representation of poll result is missing. Low gaps detected. Emoticons are missing. Didn’t take users choice in consideration. Chat with other members, create chat room, and keep the history of chats. Secure chat session Very Fast exchange of messages Use of Emoticons History of chat Secure chat session Very Fast exchange of messages History of chat Didn’t considered latest chat trends. Conduct video meeting among the members and keep the meeting history Seamless video transfer – realtime True integration of voice and videos High quality as if round table meeting Secure meeting Seamless video transfer – realtime True integration of voice and videos Secure meeting Low gaps detected. Quality is not ensured. Didn’t considered high quality of video meeting. Show the detail view of all the notices. Ease of use Configurable view – selected Ease of use Configurable view – selected No gaps detected No gaps detected Purposes Relevant performance indicators (PIs) columns Performance Indicators used in the project columns Ease of use Secure notes Highly customizable Secure access control Data Flexibility Easy deployment Audit Trail Gap between related PIs and PIs used in the project Causes for detected gaps Create new note, new link and new folder. Configure the portal. Define the modules, different level permissions, and other characteristic. Customize the portal for client. Ease of use Secure notes Highly customizable Secure access control Data Flexibility Easy deployment Audit Trail Highly Portable No gaps detected No gaps detected Low gaps detected. Not highly portable. Didn’t consider all the users platforms. Set the group characteristics and permissions. Configure the modules for the group. Highly Customizable Secure access control Data Flexibility Highly Customizable Secure access control Data Flexibility No gaps detected No gaps detected 2.3 Quantification gap analysis of PIs used in the project Following table shows the quantification gap analysis of PIs used in the project: Purposes PIs used in the Project Scope of quantifica tion (H,M,L) M Level of quantificati on used in the project L Gap between Causes to scope and detected gaps used level of quantification of PIs M Did not establish suitable mechanism Low level quantification was not used Did not establish suitable mechanism Show detail view of the members and contacts of a user Ease of use Configure the view – the columns for the address Ease of use H M L Invite others to join the group and add contacts M L M Purposes PIs used in the Project Scope of quantifica tion (H,M,L) H Level of quantificati on used in the project H Gap between Causes to scope and detected gaps used level of quantification of PIs L No significant gaps detected Tracking status of invitation – accepted, declined Add unlimited number of contacts Shows detail view of all the messages created in his/her group. Ease of use M M L No significant gaps detected Did not establish suitable mechanism Detail quantification was not described No significant gaps detected M L M Intelligent display H – most recent on the top, sorting, filtering Configure the view – the columns for the message, paging M M L M L Create new message, reply message Ease of use M L M Did not establish suitable mechanism No significant gaps detected Not described well how to quantify in the client end No significant gaps detected Did not establish suitable mechanism Not described in low level how to quantify the thread Not described well how to quantify at low level Secure Message Very fast delivery - < 20 secs M M M M L L Accessible form Message Board, Email Client Show message thread, message history Ease of use H H L M L M Complete Message Thread M M L History of messages M L M Purposes PIs used in the Project Scope of quantifica tion (H,M,L) Level of quantificati on used in the project H L L L Gap between Causes to scope and detected gaps used level of quantification of PIs L L L M No significant gaps detected No significant gaps detected No significant gaps detected Did not establish suitable mechanism Did not establish suitable mechanism Not described how to quantify in client end Shows detail view of all the files and folders in his/her group. Tree like views of H files and folders Fast view - <5 secs Configure view Ease of use M M M Create new folder, upload files, share files and folders, create network drives, zip and download files. Ease of use M L M Very Fast operation – create folder -<5 secs, network drive <10 secs, normal upload and download Secure file sharing M M L M L M Not specified how to ensure secure file sharing Did not establish suitable mechanism Not specified how to ensure secure archiving of files Handles all the files from other modules viz. message board, calendar, project Ease of use M L M Secure archiving of file attachments from message board, email, calendar and project Ease of use M L M Provides the different views – day, week and month of the calendar. Shows list of events in different views. M L M Did not establish suitable mechanism No significant gaps detected Not well described how to quantify view configuration Fast showing of views - <10 secs Configure the views M M M M L L Purposes PIs used in the Project Scope of quantifica tion (H,M,L) M Level of quantificati on used in the project L Gap between Causes to scope and detected gaps used level of quantification of PIs M Did not establish suitable mechanism Not well described quantification of event creation Not described how to quantify drag and drop of events No significant gaps detected Detail description is missing about configuration No significant gaps detected Not mentioned how to quantify reminder No significant gaps detected Create new events, sending invitations to the members, limit participation, close event etc. Ease of use Very fast event creation - <10 secs Drag and Drop of events M L M M L M Different medium of invitation – Email, SMS Create both one time event and recurrent event. Send reminder for the event. Highly Configurable recurrent event Fast creation of recurrent event < 20 secs Preset reminder for the events Generate automatically special kind of event for birth days. Provide detail view of active and closed projects. Auto generated birthday event for the members H H L M M L M M L M L M H H L Ease of use M L M Did not establish suitable mechanism No significant gaps detected Configure the views – the columns, statistics Ease of use M M L Create new project, add resources to the project, create new activity, create actions to M L M Did not establish suitable mechanism Not mentioned how to quantify Very fast operation - <5 M L M Purposes PIs used in the Project Scope of quantifica tion (H,M,L) Level of quantificati on used in the project Gap between Causes to scope and detected gaps used level of quantification of PIs the performance the activity, register time for the project element, etc. Show the different charts and graphs for the progress monitoring. Show the detail view of the polls. seconds for each action Gant chart, Bar chart, Pie chart etc to indicate progress Ease of use M M L No significant gaps detected M L M Did not establish suitable mechanism No significant gaps detected Did not establish suitable mechanism Not described how to quantify the performance Not described how to ensure secure poll No significant gaps detected Not described the required level and how to measure Not mentioned how ensure secure chat No significant gaps detected Did not establish suitable mechanism Configurable view of lists – the columns Create new poll, invite members to participate in poll, vote to the poll, closes the poll. Ease of use M M L M L M Very fast operation - < 10 secs for creation of poll Secure Poll H M L M L M Show the result of the poll. Accurate Result Very Fast Result H M H L L M Chat with other members, create chat room, and keep the history of chats. Secure chat session Very Fast exchange of messages History of chat M L M M M L M L M Purposes PIs used in the Project Scope of quantifica tion (H,M,L) M Level of quantificati on used in the project L Gap between Causes to scope and detected gaps used level of quantification of PIs M Not specified how to measure seamless video transfer Not described how to quantify voice and video integration Not defined how to ensure secure meeting Did not establish suitable mechanism Not defined how to configure at low level No significant gaps detected Not mentioned how to ensure secure note Not mentioned in low level how to quantify customization No significant gaps detected Not described in detail how to ensure data flexibility Not well specified the easy deployment No significant gaps detected Not mentioned in low level how to quantify Conduct video meeting among the members and keep the meeting history Seamless video transfer – realtime True integration of voice and videos Secure meeting H M M M L M Show the detail view of all the notices. Ease of use M L M Configurable view – selected columns Create new note, new link and new folder. Ease of use Secure notes M L M L M L L L M Configure the portal. Define the modules, different level permissions, and other characteristic. Customize the portal for client. Highly customizable H M M Secure access control Data Flexibility H M H M L L Easy deployment M L M Audit Trail Set the group characteristics and permissions. Configure the Highly Customizable H H M M L M Purposes PIs used in the Project Scope of quantifica tion (H,M,L) Level of quantificati on used in the project Gap between Causes to scope and detected gaps used level of quantification of PIs customization modules for the group. Secure access control Data Flexibility H M H M L L No significant gaps detected Not described in detail how to ensure data flexibility 2.4 Implications of the detected gaps of PIs on requirements stability and disagreement during acceptance test The implications of the detected gaps of PIs on requirements stability and disagreement during acceptance test were significantly high. Though, for this project, the detected gaps for the performance indicator were Medium, still the implications of these gaps are pretty high. Several times the requirements were restated and still there were confusions and vagueness in the requirements. In turn the acceptance test had been affected significantly and needed huge rework. Purposes PIs used in the Project Gap between scope and used level of quantification of PIs M L Implications of the detected gaps of PIs on Requirement Stability M M Acceptance Test H M Show detail view of the members and contacts of a user Ease of use Configure the view – the columns for the address Ease of use Invite others to join the group and add contacts Shows detail view of all the messages created in his/her group. M M M Ease of use M H M H L Intelligent display – L most recent on the top, sorting, filtering Ease of use Very fast delivery < 20 secs Ease of use M L M Create new message, reply message M M H M H H Show message Purposes PIs used in the Project Gap between scope and used level of quantification of PIs L M L L M M L Implications of the detected gaps of PIs on Requirement Stability M M M L M M M Acceptance Test M M H L H M H thread, message history Complete Message Thread History of messages Shows detail view of all the files and folders in his/her group. Create new folder, upload files, share files and folders, create network drives, zip and download files. Fast view - <5 secs Configure view Ease of use Ease of use Very Fast operation – create folder -<5 secs, network drive -<10 secs, normal upload and download Secure file sharing M M M M M M H H L Handles all the files from other modules viz. message board, calendar, project Ease of use Secure archiving of file attachments from message board, email, calendar and project Ease of use Provides the different views – day, week and month of the calendar. Shows list of events in different views. M M H Fast showing of views - <10 secs Configure the views Ease of use Very fast event creation - <10 secs Drag and Drop of events Highly Configurable recurrent event Fast creation of recurrent event - < L L M M M L H M M L H H H H H H M H Create new events, sending invitations to the members, limit participation, close event etc. Create both one time event and recurrent event. Send reminder for the event. L M M Purposes PIs used in the Project Gap between scope and used level of quantification of PIs Implications of the detected gaps of PIs on Requirement Stability Acceptance Test 20 secs Preset reminder for the events Generate Auto generated automatically special birthday event for kind of event for birth the members days. Provide detail view of active and closed projects. Ease of use Configure the views – the columns, statistics Ease of use Very fast operation - <5 seconds for each action M L M L L M M L M M M L Create new project, add resources to the project, create new activity, create actions to the activity, register time for the project element, etc. Show the different charts and graphs for the progress monitoring. Show the detail view of the polls. M M M M M H Gant chart, Bar chart, Pie chart etc to indicate progress Ease of use Configurable view of lists – the columns Ease of use Very fast operation - < 10 secs for creation of poll Secure Poll L M H M L M L H M Create new poll, invite members to participate in poll, vote to the poll, closes the poll. Show the result of the poll. Chat with other members, create chat room, and keep the history of chats. Conduct video M L L L M M M L M M L M M M H M M L M M M H H M M M H Accurate Result Very Fast Result Secure chat session Very Fast exchange of messages History of chat Seamless video Purposes PIs used in the Project Gap between scope and used level of quantification of PIs Implications of the detected gaps of PIs on Requirement Stability Acceptance Test meeting among the members and keep the meeting history transfer – real-time True integration of voice and videos Secure meeting M M M M L M M L L M L M L L L M M L L M M H H M M M M M M H H M M M H H H H L H M H Show the detail view of all the notices. Ease of use Configurable view – selected columns Ease of use Secure notes Highly customizable Secure access control Data Flexibility Easy deployment Audit Trail Create new note, new link and new folder. Configure the portal. Define the modules, different level permissions, and other characteristic. Customize the portal for client. Set the group characteristics and permissions. Configure the modules for the group. Highly Customizable Secure access control Data Flexibility 2.5 Effect of requirements instability and disagreement during acceptance test on cost, time and quality assurance of delivery The effect of requirements instability and disagreement during acceptance test on cost, time and quality assurance of delivery is remarkably high. Due to the requirements instability and disagreement on the different test criteria the acceptance test has been badly affected. There were always chances of debate and clashes among the developers and quality assurance guys which in turn affected the quality and delivery of the project. Many requirements and performance didn’t meet the client’s expected level and that’s why didn’t pass the acceptance test. These failures and clients dissatisfaction forced to make many changes in design and coding. These required significant amounts of rework. These forced to work many extra hours and shift the deadline. Due to the time pressure, it was very difficult to ensure the quality of the delivery. Purposes PIs used in the Project Implications of the detected gaps of PIs on Require ment Stability Acceptance Test Effect of requirements instability and disagreement during acceptance test on Extra Cost (US$) 1125 750 Extra Time (Person days) 15 10 Fall of Quality (%) 5 0 Show detail view of the members and contacts of a user Invite others to join the group and add contacts Shows detail view of all the messages created in his/her group. Create new message, reply message Show message thread, message history Ease of use Configure the view – the columns for the address Ease of use M M H M M M 1500 20 10 Ease of use H H L 900 750 12 10 5 10 Intelligent display M – most recent on the top, sorting, filtering Ease of use Very fast delivery - < 20 secs Ease of use Complete Message Thread History of messages M M H M M M L M M M M H H M M H L H M H 375 1125 375 1500 750 1500 375 900 1125 1500 5 15 5 20 10 20 5 12 15 20 10 15 5 10 5 10 5 10 15 10 Shows detail view of all the files and folders in his/her group. Create new folder, upload files, share files and folders, create network drives, zip and download files. Fast view - <5 secs Configure view Ease of use Ease of use Very Fast operation – create folder -<5 secs, network drive <10 secs, normal upload and download Secure file sharing M M H H 975 750 13 10 10 5 Handles all the Ease of use Purposes PIs used in the Project Implications of the detected gaps of PIs on Require ment Stability Acceptance Test Effect of requirements instability and disagreement during acceptance test on Extra Cost (US$) 750 Extra Time (Person days) 10 Fall of Quality (%) 10 files from other modules viz. message board, calendar, project Secure archiving of file attachments from message board, email, calendar and project Ease of use M L Provides the different views – day, week and month of the calendar. Shows list of events in different views. Create new events, sending invitations to the members, limit participation, close event etc. Create both one time event and recurrent event. Send reminder for the event. M H 2250 30 5 Fast showing of views - <10 secs Configure the views Ease of use Very fast event creation - <10 secs Drag and Drop of events Highly Configurable recurrent event Fast creation of recurrent event < 20 secs Preset reminder for the events H M M L H H H H 1875 1500 900 750 25 20 12 10 10 5 10 10 H H M H 1500 1875 20 25 5 10 M M 750 10 10 M L L M 900 750 12 10 0 5 Generate automatically special kind of event for birth days. Provide detail view of active and closed projects. Auto generated birthday event for the members Ease of use Configure the views – the columns, statistics Ease of use M M M L 600 900 8 12 5 5 Create new M M 750 10 5 Purposes PIs used in the Project Implications of the detected gaps of PIs on Require ment Stability Acceptance Test Effect of requirements instability and disagreement during acceptance test on Extra Cost (US$) 375 Extra Time (Person days) 5 Fall of Quality (%) 5 project, add resources to the project, create new activity, create actions to the activity, register time for the project element, etc. Show the different charts and graphs for the progress monitoring. Show the detail view of the polls. Very fast operation - <5 seconds for each action M H Gant chart, Bar chart, Pie chart etc to indicate progress Ease of use Configurable view of lists – the columns Ease of use Very fast operation - < 10 secs for creation of poll Secure Poll M H 2625 35 15 M L H M 750 750 10 10 10 5 Create new poll, invite members to participate in poll, vote to the poll, closes the poll. Show the result of the poll. Chat with other members, create chat room, and keep the history of chats. L L M M 375 900 5 12 5 10 M H M M L M H H M M 750 1350 1500 1125 750 10 18 20 15 10 0 5 10 5 10 Accurate Result Very Fast Result Secure chat session Very Fast exchange of messages History of chat M M M H 375 2250 5 30 0 10 Conduct video meeting among the members and keep the meeting history Seamless video transfer – realtime True integration of voice and L M 750 10 5 Purposes PIs used in the Project Implications of the detected gaps of PIs on Require ment Stability Acceptance Test Effect of requirements instability and disagreement during acceptance test on Extra Cost (US$) Extra Time (Person days) Fall of Quality (%) videos Secure meeting Show the detail view of all the notices. Ease of use Configurable view – selected columns Ease of use Secure notes Highly customizable Secure access control Data Flexibility Easy deployment Audit Trail Highly Customizable Secure access control Data Flexibility M M L H H M 900 750 750 12 10 10 0 5 5 Create new note, new link and new folder. Configure the portal. Define the modules, different level permissions, and other characteristic. Customize the portal for client. Set the group characteristics and permissions. Configure the modules for the group. L M M H H M M M M M M M H H H H L H M H 900 750 2250 2250 3000 750 1200 900 1125 1500 US$ 63,975 extra Cost 12 10 30 30 40 10 16 12 15 20 853 person days extra 0 5 10 10 20 10 0 10 5 10 7.24 % Total Effect of Requirement instability and disagreement during acceptance test 2.6 Estimated cost of identifying, defining and measuring relevant PIs and using them in the project to quantify, verify, and validate purpose The estimated cost of identifying, defining and measuring relevant PIs and using them in the project to quantify, verify and validate would be significantly high. But if it is considered in respect to the scope, size and complexity of the project and ultimate benefits likely to be derived from this practice would highly justify these cost and efforts. Purposes Estimated Cost of identifying, defining and measuring relevant PIs Effort (Person days) Cost (US$) 375 Cost of using identified PIs in the project to quantify, verify and validate purpose Effort (Person days) 15 Cost (US$) 1125 Estimated cost (US$) 1500 Show detail view of the members and contacts of a user Invite others to join the group and add contacts Shows detail view of all the messages created in his/her group. Create new message, reply message Show message thread, message history Shows detail view of all the files and folders in his/her group. Create new folder, upload files, share files and folders, create network drives, zip and download files. Handles all the files from other modules viz. message board, calendar, project Provides the different views – day, week and month of the calendar. Shows list of events in different views. Create new events, sending invitations to the members, limit participation, close event etc. Create both one time 5 5 375 20 1500 1875 3 225 12 900 1125 2 5 150 375 10 16 750 1200 900 1575 7 525 20 1500 2025 5 375 15 1125 1500 5 375 16 1200 1575 10 750 30 2250 3000 5 375 15 1125 1500 5 375 20 1500 1875 Purposes Estimated Cost of identifying, defining and measuring relevant PIs Effort (Person days) Cost (US$) Cost of using identified PIs in the project to quantify, verify and validate purpose Effort (Person days) Cost (US$) Estimated cost (US$) event and recurrent event. Send reminder for the event. Generate automatically special kind of event for birth days. Provide detail view of active and closed projects. Create new project, add resources to the project, create new activity, create actions to the activity, register time for the project element, etc. Show the different charts and graphs for the progress monitoring. Show the detail view of the polls. Create new poll, invite members to participate in poll, vote to the poll, closes the poll. Show the result of the poll. Chat with other members, create chat room, and keep the history of chats. Conduct video meeting among the members and keep the meeting history Show the detail view of all the notices. 2 300 10 750 1050 3 225 10 750 975 5 375 15 1125 1500 7 525 25 1875 2400 3 2 225 150 10 8 750 600 975 750 5 3 375 225 16 15 1200 1125 1575 1350 5 375 20 1500 1875 1 75 5 375 450 Purposes Estimated Cost of identifying, defining and measuring relevant PIs Effort (Person days) Cost (US$) 75 750 Cost of using identified PIs in the project to quantify, verify and validate purpose Effort (Person days) 5 40 Cost (US$) 375 3000 Estimated cost (US$) 450 3750 Create new note, new link and new folder. Configure the portal. Define the modules, different level permissions, and other characteristic. Customize the portal for client. Set the group characteristics and permissions. Configure the modules for the group. Total 1 10 7 525 30 2250 2775 111 person days US$ 8,475 398 person days US$ 29,850 US$ 38,325 2.7 Expected tangible and intangible benefits of quantification exercise of PIs in delivering business process improvement solutions during requirements collection and base-ling, change management, and implementation/ deployment/acceptance test The project was initially estimated around 240 man months but it took around 300 man months to deliver the first version of it. It took around 60 man months of rework to deliver the projects at the customer’s acceptance. But, there were still some issues which should have been taken care of. The quality requirement didn’t meet the client’s expectation. The client is still unhappy in many areas and maintenance has become tough job. However, the exercise of PIs in delivering the solutions during requirements collection and base-lining, change management, and implementation, deployment and acceptance test will bring significant tangible and intangible benefits to the company. The first tangible benefits of this exercise would be significant amount of cost savings through reducing significant amount of rework and additional work. The second tangible benefits of the project would be significant improvement of quality of the delivery. Another most important tangible benefit would be meeting the deadline in estimated time and budget. Following table describes the most tangible benefits likely to derive from the quantification practice. Purposes Addition of cost & effort in the project due to the adoption of PIs quantification exercise Effort (Person days) Cost (US$) 1500 Reduction of rework in the project due to the adoption of PIs quantification exercise Effort (Person days) 36 Net cost savings Cost (US$) (US$) 2700 1200 Show detail view of the members and contacts of a user Invite others to join the group and add contacts Shows detail view of all the messages created in his/her group. Create new message, reply message Show message thread, message history Shows detail view of all the files and folders in his/her group. Create new folder, upload files, share files and folders, create network drives, zip and download files. Handles all the files from other modules viz. message board, calendar, project Provides the different views – day, week and month of the calendar. Shows list of events in different views. Create new events, sending invitations to the members, limit participation, close event etc. 20 25 1875 45 3375 1500 15 1125 27 2025 900 12 21 900 1575 22 38 1650 2850 750 1275 27 2025 49 3675 1650 20 1500 36 2700 1200 21 1575 38 2850 1275 40 3000 72 5400 2400 20 1500 36 2700 1200 Purposes Addition of cost & effort in the project due to the adoption of PIs quantification exercise Effort (Person days) Cost (US$) 1875 Reduction of rework in the project due to the adoption of PIs quantification exercise Effort (Person days) 45 Net cost savings Cost (US$) (US$) 3375 1500 Create both one time event and recurrent event. Send reminder for the event. Generate automatically special kind of event for birth days. Provide detail view of active and closed projects. Create new project, add resources to the project, create new activity, create actions to the activity, register time for the project element, etc. Show the different charts and graphs for the progress monitoring. Show the detail view of the polls. Create new poll, invite members to participate in poll, vote to the poll, closes the poll. Show the result of the poll. Chat with other members, create chat room, and keep the history of chats. Conduct video meeting among the members and keep the meeting history 25 12 1050 22 1650 750 13 975 23 1725 750 20 1500 36 2700 1200 32 2400 58 4350 1950 13 10 975 750 23 18 1725 1350 750 600 21 18 1575 1350 38 32 2850 2400 1275 1050 25 1875 45 3375 1500 Purposes Addition of cost & effort in the project due to the adoption of PIs quantification exercise Effort (Person days) Cost (US$) 450 450 3750 Reduction of rework in the project due to the adoption of PIs quantification exercise Effort (Person days) 11 11 90 Net cost savings Cost (US$) (US$) 825 825 6750 375 375 3000 Show the detail view of all the notices. Create new note, new link and new folder. Configure the portal. Define the modules, different level permissions, and other characteristic. Customize the portal for client. Set the group characteristics and permissions. Configure the modules for the group. Total 6 6 50 37 2775 67 5025 2250 509 person days US$ 38,325 916 person days US$ 68,700 US$ 30,525 In addition to the direct cost benefits, following could be the other tangible benefits of quantification exercise of PIs in delivering business process improvement solutions during requirements collection and base-ling, change management and implementation/deployment/acceptance test • • • • • • • • • • • Completely testable Requirements Stable testable base line requirements Accurate and realistic test cases Solid implementation Smooth and efficient change management Easy adjustment of test cases Easy and controlled adjustments in implementation Optimum level quality assurance Smooth deployment Minimum surprise in acceptance test Expected acceptance in time – meets the deadline Following could be the intangible benefits of quantification exercise of PIs in delivering business process improvement solutions during requirements collection and base lining, change management and implementation/deployment/acceptance test • • • • • • • Customers Satisfaction Extra bonus from the client for the company Employees get the profit bonus and get directly benefited Smooth Maintenance of the project New business from the customer or from customers reference Company makes profit and more revenue and continue growth Increase job security 2.8 Root causes of presence of detected gaps and how they could be addressed The root causes of the detected gaps are in general for the all PIs in all areas of the Project. The following could be the general root causes of presence of detected gaps • • • • Inadequate or incomplete knowledge of the requirement engineer/solution engineer about the envisioned system Not taking actual users choice and psychology in consideration Not thinking and specifying the requirements from testers perspective Requirements changes or evolves drastically In the following ways these root causes could be addressed • Inadequate or incomplete knowledge Before specifying the requirement, the requirement engineer/solution engineer should acquire thorough knowledge on the envisioned system. S/he should study the existing system very carefully, study the available similar systems in place, interview the stake holders and target user, study the available technological challenges. Doing so, s/he can acquire comprehensive knowledge on the system and can specify the requirements well. • Not taking actual users choice and psychology in consideration The psychology and choice of the target user must be considered. If the target users don’t like the system then the project will must fail. Therefore, the opinion of the target users must be taken into consideration. • Not thinking and specifying the requirements from testers perspective The requirement engineer/solution engineer should have minimum skill on requirement engineering. S/he should have comprehensive knowledge on requirement specifying. Knowing the attributes and qualities of good requirements, s/he can specify requirements well that would be testable. • Requirements changes or evolves drastically The requirements changes or evolves drastically if the initial requirements specification and base-lining are not done properly. Therefore, the requirements base-lining should be done very carefully and should be verified by all the stake holders. Then strong change management should be in place. Each change request should be studied well and its impact should be analyzed well. This should be communicated with stakeholders. If the impacts are accepted by the stake holders, then the change should be implemented and corresponding update/adjustments should be made on all affected work products.