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week 1

Preface

This unit is a combined unit, this will enable you to undertake a single project that will focus on project management and website design and prototyping. The processes that you will go through will simulate a real world project and set of proceses. 

Introduction to the Units

Unit 8 Project Management

Assessment Critiera 

This unit will provide you with the opportunity to understand and use various project planning skills and techniques, thereby enabling you to become more effective in the workplace. The key to any project being a success is the planning that takes place. Project management skills are essential transferrable skills that can be used for all IT related projects whether it’s traditional methodologies or more recently adapted agile approaches within the IT development environment. These skills can be adapted and used even on the smallest ‘tasks’ during the planning and implementation stages. Regardless of your job role, you will often be called upon to participate in projects for a variety of reasons; consequently this unit is optional within all four of the specialist pathways. This unit will assist you in developing your skills, knowledge and understanding of different project methodologies and the key factors that can influence the success or failure of a project. Knowledge gained in the study of this unit will also help prepare you for relevant industry qualifications such as CompTIA Project+. Note: Learners must work on an IT project that would reflect the type of project carried out within the IT industry. For those learners following the Diploma qualifications their chosen project will ideally reflect their chosen specialist pathway.

Unit 21 Website design and prototyping

Organisations are increasingly reliant on their websites to market goods or services and interact with clients and customers. As technology develops, so does the scope of functionality of websites and the importance of an effective design that meets the needs of the organisation. In this unit you will research, design and produce an interactive, responsive website that is specific to a client’s needs, culminating in presenting the concept of the website using the prototype to the client. You will learn about the security risks in website design and how to minimise these threats. This unit will also allow you to incorporate existing interactive elements, as well as prototyping your own website.

This unit is optional within the Application Developer specialist pathway. Job roles within this pathway include web app developers as well as website designers, although these are different jobs with differing requirements, they do require similar skills, knowledge and understanding with respect to website creation and prototyping

 

Assesment Criteria

 

Initial Assessment

Using the following link, complete the quiz, this will provide an initial assesment of your knowledge and understanding before your commencement of these units. The assesment will provide data that will be used at setting your predicted grade for this unit. Remember that you should take this quiz seriously as it will enable your tutor to provide you with support to your require level of predicted achievement.

 

 Use the following link to access the socrative quiz

Soctative

Your Assignment is now available to download from Moodle. This assignment will cover the learning elements that we will be covering over the comming weeks and months. It is IMPORTANT that you read it fully and ensure that you understand what the deliverables are and the scenario used. Failure to check your understanding is correct will result in your submissions being inaccurate and potentially failing to meet the required grading criteria.

 

Unit 8: Understand the project life cycle

 

1.1 Project methodologies (e.g. Prince2, waterfall, DMAIC methodology, critical path method (CPM), agile development, individual methodologies as required by the client)

We shall begin our journy in to the world of project management by looking at the term. What is meant by project management?

"Project management is the application of processes, methods, knowledge, skills and experience to achieve the project objectives. General. A project is a unique, transient endeavour, undertaken to achieve planned objectives, which could bedefined in terms of outputs, outcomes or benefits." As defined by the Accociation of Project Managers https://www.apm.org.uk/body-of-knowledge/context/governance/project-management/

There are a number of different project management approaches that a person can use, and in some instances the only approach. Within certian business areas especially in govenment, specific project management schemes must be used. 

Let us look in to more detail at the more well known schemes/approaches available,

1.Agile

The agile approach looks at large projects as these cannot be fully planned as client requirements and objectives are likely to change and fluctuate. Because of these changes it doesnt make logical business sence to be inflexible.

There are 12-principals of agile development these are as follows 

1. The highest level of priorities is ensure that the customer is satisfied  hough the early and continuous delivery of software.
2. To be accepting of changes in requirements even in late develpments. The Agile process embrasses and harness change for the customers competitve advantage.
3. To be avle to provide/deliver functioning software in a relative short timescale, from weeks to months.
4. Key business people and developers need to work together daily thoughout the project.
5. Construct projects around those that are motivatedgiving them the support and environment required to enable them to feel trusted to get the job done.
6. Using face to face discussions within a development team to enable for an efficient and effective channel of communication.
7. Working software is the primary measure of progress and sucsess.
8. The agile process promotes a sustainable development. The sponsors, developers and users should be able to maintain a sustainable pace indefinatly.
9. Attention to the technical details enable the enhancement to achieve excelence and good design that enhances agility.
10. Keeping simplicity, maximising the amount of work not done is essential.
11. The best architeture, designs and requirements come from self-organising teams.
12. Regular reflection enables the teams to become more effecting as it adjusts to its behaviours accordingly.

Adapted from the source www.agilemanifestoorg

The key phases of Algile development are.

1. Envision
2. Speculate
3. Explore and Adapt (These are further broken down)
4. Close 

Create a information booklet on the key phase of Agile. You should provide detail to the stages so that a person new to Project Management could pick it up and understand it.

2. Prince 2

Prince 2 is the defacto project management methodologie used in any governmental establishment. 

Prince 2 has 7 stages within it,

1. A summary statement of why the project is required and what it is expected to achieve. (If the brief is approved a further level of detail will be provided through an improved brief that provides details to necessary expertise, resourcing, information on actions required.)
2. Directing the project via a project board that reviews the detialed brief and considers it agianst the business need and whether it will be a sucess before they appoint a project manager with agreed responcerbilities.
3. Creation of the project initiation documentation.
4. Contorlling a stage
5. Management product delivery
6. Project Closure
7. Planning

 

3.SDLC(Waterfall)

 

4. CPM (Critical Path Method)

5. DMAIC

 

 

1.2 Project life cycle, i.e.:

• initiation phase

Often refered to as the starting point the initiaition phase of a project requries the project leader and client to look at and consider the following elements of the project.

Why! Why do we need this project, is it really necessary?

Who! Who is it actually for? clients, the clients clients, target audiences, stakeholders?

 

• planning phase

Possibly the most important part of any project! "If You Fail to Plan, You Plan to Fail." Benjamin Franklin. This stage requires the conversion of the detailed project plan to a series of milestone points that are used by a project manager to determin the progress and implimentation of stages of a project. Builidng a roof before the walls are built! 

The plannign phase of any project must reflect on the work that has been done before. Sir Winston Churchill is credited with saying: “Those who fail to learn from the past are doomed to repeat it.”

 

• execution phase

 

• evaluation phase

 

1.3 Project issues, i.e.:

• communication (e.g. between team members, project manager, stakeholders, clients)

• external factors (e.g. finance, team members, etc.)

• conflicts (e.g. between project team members and/or client)

• lack of management/leadership

• poor planning

• legislation/regulation

 

Look into the IT horror video and answer the following;

The external & internal factors that impacted the project( legislations, communication, technology, stakeholders, product)

Unit 21: Fundamentals of Web Design

1.1 Components of web design, i.e.:

• domain name

• the purpose or a site map

• the use of hyperlinks to join webpages

• the position, structure and purpose of a navigation bar

• page design (e.g. navigation bar, title, page content, a plan for content management)

• designing for different browsers and devices

• responsive design for mobile/tablet technology
• how browser rendering can affect the layout of a webpage
• an understanding of browser rendering engines as a key to performance
• importance of design that takes this into account, what can happen when it is not considered

• World Wide Web Consortium

• open and closed standards in web development

• storage of data (e.g. linking to a database)

• methods of user interaction

• different methods of interactivity
• use of existing tools
• use of languages to add interactivity( e.g. Javascript, Flash)

Last Updated
2018-07-16 16:27:32

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Links to Learning Outcomes		Links to Assessment criteria
Unit 21: 1. Understand the fundamentals of web design Unit 8: 1. Understand the project life cycle		Unit 21 - P1: Describe the key components of website construction Unit 8 - P1: Explain the different phases within an identified project life cycle Unit 8 - P2: Describe different project methodologies Unit 8 - M1: Compare the features and benefits of different project methodologies Unit 8 -  D1: Evaluate the importance of each phase of the identified

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English and Maths Coverage

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Stretch and Challenge

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Homework

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How 2's Coverage

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Equality and Diversity Calendar

Files that support this week

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