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Welcome to Microsoft Project's Templates!

Microsoft Project's templates give you a head start in setting up your project plans.  Each template consists of a starter schedule of typical project tasks and specially-formatted views tailored for the template's project type.

You can learn more about how to start planning with this file by reading through the template's cue cards.  (You are reading them right now!)  Cue cards are special help files which will introduce you to the project's major phases and tasks, and guide you through the process of saving the file as the base for your project schedule.


Software Development Template

This template is based on the traditional development life cycle for custom software systems.  Since every development effort is unique, you will want to tailor this file to fit your own project plans.  After you have toured the template and saved your own version of the project, you can use Microsoft Project's standard cue cards to guide you through customizing the plans for your own needs.

 What do you want to do?

  Tour the template project

  Learn about this template's views

  Review this template's reports

  Save my own version of this project

  Start customizing the project schedule


Software Development Template Overview

This software development project is made up of eight standard phases.  The basic work within each phase is representative of a typical software development project, however, the names of certain tasks or stages may not reflect the naming standards of your organization.  In order to help you see how your project plans can fit into this framework, the following cue cards present important information about the tasks included in the template.

The next cue card presents a list from which you can choose to look at a brief overview of any of the project phases. Each overview presents a general introduction to the project phase, and also offers some broad suggestions for changes you may want to make in order to customize the template for your own project plans.


Software Development Template Phases
Software Development Phases

 Which overview do you want to see?

  Requirements Planning

  Preliminary Design

  Detailed Design

  Programming and Unit Testing

  Integration Testing

  System Testing

  Installation

  Operations and Maintenance


Requirements Planning

The goal of the Requirements Planning Phase is to clearly define the scope and purpose of the software development project.  During this phase the project team reviews existing systems, studies the work to be performed by the proposed system, and  identifies all relevant software requirements.  The primary output of this stage is the Software Requirements Specification, which includes functional requirements, interface requirements, and data base requirements.

A Software Requirements Review serves as a milestone to mark the end of the Requirements Planning phase.  This meeting is held to formally review the proposed design approach and all software requirements before the team moves on to the Preliminary Design Phase.

This template presents a small-scale software development project.  Your tasks' durations for the Requirements Planning Phase may be longer, and you might want to include more detailed tasks for some of the steps included in the template.  For example, you may want to add some sub-tasks below "Review Existing Systems" to account for each system that is to be reviewed.  The size and complexity of the system you are developing will dictate the appropriate level of detail for your project plans.


Preliminary Design

The aim of this phase is to document a high-level design of the software system.  During this phase all major system functions and data flows are identified, and initial designs are proposed for all interfaces.  In the template file there are three major system functions (labeled "segments") and two interfaces. that have been identified Depending upon the size of your development project, you will want to insert or delete segments and interfaces in your plans for this phase.

The three main documents that come out of this phase are the Functional Design Document, Interface Control Documents, and the Software Test Plan.

A Preliminary Design Review is conducted at the conclusion of this phase, and once the functional designs have been approved, the project team is ready to transition into the Detailed Design phase of the project.


Functional Design Document

The Functional Design Document Includes:

- Description of overall design concept.

- Descriptions of all processes in the program hierarchy.

- Data flow diagrams and descriptions of all data paths.

- Identification of all data base hierarchy levels.

- Definition of all standards for Detailed Design Phase.


Interface Control Documents

The Interface Control Documents Include:

- Description of interface.

- Definition of interface requirements.

- Documentation of interface design.


Software Test Plan

The Software Test Plan Includes:

- Description of all testing to be performed.

- Preliminary testing schedules.

- Assignments of testing responsibilities.

- Testing control procedures.

- Descriptions of test cases.


Detailed Design

The major goal of this phase is to develop a detailed design for every program in the system.  The designs include descriptions of all logic required for the program's functionality, as well as file definitions, data format, and screen and report designs.  The template project has five programs (Programs A-E) that are organized by system segment.  You will want to insert or delete segments or programs for your own project plans.

Internal Design Reviews are conducted as major pieces of the software design are completed, and a Critical Design Review is held after all detailed designs are complete.  These reviews ensure that the overall design meets all specified requirements.  The template project has utilized the segment structure of the project to schedule Internal Design Reviews after the designs of each segment's programs are completed.

Once the detailed designs are approved, the project team is ready to move on to the Programming and Testing phase of the project.


Programming and Unit Testing

This stage of the project includes translating the detailed designs into executable code, and testing individual program units.  The major steps in this process include coding the program, preparing test data and cases for all branches of program logic, and conducting a thorough unit test of the program.

The main deliverable from this process is a Program Unit Development Binder which includes a compiled program code listing, test plans and data, test results, and a history of all program revisions.

The template continues to use the system segments for structuring the tasks in this phase.  All programs are grouped by segment, and you will want to add or delete tasks for the number of programs in your own system.

Once a program is completely coded and thoroughly tested, it is eligible for inclusion in the Integration Testing phase of the software development project.


Integration Testing

Integration testing involves the close examination of groups of related computer programs which are the building blocks of the software.  Some MIS people refer to this as "string testing" or "chain testing".  Each major piece of the software system must pass two separate tests.  The first test verifies inter program communication links and connections with external interfaces.  The second test confirms that the process performs the functions specified in the design documentation.

Integration testing is performed in several stages, with progressively larger groups of programs being tested in each major stage.  After each "building block" of programs is fully tested, it is grouped with other related processes until all major components of the system have been independently tested.

The "building blocks" in the template project are the system segments.  Each segment is first tested alone, and then is grouped with related segments for the next stage of testing.  For your own project, you will want to reorganize the integration test plans to reflect logical groupings of segments in your software system.


System Testing

System testing is the phase of the project where everything comes together - all major building blocks of the system are coded and tested, and the project team is ready to examine the operation of the system as a whole.  Test cases are derived from the Software Requirements Specification, and include specific conditions related to all originally documented expectations.

System testing is conducted in a simulated operating environment, on the target processor if possible, and with data from actual interfaces.  Once the System Test is complete the project team conducts a Software Acceptance Review, during which all code and test results are examined.  At this time a customer representative signs a formal acceptance of the system, thus granting permission for the installation of the software in the live operating environment.

The template project's System Test is scheduled to last 20 days.  You will want to adjust this schedule to accommodate the size and complexity of your software system.


Installation

During the Installation Phase of the project, the software is installed on the customer's target processor and is brought into full operation.  Prior to the actual installation, however, operating instructions are documented, and all system users are thoroughly trained on the new system.  Additionally, if the new software is replacing an old system, all related data is converted to the new system's format before the software can begin running.

The template project has fairly limited data conversion and operator training requirements.  If you have a larger development project, or a project that requires large data base conversions, these phases would demand much more time and planning, and may potentially need to start earlier in the development life cycle.

Once the software is operational, the first few cycles of processing are closely monitored, and any problems with the system are immediately investigated and resolved.  The installation phase of the project represents the end of the software development effort, and the beginning of the software maintenance stage.


Operations and Maintenance

The Operations and Maintenance phase involves using, monitoring, and modifying the software system.  Day-to-day operations require expert handling of the software, as well as close observation and evaluation of overall system performance.  Needs for modifying the system can arise due to original design or development errors, changes in the surrounding environment, new functional requirements, or the desire to improve the software's performance.

Maintenance involves investigating problem reports and change requests and "re-developing" the parts of the system that need to be changed.  Strict change control mechanisms are crucial in this phase in order to facilitate the systematic correction and evolution of the software.  Since there is no way to predict the number of system modifications that will be required, the template file has only one example of the steps involved in such a task.  After the system is installed and change requests are filled out, the project manager will want to insert and schedule these new maintenance tasks.  This is the final phase of the software development life cycle.


Software Development Template Views

There are several views in this template that you will find useful when examining your project's tasks.  Since there are no resources included in this template (you can create them when you start to customize the project), the following views focus on project tasks.

 Which view do you want to see?

  Gantt Chart View

  Task Sheet View

  Tracking Gantt View


Gantt Chart View

To see the Gantt Chart view of this template, perform the following steps:

1.  From the View menu, choose Gantt Chart.

2.  From the View menu, in the Table drop-down menu, choose Entry.

3.  From the Tools menu, in the Filtered for drop-down menu, choose All Tasks.

The Gantt chart presents a list of project tasks on the left side of the screen, and a bar chart on the right side of the screen.  If you tab over in the left-hand side of the screen (it looks like a spreadsheet), you can view a number of different pieces of information relating to each task.  If you tab over on the bar chart portion of the screen, you can see the schedule for different time periods.  The text and bars of this Gantt chart have been formatted to provide information about the tasks at a glance.  The next cue card presents information about this special formatting.


Gantt Chart Formatting

The tasks with large red lettering and solid red bars ( [image]) are summary tasks for the major phases of the  project.  Summary tasks are high-level descriptions for groups of related tasks beneath them.  The schedule and duration of a summary task is determined by the sum-total of the durations and schedules of the detailed tasks it describes.  These particular summary tasks have been formatted to indicate the major stages of a software development project.

The tasks with bold blue lettering and solid blue bars ( [image]) are summary tasks as well.  They have the same characteristics of the red summary tasks, except that they do not represent major project phases; instead, they indicate groups of related tasks within a major project phase.

The tasks with plain blue lettering  and patterned blue bars ( [image]) are detailed tasks.  These tasks provide descriptions of the actual work that is to be performed in the project at the lowest level of detail.  The percentages to the right of these bars indicate the percentage of the task that is complete.  As you work on your project, and update the project's status, you will see these numbers change.

The tasks with green lettering and little green circles ( [image]) are milestones.  Milestones are tasks with a duration of zero that represent goals in your project.  The software development template contains milestones to mark the end of major project phases.


Task Sheet View

To see the Task Sheet view of this template, perform the following steps:

1.  From the View menu, choose Task Sheet.

2.  From the View menu, in the Table drop-down menu, choose Entry.

3.  From the Tools menu, in the Filtered for drop-down menu, choose All Tasks.

The task sheet presents a spreadsheet view of the tasks in your project.  If you are used to managing your projects in Microsoft Excel, then this might be a more familiar format for you to view.  If you scroll right on this screen, you can view many different pieces of information about your project.  By changing the tables and filters you apply to this view, you can view any piece of information you want about specific tasks in your plans.  This view is formatted in a similar manner to the Gantt Chart view.  The next cue card presents some information about this special formatting.


Task Sheet Formatting

The tasks with large red lettering are summary tasks for the major phases of the  project.  Summary tasks are high-level descriptions for groups of related tasks beneath them.  The schedule and duration of a summary task is determined by the sum-total of the durations and schedules of the detailed tasks it describes.  These particular summary tasks have been formatted to indicate the major stages of a software development project.

The tasks with bold blue lettering are summary tasks, as well.  They have the same characteristics of the red summary tasks, except that they do not represent major project phases; instead, they indicate groups of related tasks within a major project phase.

The tasks with plain blue lettering are detailed tasks.  These tasks provide descriptions of the actual work that is to be performed in the project at the lowest level of detail.

The tasks with green lettering are milestones.  Milestones are tasks with a duration of zero that represent goals in your project.  The software development template contains milestones to mark the end of major project phases.


Tracking Gantt View

To see the Tracking Gantt view of this template, perform the following steps:

1.  From the View menu, choose Tracking Gantt.

2.  From the View menu, in the Table drop-down menu, choose Entry.

3.  From the Tools menu, in the Filtered for drop-down menu, choose All tasks.

The tracking Gantt presents a graphic view of your project plans.  It is very similar to the basic Gantt chart, except that it includes some additional information about the history of your project.  The bars in the tracking Gantt include all of the bars for the current schedule, along with an additional bar for each task that shows the original planned schedule for the task.  This view is particularly useful if you want to keep track of major shifts in your project plans.  This view is formatted in a similar manner to the basic Gantt Chart view.  The next cue card presents some information about this special formatting.


Tracking Gantt Chart Formatting

The tasks with large red lettering and solid red bars ( [image]) are summary tasks for the major phases of the  project.  Summary tasks are high-level descriptions for groups of related tasks beneath them.  The schedule and duration of a summary task is determined by the sum-total of the durations and schedules of the detailed tasks it describes.  These particular summary tasks have been formatted to indicate the major stages of a software development project.

The tasks with bold blue lettering and solid blue bars ( [image]) are summary tasks, as well.  They have the same characteristics of the red summary tasks, except that they do not represent major project phases; instead, they indicate groups of related tasks within a major project phase.

The tasks with plain blue lettering and patterned blue bars ( [image]) are detailed tasks.  These tasks provide descriptions of the actual work that is to be performed in the project at the lowest level of detail.  The percentages to the right of these bars indicate the percentage of the task that is complete.  As you work on your project, and update the project's status, you will see these numbers change.

The patterned aqua bars ( [image]) on each of the tasks represents the original schedule you had for the task.  Even your original planned milestones will show up as little aqua circles ( [image]) in this view.  Once you have set up your first version of your project plans, you should use the "Set Plan" option to save the schedule for use in the Tracking Gantt and other reports.  Refer to the Microsoft Project User's Reference for more information on setting a plan.

The tasks with green lettering and little green circles ( [image]) are milestones.  Milestones are tasks with a duration of zero that represent goals in your project.  The software development template contains milestones to mark the end of major project phases.


Software Development Template Reporting

One of the most important tasks for a project manager is to effectively communicate information about his or her project.  This template includes several reporting features that have been designed especially for the manager of a software development project.  All of Microsoft Project's normal views and reports are still available for your use in case you want to design some reports of your own.

 Which report do you want to see?

  Current schedule progress report

  Current schedule vs. Original schedule

  Progress of Major Project Phases

  Task Variances


Current Schedule Progress Report

The best way to report on your project's progress according to the current schedule is to use the Gantt Chart view.  To print this report, perform the following steps:

1.  From the View Menu, choose Gantt Chart.

2.  From the View Menu, from the Table drop-down menu, choose Tracking.

3.  From the Tools Menu, from the Filtered for drop-down menu, choose All Tasks.

4.  Click on the heavy border between the task list and the bar chart, and drag it to reveal only the information you want to show up in your report.

5.  From the File menu, select Print Preview.

6.  Verify that the report appears as you want it.

7.  Choose Print.


Current Schedule vs. Original Schedule

The best way to report on the current schedule versus the original schedule you had planned is to use the Tracking Gantt view.  To print this report, perform the following tasks:

1.  From the View Menu, choose Tracking Gantt.

2.  From the View Menu, from the Table drop-down menu, choose Variance.

3.  From the Tools Menu, from the Filtered for drop-down menu, choose All Tasks.

4.  Click on the heavy border between the task list and the bar chart, and drag it to reveal only the information you want to show up in your report.

5.  From the File menu, select Print Preview.

6.  Verify that the report appears as you want it.

7.  Choose Print.


Progress of Major Project Phases

There will be times when you will need to report your project status to someone who will not need to see all of the detailed tasks in your plans.  The best way to show high-level information is to report on the status of your major project phases.  To prepare this report, perform the following tasks:

1.  From the View Menu, choose More Views.

2.  In the Views box, select Task Sheet.

3.  Choose the Apply button.

4.  From the View Menu, from the Table drop-down menu, choose Tracking.

5.  From the Tools Menu, from the Filter drop-down menu, choose Top Level Tasks.

6.  From the File menu, select Print Preview.

7.  Verify that the report appears as you want it.

8.  Choose Print.


Task Variances

To find out which tasks in your project require some special attention, you can print a report that shows all tasks and their corresponding schedule and duration variances.  Schedule variances are present when a task starts or finishes on a date different from your original plan.  Duration variances are present when the task is worked on for a duration longer or shorter than your original plan.  To prepare this report, perform the following steps:

1.  From the View Menu, choose More Views.

2.  In the Views box, select Task Sheet.

3.  Choose the Apply button.

4.  From the View Menu, from the Table drop-down menu, choose Variance.

5.  From the Tools Menu, from the Filtered for drop-down menu, choose All Tasks.

6.  From the File Menu, choose Print Preview.

7.  Verify that the report appears as you want it.

8.  Choose Print.


Setting Up Your Own Project From This Template
Save Your Own Version of This Project

If you find that the software development template is a good starting place for your project plans, you can save your very own version of this file.  To save your own project, perform the following steps:

1.  From the File menu, choose Summary Info.

2.  In the Title box, enter the name of your project.

3.  In the Company box, enter the name of your company.

4.  In the Manager box, enter your name (or the name of the Project Manager).

5.  This project is scheduled from the Start, so enter your anticipated start date in the Start box.

6.  Add a description of your project in the Comments box.

7.  Choose OK.

8.  From the File menu, choose Save as.

9.  In the directory box, select your destination directory.

10.  In the Save File as Type box, select Project.

11.  In the File Name box, enter a name for your file.

12.  Choose OK.

The file is now saved into your own file, and you can begin customizing the tasks and schedules for your own project plans!


Software Development Template Exit
Software Development Overview Exit

You have opted to start customizing your project file.  This window will now close down so that you can access the cue cards that will help you edit the project file.  These Cue Cards are located in SOFTDEV.HLP if you need to access them again.  To access the cue cards that will help you work with the project file, simply select "Cue Cards" from the Help menu.

 What do you want to do?

  Exit to template file

  Go back to learn more about this template


exitcue