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Wireless Networking Handbook
(Publisher: Macmillan Computer Publishing)
Author(s): Jim Geier
ISBN: 156205631x
Publication Date: 09/01/96

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The project manager should create the schedule by first recording the phase names listed in the WBS and assigning someone to be responsible for each. The next step, working with the responsible team members, is to determine the starting date, duration, and due date for each task. If you cannot determine these characteristics for each task, consider further division of the task into subtasks to accommodate a more accurate assessment. You should also indicate the relationships between tasks using precedence relationships. In other words, show conditions that must be met (such as the completion of a particular task) before starting each task.

A project team must often deal with unrealistic schedules; that is, there might not be enough time to complete a quality implementation. In this case, you might want to consider decreasing the scope of the project.

Identifying Resources

Resources are the people and materials you need to perform the activities identified in the work plan. The goal of resource allocation, like most other planning activities, is to assign people and materials that maximize the success of the project, while minimizing the cost and time to complete the project. As you identify the resources, confirm their availability and schedule them to ensure they are ready when needed.

To properly plan resources, you need to

1.  Establish a project team
2.  Identify necessary materials

Establishing a Project Team

You should strive to formulate a project team that is fully capable of completing the project tasks. A project team with the goal of implementing a wireless network should consist of a project manager, customer focal point, analysts, engineers, implementors, and operations representative (see fig. 5.6).


Figure 5.6  The elements of a project team.

  Project Manager. The team should have one project manager who manages, directs, and is ultimately responsible for the entire project. This person coordinates the people and resources, ensuring all objectives of the project are met on time and within budget. The project manager should have experience and education in managing projects, have excellent communications skills, and be familiar with wireless networking concepts and with the customer’s environment.
  Customer Focal Point. A single customer focal point represents the interests of the users of the network and aims the project team in the right direction when determining requirements. The customer focal point should be very familiar with the user population and be able to speak honestly for the users.
  Analysts. Analysts gather information and define the needs of the users and the organization. The analyst should have good interviewing skills and be able to translate user and organizational needs into system requirements. It is also beneficial that at least one analyst on the team fully understands the customer’s business area.
  Engineers. Engineers provide the technical expertise necessary to fulfill the objectives of the project. Engineers should be part of analyzing needs, but primarily they work on designing solutions that satisfy requirements. Thus, engineers should be very familiar with wireless technologies and should understand how to interface wireless products to existing networks and systems. In addition, engineers can assist with installing the network components.
  Implementors. The implementors are the technicians who install and test the network. The installers set up and interface network hardware, software, and wiring; therefore, they should be familiar with reliable installation practices. Testers ensure the installation meets user expectations, system requirements, and quality standards.
  Operations Representative. The project team should have one operations representative to coordinate the project with existing network support organizations, ensuring that the implementation integrates well into the existing network infrastructure and support mechanisms. Thus, the operations representative should have a good knowledge of the existing network and understand current network support mechanisms.

How many analysts, engineers, and implementors should you have on the team? There are no accurate rules of thumb because the number of staffing depends on the complexity of the customer organization, the scope of the project, schedule constraints, and the experience levels of the people you have available to perform the work. If you are planning to deploy a wireless data entry system for a business having 50 employees, then you can probably get by with one or two team members. A deployment of this system to a company with 5,000 users, however, will require several analysts and engineers to define requirements and design the system, as well as a cadre of installers. The most important thing, though, is to make certain the team is composed of people having the ability to complete the project on time.

Identifying Material Resources

Besides identifying people resources through the development of a project team, you will need to indicate other resources, such as computers and software. Computers and associated software might be necessary to manage the project and create requirements documentation, design specifications, and installation and support plans. Other tools, including scheduling software, CAD (Computer Aided Drawing), and simulation software, might be necessary to effectively complete the project. Figure 5.7 illustrates an outline of a typical resource plan.


Figure 5.7  A resource plan outline.

Developing a Budget

As part of the decision to begin a project, managers might have performed an economic analysis and allocated a specific amount of funding for the project. Thus, the project team might need only to validate and refine the budget, given the knowledge of the work plan and staff availability. If no previous budgeting has been done, the team will need to start from scratch. For this case, estimate hardware and software costs by performing some requirement assessment and preliminary design. Most system integrator companies refer to these as pre-sale activities, providing a basis for a preliminary budget.


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