Project Management for Microelectronics
1.0 Introduction to Project Management
Project Management is an important activity in virtually every organisation.
Every organisation, at some time or other, carries out projects which must be planned and implemented.
In many organisations project planning, implementation and management are done on an ad hoc basis. People in these organisations gain experience in project management but because formal methodologies are not used and their experience is not documented effectively, performance does not improve incrementally and when key people leave the organisation their experience leaves with them.
In this module we are concerned with formal project management methodologies.
In particular, we shall consider project management in small to medium size enterprises (SMEs) operating in the microelectronics sector. However the concepts introduced in this module are applicable to a wide range of organisations.
We shall start by considering the situation in an SME that is developing several new products concurrently.
Unit Contents
- 1.1 Product Development in an SME
- 1.2 Definition of a Project
- 1.3 Project Tasks
- 1.4 Project Phases
- 1.5. Microsoft Project
- Exercises using Microsoft Project
- 1.6 Summary
- Suggested Reading
1.1 Product Development in an SME
We shall assume we are working for an SME operating in the microelectronics sector. The company produces both ASICs and microcontroller based products.
The company has an active product development programme and the members of the Research and Development (R&D) department are always involved in product development, although this is not their only role. Consequently there are always several product development projects running concurrently. The situation is illustrated in Fig. 1.1.
Fig 1.1 Product Development Projects in an SME
Referring to Fig 1.1, Projects 2 and 3 are in progress, Project 1 is pending and Project 4 has just been completed.
Development resources are used for all the projects. Projects 2 and 3 are using resources as the projects progress, resources have been allocated to Project 1 and resources have been released from Project 4.
Development resources are located in a development resource pool.
Note that the company calendar is is an essential tool for project management. The company calendar is based on a standard calendar but it is modified to take into account company holidays and company working times.
It is possible to produce personal calendars within MSP that take into account the availability of individual people, but we shall not go to this level of detail.
We are going to produce a development resource pool and a company calendar, which will be used throughout the rest of the module.
The key concept expressed in Fig 1.1 is that several projects requiring resources (including management resources) are in progress, or being planned, at the same time.
The resource pool shown in Fig 1.1 is "within the company". In later units we will consider the more complex and more usual situation where the project resources are distributed over several companies operating in different countries.
1.2 Definition of a Project
Many books define a project as a unique undertaking that is different from other activities the company has been engaged in.
In contrast, we define a project simply as a collection of tasks. If a project happens to be unique (as in the above definition), we must recognise the fact and build in risk assessments and contingencies in the project plan.
In fact, all the project management concepts and tools we shall consider work better with projects that are not unique. For example, the manufacture of a product that is produced month after month can be planned, monitored and implemented using Microsoft Project. Note that the minimum resolution available in Microsoft Project is 1 minute, which is a strong indication that it may be used for short projects such as production.
In this module we will be considering projects such as new product development, production line set up, product enhancement, etc., which are carried out by the R&D department.
Commercially, we may think of a project as a venture that is important to the company. It is likely to be costly, but it should also provide financial benefits to the company.
1.3 Project Tasks
We have defined a project as a collection of tasks. So what is a task?
Examples of high level tasks are electronic hardware design, software design, ASIC design, ASIC fabrication, etc.
High level tasks can be broken down into sub-tasks. For example, electronic hardware design may consist of analogue design, digital design, interface design etc.
Where do we stop breaking tasks down into sub-tasks? It depends, but eventually tasks must be defined that represent actual work. Tasks that represent actual work must be defined in terms of cost, duration, risk etc.
If we define tasks at too high a level, we cannot estimate task durations meaningfully. And if we define tasks in great detail, we may not be able to see the wood for the trees! A sensible approach is to define tasks to a level of detail that allows us to estimate key task attributes such as task duration and task resource requirements.
We shall discuss tasks in much more detail in the next unit.
1.4 Project Phases
We shall consider a project to have the following four phases:
1. Planning Phase
The project must be planned in sufficient detail to allow it to be costed and scheduled accurately. Facilities for monitoring the project as it progresses must be built into the plan. This phase is considered in detail in unit 7 of the course.
2. Implementation Phase
The project shouldhave a defined start date and a target
end date. It must be monitored and managed throughout
the implementation phase. We shall look at this in detail in unit 8.
3. Project Sign-off
On completion, the project should be signed off by somebody authorised
to do so. Expenditure on the project should then cease
and resources allocated to the project should be released
for use on other projects. This is covered in unit 9.
4. Project Review
After the project has been signed off, it should be reviewed to identifying things that went wrong, with a view to correcting them in subsequent projects. In addition, improved methods of carrying out project tasks should be considered. Proper attention and follow-up to the review findings should lead to incremental improvement in company performance. More details are to be found in unit 10.
1.5 Microsoft Project
Prior to the advent of inexpensive (but effective) project management software, formal project management methodologies were used mainly by big companies on big projects. Microsoft Project (MSP) is now used extensively in a wide range of companies and organisations.
The module is concerned with project management concepts and applications in the widest sense. It is not a module on how to use MSP, but by the end of the module you should be proficient in using the software.
The key concepts in MSP are tasks and task inter-relationships.
The exercises that follow require you to set up a company calendar and a resource pool. These are important, especially when several projects are being managed concurrently using shared resources.
If you create several project files without setting your calendar, working times and resource pool correctly you will get into trouble.
We shall use the company calendar and resource pool you have developed throughout the rest of the module, modifying them as required.
Exercises Using Microsoft Project
The aim of these exercises is to produce three Microsoft Project files:
- devcal.mpp
This file contains the calendar used by the Development Department. It defines dates of working days over the current year, and times of working during the day. - project_template.mpp
This file is a template we shall use to generate the project files. It is linked to the development calendar and the development_resource pool. - development_resources.mpp
This file contains details of the human resources in the Development Department.
1(a) Set up a Company Calendar
Set up a company calendar in Microsoft Project for the current year, starting on 1st January and finishing on 31st December. Base the company calendar on the
standard calendar within MSP, but set national holidays in
England to non-working days.
National holidays in England are:
New Years Day 1 st January
Good Friday Take this as the third Friday in April
Easter Monday Take this as the fourth Monday in
April
Spring Bank Holiday The last Monday in May
Summer Bank Holiday The first Monday in August
Summer Bank Holiday The last Monday in August
Christmas Day 25th December
Boxing Day 26th December
When a holiday occurs on a Saturday or Sunday, use the nearest working days for the holiday.
Note that date accuracy is not that important,
but the calendar setup process is. If you were
setting up a calendar for real, you would obviously
make sure you had accurate date information available.
1(b) Set the company working time
Set the company working time to Monday to Friday, 9.00am to 5.00pm with a lunch break of 1 hour from 12.00 noon to 1.00pm
Save the file as devcal.mpp
1(c) Create a global template
Copy (or rename) the calendar you have created as global.mpt. This makes the calendar available to all the project files you create from now on.
2. Set up a Company Resource Pool
Set up a company resource pool within MSP, to include
the following personnel:
SW1 Software Engineer
SW2 Software Engineer
AHE1 Analogue Hardware Engineer
DHE1 Digital Hardware Engineer
DHE2 Digital Hardware Engineer
MDE1 Mechanical Design Engineer
TE1 Technician Engineer
DM1 Development Manager
Use the initials provided to enter the resources
in the resource pool.
The unit cost for the above personnel are:
Software Engineers £20/hour
Hardware Engineers £20/hour
Mechanical Engineers £15/hour
Technicians £10/hour
Managers £35/hour
Save the file as development_resources.mpp
Comments
- The calendar and the resource pool are important, especially when several projects are being managed concurrently using shared resources.
- We have set the development calendar to include only national holidays in England, but it could be set to include any company holidays anywhere in the world.
- We could also create specific calendars for individuals within the development department but we shall not do so in this module. Personalised calendars can be confusing and time consuming, especially when people leave or change jobs.
- You should be very careful about calendars when you are dealing with customers and suppliers from different countries. For example the Chinese New Year holiday can affect many countries in the Far East and if you are sourcing critical components from these areas make sure you take it into account.
- The development resource pool we have created contains only human development resources in our company. MSP allows the allocation of pooled resources and project specific resources within a project file. We shall use resources like external ASIC design houses and ASIC Foundries as project specific resources.
- If you create several project files without setting your calendar, working times and resource pool correctly you will get into trouble.
- We shall use the company calendar and resource pool you have developed throughout the rest of the module, modifying them as required.
1.6 Summary
In this unit we have considered projects in a typical SME operating in the microelectronics sector in the UK. We have stressed that several projects are usually in progress at the same time all sharing common resources. The following concepts have been introduced:
- The company calendar
- The company resource pool
- Project definition: a project consist of a number of tasks
- Project tasks
- Four phases to a project: planning, implementation, sign off and review
In the next unit we shall consider tasks in more detail.
Suggested Reading
| Title | Author | ISBN | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Project 2003 Step by Step |
Chatfield C. | 0753619577 |
2003 |
| The Handbook of Project Management | Young T.L. | 0749428430 | 1998 |
| Project 2000 in easy steps | Carrol J. | 1840781149 | 2000 |
Updated 10/07/08 RA