Final Gantt Chart

This is my final Gantt chart update showing that everything within the project has now been completed and I am now finshed!!! :)

Final Project Review

The project itself was planned using Microsoft Project, this allowed me to enter all of the specific tasks that had to be carried out during the project and then enter the number of days that I thought it would take to complete each tasks; MS Project then plotted these on a Gantt chart so that I could see exactly which tasks had to be started and completed on which day during the project. I feel that using MS Project to plan the project was a good decision because MS Project allowed me to create an easy to read/understand Gantt chart and the features within the program meant that I could update how far through each task I was and this was then marked on the Gantt chart. I could also easily change the Gantt chart if I felt that the time I had allotted for a particular task was too much or too little.

I feel that the planning of the different tasks that were to happen during the project was done well as I think that the tasks I identified on my Gantt chart accurately represented the tasks that I had to carry out during the project; this made my Gantt chart reliable to follow as I could check off tasks with the project that I had completed. As far as each different stage of my project that I planned I feel that overall I planned the timescale for each different stage well. The design stage of project was however quire rushed as I didn't plan enough time to complete it; I feel that this was a bad decision on my part as I should have thought that it would take longer to complete this stage. Due to my bad planning I feel that my designs could have been of a better quality and in more detail if I had given myself more time; if I was to do this project over I would have allotted myself 2-3 days to complete the designs so that they weren't rushed and were to a better standard.

The implementation stage of my project I feel was very well planned and I made good decisions when planning this stage; I was able to meet every deadline within this stage apart from one and I missed that deadline due to running into trouble with one form within the database. I also feel that I gave myself the correct number of days to complete each different task within this stage as apart from the one problem I had each task took the number of days that I said it would to complete. I feel that this was a good decision by me and if I was to change anything within this stage of the project if I was to do it over would be to give myself one more day to complete this stage so that I wouldn't have been late by one day in this stage.

The testing stage of my project was much better planned than I thought it had been; when I started the testing stage I thought that I had given myself too many days to complete it because I didn't think it was going to take very long but it took the full three days that I had given it to complete. The reason it took so long was because there was much more testing to be done within the project than I thought there would be; therefore I am glad that I gave myself 3 days to complete it. The testing itself was 185 pages long; which was much more than I could have imagined but due to the extra time I had given myself I was able to complete the testing on time. If I was to do the project over I wouldn't change anything I did in the testing stage as it took exactly how long I said it would.
In the user guide and technical documentation stage of my project I gave myself exactly the right amount of days again to complete this stage; this is due largely to me making the decision to change the days allotted to this stage after my interim review. This was the best decision I made for this stage because it gave me the perfect amount of time to complete it and I didn't have to rush the documentation at any stage. If I was to do the project over I would have given myself the amount of days I did after my interim review to begin with; that way I wouldn't have had to change my Gantt chart.

Overall I feel that I managed this project well as I only missed one deadline by a day; this meant that I gave myself the correct amount of days to carry out the necessary tasks. I was able to refer to my Gantt chart all through the project as it was easy to follow and tailored to the tasks I had to do within the project. All in all I think the project went very well and I am proud of how I managed the project and the product that was produced at the end.

Almost there :D

Quick update, I have now finished the entire database and have completed the tesing, user guide and technical documentation. There is only the final blog post and evaluation left to do :) Very very happy that I am finally at this stage :) !!!!!!!!!!!!!

Blog Update 14/06/11

Coming into the final week of the project I am currently on target to complete the project; the testing of the database is complete and I had thought that I may have given myself too much time to do it in but it took the whole 3 days to complete it, with the testing ending up being 185 pages long!!!!!!!!!!

I am currently not behind on any part of the project and it is fully up to date.

I have talked to my client on the phone yesterday and he is impressed with the project having seen it and was shocked at how much testing I had done on the project. He didn't think it would be half of what it is.

Finally working

Finally the database is completely working, only one day late. The invoice is now fully functional and I can now move on to the testing stage of the project. I am now up to date with all of my goals and now moving on to start the testing of the database. I have met with my client today to show him the finished database and he is very pleased with what I have produced; he understands that until my project is signed off it is not ready for him to use and is waiting paitently for me to hand it over to him.

Interim Review

At the beginning of the project I created a Gantt chart so that I could plan what to do at different stages of the project; throughout the project I have tried to stick to my Gantt chart to make sure that the project is on track and in general this has been a success.

First off I had to hand my specification in on the 16/05/11, I was able to hand this in on time as I had made sure that I started it earlier on the 13/05/11; also the designs for my database were due in on the same day, this included: the designs for all the forms, the mood boards and data linkage diagram. Although I was able to get these designs in on time they were rushed and I had to do a very long day in order to get them completed; in hindsight I should have given myself at least 2 days to get the designs completed.

Next was the Implementation stage of the project in which I had to create all of the contents for the database; I gave myself 2 days to create the front screen for the database, which was a massive overestimation as I had it created in 30 minutes, this time extra time could have been better assigned to different task. I also gave myself 2 days to create the sub area pages, which again was a massive overestimation as they were created in just over an hour; I had badly planned the first 2 parts of the Implementation stage and if I was to redo the Gantt chart I would have both of these things being created in one day. I gave myself 3 days to create all of the tables for the database and this turned out to be exactly the right amount of time to estimate; as it took 3 days to complete all of the tables due to waiting for client content. The creation of the forms for the database was given 4 days to be completed and for most of the forms this was a suitable amount of time but having run into trouble with one of the forms I have currently overrun with the time allotted; this is due to not being able to foresee for a problem that I didn't understand how to fix. I gave myself 3 days to create all of the queries in the database and this was a good estimation as it took me about three days to complete all of the queries; due to having to create different queries as I went through the creation process. I gave myself 3 days to create the reports within the database, this was an overestimation as it only took me about 1 and half days to create the report in the database; this extra time would have been better assigned to creating all of the forms. I allotted 1 day to create the macros for the database and this was an accurate estimation as in total it only took me 1 day to create all of the macros. Due to falling behind in my form creation I am not going to meet my Implementation stage deadline, which as it's a major deadline is a serious problem with my project planning; if I had correctly allocated days instead of over and under estimating then my Implementetion stage might have been finishing on time.

All of my meetings with my client were met correctly and easily as Friday each week was the best day to have chosen for both me and client. I was on time with most of my blog posts but due to half term and me being at work most of the days I was a few blog posts behind during the half term. I have since back dated these blog posts so that what I was doing on the project during half term has been documented.

As far as the Testing stage and the User guide and Hand over stages of my project are concerned I have re-evaluated how much time will be necessary for each task; this is going on how far I am through the project and what I think will take the least time, also where I have overestimated for tim necessary to do each task.

Blog Update 07/06/11

Major success, there is currently only one thing left to fix in the database and although it is a big and final issue it is at least the last one. Since my last blog post I have been able to complete all of the reports and there are only a few macros left. All of the forms are still not complete but this is due to the final issue being on the invoice form. I have talked to the client today about the progress of the project and he is very happy with how the project is progressing.

Blog Update 03/06/11

Since my last blog update I have managed to complete all of the queries necesasary for the database; I am however still behind in finishing off the forms as the invoice form is still incomplete due to difficulty that I am having with it. Apart from still not completing all the forms I am still meeting all other deadlines. I have not changed anything to the plan and have met my client for a conversation about the problems with the forms and he is confident that I will have it working in time.

Blog Update 31/05/11

Since my last blog update I have been finishing off my forms but there is still one form that remains incomplete and currently I don't know how to fix it; it is still a work in progress. Apart from one form not being complete I am on target and haven't changed anything in the plan. I met my client in the cafe and have discussed the progress of the database so far; he is pleased with how the database is coming along.

Blog Update 27/05/11

Since my last blog update I have been working on my project and I have completed all of the tables that are within the project just as my gantt chart said I should be. I haven't fallen behind any of my targets at the moment and I am on track with the project. I have communicated with my client and met him to discuss how the project is coming along.

Project Update 24/05/11

I am currently slightly ahead of schedule and due to this I have been able to start tasks that were scheduled to start later; this is due to not having every piece of content and needing to create some parts of the database to make sure that other parts work.This since my last post I have spent about 5 hours working on the project and I have used MS Access to do so. The tables are almost finished, they once require a small bit more input from the client and I have created some of the forms within the database. There aren't any overdue tasks and there aren't any changes to the plan. I have spoken to my client on monday and discussed more about the content going into the database.

Steaming ahead isn't always the best idea

I have steamed ahead and therefore forgot to normalise my database; having now normalised it I have to alter some of the forms that I have already made and alter the tables. I have finished my sub-areas, done as much of the tables as I can at the moment, I am waiting on content, and I have egun to create the form; overall I am a few days ahead of schedule but I'm sure once the content arrives those days will be used up. No tasks are overdue but there have been some changes to the plan as it was discovered that there was a better way of searching for parts that I hadn't thought of and having talked about this with my client he has made it more clear exactly which parts he wants in his database. The changes that I have made to the database are that instead of the parts being displayed all by different brands and types; the parts will now be searched for using a query in order to locate the parts that are required. I have communicated with the client at our meeting and show him the progress so far, he is pleased with how things are progressing and he has also given me the laptop that he will be using so that I can check the compatability; if the compatability is okay I may do the remainder of the creation on that laptop so that I know it will work when he comes to use it.

Designs submitted

My gantt chart showed that I had to have completed the designs and started on the front screen; I have indeed completed the designs and the front screen. I have also started on the sub-areas, which puts me a day ahead of schedule :) There haven't been any tasks that were overdue and changes to the plans have not occurred. I have talked to my client about the designs that were submitted and he is happy that these designs are what he wants for his database.

Gantt Chart, CPA and Budget

This week the planning for the project has been sorted out and completed so that the project now has specific dates for task completetion and an aim as to where it is going. The project specification has now been completed so that what is going to happen within the project and the specific objectives for the project have been defined; moving on from the Critical Path Analysis has been created so that we now know which tasks are going to be key to the project progressing. The Gantt chart (displayed on the left) has been created so that the project has a timescale and each individual task within the project now has a completetion date; this will help me to keep on track when creating the database.

There are currently no tasks that are overdue at the moment as I am currently working on target :) ; there are also no changes to plans at the moment as everything is currently progressing as planned. The communication that has occurred this week between me and the client has been a discussion about the designs I made for the database further and about how the database links together.

I have created a budget for the project so that there is a clear costing and the client knows exactly what he is going to have to pay. The budget includes:

Work Hours: 55 hours at £18.50 per hour = £1017.50

Software Costs: There are no software costs as I already have Microsoft Access 2003 = £0.00

Budget Total: £1017.50

Meeting with stakeholder 05/05/11

Today I had a meeting with Karen Scott one of the stakeholders in my project; I showed her all of my initial design for the database and explained how everything would work. She approved my initial designs as being acceptable and believes that my project is currently on track. I will be meeting with the client tomorrow morning to show him my initial designs and my top down diagram which explains how the database is linked together. I will ask the client specific questions to extract the information I need in order to complete the database; I will post on here about the outcome of the meeting.

Planning and Initial Design

Since the last post I have created a gantt chart and a critical path analysis for the project so that I have a clear view of what has to be completed by when and what is most important in the project. I have also communicated further with the client and am meeting them on friday morning to discuss the initial designs I have created and so that I can ask him some direct questions about the project so I know exactly what is wanted. I am currently on schedule and according to my gantt chart as long as I keep the current I should finish the project on time.

This is the first post on the ASAP Domestic Database Project; this week the Project Initiation Document and presentation has been made and presented. This has gone down well with the client and they have agreed that the project is viable and are willing to back the project. I feel that getting the clients approval is a big step towards getting the project fully underway and progressing on track. I plan over the coming week to create a gant chart to properly document what tasks need to be done by when throughout the project and will also have extra communication with the client so that I can begin to collect the necessary content for the database.