Biggest challenges when managing a large-scale systems development project.

by | Nov 4, 2024 | Essays

 

a. Define and explain the four biggest challenges when managing a large-scale systems development project.
b. Define the term critical path as it relates to a project and explain how critical path analysis is done.
c. Describe the trade-offs between requirements, cost, and time in a systems development project.

 

Sample solution

Dante Alighieri played a critical role in the literature world through his poem Divine Comedy that was written in the 14th century. The poem contains Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso. The Inferno is a description of the nine circles of torment that are found on the earth. It depicts the realms of the people that have gone against the spiritual values and who, instead, have chosen bestial appetite, violence, or fraud and malice. The nine circles of hell are limbo, lust, gluttony, greed and wrath. Others are heresy, violence, fraud, and treachery. The purpose of this paper is to examine the Dante’s Inferno in the perspective of its portrayal of God’s image and the justification of hell. 

In this epic poem, God is portrayed as a super being guilty of multiple weaknesses including being egotistic, unjust, and hypocritical. Dante, in this poem, depicts God as being more human than divine by challenging God’s omnipotence. Additionally, the manner in which Dante describes Hell is in full contradiction to the morals of God as written in the Bible. When god arranges Hell to flatter Himself, He commits egotism, a sin that is common among human beings (Cheney, 2016). The weakness is depicted in Limbo and on the Gate of Hell where, for instance, God sends those who do not worship Him to Hell. This implies that failure to worship Him is a sin.


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God is also depicted as lacking justice in His actions thus removing the godly image. The injustice is portrayed by the manner in which the sodomites and opportunists are treated. The opportunists are subjected to banner chasing in their lives after death followed by being stung by insects and maggots. They are known to having done neither good nor bad during their lifetimes and, therefore, justice could have demanded that they be granted a neutral punishment having lived a neutral life. The sodomites are also punished unfairly by God when Brunetto Lattini is condemned to hell despite being a good leader (Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). While he commited sodomy, God chooses to ignore all the other good deeds that Brunetto did.

Finally, God is also portrayed as being hypocritical in His actions, a sin that further diminishes His godliness and makes Him more human. A case in point is when God condemns the sin of egotism and goes ahead to commit it repeatedly. Proverbs 29:23 states that “arrogance will bring your downfall, but if you are humble, you will be respected.” When Slattery condemns Dante’s human state as being weak, doubtful, and limited, he is proving God’s hypocrisy because He is also human (Verdicchio, 2015). The actions of God in Hell as portrayed by Dante are inconsistent with the Biblical literature. Both Dante and God are prone to making mistakes, something common among human beings thus making God more human.

To wrap it up, Dante portrays God is more human since He commits the same sins that humans commit: egotism, hypocrisy, and injustice. Hell is justified as being a destination for victims of the mistakes committed by God. The Hell is presented as being a totally different place as compared to what is written about it in the Bible. As a result, reading through the text gives an image of God who is prone to the very mistakes common to humans thus ripping Him off His lofty status of divine and, instead, making Him a mere human. Whether or not Dante did it intentionally is subject to debate but one thing is clear in the poem: the misconstrued notion of God is revealed to future generations.

 

References

Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). Dante’s inferno: Seven deadly sins in scientific publishing and how to avoid them. Addiction Science: A Guide for the Perplexed, 267.

Cheney, L. D. G. (2016). Illustrations for Dante’s Inferno: A Comparative Study of Sandro Botticelli, Giovanni Stradano, and Federico Zuccaro. Cultural and Religious Studies, 4(8), 487.

Verdicchio, M. (2015). Irony and Desire in Dante’s” Inferno” 27. Italica, 285-297.

Challenges in Large-Scale Systems Development Projects:

a. Four Biggest Challenges:

  1. Complexity: Large projects involve numerous components, stakeholders, and interdependencies. This complexity increases the risk of miscommunication, coordination failures, and integration issues.

  2. Communication: Effective communication is vital for aligning expectations, resolving conflicts, and ensuring everyone is on the same page. Challenges arise from managing communication across multiple teams, geographical locations, and diverse technical expertise.

  3. Scope Management: Defining and managing the project scope is crucial to avoid scope creep and budget overruns. Challenges arise from evolving requirements, changing priorities, and the difficulty in anticipating all project needs upfront.

  4. Risk Management: Large projects inherently carry high risks, from technical difficulties to unforeseen circumstances. Effective risk management involves identifying, assessing, and mitigating potential risks throughout the project lifecycle.

Challenges in Large-Scale Systems Development Projects:

a. Four Biggest Challenges:

  1. Complexity: Large projects involve numerous components, stakeholders, and interdependencies. This complexity increases the risk of miscommunication, coordination failures, and integration issues.

  2. Communication: Effective communication is vital for aligning expectations, resolving conflicts, and ensuring everyone is on the same page. Challenges arise from managing communication across multiple teams, geographical locations, and diverse technical expertise.

  3. Scope Management: Defining and managing the project scope is crucial to avoid scope creep and budget overruns. Challenges arise from evolving requirements, changing priorities, and the difficulty in anticipating all project needs upfront.

  4. Risk Management: Large projects inherently carry high risks, from technical difficulties to unforeseen circumstances. Effective risk management involves identifying, assessing, and mitigating potential risks throughout the project lifecycle.

Critical Path Analysis:

b. Definition and Explanation:

Critical path: The longest sequence of activities in a project network diagram, representing the minimum time required to complete the project. Any delay in a critical path activity will delay the entire project.

Critical Path Analysis (CPA): A technique used to identify the critical path and analyze project dependencies to:

  1. Determine the project duration: By identifying the longest path, CPA provides the minimum project completion time.

  2. Identify critical activities: Activities on the critical path are critical to the project’s timeline. Delays in these activities will directly affect the project completion date.

  3. Allocate resources effectively: CPA helps prioritize resources and allocate them to critical activities, ensuring efficient project execution.

How CPA is Done:

  1. Develop a project network diagram: Create a visual representation of project activities and their dependencies.

  2. Estimate activity durations: Determine the time required for each activity.

  3. Identify the critical path: Analyze the project network and identify the longest path through the network, representing the critical activities.

  4. Calculate project duration: The duration of the critical path determines the minimum project completion time.

  5. Monitor progress and adjust as needed: Regularly track the progress of critical path activities and make necessary adjustments to ensure timely completion.

Trade-offs in Systems Development Projects:

c. Requirements, Cost, and Time:

Large-scale systems development projects often face the challenge of balancing three key factors: requirements, cost, and time. These factors are interconnected and often require trade-offs:

  • Requirements: Extensive and complex requirements increase the project’s complexity, duration, and cost. Reducing the scope of requirements may result in a faster and cheaper project but may compromise functionality.

  • Cost: A limited budget may necessitate compromises on features, functionality, and project timeline. Increasing the budget may allow for more features, but it comes at a higher financial cost.

  • Time: A tight deadline may force compromises on functionality and quality, as developers may rush the development process. Extending the timeline allows for more detailed development but may increase costs.

Trade-off Strategies:

  • Prioritization: Determine the most critical requirements and focus resources on them.

  • Phased development: Break down the project into smaller, manageable phases, allowing for iterative development and adjustments.

  • Agile methodologies: Encourage flexibility and adaptation throughout the project lifecycle, allowing for adjustments based on changing priorities and unforeseen circumstances.

Successful project management involves understanding the inherent trade-offs and making informed decisions to optimize the balance between requirements, cost, and time, ensuring a successful and valuable project outcome.

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