Managing and documenting an enterprise project, and how enterprise is changing: HSC Enterprise Computing Enterprise Project
“Describe the tools and processes used to manage and document the development of an enterprise system, including problem definition, time and resource management including Gantt charts, an iterative approach, production process and technical skills, and testing and evaluation; explain the effect of the changing nature of enterprise on the development of projects, including offshore development, working remotely, freelance work and enabling the growth of start-ups”
Manage and document an enterprise project with a clear problem definition, time and resource planning on a Gantt chart, an iterative build, a record of production processes and skills, and planned testing and evaluation. Offshore development, remote and freelance work, and easier start-up launches make projects more distributed and flexible, but raise communication, security, contract and quality challenges.
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What this dot point is asking
The Enterprise Project focus area is where you plan and build your own enterprise system, and these content points name the tools and processes you use to manage and document it. The second content point asks how the changing nature of work (offshore, remote, freelance, start-ups) affects how projects are developed.
The answer
Tools and processes for managing and documenting a project
- Problem definition: the foundation document. States the problem, the client and users, their needs, the purpose and scope, constraints and measurable success criteria. Everything else is checked against it.
- Time and resource management, including Gantt charts: break the project into tasks (a work breakdown), estimate durations, identify dependencies, allocate people, hardware, software and budget, and show it all on a Gantt chart with milestones. Update it as the project progresses.
- An iterative approach: build in cycles (plan, build, test, review), getting feedback each cycle rather than delivering everything at the end. This reduces risk and keeps the system aligned with user needs.
- Production process and technical skills: document how the system is built (tools, versions, configuration, code or build steps) and the skills required (database design, spreadsheet automation, visualisation, scripting), including any skills you need to learn.
- Testing and evaluation: plan tests from the start (test data, expected results), record actual results, and evaluate the finished system against the success criteria.
A process diary (or project log) records decisions, progress, problems and evaluations throughout, which is evidence for assessment and a record for future maintenance.
The changing nature of enterprise
| Change | Effect on developing projects |
|---|---|
| Offshore development | Lower cost and access to skills; harder communication across time zones and cultures, greater need for precise documentation, and legal and privacy issues for data handled overseas |
| Working remotely | Wider talent pool and flexibility; relies on collaboration tools, version control and secure remote access; harder informal communication |
| Freelance work | Flexible, specialist help on demand; less continuity, and contracts must cover intellectual property, confidentiality and deliverables |
| Enabling the growth of start-ups | Cloud services, open-source tools, app stores and online payments let small teams build and launch quickly and cheaply, increasing competition and innovation |
Planning a six-week project to build a stock dashboard for a school canteen.
- Problem definition: the canteen manager cannot see which items are running low or selling best; success means a daily dashboard updated automatically, with low-stock alerts.
- Tasks: interview manager (week 1), design data structure (week 1), build spreadsheet database and import (weeks 2 to 3), build dashboard (weeks 3 to 4), test (week 5), train and evaluate (week 6).
- Gantt chart: shows dependencies (the dashboard cannot start until the data structure is designed) and a milestone at the end of week 4 (prototype demo).
- Iteration: the manager reviews the prototype in week 4; feedback leads to a simpler mobile layout.
- Testing and evaluation: test with a week of real sales data and compare with the success criteria.
- Writing vague success criteria
- Make them measurable.
- Treating a Gantt chart as fixed
- It is a living document that is updated.
- Only listing advantages of offshore or remote work
- Explain challenges and how projects adapt.
Practice questions
Original practice questions graded from foundation to exam level, each with a full worked solution. Try them before revealing the solution.
foundation3 marksDescribe how a Gantt chart helps manage time and resources in an enterprise project.Show worked solution →
A Gantt chart shows each task as a bar on a timeline, so the team can see when tasks start and finish, which tasks overlap and which depend on others. It helps allocate people and equipment to tasks without clashes, shows milestones and deadlines, and makes delays visible early so the plan can be adjusted.
Marking guide: 1 mark for tasks on a timeline, 1 mark for dependencies or overlaps, 1 mark for resource allocation or tracking progress.
core4 marksA student is developing a booking system for a local tutoring business as their enterprise project. Write a problem definition for the project.Show worked solution →
- Problem
- the tutoring business takes bookings by phone and text, which leads to double bookings, missed messages and no record of attendance.
- Client and users
- the business owner (manages tutors and payments), five tutors (view their schedules) and parents (book and cancel sessions).
- Purpose and scope
- a web-based booking system that lets parents book available sessions, sends confirmations and reminders, and gives tutors and the owner a schedule and attendance report. Payments are out of scope for version 1.
- Constraints
- 10 weeks of development, free or low-cost cloud tools, must work on phones.
- Success criteria
- no double bookings in a two-week trial; parents can make a booking in under two minutes; the owner can produce a weekly attendance report in one click.
Marking guide: 1 mark each for problem, users, scope and constraints, and measurable success criteria.
exam6 marksExplain the effect of offshore development, remote work and freelance work on the development of an enterprise system project.Show worked solution →
- Offshore development
- Contracting part of the build to a team overseas can cut costs and give access to specialist skills and around-the-clock development across time zones. However, communication is harder (time zones, language, culture), requirements must be documented more precisely, quality needs close monitoring, and data may be accessed or stored overseas, raising privacy and legal issues.
- Working remotely
- Team members can work from anywhere using collaboration tools (shared repositories, video meetings, online task boards), widening the talent pool and reducing office costs. Projects need clear documentation, regular check-ins and secure access (VPNs, multi-factor authentication), because informal communication and home network security are weaker.
- Freelance work
- Freelancers can be hired for specific tasks (UX design, a data visualisation) as needed, which is flexible and cost-effective. But availability is not guaranteed, knowledge may leave with the freelancer, and contracts must clearly assign intellectual property and confidentiality.
- Overall effect
- Projects become more distributed and flexible but depend more on documentation, collaboration tools, clear contracts and security.
Marking guide: 2 marks for each of the three changes, with benefits and challenges (6 marks).