The Complete Software Project Manager: Mastering Technology from Planning to Launch and Beyond

SPECIALIZED GUIDANCE FOR MANAGING SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS

The Complete Software Project Manager: Mastering Technology from Planning to Launch and Beyond is the must–have resource for every professional leading software projects. Everyone, from those with no background in technology to seasoned project managers, will find valuable advice to improve their process.

Written specifically for day–to–day use on the job, this one–of–a–kind resource addresses the factors contributing to disastrous technology projects by providing exclusive coverage on how to successfully roll out and lead those types of projects. Even if you′re already in the middle of an initiative that isn′t going well, this groundbreaking guidebook gives you the crash course you need to turn things around, including the basics of software project management, clarity through real–world examples, advanced topics for developing an effective management approach, and the hard–to–see pitfalls to avoid. Boost your management skills to another level with insight found nowhere else, such as:

The five most common project hazards and what to do about them Identifying and trouble–shooting the three most serious project problems The single–most important key to modern project management

Don′t let the technology gap stand in your way of leadership excellence with The Complete Software Project Manager.

Foreword

Acknowledgments

About the Author(s)

Introduction

Chapter 1: Software Development Explained: Creativity Meets Complexity

A Definition of Software Development

Why is Software Development So Difficult? Hint: It s Not Like Building a House

The Simple, the Complicated, and the Complex

Metaphor #1: Piles of Snow

Metaphor #2: The Ikea Desk

Metaphor #3: Heart Surgery

Using the Three Metaphors in Project Management

Chapter 2: Agile, Waterfall and the Key to Modern Project Management

Agile & Waterfall

Waterfall

Waterfall s Problems

The Requirements Requirement

Inflexibility

Loss of Opportunity & Time to Market

Customer Dissatisfaction

Agile

Lack of Up Front Planning

Lack of Up Front Costs

Stakeholder Involvement

Extensive Training

Where Agile Works Best

The Need for Upfront Requirements in Many Projects

The Real World

Agile Enough

The Software Development Life Cycle

Chapter 3: Project Approaches; Off–the–Shelf & Custom Development; One Comprehensive Tool & Specialized Tools; Phased Launches & Pilots

The Custom vs. Off–the–Shelf Approach

History

The Benefit of Off the Shelf

Off–the–Shelf Examples

Thinking You re Editing When You re Actually Creating

Common Challenges with Off–the–Shelf Software

Business Compromise

Discovering You Made the Wrong Choice with Packaged Software

Breaking the Upgrade Path

Locked into a Partnership & the Product Roadmap

Expense of Off–the–Shelf

Where Packaged Software Works Well

Frameworks & The Blurring Worlds of Custom and Packaged Software

Integrations Vs. One Tool for the Job

To Phase or Not to Phase

Bigger Is Not Always Better

The Pilot Approach

Why Not Pilot?

Chapter 4: Teams and Team Roles and Responsibilities Defined

Teams and the Roles on Teams

Project Leadership

The Key Business Stakeholder

The Project Sponsor

The Program Manager

Project Manager

Multiple Project Managers

Confusion about the Project Manager Role; It s More Limited than You Think

Project Team

The Business Analyst

User Experience

Designer

The Programmers

Architect

Systems Administrator

Team Member Choice & Blending Roles

Getting All the Roles Covered

Real–World Examples for Role–Blending

Project Sponsor as Program Manager

Program Manager as Business Analyst

Front End Programmer as Designer

Design, UX and Business Analysis

Backend Programmer as Architect

SysAdmin as Architect

Professionals and Personalities

Programmers

Project Managers

Business Analysts and User Experience People

Architects & Systems Administrators

In–Source or Out–Source: Whether to Staff Roles with Internal People or Get Outside Help

The Myth that Insourcing Programming Is Better

Inexperience with Projects

How Knowledge Goes Stale

Outsourced Teams

When to Use Internal or External Teams

Roles Easiest to Outsource

Roles In the Middle

Roles that Are Usually Internal

Vendors & Hiring External Resources

Some Tech–Types to Avoid: Dot Communists & Shamans

The Shamans

Boundaries, Responsibilities and Driving in Your Lane

Techies Who Don t Drive in Their Lane

Business Stakeholders Who Shirk Responsibilities

Business Stakeholders, Step Up!

Have a Trusted Technology Partner

How Best (and Worst) to Work with Your Technology Partner

Too Many Cooks

Chapter 5: Project Research & Technology Choice; Conflicts at the Start of Projects; 4 Additional Project Delays Initial Pitfalls

Choice of Technology, A Definition

The Project s Research Phase

Current State

Integrations & Current State

Data & Current State

Business Needs

Possible Technology Solutions

Demos

Comparison Grids

Talk to Other People, A Journalistic Exercise

How Do You Know When Your Research Is Done?

Research Reality Check

You Can t Run the Control

Religious Wars

Passion over Reason

Business Stakeholders and Controlling Ego

How to Stop a Technology Religious War

Not So Easy

Preventing a Technology Religious War

Being Right

Stopping a War in its Tracks

Détente and Finally Ending a Technology Religious War

Clarity

The Role of the CIO

Two Most Important Factors in Core Technology Decisions

Budget Constraints

The Team

Choosing Technology & What NOT to Consider: The Future

Other Conflicts that Delay the Start of Projects

Business Strategy & Organizational Authority

Design

Blue Sky

Overanalysis

The Project Charter, a Key Document

Chapter 6: Final discovery; Project Definition, Scope and Documentation

Budgeting and Ongoing Discovery; Discovery Work is Real Work

Budgeting Final Discovery

What Discovery Costs

What Comes Out of Final Discovery: A Plan

Getting to a Plan

The Murk

Getting Out of the Murk

The Plan for the Plan Company A

Hosting

Content Entry

Search

Content Pages & Features

Integrations

Backend System

Data migration

How Anyone Can Make a Plan for the Plan

Different Approaches to Elicit the Plan for the Plan

Exception to The Murk

Breakout Sessions

The Weeds Are Where the Flowers Grow

Not All Questions Will be Answered

Agile, Waterfall, and Project Documentation

The Scope Document

Project Summary

Project Deliverables

Out of Scope

Constraints

Assumptions

Risks

Timeline

Budget, Scope, Timeline–ing and Horse Trading

Metrics

What about The List?

Defining and Visualizing & Project Scope

What Usually Happens

The Chicken and the Egg

Common Questions

Where Does Design Fit In?

Working with Marketing Stakeholders

How You Know You re On the Wrong Track

A Word About On–Going Discovery

Chapter 7: Budgeting: The Budgeting Methods; Comparative, Bottom–Up, Top–Down, and Blends; Accurate Estimating

An Unpleasant Picture

What Goes on Behind the Scenes; A Scene

Budgeting Type 1: Comparative Budgeting

Gotchas with Comparative Budgeting

Budgeting Type 2: Bottom–Up Budgeting

The Rub in Bottom–Up Budgeting

Budgeting Type 3: Top–Down and Blends

Why RFPs Don t Work

Accurate Estimating & Comparison Budgeting

Effective Estimating in Top–Down and Bottom–Up Budgeting

Establish a Base Budget for Programming, Ongoing Discovery, Unit Testing, Debugging, and Project Management

Percentages of Each

Programming Hours Raw and Final

The Math Part

Additional Items to Consider

Budgeting and Conflicts

Chapter 8 Project Risks: The Five Most Common Project Hazards and What to Do about Them; Budgeting and Risk

Five Always–Risky Activities

Integration

Data Migration

Customization

Unproven Technology/Unproven Team

Too–Large Project

Want Versus Need

Want Versus Need: Programmers

Want Versus Need: Business Stakeholders

Optimism is Not Your Friend in Software Development

Beware the Panacea Claim

Facing Risks

A Few Words about Fault

Identifying Risks Up Front

Embrace the Snow

Talking to Your Boss

Hidden Infections

Bad Technology Team; Wrong Technology Choice

Too Many Opinions and Lack of Leadership

The Contingency Factor

The Cost of Consequences

Contingency Percentage Factors

In the Real World

The Good News

A Common Question

Long–Term Working Relationships and Contingency

Chapter 9: Communication. Project Communication Strategy. From Project Kickoff to Daily Meetings

Project Kickoff

Project Kickoff Cast

Project Leadership

Company Leadership

Who Gives the Kickoff?

Kickoff Presentation

High Level Project Definition

Business Case & Metrics

Project Approach

Team Members & Roles

Project Scope

Out of Scope

Timeline

Budget

Risks, Cautions and Disclaimers

Monthly Steering Committee

Monthly Steering Committee Attendees

Monthly Steering Committee Agenda

Weekly Project Management Meeting

Weekly Project Management Attendees

Weekly Project Management Agenda

Daily Standup Meeting

Well–Run Meetings

Insist on Attention

Timeliness

Getting Into the Weeds

Needs to Be Kicked Upstairs

Poor Quality Sound Speaker Phones and Cell Phones

Too Much Talk

Agenda & Notes

Chapter 10 The Project Execution Phase: Diagnosing Project Health. Scope Compromises

What Should Be Going on Behind the Scenes

The Best Thing You Can Ever Hear: Wait. What Was It Supposed to Do?

Neutral Corners

What If Things Aren t Quiet?

Making Decisions

How to Listen to the Programmers

The Programmer s Prejudice

SneakerNet and the Fred Operating System

SneakerNet Integrations

The Fred Operating System

The Hidden Benefits

Demos & Iterative Deliverables

Why Iterative Deliverables Are Important

Why Iterative Deliverables Are Hard

What You Can Do to Achieve Iterative Deliverables Even if It s Hard

Demos

Scope Creep

Dealing with Scope Creep; Early is Better

Scope Creep and Budgeting

Scope Creep and Governance

Types of Scope Creep

Scope Creep and the Team

Chapter 11: First Deliverables: Testing, QA, and Project Health Continued

The Project s First Third

The Second Third

A First Real Look at the Software

The Trough of FUD

Distinguishing a Good Mess from a Bad Mess

An Important Checkpoint

Getting to Stability

First Testing and the Happy Path

Quality Assurance

Bug Reporting

Regression Testing

Bugs: Too Many, Too Few

Testing: The Right Amount for the Job

Too Much Testing?

Bug Cleanup Period

Timeline So Far

Chapter 12: Problems: Identifying and Trouble–Shooting the Three Most Serious Project Problems. Criteria for Cancellation & Rollback

A Rule about Problems

Additional Resources

Fault A Review

Common Late–Stage Problems

Business User Revolt: We Talked about it in a Meeting Once

Managing Business–User Revolt

What if No or Little Documentation Exists?

Risk Chickens Come Home to Roost

Managing the Risk Chickens

When Programmers Ask for More Time

Lurking Infections

Bad Technology Team

How to Manage a Bad Technology Team

Wrong Technology Choice

Managing a Wrong Technology Choice

The Sunk–Cost Bias

Lack of Leadership

Managing Lack of Leadership

Chapter 13: Launch and Post–Launch: UAT, Security Testing, Performance Testing, Go Live, and Support Mode

User Acceptance Testing: What It Is and When It Happens

Controlling UAT and We Talked about it in a Meeting Once, Part Deux

Classifying UAT Feedback

Bugs

Not Working as Expected The Trickiest Category

Request for Improvement

Feature Request

Conflict Resolution & Final Launch List

Load Testing

Performance Testing

Security Testing

Sign–Off

Questions to Ask Regarding Launch Readiness

Not Knowing Is Not Acceptable

Singing the Post–Launch Blues

Was It All a Big Mistake?

Metrics

Ongoing Development

Surviving the Next One

Recommended Reading

ANNA P. MURRAY, a nationally recognized technology consultant, speaker, and blogger, is president of emedia, a provider of software development, high–level technology consulting, and project and program management. She is a double winner of the Stevie Award for Women in Business, a recipient of a Mobile Marketing Association award for mobile app development, and Folio′s Top Women in Media award.