A driving metaphor

"Driving a car is not only about getting the car pointed in the right direction, it is also about constantly making minor corrections. Drift a little this way, steer a little that way."

Software project management is about directing the software development lifecycle. Frequent assessment of direction should be performed against a project plan, making minor adjustments to keep the project on course.

Before a realistic project plan can be created it is crucial to identify the customer's expectations and requirements. Objectives and scope need to be established and the inherent risks, costs and constraints should be identified. It is equally important to understand the organizational context - the culture, the politics and the financial policies - in which the project is being developed. All this information provides the substance for defining pragmatic estimates of cost, a reasonable breakdown of tasks, and a schedule that can convey a meaningful measure of progress.

The constituent elements of software project management are:

• Project planning
• Project estimation
• Project risk analysis
• Scheduling
• Project tracking and software metrics
• Software quality

You cannot control events. You can only control your reactions

We believe software project management is an art and successful software projects rely on versatile planning, empirical estimation and continuous steering. Our understanding of the interactions between cost, quality, time and scope, allows us to use these factors to help control a project. We recognize that events happen and as a result plans change - our experience provides the necessary skills to interpret these events, evaluate their consequences, and react positively and creatively to adapt the project plan and safeguard the project milestones.

Our proactive approach to software project management values all stakeholders equally, and instills the organizational paradigms of empowerment, ownership and partnership throughout the team. A fundamental precept is the clear separation of roles that ensures the business people make the business decisions and technical people make the technical decisions.

It is important that all stakeholders understand and learn to trust the project milestones. Through our practice of identifying and describing simple and unambiguous milestones, we create visibility, which together with regular measurements and tangible deliverables will provide an accurate representation of progress.

To conduct a successful software project we take the time to understand the scope of work to be performed, the risks that will be incurred, the resources that will be required, the tasks to be accomplished, the milestones to be tracked and achieved, the effort and cost to be expended, and the schedule to be followed.

To discuss our project management services further, please email or contact us.