Better Software - November 2007 - (Page 47)

The Last Word 3… 2…1… Liftoff! by Karl E. Wiegers Project initiation is the process of formally conceiving, approving, and launching a new project. The time and thought invested during initiation lay the groundwork for all the project work that follows. All project managers know certain steps they need to take at the beginning of a project: Build a business case, write a charter, obtain sponsorship and funding, assign a project manager, assemble the team, and develop a plan. However, there are numerous other activities that also are vital to getting a project off to a good start. Unfortunately, many project managers gloss over these steps. Perhaps the managers are inexperienced and don’t realize the importance of these activities. Or maybe they feel they can’t spare the time during the frenzy of project launch. But seasoned project managers know that taking these additional steps during initiation will increase the chances of a happy outcome. Here I briefly describe six activities that every manager should consider performing during project initiation. As with all process-related guidance, each team needs to adapt these activities to suit the nature and scale of the project. keeps the stakeholders focused on shared objectives and establishes guideposts for evaluating progress. Identify Project Priorities Perhaps you’ve seen in a car repair shop a sign that asks, “What do you want: good, fast, or cheap? Pick two.” People often attempt to apply this classic “iron triangle” of priorities and tradeoffs to software. The tradeoffs are real, but the triangle is wrong. A project manager must make tradeoffs in five dimensions: scope, quality, staff, cost, and schedule. Each dimension fits into one of three categories: • Constraints impose boundaries and restrictions within which the team must operate. • Drivers identify key project success goals that afford the project manager a bit of latitude. • Degrees of freedom are factors the manager can adjust within certain limits. It’s important to classify the five project dimensions into these three categories early in your project. But there’s bad news: Not all project dimensions can be constraints. Project managers must have some latitude to react to schedule slips, scope growth, staff turnover, and other eventualities. A successful manager will adjust the degrees of freedom to let the team achieve the project’s success drivers within the limits imposed by the constraints. Defining these priorities and constraints early on helps the team make sensible trade-off decisions throughout the project. the product is good enough to go out the door. Being “good enough” means the product possesses some acceptable blend of functionality, quality, timeliness, customer value, competitive positioning, and supporting infrastructure. The release criteria you choose must be realistic, objectively measurable, documented, and aligned with what “quality” and “success” mean to your customers. Decide during initiation how you will tell when you’re done and who will make the call. Then visibly track progress toward these goals and make sure everyone understands the implications if they ship before the product is ready for prime time. Negotiate Realistically Achievable Commitments Project managers always hope for the best—but they should also plan for reality. One way to incorporate a heavy dose of reality is to instill a culture of having all project participants negotiate, make, and fulfill realistically achievable commitments. Stakeholders can exert great pressure on you to make impossible promises. But nobody wins when such promises fall by the wayside. I practice a personal philosophy of “undercommit and overdeliver.” No one should ever make a commitment that he knows up front simply cannot be fulfilled. Identify Stakeholders and Their Success Criteria Consultant Tim Lister defines success as “meeting the set of all requirements and constraints held as expectations by key stakeholders.” Stakeholders are people or groups who are actively involved in a project, are affected by its outcome, or can influence its outcome. Perform a stakeholder analysis to reveal the expectations each stakeholder group has for the project. Identify each stakeholder’s interests or “win” conditions. Match these win conditions against the project’s financial and nonfinancial business objectives. Then define specific success criteria the team can target with the confidence that fulfilling those criteria will ensure the project meets its business objectives. Defining success criteria during project inception Determine Product Release Criteria An important aspect of project initiation—of beginning with the end in mind—is to determine how to tell when www.StickyMinds.com Prepare for Realistic Estimation Software projects have a poor track record of meeting commitments. One reason is that schedules often assume 47 NOVEMBER 2007 BETTER SOFTWARE http://www.StickyMinds.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Better Software - November 2007

Better Software - November 2007 Contents MarkYour Calendar Technically Speaking What’s Happening @StickyMinds.com Code Craft Test Connection Management Chronicles The Measure of a Management System Behind the Scenes A Story About User Stories and Test-Driven Development Product Announcements The Last Word Ad Index

Better Software - November 2007

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