How You Can Use Proven Methods to Complete Projects On-Time, Within Budget AND Dramatically Improve Quality

1. Special Report
Four Myths of Software Development
Management
How You Can Use Proven Methods to Complete Projects
On-Time, Within Budget AND Dramatically Improve Quality
By Terry A. Ehrhard

2. Four Myths of Software Development
Management
Today’s management of software development is constantly influenced on the
approach they should take with their projects. One moment it’s the Capability
Maturity Model (CMM), then its Rapid Development (RAD), or perhaps it’s the
Rational Unified Process (RUP), but all too many times its often done like Nike
says…“Just Do It”. However, project management does not have to be this
complicated or this simplified to be effective. Often it is a matter of
understanding the myths behind software project management and how critical it
is to long-term success to understand these myths.
Myth #1: Following a development process takes longer to finish a project.
Many studies have shown that following a strong process will improve
productivity and quality. For instance, a study done on companies using
Software Engineering Institute’s (SEI) Capability Maturity Model (CMM) found
that the companies working at the higher levels of the model had three times the
productivity than those at Level 1.
Companies such as Boeing have embraced CMM and their studies are quite
impressive.
• project estimates - improved by 87%
• software quality - improved by 130%
• productivity - improved by 62%
These techniques have been around for over 15 years and countless studies
have proved their positive effects.
So, how do you address this myth?
• Take steps to constantly improve the process. The best way to begin is to
identify what works and then focus on improving the steps of your process
requiring improvement. Each project should incorporate a final step to
reflect on the project activities to identify what steps worked and what
could be improved. Identifying the problem areas will determine where to
focus your efforts on improving your process.
• Use a proven methodology to guide you in defining a process. Each
environment is different and not every method works for everyone, but
using perspectives from proven methodologies such as CMM, RUP, or
others, will prevent you from reinventing the wheel and put you on the fast
track toward streamlining your project activities.
Could your company benefit from results such as Boeing?
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3. Myth #2: Defects are found at the end of the project.
Studies have shown that defects can be 100 times more expensive to correct in
the final phases of a project than in the requirements phase and over 1000 times
more expensive when caught after the product is released. For example,
studies done at the Department of Defense, NASA, Boeing and others
determined that, on average, defects found at the requirements phase cost $50
but those found after release of the product cost $10,000! At one company I
determined that over $30 million could have been saved in a two-year period
had they caught their defects at the requirement stage.
So, how do you address this myth?
• Gather detailed user requirements. Really get into the needs and wants of
the user. Most software projects miss their mark because analysis was
cut short before a complete understanding of the users was determined.
• Create a conceptual system design. This document will provide enough
information to describe the details of how the system works from a user
perspective but not so much detail that the user gets lost in technical
jargon.
• Create detailed designs before any coding begins. This will define exactly
what each module will do and include such things as screen
layout/functionality, inputs, outputs, methods, properties, events, etc. This
will alleviate any doubt as to exactly what each module will do.
• Involve quality assurance (QA) personnel at the beginning of the project.
It is a common misconception that QA should only be involved at the end
of the project. Instead, consider having QA involved throughout the
project verifying the design documents match the business requirements,
verifying the prototypes match business requirements, and performing
functional tests on components as they are created instead of waiting until
system test.
Likewise, QA should be finding a required number of defects in each step
of the process.
Product Phase Activity Defects/KLOC* % of Total
Requirements Product Requirements of Document 2.5 5.0
Definition Product Objectives Document 3.5 7.0
Product Specifications Document 8.5 17.0
Design Conceptual System Design Inspection 5.0 10.0
Detail Design Inspection 7.5 15.0
Code Code Inspection 6.4 12.8
Development Test Unit Test Plan 0.5 1.0
Unit Test 4.5 9.0
Function Test Plan 0.5 1.0
Function Test 4.5 9.0
Independent Test Component Test Plan 0.5 1.0
Component Test 3.5 7.0
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4. System Test Plan 0.3 0.6
System Test 2.0 4.0
Regression Test Plan -- --
Regression Test 0.2 0.4
After Delivery Customer-reported problems .01 .02
Totals 50.0 100.0
* Defects per Thousands of Lines of Code
This means that if you are not finding the number of defects at each step
in the process, then those defects will show up later in the process…at
much a higher cost to fix.
Are you loosing money because you are finding defects late in the process?
Myth #3: User involvement only occurs at the beginning of a project.
To this day, many believe user involvement only happens at the beginning and
end of a project. However, a truly successful project involves users in virtually all
phases of the process.
In an extensive five-year CHAOS study by the renowned Standish Group, the
results discovered the number one contributor to project success was user
involvement. By no surprise, the same study found that the major cause of
project failure was also user involvement. Sometimes a project can be on time
and within budget and still fail because the solution did not satisfy the user’s
needs.
Are a large number of your projects being rejected due to user dissatisfaction?
Myth #4: Project management is a waste of money.
In a study done at Stanford, more than 70 percent of the companies surveyed
regularly missed scheduled deadlines and on average took an additional 4
months to complete.
In a similar study, the Standish Group clearly showed that projects are likely to
be less challenged and more successful when lead by a competent and
experienced project manager.
With a GDP of IT surpassing $3 Trillion worldwide, with United States spending
near $1 trillion, there is considerable money to be saved.
Some of the qualities in a good manager that can save you money are:
• Maintaining accountability. Team members who are accountable to the
team and management are more likely to perform better than those who
do not.
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5. • Providing direction. A good manager keeps a project on track and
traveling in the right direction. Any deviations are quickly pulled back on
track thus averting costly mistakes. This involves having a solid plan and
sticking to the plan. As I like to say, “An orchestra without a conductor is
simply a bunch of musicians making noise”.
• Increase team coherence. A team that works well together performs
better. A good manager takes the time to build morale and team cohesion.
• Managers not technical (or too technical) in areas they manage. All too
frequently, managers fall into the category of being either not technical or
too technical. This causes the project to be misguided because the
manager lacks the expertise to lead in the right direction, or, upon being
too technical, cannot break free from the technical interests to devote to
leading the team from a management perspective. A manager with a
good blend of people skills and technical expertise serves as a good
foundation for success.
Are you wasting money by not having a seasoned project manager lead your
projects?
Project management has proven repeatedly saving millions of dollars based on
my experience and research from government and private industries in software
development ranging from core businesses as warehousing, inventory control,
accounting, change management, automobile, order entry, insurance/annuities,
retail finance, title/escrow, and overall retail/business
About the Author:
Terry Ehrhard
Sr. IT Project Manager
An MBA with engaging and enthusiastic vigor for bridging the gap
between Technology and Business. Leads strategically and
tactically multiple teams concurrently developing “cradle to grave”
home-grown enterprise-wide web-based systems in fast-paced
ever-changing environments.
http://www.linkedin.com/in/terryehrhard
Note: This Special Report is not copyrighted. Please feel free to make copies
and distribute as you would like.
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