Software Project Management Overview

Software Project Management

• Software project management involves ensuring software is delivered on time and within budget, adhering to organizational requirements.
• Software development projects are subject to budget and schedule constraints.
• Success criteria for software projects include timely delivery, adherence to budget, satisfying customer expectations, and maintaining a functional development team.
• Software is intangible and progress cannot be visually assessed.
• Software projects are often one-off projects that differ from previous projects, making anticipation of problems difficult.
• Software processes are variable and organization-specific.
• Project management is influenced by factors like company size, software customers, software type, organizational culture, and software development processes.

Universal Management Activities

• Project planning involves estimating, scheduling, and assigning tasks.
• Risk management involves assessing, monitoring, and mitigating potential project risks.
• People management includes choosing team members and fostering effective teamwork.

Management Activities

• Reporting is a managerial responsibility for communicating project progress to clients and company managers.
• Proposals are initial documents outlining project objectives and execution strategy for securing contracts.

Risk Management

• Risk management identifies and plans to minimize risks' impact.
• Software risks stem from ambiguous requirements, customer demands evolving and estimation difficulties.
• Risk classification involves technical, organizational, and business risks (affecting schedule/resources, product quality/performance, or the developing/procuring organization).
• Risk management process includes identification, analysis, planning, and monitoring.
• Risk identification includes potential project, product, and business risks, often using checklists based on experience.
• Risk identification examples include underestimated development times, inappropriate staff skills, and changes to requirements.
• Risk analysis evaluates the likelihood and severity of risks.
• Risk consequences can range from catastrophic to insignificant.
• Risk planning involves developing strategies to mitigate or avoid risks.
• Risk monitoring involves tracking and adapting risk mitigation plans.

Managing People

• People are the most important organizational asset.
• Effective management is people-oriented.
• Poor people management contributes to project failure.
• People management involves consistency, respect for individual skills, and inclusivity of diverse perspectives.
• Honesty and transparency are essential management traits.
• Motivating factors include an ideal work environment, satisfying personal needs like belonging or achievement and providing chances for training to address needs.

Teamwork

• Most software engineering is a group activity due to the complexity of projects.
• Effective groups are cohesive, have team spirit, and prioritize team success alongside individual goals.
• Team interaction significantly affects performance.
• Team structure is often influenced by size, formal structures, skills balance, and interaction style.
• Communication is essential for successful collaboration among group members.
• Effective group composition is necessary; balance of task-oriented, self-oriented, and interaction-oriented people is beneficial to improve chances for communication and conflict resolution.

Group Organization

• Group structure influences decision-making, knowledge exchange, and interaction with stakeholders.
• Key questions include team structure, leadership roles, stakeholder engagement, remote collaboration, and fostering knowledge transfer.
• Small groups typically function informally, while larger projects might have hierarchical structures (different sub-teams).
• Informal group structures are more suitable for efficient knowledge exchange compared to hierarchical structures, which potentially inhibit information flow.
• Good communication is key for informal groups to function effectively; the group should be able to reach a consensus and task allocation should be made based on group ability.