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Project Management

10 Tips for Working Smarter to be More Profitable

Eliminate feature creep

Work with project stakeholders such as marketing or customers, to define acceptable calendar windows for delivering desired features in a "next release". When the window time is up, seal off the project scope. "Must have" features that miss the window will be included in the next release (to be at an agreed time). This is acceptable to stakeholders in most cases. The important thing is that they know their features are coming, and that they have a sense of when.

Be agile and focused

Being able to react to change quickly and meet time-to-market requirements does not mean that the up-front project work of requirements analysis and capture can be eliminated. Being disciplined in defining scope and prioritizing requirements puts you in an optimal position to choose the most appropriate agile life cycle model or method.

Success is not just delivering on time, on budget

Consider what success means for each project. What characteristics should the final deliverables have? Is time-to-market more important than a rich feature set? Is the presence of even a few minor defects going to make or break the product's success? Are there usability or performance factors that must be considered? Each of these criteria may be as important a measure of success as meeting schedule and budget constraints.

Include the whole project team in a kick-off milestone

Life cycle models include a point where the scope of upcoming development is defined. As the end of this "definition phase" approaches, be sure to obtain a documented plan with estimates for the remaining phases. Ensure the whole team is involved in the planning phase, so that everyone has an in-depth understanding of the plan and buys into it.

Work the plan

Plans cannot realistically be set in stone. As a project progresses, ensure that plans are being updated with actual effort spent on completed and in-progress activities, and that the overall plan is re-evaluated according to this information. In most projects, the plan eventually needs an overhaul -- even if the end dates do not change.

Tools are not the answer

Careful selection and application of tools can streamline the development process and improve quality. Be aware, however, that many tools have assumptions built into them based on an underlying process or methodology. Be sure that your organization understands the underlying process or methodology and is willing to conform. If the tool's process is not followed your organization may not achieve the desired results.

Mitigate risks and plan contingencies

Making a "Top 10" list of risks that could impact your project is of little use unless you act on this information. Prioritize risks (perhaps according to probability of occurring and level of impact if it does occur) and then find ways to either prevent them or reduce the impact if they do occur. First priority is to try to mitigate the risk. Second is to have a contingency plan in case the risk becomes a reality.

Plan for process improvement

Initiate a "process improvement project" so that your organization can continue to become more efficient and effective. Start improving the areas that will give you the greatest returns, first. Improve your organization's project practices little by little to minimize any upheaval and to ensure buy in.

People work better when there is organization and quality

No single factor makes as much difference to a development organization than the efficient operation of teams. Efficient teams usually consist of satisfied team members. Generally developers are more motivated when projects are well planned and allow them to produce high quality deliverables. Build quality assurance activities into your development cycle and chances are you'll be well on the way to a team that takes proud ownership of their work.

10.

Pay attention to the people

It's true of any organization that its people are its greatest asset. Generally, software professionals gain the greatest job satisfaction from intellectual challenge and the chance to learn. Providing opportunities for your staff to develop professionally lays the foundation for highly skilled and efficient teams.