[SE] Software Project Management

Software is delivered on tiem and on schedule and in accordance with the requirements of the organisations developing and procuring the software.

Project management is needed because software development is always subject to budget and schedule constraints that ahre set by the organisation developing the software.

Success criteria in software management

• Deliver the software to the customer at the agreed time.
• Keep overall costs within budget.
• Deliver software that meets the customer's expections.
• Maintain a coherent and well-functioning development team.

Software management distinctions

1. The product is intangible

   • Software can't be seen or touched.
   • Software project managers can't see progress by simply looking at the artifact that is being constructed.

2. Many software projects are 'one-off' projects.

   • Large software projecs are usually different in some ways from previous projects.
   • Even managers who have lots of previous experience may find it difficult to anticipate problems.

3. Software processes are variable and organization specific.
   • We still can't reliable predict when a particular software process is likely to lead to development problems.

Universal management activities

1. Project planning
   • Project managers are responsible for planning.
   • For example, estimating and scheduling project development and assigning people to tasks.
2. Risk management
   • Project managers assess the risks that may affect a project, monitor these risks and take action when problems arise.
3. People management
   • Project managers have to choose people for their team and establish ways of working that leads to effective team performance.

Risk management

Risk management is concerned with identifying risks and drawing up plans to minimise their effect on a project.

Software risk management is important because of the inherent uncertainties in software development and these uncertainties stem from loosely defined requirements, requirements changes due to changes in customer needs, difficulties in estimating the time and resources required for software development and differences in individual skills.

So we have to anticipate risks, understand the impact of these risks on the project , the product and the business and take steps to avoid these risks.

Risk classification

There are two dimensions of risk classification

1. The type of risk
   • technical, organizational, ...
     
     
2. what is affected by the risk
   • Project risks affect schedule or resources.
   • Product risks affect the quality or performance of the software being developed.
   • Bussiness risks affect the organisation developing or procuring the software.

Risk management process

1. Risk identifaction : Identify project, product, and business risk
2. Risk analysis : Assess the likelihood and consequences of these risks
3. Risk planning : Draw up plans to avoid or minimise the effects of the risk
4. Risk monitoring : Monitor the risks throughout the project

1. Risk Identification and Risk Types

There are various types of risk such as estimation, organizational, people, requirements, technology and tools.

Here are some examples.

• Underestimate required time to develop the software.
• Organizational finance issues force the project budget reduction.
• Key staff are ill or it's impossible to recruit a required staff.
• Customers fail to understand the impact of requirement changes.
• Reusable software component has defects.

2. Risk Analysis

Risk analysis is a step that analyze identifed risks and assess their probability and effects.

1. Likelihood of a risk can be presented from low to high

2. Effects of the risk can be categorized based on their significance.

   • Catastrophic, Serious, Tolerable, Insignificant

Here is an example.

Impossible to recruit a staff with required skills.

• Probability is high : in case every company is hiring.
• Effects are catastrophic : without this staff, we can't proceed the project.

3. Risk planning

Risk planning is a step that consider each risk and develop a strategy to manage that risk.

These are details included in risk planning.

1. Avoidance strategies
   The probability that the risk will arise is reduced
   ex) Schedule regular maintenance to avoid hardware failure.

2. Minimization strategies
   The impact of the risk on the project or product will be reduced
   ex) Maximize information hiding to reduce hange impact.

3. Contigency plans
   If the risk arises, contigency plans are plans to deal with that risk.
   ex) When there is a fire, route traffics to diffeent data center.

4. Risk Monitoring

Risk monitoring is a step that assess each identified risks regularly to decide whether or not it is becoming less or more probable.

Also this step assesses whethere the effects of the risk have changed.

Each key risk should be discussed at management progress meetings.

Managing people

People are an organisation's most important assets.

This is the most principal rule in managing people.

The tasks of a manager should be essentially people-oriented.
Unless there is some understanding of people, management will be unsuccessful.
Also Poor people management is an important contributor to project failure.

So an important role of a manager is to motivate the people working on a project.

Motivating People

Motivation means organizing the work and the working environment to encourage people to work effectively.

If people are not motivated, they will not be interested in the work they are doing.
They will work slowly, be more likely to make mistakes nad will not contribute to the broader goals of the team or the organization.

Mosivation is a complex issue but it appears that there are different types of motivation based on Basic needs, personal nees, social needs.

• Basic needs : food, sleep, etc
• Personal needs : respect, self-esteem
• Social needs : to be accedpted as part of a group

Personality types

Motivation should also take into account different personality types

1. Task-oriented people : These are people who are motivated by the work they do in software engineering.
2. Interaction-oriented people : These are people who are motivated by the presence and actions of co-workers.
3. Self-oriented people : These are people who are principally motivated by personal success and recognition.

Teamwork

Most software engineering is a group activity.
The development schedule for most non-trivial software projects is such that they can't be completed by one person working alone.

A good group is cohesive and has a team spirit.
The people involved are motivated by the sucess of the group as well as by their own personal goals.

Group interaction is a key determinant of group performance.

But flexibility in group composition is limited.
So it is important that managers do the best they can with available people.

Group cohesiveness

Then what can we get from group cohesiveness?

Here are advantages of a cohesive group.

1. Group quality standards can be developed by the group meembers.
   • Inhibitions caused by ignorance are reduced.
2. Team memvers learn from each other and get to know each other's work.
3. Knowledge is shared.
   • Continuity can be maintained if a group member leaves
4. Refactoring and continual improvement is encouraged.
   • Group members work collectively to deliver high quality results and fix problems, irrespective of the individuals who originally created the design or program.

Selecting group members

A mamanger or team leader's job is to create a cohesive group and organize their group so that they can work together effectively.

This involves creating a group with the right balance of technical skills and personalities and organizing that group so that the members work together effectively.

Assembling a team

May not be possible to appoint the ideal people to work on a project.

Group composition

Group composed of members who share the same motivation can be problematic

There are three types of personality.

1. Task-oriented : everyone wants to do their own thing
2. Self-oriented : everyone wants to be the boss
3. Interaction-oriented : too much chatting, not enough work.

An effective group has a balance of all types.
If a particular personality is concentrated, that group can't be said to be a good group.

Group organization

Small software engineering groups are usually organised informally without a rigid structure.

For large projects, there may be a hierachical structure where different groups are responsible for different sub-projects.

Agile development is always based around an informal group on the principle that formal structure inhibits information exchange.

Informal groups

The group acts as a whole and comes to a consensus on decisions affecting the system.
The group leader serves as the external interface of the group but dose not allocate specific work items.

Rather, work is discussed by the group as a whole and tasks are allocated according to ability and experience.

This approach is successful for groups where all members are experienced and competent.

Group communications

Good communications are essential for effective group working.

Information must be exchanged on the status of work, design decisions and changes to previous decisions.

Good communications also strengthens group cohesion as it promotes understanding.