Page 38 - DCAP304_DCAP515_SOFTWARE_PROJECT_MANAGEMENT

Software Project Management

Notes Software is not Tangible

As contrasting to other engineering fields like civil engineering, the software engineering building
blocks are much less tangible and therefore hard to measure and estimate. “Software is conceptual”

Competition: Harsh Deadlines

The competition in the software industry is cruel. The Time-To-Market (TTM) is vital and the
drive to meet harsh deadlines is massive. This characteristic, along with other methodological
anomalies like “Code first; think later” and “Plan to throw one away; you will, anyhow,” makes
competition cruel. The hard competition in the software industry causes not only the need to
deliver ASAP, but also the requirement to catch as many probable customer eyes as possible.
Firing in every direction causes disorganization, fast coding and projects that are not well
planned.

Technology Changes Rapidly

“Software development skill change faster than other construction technologies.” Until lately,
Microsoft was regularly bombarding the industry with new technologies. Rapid technology
changes introduce liability for software manufactures.

Example: New Operating Systems obligate a company like Ahead to release a new
adaptable version of Nero.

A few years ago, Microsoft had determined to change the way it introduced new technologies to
the software industry. It introduced the wave method. In this methodology, Microsoft agreed to
release a bundle of technologies (tools, Framework, programming languages, etc.) in waves,
every several years and by that, let the software industry adapt and digest the new upcoming
technologies. Lots of popular software like Ulead Video Studio and Nero that used to run on
Windows XP do not run on Windows Vista.

Change is Tempting

A building architect will not choose to add extra floors during the building construction. The result
would be dreadful, as the building foundations were not constructed for it. The software architect’s
hand, though, will be much more loose on the trigger. Irresponsible changes like adding new
features and redefining existed ones may cause deadline disobedience and/or bad planning and
coding (patch). Given the harsh competition, it looks like changes are expected.

Bad Time Management

Estimating the development time should associate to the employees (“resources”) on hand.
In some cases, managers estimate and then impose a time table as if they were the ones who
were going to do the developing. This type of enforcement yields pressure on growth and may
harm it. Moreover, violating deadlines in this condition is common.

Bad or no Managing Skills

It is ordinary that software managers are used to being excellent, successful and professional
software engineers. Regrettably, the skills are not the same when it comes to successful managing.
Great engineering skills do not guarantee great managing. Newborn software managers do not
obtain the right, or any, guidance.

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