Better Software Project Management: A Primer for Success

A complete guide to piloting a software project to success–on time and within budget

This book provides novice software project managers, software developers, and anyone delivering reusable software with strategies for mastering the basics of directing a software project. Well-known management consultant Marsha Lewin uses a "been there, done that" approach designed to solve on-the-job problems quickly and efficiently.

Learn how to get a project in motion immediately in the first chapter’s "quick start" tutorial. This comprehensive overview outlines the ins and outs of software project management, including the expectations for a project manager, defining the project, satisfying critical needs, and leading and monitoring your team. These aspects of managing small- to medium-sized project types are detailed in the same lively, colloquial style that demystifies the complexities of the discipline. The author equips you with the tools to concurrently satisfy the triple constraints of schedule, budget, and quality within the context of risk management, and highlights potential pitfalls and their solutions to assure repeated success.

To help you get under way and stay ahead, supplemental, ready-to-use forms, formats, and checklists are included, along with information on:

• Use of resources, including people and budget, the quality of software developed, and the costs and risks

• Political and technical issues affecting project success

• Risk management methodology

• Shaping yourself as a leader

• Software development methodologies, from traditional life cycle to prototyping, and how they relate to software project management

• Testing and its role in project management

Dozens of real-world examples and diagrams, together with a comprehensive bibliography and glossary, render Better Software Project Management a crucial resource for anyone responsible for keeping software projects within budget and on schedule.

Table of Contents

PREFACE.

Who This Book Is For.

Approaching Software Project Management.

Useful Features of This Book.

How This Book Is Organized.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS.

Chapter 1: Getting Moving.

Project Management Quick Start.

Whats a Project Manager to Do?

Materials Review.

Chapter 2: Mastering the Process.

Theory of Constraints: The Dimensions.

Satisfying the Quadruple Constraint.

Taking Corrective Steps.

Adjusting to Project Outcomes.

Defining Project Types.

Applying Methodologies to the Madness.

Getting the Lay of the Land: Kick-off.

Compiling the Project Bible.

Choosing Projects with the Best Chance of Success.

Negotiating for Success.

Handling the Pressure.

The Importance of Project Definition.

Chapter 3: Planning the Project.

Getting There from Here.

Risky Business.

Defining the Project Work Plan in Detail.

Setting Standards.

Scheduling.

Cost Planning.

Practicing the Art of Estimating.

Choosing a Project Cost System.

Building in Contingency.

Risk Planning.

Chapter 4: Lewin on Leadership.

Organizing the Project Team.

Knowing Who to Organize.

Leadership Guidelines.

Talent Searching.

Organize a Virtual Team.

Additional Notes on Talent.

Back to the Drawing Board.

Chapter 5: Monitoring.

Getting and Staying in Control.

Financially Speaking.

Dealing with Creepy Crawly Changes.

Communicating and Publicizing.

Chapter 6: Completing.

Knowing Youre at the Finish Line.

The Joy of Reviewing.

Life after Completion.

In Conclusion.

Appendix I.

Appendix II.

Appendix III.

Glossary.

Bibliography.

Index.

PREFACE.

Who This Book Is For.

Approaching Software Project Management.

Useful Features of This Book.

How This Book Is Organized.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS.

Chapter 1: Getting Moving.

Project Management Quick Start.

Whats a Project Manager to Do?

Materials Review.

Chapter 2: Mastering the Process.

Theory of Constraints: The Dimensions.

Satisfying the Quadruple Constraint.

Taking Corrective Steps.

Adjusting to Project Outcomes.

Defining Project Types.

Applying Methodologies to the Madness.

Getting the Lay of the Land: Kick-off.

Compiling the Project Bible.

Choosing Projects with the Best Chance of Success.

Negotiating for Success.

Handling the Pressure.

The Importance of Project Definition.

Chapter 3: Planning the Project.

Getting There from Here.

Risky Business.

Defining the Project Work Plan in Detail.

Setting Standards.

Scheduling.

Cost Planning.

Practicing the Art of Estimating.

Choosing a Project Cost System.

Building in Contingency.

Risk Planning.

Chapter 4: Lewin on Leadership.

Organizing the Project Team.

Knowing Who to Organize.

Leadership Guidelines.

Talent Searching.

Organize a Virtual Team.

Additional Notes on Talent.

Back to the Drawing Board.