Set the Stage for Success

  Estimating   Manufacturing   ProjectsAtWork  

Management decisions made before a software project is underway are a significant factor in determining whether it succeeds or fails. Here are seven principles, based on comprehensive studies, that leaders must support and uphold to help create an environment in which projects can succeed. Ignoring them practically guarantees failure.

Troubled software projects quickly devolve into a blame game. Management blames the project manager. The project manager blames the developers (and, secretly, management). Developers have a wide array of blame options: senior management, project leaders, suppliers, customers, partners, sales — even each other. More important than assigning responsibility is determining what measures can be taken to reduce the incidence of software projects that miss their schedule, exceed their budget, deliver a mediocre product, or any combination of these.

The fact is, management decisions made before the project is underway are a significant determining factor on whether a software project succeeds or fails. Management choices can either handicap a project before it begins or create the environment in which it can succeed.

Software development as a business or practice is 50 or 60 years old and ample data exist to distinguish between measures that promote success from those that contribute to failure. While adhering to the following seven …

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