Dilbert Scott Adams 1 Dilbert Scott Adams 2
Dilbert Scott Adams 1
Dilbert Scott Adams 2
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Johanna Rothman http: //www. stickyminds. com/Media/Video/Detail. aspx? Web. Page=103 “Lessons Learned in Project Management” Projects don’t fit into the nice definitions found in project management books. Based on her many years of consulting with large and small software teams, Johanna Rothman coaches leaders to take a more pragmatic approach in this keynote presentation from the 2008 Better Software Conference and EXPO. 48 minutes 4
Chapter 1: Starting a Project • Project definition – Every project is unique • Product • Project manager • What does done mean? Manage It! Your Guide to Modern, Pragmatic Project Management Johanna Rothman 5
Context helpers… Project “The set of deliverables that results from the project. ” Project Manager “The person whose job it is to articulate and communicate what done means and to guide the project to done. By done, I mean a product that meets the needs of the organization developing the product and the customers who will use the product. 6
Risks and the Project’s Context • What drives the project? – Release of the “flagship” product – Build a prototype to determine “proof of concept” • Not as simple as Cost – Quality – Schedule • Suggested approach – identify the “driver” of project: – ID customer expectations – ID constraints you are under – ID what jumps out as required for success? 7
Constraints • What’s left after you identify the driver? • Choose the top 3 – that will constrain the project. • What is left? – You can manage these (the floats) • JR and Clyde (the sponsor)… page 6 “You start it, you finish it so that Leslie likes it… ” 8
Warning! • A customer that doesn’t decide what’s driving the project pushes the decision to the PM. • If the PM won’t decide, the project team will. • You end up with multiple decisions. “Knowing what drives the project helps define success criteria and what approach to take. ” 9
Choosing Project drivers Highest=1 … Lowest=6 10
“Imagine” the future questions • • Three weeks from the due date. Not all features are implemented. Defects remain. What would the sponsor say? – “Finish the damn project” • Be civil … but continue to seek an answer. – Use context free questions • What did the Charter “say” about to do when something like this happens? 11
Context Free Questions You need the customer to answer questions! To what questions: • What does success look like? • Why are the success criteria desirable? • What is the solution worth to you? • What problems does this system solve? • What problems could this system create? 12
What does success look like? “The more information you gather at the beginning about the project's value to the sponsor, the more you’ll understand how to design the project. ” … but most importantly, you understand what is important… and what is not. 13
Writing a Project Charter • What you find out… … what the project needs to accomplish … the constraints on the project … “expectations” between the project team and the customer over the life of the project • You will begin to understand some of the risks, what success means… • Helps in organizing and steering the project. 14
The Charter • Vision The reasons for the project • Requirements The drivers – features not functions!!! • Goals What you (and the team) want to accomplish • Success Criteria What the product will do for the customer • ROI estimate 15
Rate Of Return (ROR) AKA Return On Investment (ROI) Ratio of money gained or lost (realized or unrealized) on an investment relative to the amount of money invested. The amount of money gained or lost may be referred to as interest, profit/loss, gain/loss, or net income/loss. The money invested may be referred to as the asset, capital, principal, or the cost basis of the investment. ROI is usually expressed as a percentage rather than decimal value. Example: a $1, 000 investment that earns $50 in interest generates more cash than a $100 investment that earns $20 in interest, but the $100 investment earns a higher Return On Investment. $50 $1, 000 = 5% ROI $20 $100 = 20% ROI
Know what quality means… ? • Part of knowing what done means • “Quality is value to someone” Sponsors, customers, users, … Someone who needs the services to be provided 17
Size of Customer Base Moore’s Chasm Mainstream Market Early Market Time Pile of failed projects 18
… another version 19
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