1. Applied Software Project Management HOW TO DIAGNOSE AND FIX A TROUBLED SOFTWARE PROJECT Why Software Projects Fail 1

2. Applied Software Project Management LACK OF LEADERSHIP  It takes more than a talented and motivated team to make a successful project.  Lack of leadership manifests itself in the team members suffering from:  Tunnel vision  Over-reliance on gut instincts  Repeated false starts in the project 2

3. Applied Software Project Management THE MID-COURSE CORRECTION  A change in project priorities throws the team into disarray  This usually comes from a lack of understanding of the scope of the project  When the engineers don’t understand the users’ and stakeholders’ needs, they build the wrong software  And they might not find out that there’s a problem until after the work is done! 3

4. Applied Software Project Management THE DETACHED ENGINEERING TEAM  There is an artificial wall between the people who build the software and those who need it.  The business people feel like the engineers are moving too slowly and don’t care about their needs  The engineers feel like they’re always shooting at a moving target because business people don’t know what they want 4

5. Applied Software Project Management FIX A TROUBLED SOFTWARE PROJECT  Fixing Planning Problems  Fixing Estimation Problems  Fixing Scheduling Problems  Fixing Review Problems  Fixing Requirements Problems  Fixing Programming Problems  Fixing Testing Problems 5

6. Applied Software Project Management FIXING PLANNING PROBLEMS  Lack of Leadership, the Mid-Course Correction and the Detached Engineering Team are project planning problems  Use a vision and scope document to define the needs of the users and stakeholders  Use a project plan to keep every informed about how those needs will be met  Use risk planning to keep the plan realistic 6

7. Applied Software Project Management PADDED ESTIMATES GENERATE DISTRUST  Programmers add extra time to their estimates  They may do this because of unknowns  Often they have been late in the past, and “know” that they will need extra time  Project managers and senior managers quickly figure this out, and start to question individual estimates  And the programmers don’t have good answers! 7

8. Applied Software Project Management SELF-FULFILLING PROPHECY  A project manager under pressure simply imposes a deadline, and creates unrealistic estimates that meet it  The team works nights and weekends to meet the deadline  The project manager feels vindicated  The team eventually gets frustrated and disillusioned 8

9. Applied Software Project Management FIX A TROUBLED SOFTWARE PROJECT  Fixing Planning Problems  Fixing Estimation Problems  Fixing Scheduling Problems  Fixing Review Problems  Fixing Requirements Problems  Fixing Programming Problems  Fixing Testing Problems 9

10. Applied Software Project Management FIXING ESTIMATION PROBLEMS  Padded estimates and the self-fulfilling prophecy are estimation problems  Adopting a repeatable estimation process like Wideband Delphi can help fix them  By writing down assumptions, the team can handle risks without padding their time – and even avoid the risks altogether  It reduces padding and increases honesty through transparency, by letting the team correct each other in an open meeting 10

11. Applied Software Project Management WORKING BACKWARDS FROM A DEADLINE  Project managers approach a non-negotiable deadline for a project by working backwards  They shorten the tasks in the schedule or cutting them entirely until everything fits  When the schedule gets tight, any non-programming activities are cut and the software is released before it’s finished 11

12. Applied Software Project Management MISUNDERSTOOD PREDECESSORS  The project manger does not take the time to understand how tasks depend on each other  Problems are discovered partway through the project one task can’t be started because it depends on another  Delays cascade through the project, getting increasingly worse  Some programmers are stuck waiting with nothing to do, while others work overtime 12

13. Applied Software Project Management FIX A TROUBLED SOFTWARE PROJECT  Fixing Planning Problems  Fixing Estimation Problems  Fixing Scheduling Problems  Fixing Review Problems  Fixing Requirements Problems  Fixing Programming Problems  Fixing Testing Problems 13

14. Applied Software Project Management FIXING SCHEDULING PROBLEMS  Working backwards from a deadline and misunderstood predecessors are symptoms of underlying scheduling problems  They can be avoided by adopting good planning and estimation practices and creating a project schedule  Schedule techniques like critical path analysis can help spot problems early on 14

15. Applied Software Project Management PROBLEMS ARE FOUND TOO LATE  There are preventable defects in the software that aren’t caught until late in the project  The team may misunderstand a need, but that’s not discovered until delivery  Requirements may be missed or incorrect  The design may be difficult to use or fail to take all of the features into account 15

16. Applied Software Project Management BIG, USELESS MEETINGS  A project manager who has previously been burned by problems that were found too late is determined to avoid falling into the same trap  He calls a big meeting with everyone who could possibly have input  The meeting drags on for hours, without making any real progress  Eventually, everyone gives up and goes back to the way they did things before 16

17. Applied Software Project Management THE INDISPENSABLE “HERO”  One “critical” person is seen as the clear top programmer, and all important work is sent through him  He may have a unique skill or experience  Sometimes he hoardes information so all tasks that rely on it must go through him  He is always working long hours – and causing bottlenecks 17

18. Applied Software Project Management FIX A TROUBLED SOFTWARE PROJECT  Fixing Planning Problems  Fixing Estimation Problems  Fixing Scheduling Problems  Fixing Review Problems  Fixing Requirements Problems  Fixing Programming Problems  Fixing Testing Problems 18

19. Applied Software Project Management FIXING REVIEW PROBLEMS  Problems that are found too late, big useless meetings, and the indispensable “hero” are problems which can be solved with reviews  Reviews can catch defects early, when they are cheaper to fix  A review meeting only includes the people necessary for the work to be done  Reviews – especially code reviews – can help the “hero” spread his expertise and knowledge 19

20. Applied Software Project Management ITERATION ABUSE  Iteration can be a useful tool, but it is often abused  The team uses iteration as a “guessing game”  Programmers deliver build after build; users and stakeholders make small changes to each build  Programmers like it because they can dive in  Users and stakeholders like it because they don’t have to read documents or think about their needs 20

21. Applied Software Project Management SCOPE CREEP  After the programming has started, users and stakeholders make changes  Each change is easy to describe, so it sounds “small” and the programmers agree to it  Eventually, the project slows to a crawl  It’s 90% done – with 90% left to go  The programmers know that if they had been told from the beginning what to build, they could have built it quickly from the start 21

22. Applied Software Project Management FIX A TROUBLED SOFTWARE PROJECT  Fixing Planning Problems  Fixing Estimation Problems  Fixing Scheduling Problems  Fixing Review Problems  Fixing Requirements Problems  Fixing Programming Problems  Fixing Testing Problems 22

23. Applied Software Project Management FIXING REQUIREMENTS PROBLEMS  When software requirements are not gathered and specified before the software is developed, it causes scope creep and the team resorts to iteration abuse.  The team can adopt software requirements engineering practices to write down most of the changes before the work begins  A change control process gives them a handle on the few changes that remain 23

24. Applied Software Project Management HAUNTED BY GHOSTS OF OLD PROBLEMS  Programmers find that old bugs suddenly reappear without warning  As the code base grows, it becomes harder to keep control of the source code  They may use a shared folder to store source code, but occasionally old copies of files are copied over newer ones 24

25. Applied Software Project Management BROKEN BUILDS  The programmers deliver a build which does not work – and the testers can’t even begin to test it  The programmers get frustrated because they feel that they put a lot of effort into testing the build  “Isn’t it the job of the QA team to figure out the build is broken and tell them what to fix?”  The testers spend hours or days setting up a test environment, only to redo it for the next build 25

26. Applied Software Project Management SPAGHETTI CODE  Maintaining old code is the least desirable programming job in many organizations  Old, highly modified code turns into a twisted mess of execution paths and patches  Spaghetti code is often used as an excuse to do an unnecessary rewrite 26

27. Applied Software Project Management FIX A TROUBLED SOFTWARE PROJECT  Fixing Planning Problems  Fixing Estimation Problems  Fixing Scheduling Problems  Fixing Review Problems  Fixing Requirements Problems  Fixing Programming Problems  Fixing Testing Problems 27

28. Applied Software Project Management FIXING PROGRAMMING PROBLEMS  When the team adopts good programming habits, they can avoid ghosts of old problems, broken builds and spaghetti code.  Get control of the source code with version control software like Subversion  Use unit tests and test-driven development to increase the quality of the build  Use refactoring to keep the code readable 28

29. Applied Software Project Management REQUIREMENTS HAVEN’T BEEN IMPLEMENTED  The team delivers software missing behavior or even entire features  Software is complex, and even with good review practices, it’s difficult for programmers to fully implement everything  Missing requirements are difficult to spot because even the programmer missed them when looking over his own work 29

30. Applied Software Project Management OBVIOUS BUGS SLIPPED THROUGH  Inexperienced testers are expected to just “bang on the software”  Technical support staff, junior programmers, end users, outside temps and sales people are drafted as “testers”  Even when experienced testers are used, they are not given time to plan  Decisions about release readiness are made based on the schedule, rather than the quality 30

31. Applied Software Project Management “BUT IT WORKED FOR US!”  When a product is not tested in all environments in which it will be used, the tests will be thrown off  Defects are missed when testers can’t adequately replicate the environment in which the software will be used  Test data may not resemble actual production data 31

32. Applied Software Project Management FIX A TROUBLED SOFTWARE PROJECT  Fixing Planning Problems  Fixing Estimation Problems  Fixing Scheduling Problems  Fixing Review Problems  Fixing Requirements Problems  Fixing Programming Problems  Fixing Testing Problems 32

33. Applied Software Project Management FIXING TESTING PROBLEMS  When code is delivered with too few requirements implemented and too many bugs included, the team needs better testing practices.  Software testers must be involved in every stage of development  Test planning must be given adequate time on the schedule  Sufficient budget must be provided for a testing environment. 33

34. Applied Software Project Management COMMON PROBLEMS CAN BE AVOIDED!  Almost everyone has experienced at least a few of these problems.  We know what causes them, and we have tools, techniques and practices that can fix them.  All it takes is good project management and sound software engineering… and any project team can do it! 34