Software project management-gaps in software project management

Software project management-gaps in software project management

Blank 1: Implement project management for benefits
Why do we need to implement project management to improve project benefits. The benefits of the project referred to here are a comprehensive indicator, including low risk and high output. For this reason, it is not difficult to figure out the degree that we should master in implementing project management. That is, the benefits generated after project management is introduced minus the cost of project management must be greater than the benefits when project management is not introduced. Because the benefits produced after the introduction of project management are not linearly related to the complexity of project management (the cost of project management), the complexity of project management must have an optimal value, this is what we should grasp. The preceding statement may be abstract. The rule for judging the degree of project management effectively is: everyone recognizes and can accurately understand and implement it. Taking the words of American project management expert James P Lewis, it is the keep it simple and stupid. Taking the words of the physicist Einstein, keep it simple but not too simple.

Blank 2: consider the environment
Any system is built in a specific system environment. Generally, it is most affected by the upper-level system. This is the viewpoint of system theory. Project management is a subordinate level of enterprise management. To a large extent, the success of project management is often restricted by the enterprise management system (for example, the approval of equipment procurement will delay the construction period ), this is why there are often reasons why the plan is not as fast as the change. Because we did not take into account the enterprise management environment of both our own and our customers when making the plan, our plan will be affected by the enterprise management environment factors during the implementation process. I bet you: companies that do not have a Personnel Incentive Mechanism often owe or deliberately deduct employee salaries, but the development efficiency of a company that has obtained the cm5 certification is not much more efficient than that of a development team that has not implemented project management. The bad company personnel system has killed developers' talents and enthusiasm. Therefore, as a project manager, it is necessary to examine the enterprise environment of your project and make accurate judgments. Without a good project environment, project managers often waste their efforts. This is often the reason why some of our project managers have significantly different project management performance in different companies.

In addition, based on the enterprise environment perspective, the us pmi and Japan enaa have proposed the Project Management Maturity Model (opm3 and p2m ), changes the defects of traditional PMBOK (ignoring external factors and flexibility ). If you are interested, you can refer to the relevant documents on Project Management Maturity and enterprise management (for more information, see professional managers.

Blank 3: Rational evaluation of software project management
We always blame the project manager for too many project failures. Their role is often a scapegoat rather than a leader. They have more responsibilities than authority. In fact, project failure is not entirely determined by project management. For example, the quotation of the information system is too low. If one project is completed on time within the budget but the other is not completed on time, this does not mean that the first project is well managed. Because the former may be a project with a loose time and cost, the latter is simply an impossible project. The former project management aims to achieve higher project benefits, while the latter aims to avoid greater project losses. Unfortunately, software companies that are full of impetuousness do not have this kind of consciousness. Some projects are doomed to fail before they begin, and the project managers will be shackled by a responsible person as soon as they get started. Therefore, if project management has any specific effect, it is necessary to make a reasonable judgment. The view simply focusing on benefits may not be biased.

Blank 4: necessity of Psychology
No field is more important than human factors in software project management. Before the software field is automated, all mechanisms that try to replace people's main role have little effect. Human behavior is a manifestation of mental activity. The developer's psychological activities determine the development performance. Proper stress can arouse developers' desire for success, but excessive stress directly affects the physical and mental health of project participants. In particular, the latter has never attracted the attention of the software development community. Many people once experienced resignation without knowing clearly. Before learning "Management Psychology", I sometimes think that these people's "radical" behavior is strange. As a software project manager, it is difficult to take reasonable measures against complicated and changing human factors without understanding and mastering management psychology. At the same time, its own mental health may not be guaranteed. Therefore, the author suggests that qualified software companies can employ psychological consultants to handle employees' psychological problems, so as to ease conflicts and project collapse between employees due to work pressure.

Blank 5: respect for common sense and systematically consider issues
This point of view has been reiterated in the principles of software project management. Just as you don't expect people to run for 20 meters in a second, expect too many miracles in the project. Unfortunately, most of our project managers still implement "Great Leap Forward" in project management ". Our managers know that natural laws are not resistant to violations, but few people are aware that some social laws are not resistant to violations. They always think that the subjective initiative of materialism can replace reality and create miracles. Overtime is considered to be the only way to solve the lack of resources, and the success of the project can be achieved through the "supreme" Productivity of developers. Few people will realize that the fatigue caused by overtime will reduce productivity again. This is a manifestation of lack of common sense and systemic thinking. Such performances include "tool-only" and "Methodology-only ".

In fact, project management involves all aspects. It does not improve the level and final output of project management by simply improving the role of one aspect and ignoring its impact on other aspects, this is a good medicine to stop our project managers from taking an extreme stance. I hope project managers will be aware of it.

Blank 6: Learn to think
Project management is not a matter of concept. Do you need Project Management ?? There are many PMP and ipmp projects, but the project fails to do so. The gap between theory and practice has greatly dampened the enthusiasm of project managers. This is also the basis for the "Certificate useless theory. Theory is a perfect abstraction, and reality is a collection of various conditions. In practice, our project managers often stick to their requirements and ignore their dependencies. This is the source for recruiting project managers "experience-only. When a project manager talked to me, he mentioned that he could not use the Earned Value because the company's personnel department and Finance Department were unwilling to present the employee's income list. I recommend that you replace the Earned Value with the earned time to replace the cost with the time. From the perspective of project progress, the two are actually the same, and the problem is solved immediately. It is a pity that our project managers often fail to learn the true meaning of specific concepts before they rush to the donkey and fight against the windmill with a long gun (Note: Don Quixote ).

Blank 7: learning plan
In reality, we often use remedial measures to replace the plan, and the effect is like the amplification effect of Software defects. During the recruitment of the project manager, you only heard a few project management idiots asking you what problems should be solved in the project. These project management idiots are constantly making various questions and assumptions, however, you must follow the assumptions to answer a variety of questions that suit these project management idiots. However, for project management, the true significance of project management lies in preventing problems that deviate from the project objectives in advance rather than solving the problems. The old saying goes, "Sharpen your knife and never cut firewood by mistake ". You cannot expect a 100% cure rate for cancer, but you can prevent it through proper living habits and exercise. During project management, we should first consider how to prevent problems. Although it cannot ensure that all problems (risks) can be avoided, we plan, you will have more problem (risk) reserves to be prepared when problems arise. A project manager that only considers countermeasures when a problem occurs is a failed project manager. The outcome of the project is to deliver health to a doctor rather than yourself. As the positioning of project management, project management should be the role of "Management Accounting" rather than "cost accounting.

Finally, we end this article with the lines of a movie. Why are people ill? Simple things are complicated. If complicated things are simple, people will be ill ". Using this line to describe our current project management status is nothing more than that. Software project management is a process from "spontaneous" to "conscious", and also a process from empirical to rational. Software project management is an active management, and all of this requires the project management thinking and positive practices of the majority of project managers.