20 tips for software project management

List of related project management articles

Even under the perfect conditions, it is difficult to manage a software project. Unfortunately, many new project managers are essentially not trained on their posts. There are 20 successful management experiences for the Project Manager
Exam. However, relying only on one or two "tricks", it is difficult to manage a software project even under the most perfect conditions. Unfortunately, many new project managers are essentially not subject to any
Induction training. There are 20 successful management experiences for the project manager's reference. However, the project cannot be successfully completed only by one or two "tricks.

1. Define criteria for successful projects

At the beginning of the project, all parties should have a unified understanding of whether the project is successful or not. Usually, keeping up with the schedule is the only obvious factor for success, but there must be other factors, such, increase the market share, obtain the specified sales volume or sales volume, obtain the satisfaction of specific users, and eliminate a legacy system with high maintenance requirements.

2. balance various requirements

Each project must balance its functions, personnel, budget, progress, and quality objectives. We combine every aspect of the above five projects into a constraint that you must operate on. You can also define the driving force corresponding to project success, or define the degree of freedom for successful communication. It can be adjusted within a specified range.

3. Define product release standards

In the early stage of the project, determine the criteria used to determine whether the product is ready for release. You can set the release standard based on: the number of high-priority defects, performance metrics, and specific functions that are still available, or
Other aspects indicate that the project has achieved its goal. Whatever standard you choose, it should be achievable, measurable, documented, and consistent with the customer's "quality.

4. Communication commitment

Although the impossible events may be inadvertently promised, do not make a commitment that is known to be uncertain. Communicate honestly with the customer and management personnel about the actual results. Data from any previous project will help you to persuade them, although this does not really work for unreasonable people.

5. Write a plan

Some people think that it is better to spend time writing code to write a plan, but I do not think so. The difficult part is not about writing a plan. The difficult part is about doing this plan-thinking, communication, trade-offs, communication, questioning, and listening. The time it takes you to analyze and solve the problem will reduce the project's future surprises.

6. Break down the task into small circular stones in inches"

The small circular stone in an inch is a milestone for narrowing down. Breaking up large tasks into multiple small tasks helps you estimate them more accurately and expose work activities that you might not think of in other situations, it also ensures more accurate and fine-grained status tracking.

7. Create a scheduler worksheet for a large task

If your group is often responsible for a specific general task, you need to develop an activity check list and plan worksheet for these tasks. Each check list should include all the steps that may be required by this large task. These checklists and worksheets help team members determine and evaluate the workload associated with the large tasks they must handle.

8. modifications should be made after the quality control activities in the plan

Almost all quality control activities, such as tests and technical reviews, will discover defects or other possibilities for improvement. Your project progress or work breakdown structure should include the modifications made after each quality control activity as a separate task. If you don't actually need to make any changes, well, you're ahead of the plan.

9. Schedule "process improvement"

Your team members are already drowned in their current projects, but if you want to upgrade your group to a higher level of software engineering capabilities, you must invest some time in "process improvement. From your project
Leave some time in progress, because software project activities should include process improvements that can help your next project to be more successful. Do not invest 100% of the time your project members can use in project tasks,
Then I was surprised why they didn't make any progress on active improvement.

10. Manage project risks

If you do not identify and control risks, they will control you. Spend some time in project planning to discuss possible risk factors, assess their potential hazards, and decide how you can mitigate or prevent them.

11. Estimate based on the work plan rather than calendar

People usually make estimates based on calendar time, but I tend to estimate the number of Work Plans associated with tasks (in units of "people, then, convert the work plan to the calendar time estimation. This conversion is based on
How much effective hours I spend on project tasks every day, any interruptions or sudden adjustment requests, meetings, and all other time-consuming places I may encounter.

12. Do not assign more than 80% of the tasks for the staff.

It is surprising to track the average number of hours your team members actually spend on the specified project work every week. The overhead of task switching related to the many activities we are requested to do significantly reduces our work efficiency
Rate. An employee theoretically works for 40 hours a week, but not just because someone spends 10 hours a week on a particular job. Assume that he or she can do four of these jobs right away, if he or she can handle
After three tasks, you are lucky.

13. Put the training time into the plan

Determine the amount of time your team member spends on training each year and deduct the time that the team member can work on a specified project task. You may have earlier lost the vacation time, illness time, and other time in the average value, and the training time should also be handled.

14. Record your estimation and how you achieved the estimation

When you are about to estimate your work, record them and record how you complete each task. Understanding the assumptions and methods used to create estimates makes it easier to guard against and adjust them when necessary, and it will help you improve your estimation process.

15. Record estimation and use estimation tools

There are many commercial tools that can help you estimate the entire project. Based on the huge database of their real project experience, these tools can give you a possible schedule and staffing options. They can also help you avoid entering the "impossible Area", which combines the task volume, group labor force, and schedule. It is impossible to succeed.

16. Follow the learning curve

If you try a new process, tool, or technology for the first time in a project, you must bear the cost of productivity reduction in the short term. Do not expect amazing benefits from the first attempt of the new software engineering method, and consider the inevitable learning curve in the schedule.

17. Unexpected buffering considerations

Things will not be as accurate as your project plan, so your budget and schedule should include unexpected buffering at the end of the main phase to adapt to unexpected events. Unfortunately, your manager
Or the customer may use these buffers as your excuse, rather than wisely admitting that the truth is true. Give them some unpleasant accidents in the past to illustrate your foresight.

18. record the actual situation and Estimation

If you do not record the actual working time spent on each task and compare it with your estimation, you will never be able to improve your estimation capability, and your estimation will always be a guess.

19.
This task is considered complete only when task 100% is completed.

One benefit of using an inch-sized xiaoyushi is that you can differentiate whether each small task is completed or not completed. This is much more than the estimated percentage of a large task completed at a specific time. Use clear standards to determine whether a step is actually completed.

20. Publicly and fairly track the project status

Create a good atmosphere, so that project members can accurately report the status of the project and feel safe. Efforts should be made to allow projects to run on an accurate, data-based basis, rather than a misunderstanding of optimism arising from fear of reporting bad news. Use the project status information to perform corrective operations when necessary and give praise when conditions permit.