PERT is a technique for providing definitive estimates of how long it will take to complete tasks. We often estimate, or scope, the amount of time it will take us to complete a task or tasks. PERT allows us to provide not only an estimate, but a measure of how good the estimate is. Good estimates are a critical element in any software planning strategy. In this post, we will present an introduction to using PERT, explain how it works and how to interpret PERT estimates.
Consulting / Process Improvement / Product Management / Project Management / Requirements / Software development
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How To Use Timeboxes for Scheduling Software Delivery
Roger had a great suggestion in the comments to our previous two-part post on scheduling requirements changes based on complexity. Roger pointed out that we had not explained what timeboxing is, but implicitly used the principles of timeboxing in our proposed process. In this post, we explain timeboxes and how they are used.
Agile / Communication / Consulting / Process Improvement / Project Management / Requirements / Software development
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Scheduling requirements changes – part 2
This process goes against agile principles on paper, but makes teams more agile in practice. Scheduling delivery of a project is an exercise in managing complexity. Scheduling changes to the requirements on the fly is really only marginally more difficult. The key to managing changes is to set expectations with our stakeholders. By defining rational deadlines for change requests, we assure ourselves that we can manage the changes. We also demonstrate responsiveness to our stakeholders. Rational deadlines are not arbitrary deadlines nor are they unreasonable deadlines. Deadlines that vary with the complexity of the changes are rational, easy to communicate, and easy to manage.
Agile / Communication / Consulting / Process Improvement / Project Management / Requirements / Software development / Use Cases
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Scheduling requirements changes – part 1
Software product success requires timely delivery. There are many factors that influence our ability to properly scope, schedule, and deliver software. When we propose changes in requirements we introduce risk to the schedule. We can set reasonable expectations for our stakeholders while maintaining a realistic work environment and schedule. In part 1 of this post we detail a requirements triage process that organizes requirements by complexity and allows us to set and meet expectations of delivery.
Communication / Consulting / Outsourcing
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Outsourcing Conversation – One Topic, Two Blogs, Three Cs
Frederick Boulanger picked up on our earlier post about different outsourcing process models, and extended it with his own good ideas- making it easier for teams to decide which outsourcing model is right for them. Frederick identifies the three key factors that determine which model is most likely to succeed for a given team. They are control, coordination, and communication. Anyone else want to join in? Blog away, and trackback or comment here.
Communication / Lists / Presentation / Writing
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Targeted Communication – Three Tips
Most guides to writing an executive summary miss the key point: The job of the executive summary is to sell, not to describe.
This from Guy Kawasaki’s recent post, The Art of the Executive Summary. Guy’s article is structured towards pitching an idea to a potential investor. We’re going to apply the same rationale to the communication that is key to successful product development – communication from the team, to stakeholders and sponsors.We also communicate with people outside of our team. We communicate to set expectations with customers, users, and clients.We communicate with sponsors, customers, and others who fund our software development. Without these channels of strategic communication, we won’t have a project, or worse, won’t have a customer when we’re done. External communication is strategic communication.
Consulting / Outsourcing / Product Management / Software development
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Four Application Development Outsourcing Models
On March 30th CIO magazine published an article titled Do’s and Don’ts of Outsourcing Benchmarks. The article spurred us to write about outsourcing models for product development – it is otherwise unrelated, but interesting. [2015 Edit: The CIO article has been removed, check out these lessons from successes and failures […]
Communication / Process Improvement / Requirements / Software development / Software requirements specification / Testing
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Passing the Wrong Whitebox Tests
We’ve talked about the value of using whitebox testing in our Software testing series post on whitebox testing. What we haven’t explored is how to make sure we are creating the right tests. We have to validate our tests against the requirements. This post shows where the flaw is in the typical whitebox testing process, and how to fix it.
A reader emailed us with the comment, “It’s been my experience that developers can’t test their own code.” Their problem was that they were missing a link in the software development chain (missing a step in the process).
Communication / Product Management / Requirements / Requirements gathering / Software requirements specification
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Product management success in the conceptual age
The information age is ending and the conceptual age is beginning. In A Whole New Mind, Daniel Pink proposes that six characteristics of right-brain thinking are key to success in the new economy. Nils Davis realizes that these characteristics are embodied by good product managers today. We will define the conceptual age, review the six characteristics, and see how this applies to product management.