By Andrew Stellman, Jennifer Greene
June 2006
Pages: 24
Series: Short Cut
Format: PDF
ISBN 10: 0-596-52802-7 |
ISBN 13: 9780596528027
(Average of 2 Customer Reviews)
Like it or not, your project needs management. Yet few good software projects can survive bad management. If you're a programmer on a high-visibility project, this PDF offers five principle guidelines for managing upward that will help you help your boss make the right decisions about setting project expectations, working with users and stakeholders, putting the project on the right track and keeping it there. The PDF also covers what problems cause projects to fail and how to fix them, and what you can do to keep your software project from running into trouble.
Full Description
Even if you have the best boss in the world, chances are he or she does not come from an IT or software engineering background, and may lack the time or technical focus to manage your project well. And if your boss sinks your project, you'll share the blame-even if you did everything right. The guidance in this document can help you understand what problems cause projects to fail and how to fix them, and what you can do to keep your software project from running into trouble.
Featured customer reviews
Project Managers are Not the Enemy, August 09 2007
Although we know all projects need management of some sort, this PDF really drives home the sentiment starting with its first line "Like it or not, your project needs management." The authors describe well defined tips to a group of programmers that are involved in high-visibility projects, focusing on understanding these guidelines.
- Why do Project Fail?
- Set Expectations Early and Keep Them Up to Date.
- Make an Informed Selection of a Software Process.
- Keep Your Manager Involved with the Project.
- Make Intelligent Course Corrections.
- Alter Your Tactics, but Stay True to Your Strategy
Initially, I thought the authors were kinda picking on Project Managers, blaming them for the failure of the majority of projects. But as you read on the authors do a nice job guiding programmers in how they can help their project managers, and in result, the projects succeed. A couple of tips I particularly liked were 1) Spotting problems early and 2) Understanding the vision of the project. The authors really encourage communication and recommend weekly meetings even if the project is behind and time is of essence. They also describe and explain the benefits of adopting an Agile software process and identifying when to go that route.
All in all there are some great tips and good advice on how to create a cohesive team between Programmers and Project Managers. And there are links that give supplementary info such as http://www.stellman-greene.com/Vision_and_Scope. Perhaps after reading this article the Project Manager won't be viewed as the enemy.
Good Critique and Helpful Human Factors Review, November 13 2006
The book provides a good critique of modern software engineering methods. I like the sample Vision Document. Helps developers see "the big picture" (or what I like to call "the bigger picture.")
Media reviews
"The authors succintly get to the heart of the matter about why projects fail and what you can do to help reduce the chances of project failure and to help prevent your boss from being part of the problem."
-- Richard Kuper, Editor, The KUPER Report
Read all reviews
"The authors succintly get to the heart of the matter about why projects fail and what you can do to help reduce the chances of project failure and to help prevent your boss from being part of the problem."
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