Effective Software Project Management

Introduction

. . . Global 2000 companies will merge their SDLC (systems development life cycle) and PM (project management) strategies to develop domain specific “ILDEs” (integrated lifecycle and development environments) . . . how dysfunctional large companies are if they run Project Management Institute (PMI) guidance in their Project Management Office (PMO) whilst running Rational Unified Process (RUP) as their SDLC in the IT organization. . . . The most competitive companies will be the ones who merge the two schools of thought to deliver optimal value and efficiency by eliminating dysfunctional competitiveness between the project management process and the software lifecycle process.

—Adapted from Melinda-Carol Ballou “Coordinating Project and Software Life-cycle Processes,” META Group, November 2003, by David J. Anderson in a private communication

We are experiencing the convergence of two disciplines that will result in the creation of yet another discipline. The two disciplines are software development and project management. It is a convergence that is being formed out of necessity. We call this new discipline effective software project management (ESPM). It is the topic of this book.

Why Another Book on Software Project Management?

Modern project management is about 50 years old. It grew out of the engineering discipline as a management approach for construction projects. Concurrent with this development, the computer emerged as a primitive tool for businesses. The concurrent ...