book

Righting Software

by Juval Lowy

December 2019

Intermediate to advanced

480 pages

12h 41m

English

Addison-Wesley Professional

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How This Book Is OrganizedSome Assumptions About the ReaderWhat You Need to Use This BookConventions Used in This BookAdditional Online ResourcesAcknowledgments
What Is The Method?What The Method Is Not

Avoid Functional DecompositionVolatility-Based DecompositionIdentifying Volatility
Use Cases and RequirementsLayered ApproachTypical LayersClassification GuidelinesSubsystems and ServicesOpen and Closed Architectures
Requirements and ChangesComposable DesignThere Is No FeatureHandling Change
System OverviewThe Anti-Design EffortBusiness AlignmentThe ArchitectureDesign ValidationWhat’s Next?
Why Project Design?
Defining SuccessProject Initial StaffingEducated DecisionsServices and DevelopersEffort EstimationsCritical Path AnalysisScheduling ActivitiesProject CostEarned Value PlanningRoles and Responsibilities
The Network DiagramFloatsFloats-Based Scheduling
Accelerating Software ProjectsSchedule CompressionTime–Cost CurveAvoiding Classic MistakesProject Cost ElementsNetwork Compression
Choosing OptionsTime–Risk CurveRisk ModelingCompression and RiskRisk DecompressionRisk Metrics
The MissionFinding the Normal SolutionNetwork CompressionEfficiency AnalysisTime–Cost CurvePlanning and RiskSDP Review
God ActivitiesRisk Crossover PointFinding the Decompression TargetGeometric RiskExecution ComplexityVery Large ProjectsSmall ProjectsDesign by Layers
EstimationsDependencies and Project NetworkThe Normal SolutionCompressed SolutionDesign by LayersSubcritical SolutionComparing the OptionsPlanning and RiskPreparing for the SDP Review
When to Design a ProjectGeneral GuidelinesDesign of Project DesignIn PerspectiveThe Hand-OffIn PracticeDebriefing Project DesignAbout Quality
Activity Life Cycle and StatusProject StatusTracking Progress and EffortProjectionsProjections and Corrective ActionsMore on Projections
Is This a Good Design?Modularity and CostServices and ContractsFactoring ContractsContract Design MetricsThe Contract Design Challenge
The Prime DirectiveDirectivesSystem Design GuidelinesProject Design GuidelinesProject Tracking GuidelinesService Contract Design Guidelines

Content preview from Righting Software

12. Advanced Techniques

Project design is an intricate discipline, and the previous chapters covered only the basic concepts. This was deliberate, to allow for a moderate learning curve. There is more to project design, and in this chapter you will find additional techniques useful in almost any project, not just the very large or the very complex. What these techniques have in common is that they give you a better handle on risk and complexity. You will also see how to successfully handle even the most challenging and complex projects.

God Activities

As the name implies, god activities are activities too large for your project. “Too large” could be a relative term, when a god activity is too large with respect to other activities in the project. ...