Software Teamwork: Taking Ownership for Success

Chapter Sixteen. Setting Goals

With representation at the table by all the distinct stakeholder groups, we can define the clear goals that put structure around what we are trying to achieve. This gives us a line in the sand that we can use to determine whether potential changes fit our goals, and allows us to clearly and specifically identify what success means to us, in a number of dimensions.

In this chapter, we try to clarify what this critical initial step of solving a problem entails, and describes how these goals need to remain relevant throughout the project.

Goals and Mandates

It’s easy for people in an organization to want to get better, particularly when they are experiencing the pain of poor practices. However, simply having a goal ...