The Complete Software Project Manager

Chapter 5Project Research and Technology Choice; Conflicts at the Start of Projects; Four Additional Project Delays; Initial Pitfalls

The information in the previous chapters has brought us to the point where we are truly at the project's starting line. Decisions have not yet been made, but they are about to be! For example, your company may know what it wants to do (replace an aging database), but how you want to do it or with whom must be nailed down.

Right now, at the starting gate, it's time to address many of the key issues introduced in Chapters 1 to 4:

• What's your project approach? Custom or packaged software? Phased rollout or single launch? Pilot or no? A single tool for many functions or different tools for each?
• Who is your team? What roles do you have in place? Which are missing? Will you go with in-house or external resources?
• Do you have a trusted technology partner on board to help inform business decisions?

Choice of Technology, a Definition

It's rare that a company says something like, “The purpose of this initiative is to install the Microsoft Dynamics accounting system.” What people say is, “We need a new accounting system. The purpose of this initiative is to install the one that will best support our core business goals [list goals here].”

Maybe the correct accounting package is, indeed, Microsoft Dynamics software. Maybe it's something else. In either case, deciding on the project's main technology is called the “choice of core technology.”

In some situations, ...