Reducing the Risks of Project Management
Guest editor: Phil Laplante, Penn State University
Total pages: 39
$29.00
Introduction
Frequently IT managers are put into leadership positions because they have
exhibited some technical competency, which is assumed to extend to their
management abilities. This assumption is often false. Technically competent
individuals may fail as managers because these two roles require entirely
different skill sets. For IT and software project managers the skills encompass
a broad swath of concerns, but all of these skills can be described as risk
management.
In "Preventive Risk Management for Software Projects," Sanjay Murthi lays out
many of the risk categories facing project managers. He then explores the role
in the software lifecycle model in exposing and mitigating those risks and
offers a framework for what we would call an agile approach to project risk
management.
Frequently, project failure can be traced to failure in the requirements
engineering process. In particular, rapidly changing requirements and failing to
understand and address stakeholder needs are two of the biggest project risks
that can be imagined. In "Managing Software Projects with Business-Based
Requirements," Fergal McGovern shows how to use business-centric requirements
management practices to improve the requirements engineering activity overall
and reduce the risk of failing to meet customer expectations.
Next, in "How Standards Enable Adoption of Project Management Practice," Suzanne
Garcia shows how standards can be used to support project management practice to
reduce the risk of outcome variance as different managers oversee varied
projects across the enterprise. Then Steve Masticola examines the cost-benefit
proposition of appropriate schedule and cost estimation practices and provides a
roadmap for preparing for more complete risk management strategies in "A Simple
Estimate of the Cost of Software Project Failures and the Breakeven
Effectiveness of Project Risk Management."
Very frequently, where the technically competent individual fails as a manager
is with respect to people skills and the inability to lead a team. The final
reading, "Remember the Human Element in IT Project Management," explores the
important management role of building and maintaining high-functioning teams
through empathic leadership, as well as the risks of not doing so.
Keywords: risk management, standards, project management, technology adoption,
communities of practice, process improvement, customer-supplier relationships
Table of Contents
Preventive Risk Management for Software Projects
Sanjay Murthi, SMGlobal Inc.
A preventive approach to risk management makes it part of development and
emphasizes flexible processes.
Managing Software Projects with Business-Based Requirements
Fergal McGovern, SteelTrace
To prevent specifications or stakeholder expectations from spinning out of
control, consider this simple, business-based view of requirements.
How Standards Enable Adoption of Project Management Practice
Suzanne Garcia, Software Engineering Institute
Appropriate standards are a powerful transition mechanism to support
implementation of new technologies. Standards affect the adoption of project
management practices in three areas: deployment of practices in an organization,
customer-supplier relationships, and the community of project management
practitioners.
A Simple Estimate of the Cost of Software Project Failures and the Breakeven
Effectiveness of Project Risk Management
Stephen P. Masticola, Siemens Corporate Research
An estimate of the cost of software project failures can be formed. It is also
possible to estimate the effectiveness that a software quality improvement
project will need to have upon the project failure rate in order to break even
economically.
Remember the Human Element in IT Project Management
Phillip A. Laplante, Penn State University
IT managers often forget that human nature enters into technical situations.
Keep team members involved and set clear expectations.
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