DON F. ERWIN BUFFALO STATE COLLEGE BUFFALO, NEW YORK, USA PART 3 – COMMUNICATION, LEADERSHIP, IT GOVERNANCE Software Project Management

Survey What are the top 5 issues you need to solve on your software project? 1.The difficulties in estimations (budget, schedule, etc.) 2.Wrong assumptions 3.Customer changing mind 4.How to manage client expectations 5.Not enough qualified resources

Overview Project Management Basics Project Management on Software Projects Managing Stakeholders’ Expectations Risk Management Project Communication Leadership in Software Project Management IT Governance Other??? We Plan to Cover:

Tailoring the Approach 1. Analyze Situation 2. Develop Approach Stakeholder Analysis Risk Assessment Strategy Organization Feedback (De Baar) Where were we?

Project Communication Develop a Communication Plan Based on Stakeholder Analysis and Risk Assessment Define who needs to be informed What? When? Who does the actual communicating? Product – Developers But the PM assures the communication is taking place Process - PM (De Baar)

Sample Communication Schedule AuthorCommunicationPurposeAudienceCommunication Vehicle/Location Frequency State Project Manager Executive Status Report To keep the executives informed on the project's progress. Executive Sponsor Status Report, Presentation, or Bulleted Handout Monthly SunGard HE Project Manager Project Status Report To keep project manager informed of the team's progress on the project. State Project Manager, SunGard HE Project Manager. Status report templateMonthly Implementation Team, SunGard Higher Education Project Manager, Project Manager Project MeetingsTo keep the PM informed of decisions, issues and open items discussed during project meeting State PM, SunGard HE PM and Team Leads as appropriate Meeting minutes templateWeekly SunGard HE Functional and Technical consultants Trip ReportsTo keep PM informed of accomplishments, open items and issues of consultant visits Buffalo State PM, SunGard Higher Education PM and Team Leads as appropriate Trip report template,Within 1 week after each visit

Requirements How to get requirements from users’ heads into the final product? Requirements development is very difficult Remember the 1:10:100 rule Challenges Basic human communication issues Processes will change with the new system Not a Project Management task, but assuring its quality is (De Baar)

The Flow of Stakes Stakeholders Expectations Project Management RequirementsFeedback Interests have communicate recorded by negotiated to communicated changes (De Baar)

Gathering Quality Requirements Expect requirements to change over time Stakeholders Change Mind Project Team Interprets Requirements Differently Than Intended by Stakeholder “Forgotten” Requirements Pop Up Changes in the Project Surroundings Affect Project So… Be aware of that fact and prepare for it Feedback will identify changes required Even the “I’ll Know It When I See It (IKIWISI)” method needs a first cut (De Baar)

Getting the Best Possible Requirements Just ask… Workshop / Interview Tailor to the project and the stakeholders’ interests Educate the stakeholders on how their part fits into the big picture Satisfy everyone? Probably not Some have no interest in project success, but don’t let them disturb the process. (De Baar)

Prepare for Requirements Gathering Checklist (Not an agenda…) General Information (title, place, and time) Purpose Scope Subjects Controversy Strategy Result Participants Roles Tools Feedback/Follow-up Agenda (De Baar)

Conduct the Workshop Getting Information Ask Be stupid Ask what you already know/be incorrect Repeat Ask how and why five times Don’t forget assumed requirements (uptime, performance, modern UI) (De Baar)

Conduct the Workshop Formulate the Requirements Can’t satisfy everyone, but try to reach consensus by the end of the workshop. Associate people’s names with requirements (ownership/responsibility) Group related requirements together Get participant approval Establish priorities among requirements Document process issues that come up separately from product issues (De Baar)

Document the Requirements Finite RequirementsorUser Stories FormalorInformal Structured orFree Format Can be easier, but takes more time to get it right Better if more iterations are planned (De Baar)

Communication Types Open Encourage word-of-mouth Discover what is NOT known Inclusive “Always an open seat at the table” Networked relationships Win / Win Organization/Industry growth Conspiracy Guarded “Loose lips sink ships” Keep what is known secret Exclusive Meet “behind closed doors” Good old boys club Win/Lose Individual growth Collaboration Defined as Transparency Result (De Baar)

Win-Win Communication Win-Win Approach: Men get their towels Lady gets her quiet Problem: Heavy-handed use of towel dispenser distracting to lady on other side of wall

Process Requirements Cost What are the drivers behind the stated cost constraints? Fixed cost: be sure you know what you want Time & Materials: be sure you can end the project Time Man-months are for cost estimating, not time estimating Have those doing the work give the estimate (for ownership) Scope Change control process (De Baar)

Process Requirements Selling your Approach Plan as best you can Estimate what you don’t know (with disclaimers) Relate everything back to business priorities Emphasize the triple constraint Iteration and feedback increase Time, Cost and Quality (De Baar)

Product Feedback Managing expectations Communication is influenced by people’s interpretation Feedback helps get to common interpretations Why feedback? Validation Reassure Stakeholders Reduces Risk of Miscommunication (De Baar)

Product Feedback How? Verbal, cheap, easy, but hard to refer to Written, takes time, no one likes to read of lot of text Mock-up, takes time, usually throw-away, but great for getting message across So, consider: The audience The time it is needed (temporary or permanent/contractual) Cost of feedback (is it acceptable within the triple constraint?) (De Baar)

Requirements to Design Design addresses “how” Designs are ‘build-to” specs, but stakeholders want to see where their requirements are going… A design is a medium to explain how the requirements will be translated in the real world. Often considered by techies as “their” document. (De Baar)

PM Role in Design Project Manager needs to make sure that techies communicate their interpretations of requirements to stakeholders in a timely manner Be aware of the need to do it Design choices should not be based solely on technical know-how Take more time that you think, spend it on communicating As PM, encourage communication, and follow up with stakeholders to verify info was effectively communicated. Document decisions, including the arguments for the decision Map design elements to requirements; sort by stakeholder for ease in presentation Designers need to be prepared to start over (iterative process) Get agreements in writing; people pay more attention to their agreements (De Baar)

More Product Feedback Pilots and Prototypes Use them to give/get feedback But throw them away after the lesson is learned Build time for this into your project Benchmarks Benchmarks provide a measure to compare actual products to Benchmarks can be created as part of a pilot (De Baar)

More Product Feedback Technical What works What does it break Iterative Functional “Software is like a banana. It ripens at the customer’s house…” Plan for it in advance Provides final feedback and acceptance (De Baar) Testing

Change Management A major part of PM role (Integration Management) Different ways to address change Don’t allow it Set up a process for managing change (De Baar)

Process Feedback Time, Cost, Quality and Scope Statement on either Project Progress or Status Consider Frequency Medium (written/verbal) Level of Detail Goal: Address feedback in terms of stakes, not numbers Be creative in negotiating progress on budget and schedule (De Baar)

Process Reporting Schedule Gannt Chart is not the project plan But many people relate to it Therefore it is a good tool for reporting status of the project (De Baar)

Process Reporting Budget Gather all expected costs / Provide a summary Estimating time required Let the programmers do it PM needs to temper programmer estimates with experience and other realities Understand the critical path Get agreement Challenge of getting agreement from programmers Don’t change their estimates Estimate At Completion (EAC) Know when to say the project is no longer viable. (De Baar)

Project Manager as Leader Your Job: Get people who may not like each other to work together. Convince people who believe they can not do something to do it – well. Motivate people who may not be interested in seeing the project be successful. Do it OTOBOS (On Time, On Budget, On Scope). Make your boss look good. Stay sane…

Project Manager as Leader 5 Ways to Be A Naturally Visible Leader 1.Don’t demand recognition, inspire it. 2.When your team hits a big milestone, commend them publicly. 3.Recognize individuals that go out of their way to help you. 4.When someone doesn’t credit, don’t react in indignation, fix it. 5.Demonstrate your knowledge by contributing and commenting in any forum. (Henak)

Creating the Right Environment Personal Mastery Know/Develop Personal skills Why do you do what you do? Mental Models Our favorite vs. actuality Different models help to understand others Models affect reality Systems Thinking Focus on interrelationships among components Look at processes of change to form conclusions ‘The Fifth Discipline’ 4 and SW Project Management Individual Disciplines (De Baar)

Creating the Right Environment Shared vision Establish initial vision Transform initial vision to shared vision Team learning Insightful thinking on issues is complex Coordinated action on specific tasks Encourages other teams to participate ‘The Fifth Discipline’ 4 and SW Project Management Group Disciplines (De Baar)

Creating the Right Environment Why ? It is a lot of effort, personally and for the team It takes time away from the project(s) Not everyone is as excited about this stuff as you are… Because… You’ll have to work with the same people on other projects (hopefully) Common language/methods are more productive Team members will enjoy the work, take pride in product

Frames of Leadership 3 Metaphor Central Concept Image of Leadership Basic Leadership Challenge Structural Factory or Machine Rules, Roles, Technology, Environment Social Architecture Match Structure to Task, Technology… Human Resource Family Needs, Skills, Relationships Empowerment Align Org & Human Needs Political Jungle Power, Conflict Competition, Politics Advocacy Develop Agenda & Power Base Symbolic Carnival, Theatre Culture, Ceremony, Stories, Heroes Inspiration Create Faith, Beauty, Meaning

Expanding Managerial Thinking 3 How Managers Typically ThinkHow Managers Might Think Limited view of Organizations (e.g. problems attributed to individuals’ errors). Encourage inquiry into a range of issue, people, power, structure, symbols. Often choose rational solutions: facts, logic, restructuring. Consider an array of options, e.g. celebration as well as organizing. Value certainty, rationality, control; Fear ambiguity, paradox, “going with the flow”. Develop creativity, risk taking, playfulness in response to life’s dilemmas. Find the right question as well as the answer. Rely on one “right” answer; surprised by resistance. Commitment to principle combined with flexibility in understanding and responding to events.

Leadership Frames in SW Project Management Projects usually mean something will change End users: New product, new process… Developers: New tools, new processes… Functional Team: Day job as well as project duties, two bosses… During periods of change, focus on Political and Symbolic frames Political: Build support, allay fears, communicate Symbolic: Set examples, demonstrate other successes, make it fun!

Frames of Leadership 3 Metaphor Central Concept Image of Leadership Basic Leadership Challenge Structural Factory or Machine Rules, Roles, Technology, Environment Social Architecture Match Structure to Task, Technology… Human Resource Family Needs, Skills, Relationships Empowerment Align Org & Human Needs Political Jungle Power, Conflict Competition, Politics Advocacy Develop Agenda & Power Base Symbolic Carnival, Theatre Culture, Ceremony, Stories, Heroes Inspiration Create Faith, Beauty, Meaning

Sum It Up Stakeholders define how the project will perform Project management is about people, not technology, schedules, processes, etc. A different approach for every project (De Baar)

IT Governance Refer to presentation: Project Management 2. Portfolio Management By Craig Brown (Start at page 66…)

List of Works Cited 1.Project Management Institute (PMI), Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK). 3rd ed De Baar, Bas. Surprise! Now You're a Software Project Manager. 1 st ed. Lakefield, Ontario: Multi-Media Publications, Bolman, Lee, and Terrence Deal. Reframing Organizations. 3rd ed. San Fransisco: Jossey-Bass, Denge, Peter. The Fifth Discipline: The Art & Practice of The Learning Organization. 1st ed. USA: Doubleday Publishing, Henak, Brandon. "5 Ways to Be A Naturally Visible Leader." NewlyCorporate.com. 23 July Newly Corporate. 26 Aug Brown, Craig. “Project Management – 2. Portfolio Management" SlideShare.com. 17 Aug BetterProjects.net. 7 Aug 2008.