At a glance
3 days
AUD $2200 inc GST
to run this course in-house.
Software Project Management
There is a wealth of information on project management. But unfortunately, we have come to realise that only a small fraction applies to software project management. This course is about new practices and new ideas project managers ought to consider to make their software development projects succeed. Why did the traditional approaches to project management used in other industries fail in software endeavours? This course will include a critique of the “thermostat model” of management of WBS (Work Breakdown Structure), Gantt and PERT charts, and much of the common wisdom represented in the PMBOK, for example. We will look at how a new breed of techniques and tools are emerging, more suited to software development, with iterative development and agile methods: XP, Scrum, Lean Development, Adaptive development, RUP, and how to reconcile the new with the old.
"He that will not apply new remedies must expect old evils." (Francis Bacon, Essays, 1561-1626)
Intended For
Software developers moving into a team leader or project management role. Software project managers who want to move from traditional approaches to agile processes. Software project managers preparing a PMP certification. Experienced project managers with little or no experience in software development.
Prerequisites
Some practical experience of software development projects.
Learning outcomes
By the end of this course participants will be able to:
- Understand the complete view of the role of a software project manager
- Understand the multiple activities
- Have a framework with which to plan and run a software project
- Use a variety of tools and effective techniques for software project management.
.
Content
This course is organised into 12 modules:
Managing software projects
Types of software projects
What makes a software project different and difficult
Software project management and software development process
The PMBOK
CMMi
Introduction to the Rational Unified Process® (RUP) framework
Introduction to Agile techniques
What do software project managers manage?
Managing risks
Defining success and failure
What is a risk?
Taxonomy of software project risks
The project risk list
Introducing iterative development to better manage risks
Risk management in Agile projects
Managing time
Software development lifecycle
Phase and iterations in RUP®
Project estimations, from COCOMO to Use Case points
Phases and iteration planning
Managing time in Agile projects
Managing quality
What is software quality?
It’s relationship with software testing
Process quality and product quality
Reviews and inspections
Assessing quality
Measurements
Managing objective and scope
The feature/cost/time dilemma
Managing requirements and requirements creep
Earned value systems and burn-down charts
Time boxing
Scrum.
Managing complexity
Software project management and software architecture
The architect and the manager
Project dynamics
Keeping track of decisions and rationale
Programme management and portfolio management
Managing changes
Types of changes
Defects and enhancements
Classification and priorities
Project backlog
Tracking changes
Managing software assets
Software as an asset
Configuration management
Software reuse
Intellectual property issues; licences, patents, open-source.
Managing people
Skills and competencies
Role versus individuals
Team structure, distributed team
Intercultural factors
Hiring, compensating, rewarding, firing, and other HR issues
Software development ethics
Managing external stakeholders
Software acquisition; iterative or progressive acquisition
Outsourcing and offshoring.
Managing the software process
Just the right process
Process implementation project
Roles of an SEPG, and software process improvement
Post-mortem and retrospectives.
Managing software projects: wrap up
Putting it all together
Sources of information
Method Used
A mix of lecture, discussions and exercises will be used during the course.
