What is a Successful Software Project?
Software has grown into a quarter-trillion dollar industry in the U.S. Yet even with all the money we pour into software, there’s a lot to be desired.
Custom software development can fill that gap – but it’s not for the faint of heart.
The Standish Group found some discouraging statistics. 31% of software projects get
canceled before completion. More than half end up costing 89% more than their original estimates.
We have to assume that those figures have gotten better over time. Development tools and processes have advanced while technical expertise has grown and become widespread.
Still, cost overruns, time overruns, and failure to meet client specifications are common. That’s not to say that you should dismiss custom software development as inherently doomed.
But it is to say that you should take every reasonable precaution you can before spending thousands or tens-of-thousands of dollars on development.
The project-management environment is an ever-changing one. It is defined by no fewer than seven interdependent variables. They are:
The characteristics of the environment in which the project will be executed
The characteristics of the project itself
The business process life cycle
The project management life cycle
The profile of the project team
The profile of the client team
The hardware/software technology to support the whole endeavor
We spend a lot of time examining software project failures but it’s equally important to understand why some projects succeed.
Here’s a short list.
1. Effective Planning: Good planning not only keeps the project team focused and on track, but also keeps stakeholders aware of project progress.There are many benefits to smart planning. This first step in the project process allows for a reliable and realistic time-scale to be created. Assuring accurate time for cost estimates to be produced and for clear documentation of milestones and deliverables will make things much easier as the project progresses.
2. Committed People: All of those involved must have commitment to the group, share similar visions for the projects and strive for overall success.
Project managers can face serious trouble if inadequacy is present within the team. Inept leadership or an out-of-sync team can send a project towards failure. It is important to assign the right people to each aspect of the project and make sure that they are working well together.
3. Good Communication Skills: Looking closely at details and listening to outside sources of information is vital to the success of a project. If a problem arises on one part of a project, it can negatively impact other parts as well. Communication is the best way to prevent problems from occurring.
Communication should also be focused internally within the organization. Keeping an organizational history of major projects will give convenient access to improved policies and business processes.
4. Prudent Risk Management: If something happens, then the team can quickly resolve the issue with the management plan that has already been set in place. This will give the team confidence when facing project risks and help the clients feel comfortable with the project’s progression.
5. Focus: The team is focused on getting the project done. They are not distracted by cultural, hierarchical and bureaucratic barriers. They use informal contacts and relationships to make things happen.
6. Learning: Everyone has the opportunity to learn and grow during the course of the project. They are encouraged to test and experiment. When mistakes are made, they are leveraged as learning opportunities.
7. Change: The team deals with change effectively. That means they don’t try to block change but they don’t throw the doors wide open and allow anything to change any time. They find a middle ground and accept change as an opportunity to learn and improve the final result.
8. Environment: The team has the right environment for getting the job done. This covers everything from office space to desks and chairs to software development tools.
9. Strong Project Closure: If a project does not have strong closure, then it has the potential to continue to consume resources. Confirmation of the project delivery, testing, and release must be agreed upon and signed off. Satisfaction surveys are good forms of documentation to log and file for future reference and valuable information for use in the future. The project team must be firm and agree with the customer that all critical success factors have been met.
The entire team paying attention to key factors is what will help lead the project to true success. It is the project manager’s job to ensure that everything runs smoothly on a project, but having a great project manager doesn’t guarantee a successful project outcome. This success will then lead to proactive, organized project plans and an increase in quality of all future projects.
Every situation is unique, of course, but these traits are common to most successful software projects whether they follow a prescriptive approach like waterfall or an agile one like Scrum.
Best Regards,
Raj Kosaraju
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