Java , Jsp, J2Ee, Struts, Servlets And Jboss Ecommerce Web Hosting

Chapter 16: Finalizing the Project Management Processes 329 System reports should be automatically distributed to employees supervisors, and they should include final scores and number of attempts before passing System should require 80 percent for passing score Software should allow training department to schedule classes online System should send online reports to managers if an employee registers for a class but does not show up on the specified day Full system documentation, including instructions on how to troubleshoot most common errors, should be included with the system You re energized about starting such an interesting software project, and have been anxious about working with Barbwire Helmets, Inc. You hope that this will be as exciting as your last project, working with Fire-Filled Pants, Inc. You re ready to get rolling. You ve gathered the appropriate project team members, met with the client to understand the project requirements, and started the project planning process. Your client, Mr. Safedee, is impressed with the amount of detail that you ve put into the scope documents, project plan, quality management plan, and risk management plan. He s also impressed that you understand the importance of involving the appropriate stakeholders right from the beginning. You reviewed the work breakdown structure (WBS) with the client and the team and everyone understands that if a task is not in the WBS, it will not be done no exceptions. Your software project team is thrilled that you ve set the correct expectations with the client. They know that you will have fewer problems in the future by performing this level of detail in the planning now. Your client is satisfied with the project schedule plan, cost management plan, and risk management plan. Your project team understands the roles and responsibilities matrix and the staffing management plan. Everything is going so well that you re wondering why your boss warned you about working with this difficult client. What s so hard about all this, you wonder? Then you look at the schedule and realize that with the small size of your team and the tight schedule required of you, you will not be able to complete the entire project in time. You and Mr. Safedee agree that you should outsource part of your project. You decide that you will contract out the software testing phase of your project. You contact Testy McTesty, the world-renowned software testing agency, and your contact agrees to provide the following services for your WBT project: Unit software testing Functional software testing Integrated software testing Volume testing
If you are searching for cheap webhost for your web application, please visit MySQL5 Web Hosting services.

328 Part V: Closing Your Software Project Your team members may suggest that you allow them to give you feedback anonymously. You may do whatever feels right, but in our experience, if you re trying to build a sense of accountability, your team should feel empowered to offer all reasonable and constructive feedback with their name attached. We re all accountable for our actions and our words, and we should all be willing to own what we say. Welcome the feedback positive or negative as long as a name is attached to it. Case Study: Completing a Project Post Mortem You are a software project manager for KT Consulting, Inc., a medium-size consulting firm specializing in software project management. You ve been with the company since it was founded six years ago and are one of the most respected project managers in the firm. That s why senior management asked you to lead a project for a sometimes difficult client Barbwire Helmets, Inc. which wants to create Web-based tutorials for its production staff. The client is a manufacturing firm creating much sought after barbwire helmets, and is having some difficulty with worker safety because some employees have not been following proper safety procedures. The executives have determined, through root cause analysis, that the employees aren t following the appropriate procedures because they don t always understand what those procedures are. The client held several meetings with you to define the business purpose and objectives of the project. These are as follows: Business purpose: Decrease the number of worker accidents, which will result in Fewer fines by the associated government agencies Increased worker productivity due to less time off work because of injuries Increased employee morale Decrease in money spent on broken equipment Decrease in health and accidental death/dismemberment insurance Project objectives: Create a Web-based tutorial for production workers that will instruct employees on appropriate safety procedures for manufacturing barbwire helmets: Software should provide a database where employee scores are kept Tutorial should provide hints when an employee enters an incorrect answer
Note: If you are looking for cheap and reliable webhost to host and run your mysql application check mysql web server services.

Chapter 16: Finalizing the Project Management Processes 327 creep; 4 = the scope was met, but there was some minor scope creep; 5 = the scope was achieved in all areas flawless). Good question: Did the project manager make the most of resource skills? How could this have been improved? Better question: Rate the project manager s management and allocation of resource skills. How could this have been improved? Good question: Was the project manager a good communicator? Better question: What suggestions can you offer the project manager that would help him improve his communication To the project team? Across functional teams? With appropriate stakeholders? Good question: Was the project manager a good leader? Better question: How would you suggest that the project manager improve her leadership skills? Good question: Were meetings effective? Better question: Using a five-point scale, rate the project manager s meeting facilitating skills. What suggestion do you have on how these skills could be improved? Good question: Did the project manager seem to know what he was doing? Better question: Overall, how would you rate this project manager s project management skills and expertise? What suggestions would you offer to improve overall project management skills of this project manager? Good question: Was the project manager responsible? Better question: Rate the project manager s willingness to take responsibility for his own actions and mistakes. Good question: Did the project manager give credit to team members for their successes? Better question: How did this project manager perform at giving credit to others for their successes? The primary goal of this should be to include questions that will provide your team members with the opportunity to provide honest and helpful feedback that will allow you to grow as a project manager. Remember, even if one of your team members makes a negative comment, that s still positive if you learn from that comment.
Visit our web design programs services for an affordable and reliable webhost to suit all your needs.

326 Part V: Closing Your Software Project Be sure each team member understands the time expectations of this project so that they can be proactive in planning their next opportunities. Writing evaluations You may be expected to write employee evaluations on all project team members. Make sure you know these expectations right from the start so that, again, you can be prepared for this by keeping employee documentation throughout the project. In some instances, you won t be expected to write the employee review, but you will need to provide input to the team member s functional manager for the evaluation. Follow the rules of your organization when conducting employee evaluations. Employee evaluations can be an unbelievably time-consuming pastime. If you have a large team and you have to do evaluations for all of them, develop a system, and don t procrastinate. Receiving evaluations You may find it beneficial to ask the team to evaluate your performance as the software project manager. After all, these people know your work characteristics better than anyone else, and if you re evaluating them, they should be able to evaluate you. Plus, it really helps drive home the sense that you are interested in their opinion. Evaluations provide you with the input that will help you to improve your skills as a software project manager. When you improve your project management and leadership skills, you benefit, and so do your future clients. Writing evaluation questions that give you results You may want to write evaluations that ask employees to rate you on a five-point scale. Better yet, provide a combination of questions that require written/ typed response and objective ratings. Here s a list of questions, along with a better way of asking the question so that you can get more detailed feedback and avoid the dreaded yes-or-no answer: Good question: Did the project manager communicate project changes in a timely manner? Better question: Rate the project manager s timeliness when communicating project changes (1 = not applicable; 2 = not timely; 3 = often, but not always, timely; 4 = usually timely; 5 = always timely). Good question: Did the project manager achieve the project scope? Better question: Using a five-point scale, rate how well the project manager achieved the project scope (1= not applicable; 2 = the scope was not met at all; 3 = the scope was mostly met, but there was some scope
If you are looking for affordable and reliable webhost to host and run your business application visit our ftp web hosting services.

Chapter 16: Finalizing the Project Management Processes 325 Releasing project team members from the project team Well, you and your software project team members have spent an exorbitant number of hours working together these last few weeks, months, or years. You ve overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles and created software that s so outstanding that you even surprised yourselves. You ve completed your lessons learned documentation (see Chapter 17) that you began at the start of your project, and you ve shared it with all your team members and appropriate stakeholders. You ve expressed to your project team members how much you appreciate their efforts, and your team has celebrated its success together. Now it s time for your project team to disperse. As with all other aspects and phases of project management, be proactive in disbanding your team. Don t wait until you re at the project closing festivities and say, Hey, by the way, you can sleep in tomorrow. Because you started out with such a well-defined project plan that included all phases of your software project and you communicated this plan to your team, everyone knew at the start of the project when they would be released (or rolled off). To be proactive, you should review roll-off dates with your team members on a regular basis; sometimes project end dates fluctuate, and you don t want anyone to be surprised. For example, initially you may have agreed that an individual would be on your team for eight months, but if the project is extended, you would certainly want that team member to stay until the project is completed. Nobody likes surprises (except little kids), so be sure project team members know the dates they ll be needed right from the start. Before they re released from this software project they will probably already be planning their next steps, especially if they re contractors without the security of a health plan and a set salary. Being aware of their project roll-off date well in advance will enable your project team members to Begin reviewing other software project opportunities if they are private consultants or contractors. Start ramping up for their next project if they work for an organization that has another project ready to begin. Continue working with you on the next project you manage because they really liked the way you showed your appreciation at the project closing celebration! Of course, they want to work with you because you are a model software project manager. Begin managing their own software projects after learning superior project management skills and techniques from such a superb teacher that s you.
If you are in need for chaep and reliable webhost to host your website, our recommendation is http web server services.

324 Part V: Closing Your Software Project Celebrating! Although celebrating is something that often gets put aside because of new priorities and team members moving on to other software projects, some of your team members (and some professional project managers, ahem!) may insist that this is the most important portion of the project. You ve all worked hard to accomplish your goals and exceed stakeholder expectations. Take the time to show everyone your team members and other stakeholders how much you appreciate them. Project team members will be grateful and will remember that you are the type of project manager who values your team, which is an important impression to leave because you will undoubtedly form new project teams for your future projects. No one wants to work for a software project manager who doesn t show appreciation for the team. Celebrate your success, not just because it s good for the team, and your image as a leader, but because it gives you an opportunity to let other project managers and executives know what your project was all about and what a fantastic job you did. Under the auspices of tooting your team members horns, you can legitimately toot your own horn which is never a bad political move if you do it without being a brag. Planning your celebration You don t have to rent a ballroom and have a Have a team appreciation day where you formal dance-off or anything. Just do something prepare a meal for your project team memto show appreciation, such as: bers. You and other key stakeholders could actually serve the meal. Take your project team for a scheduled lunch at the local pizza parlor. Rent out a movie theater for a day and allow team members to bring their families to all Have a massage therapist come in for an watch a movie together. afternoon to provide free massages (this is also a great reward at the stressful times The possibilities are endless and will vary with during the project; you can t imagine what the scope and success of your software project this can do for your team morale!). (as well as the limitations of your budget), but you should do something to show you appreci Schedule an outing at a local park and ate your team and celebrate their success, allow team members to bring their families. commitment, and hard work. The more thought- This is also a great opportunity to show ful your expression is the better. families how much you appreciate their spouses, parents, and kids.
We recommend cheap and reliable webhost to host and run your web applications: Coldfusion Web Hosting services.

Chapter 16: Finalizing the Project Management Processes 323 The activities leading up to your system activation (or go-live) include the necessary steps to prepare your operational team or production team for the transition. These steps may include Getting the help desk up to speed: Begin involving the help desk associates in informational meetings toward the end of your project so that they can be prepared to support the system. Engaging the help desk personnel in the system activation support: These associates can get great information from your project team, end users, and other stakeholders as they provide end-user support during the go-live process. For example, they log user problems, answer user questions, resolve issues, and more. Getting the operational staff off and running: You need to ensure that the operational staff understands what kind of training they will need in order to provide ongoing support for the software. You won t necessarily need to provide this training, but you need to provide input on this vital subject. Facilitating at least one turnover meeting with some of your key team members, the help desk staff, the appropriate members of the organization s operational team, and any other pertinent stakeholders: During turnover meetings, you and other stakeholders have the opportunity to review the system documentation and answer questions. Making sure that your system documentation is complete, concise, and correct: You and your team have built the system and someone on your team should have been assigned the task of completing system documentation. Don t forget that someone also needs to be assigned the ongoing task of keeping the system documentation up to date. That most likely will not be someone from your project team, but just remember to remind the operational staff that it needs to be done. This is not an exhaustive list of system turnover activities. Your organization may have mandatory steps you should take when turning over the software to those who will be supporting it. Be sure to know what your organization or client expects of you and your team when you hand over the system to the operational team. Be proactive. You should gather this information during the planning process. The actions you take at the end of your project will be what people will most remember about you and your leadership. You don t want to come to the end of your project and get caught saying, Duh, was I supposed to do that?
If you are searching for cheap webhost for your web application, please visit MySQL5 Web Hosting services.

322 Part V: Closing Your Software Project hired the vendor to expose and then resolve issues, you may not want to sign off on the project. Your expectations would certainly have been outlined and agreed upon at the beginning of the project when you signed your contract. Paying the bills If you work for a large firm, they probably already have processes in place for paying vendors. This process usually occurs in the accounts payable department. It is your responsibility to make sure you understand the processes so you will know whether you have accountabilities in this area. Regardless of whether you work for a large firm, a small company, or work as an independent contractor who outsources some work to other independent contractors, you have a payment system in place. Before you pay your vendors, be sure the appropriate audits, inspections, and performance reports have been successfully completed and distributed to the appropriate stakeholders. As with all other aspects of project management, be proactive. Set the expectations at the beginning of the project and follow your well-documented communication plan to ensure all appropriate stakeholders have been communicated with regarding all deliverables that must be successfully completed before payments can be made. Completing the Project (Or at Least Transferring It to Someone Else) So far you ve been mired in the sometimes overwhelming details of creating and modifying project plans, completing tasks, setting milestones, facilitating stakeholder meetings, and meeting your tight deadlines. You and your software project team have gotten used to the daily grind of writing code, testing that code, rewriting the code, retesting, and so on, with the ultimate goal of completing the system on schedule. Of course, you have worked hard to consistently exceed stakeholder expectations, and now you can see that you ve reached your goal: This project is almost over. It s finally time to turn the software over to the operational team. You always knew this time would come; you obviously didn t expect to be stuck in project mode forever did you? We hope not. As with everything else with project management, you should be proactive in your approach to turning over your project.
We recommend you use shared web hosting services, because many users agree that it is cheap, reliable and customer-satisfying webhost.

Chapter 16: Finalizing the Project Management Processes 321 This list of audits will vary depending on what kind of vendor you re working with and the specific tasks the vendor has been given. You may also conduct periodic inspections and audits of a vendor s work so that you know whether there is a problem long before the project is completed. These inspections and audits could be either scheduled or random or both. You will also be viewing performance reports outlined in your communication plan. No matter how you perform audits throughout the process, you must still perform a final audit at project closure before you formally accept the vendor s final deliverables. If you re the vendor, expect the client to perform an audit on your work. The vendor audit could be something as simple as a checklist or as elaborate as a formal meeting with a presentation of all appropriate deliverables. See Table 16-3 for an example of data that you should capture in a vendor audit. This checklist is for a vendor company that s been hired to perform all phases of the testing for the software you ve been hired to create. Table 16-3 Vendor Audit of Software Testing for Vendor Testy McTesty Deliverable Date Completed Notes Unit Testing 02/01 Two outstanding low-priority issues to be resolved by Technical Team by May 2. Functional Testing 03/02 No outstanding unresolved issues. Integrated Testing 04/02 One outstanding medium-priority issue to be resolved by Interface Team by May 15. Volume Testing 04/04 Conforms to stakeholder requirements. Testing Summary and Documentation 05/20 All documentation completed in appropriate format. Testing Sign-off Sheets 05/22 All sign-off sheets completed by appropriate stakeholders In this example, the vendor has several unresolved issues discovered during the software testing. Unresolved issues may be acceptable to you if you hired the vendor to expose issues so that your team could resolve them. If you
We recommend cheap and reliable webhost to host and run your web applications: Coldfusion Web Hosting services.

320 Part V: Closing Your Software Project In some instances the software project manager is the vendor; in other instances, the software project manager performs closing activities with other vendors. There s also a possibility that you could simultaneously wear both hats; depending on the hats, that may, at times, look silly. This process of closing vendor contracts indicates that the client is satisfied with the project deliverables (or that you are satisfied with the deliverables provided by one of your vendors). The following sections go over some of the activities related to closing out the vendor contracts. Auditing vendors work and deliverables Would you ever consider walking into the showroom at your neighborhood car dealership and buying a car without at least looking at it? Most of us probably wouldn t even consider turning over any cash without taking the car for a test drive, kicking a tire or two, and pretending to catch a glimpse at what s under the hood. The same concept applies in the case of paying vendors for their work and deliverables; you should perform an audit to verify that the work meets all the documented requirements of the software project. Of course, you wouldn t want to wait until the final phases of your project to ensure the vendor understands the project requirements and is conforming to them. Throughout the project you should conduct meetings with your vendors to ensure the work is progressing appropriately. You should also create and distribute documentation, such as performance reports, after these meetings. Before a vendor can send you a payment request, you must ensure that the vendor has completed all of the stated requirements on the testing. Check out Chapter 12, in which we provide a detailed example in which the software project manager contracts with a vendor to perform each phase of the system testing on a software project. For such a vendor relationship, where the responsibilities include creating quality testing software, the audits would include making sure that a vendor Performs all appropriate testing phases Documents all issues discovered during testing Assigns each issue a priority low, medium, high, critical Completes and distributes all required performance reports to the appropriate stakeholders Creates and distributes the appropriate reports from the testing issues database
Searching for affordable and proven webhost to host and run your servlet applications? Go to Linux Web Hosting services and you will find it.