Starting a web site - Chapter 19: Ten Ways to Make Any Software
Chapter 19: Ten Ways to Make Any Software Project Better 363 Recognizing Failure Before It Arrives How can you recognize something before it even arrives? It s possible, and you don t have to be clairvoyant, either. If you know how to look for the signs of impending failure before the failure actually occurs, in fact, you ll have a significant advantage in the software project management game. The other crucial element (perhaps more crucial than simply recognizing signs of failure) is being proactive in dealing with potential issues before failure bears its ugly head. You know that if you see or smell smoke, there s probably a fire nearby, right? Great, but recognition makes no difference if you don t run for the fire extinguisher. Remember that projects are more likely to fail at the beginning than at the end. So do everything in your power to prevent failure at the beginning. Spend a sufficient amount of time planning your software project, gathering requirements from your customers, and developing a strong, solid communication plan (and adhering to it), then use those exceptional leadership skills of yours to build a strong, motivated, software project team. Here are a few signs of potential project failure: Have you or anyone from your project team started to let a few deadlines slip? That s bad. What s worse is if no one s even a bit surprised anymore when deadlines do slip. Has your project changed so much you don t recognize it anymore? If too much scope creep has, um, crept in, your project is in danger. Are you starting to have a high turnover from your team? If people are dropping like flies (for whatever reason), they are taking knowledge with them. That s bad. But what s worse is if they re leaving because morale is low or because they don t respect their project manager. Speaking of low morale, are you seeing signs of it? Are team members bickering more often than usual, losing interest in the project, or putting silly words in the middle of their software code just to see if anyone notices? Are programmers sleeping at their desks, coming in late, leaving early, or taking marathon lunches? Has your sponsor been missing meetings with you? Does he or she appear disconnected from the project? Have your stakeholders started getting a vacuous look in their eyes whenever you mention deliverables and risks? Has the sponsor started to micromanage you? Do you lack the autonomy you need to bring the project to a successful completion?
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