Process and Project Management
Over the years, I have successfully deployed many products. Part of this success is due to managing the process. Naturally a successful project has to start with well understood requirements. However, they tend to evolve over time, so a successful process must embrace change.
Staying focused on the requirements and avoiding scope creep must also be managed. Changes in scope is fine as long the stake holder is aware of the schedule and cost impacts.
Risk management is always an integral part of projects I’m involved with. Early and constant identification, assessment and mitigation of risk is critical to a successful project. Mitigating risks early, if possible, should be a corner stone of every team’s process.
Project management also involves the process to develop and maintain the products once they are deployed. The process must address areas such as testing, configuration management, problem reporting and tracking, design and coding standards, and communication inside and outside the team. Simple and inexpensive changes in process can improve product reliability and communication within the team and with customers.
Some mature organizations neglect an important concept: process improvement. Changes in technology and personnel often create an opportunity for reviewing the procedures in place for developing, maintaining and deploying systems. Too often companies do not take the time to review their procedures to see if they should be updated. An outsider reviewing the current process can be very enlightening.