Articles
|
Critical Chain Scheduling for Software Projects In 1997 Eliyahu Goldratt published a business novel titled Critical Chain in which he introduced a new way of scheduling and executing projects similar to the more familiar Critical Path method. Goldratt's version removes many of the estimating games that go on between managers and their staff. This results in projects that typically deliver in about 75 percent of the normal time. In this column, Clarke Ching demonstrates some of the ideas from Critical Chain and will show how to use it easily within agile projects. |
||
|
Test Managers-Start Managing! Some things in life, like death and taxes, are a given. Software development teams face their own givens: Project schedules will always change and certain teams will suffer because of these changes. If that's to be expected, then why haven't most managers done anything to save their teams from undue stress and abuse? In this column, Dion Johnson explains that we've got to take care of our teams, or else we'll never see the end of team abuse. |
||
|
Preparing for Resource-Constrained Times The economy, like the weather, is a complex system that cycles through good times and bad. Dark economic clouds are brewing on the horizon. Predictions of inflation, stagnant growth, crushing debt, tightening credit are in the forecast. Payson Hall tells us how to weather the storm. |
||
 |
Going on a Picnic with James Watt What if you had a picnic and no one brought potato salad? Find out what picnic planning and steam engines have to do with project success and not just satisfying your customers but delighting them. |
|
 |
Advice for the New Leader As a new manager it's easy to fall into the trap of taking on more of your team's responsibilities than you should. Learn how to guide your team to success by stepping back and letting team members solve their own problems, learn from their mistakes, and most of all do what you hired them to do. |
|
 |
The Myth of Risk Management Risk management is an illusion. We must recognize that software projects are inherently risky and admit to ourselves that it's not the known problems that are going to cause our projects to fail. It's the risks that are unmentionable, uncontrollable, unquantifiable, or unknown that make projects crash and burn. |
|
|
Applying the Inverted Pyramid to Agile Development Modern day reporters tend to write their articles using what is known as the "inverted pyramid" style. They start with the most important information in the first sentence, followed by the next most important, and so on. This format not only gives the reader the biggest bang for his buck as he reads it also gives both the reporters and their editors huge flexibility in their uncertain and fast-changing environments. Clarke Ching shows how modern software development techniques use the same idea to give customers the best bang for their buck—in equally uncertain environments. |
||
|
What Are You Working On? Goals and requirements drive the work schedules of all projects. Some of these requests are necessary to the success of the current project, others are not so critical. Yet sometimes we lose sight of this and spend many work hours trying to complete more than what can be done within the timeframe of a project. In this column, Johanna Rothman reminds us to look critically at what we're working on to make sure we're satisfying the goals after the requirements have been satisfied. |
||
|
Software Quality and the Prisoner's Dilemma This industry spin on the classical dilemma illustrates the games we play when software quality is at stake and gives insight into why software managers who forego quality in order to reach a short-term marketing advantage are actually acting rationally. |
||
|
Modern Distributed Teams Traditionally, managing distributed teams has been perceived as difficult. But the advent of effective modern processes and tools is breaking through the obstacles and making distributed teams a viable—and valuable—option. Find out how to make the most of people, processes, and tools to create and maintain a successful distributed team. |
Pages
Recommended Web Seminars
Featured Resources
Visit Our Other Communities
StickyMinds is a TechWell community.
Through conferences, training, consulting, and online resources, TechWell helps you develop and deliver great software every day.