IT Projects -Success with Principles

Continues from:

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Changing projects management in your IT department: let's start with some principles that have emerged for me from 25+ years of doing IT Projects (usually many at the same time).I am not claiming these to be infallible or to apply to every organization, but I feel comfortable in saying some sub-set of them will appeal to any reader. I would love to hear/read which ones jump out at you, so comment away.

The list:

1. There is always more work to be done than people to do it.

2. Projects change the business, so know the overall business first.

3. Use an overall Architecture to describe the business, before and after projects.

4. Pick the right project(s) for the business.

5. Once a project is started, finish it.

6. Specialize – each member of a team assigned to a project should do what they do best for the length of that project.

7. One Architect/Analyst can generate enough work for two Developers and one Tester, structure your project teams in this ratio.

8. It’s the Deliverable (that matters), not the Task.

9. Leave a record of what you have done, so the project will not miss you if you leave.

10. Models are better than text.

11. Partition large projects into 3 month phases, which is the longest period you can plan for without the chance of significant change to priorities, resourcing, etc.

12. Within the three month phase, parcel work into two-week periods; analyze for 2 weeks, then design and develop for 2 weeks ( 2 developers ), and then test for 2 weeks. When the first 2 weeks of analysis is done, start the next two weeks of analysis in parallel to the design/development; carry on in cascading 2 week periods until the entire project scope has been addressed.

13. Given many medium to small software Deliverables, use architecture to manage and integrate the Deliverables into a complete system.