software business

Jun 1 2009   9:00AM GMT

Ten Components of a post implementation review

Posted by: Jaideep
post implementation review, software business, Software Project, software project management, software implementation, project effectiveness, product usefulness, product maturity, product friendliness, risk perception, Risk Management, key user management, product acceptance, project requirements, product development, product building, team management, project implementation process

What is post implementation review? When it should be done? Why is it required? All this has been discussed in last three posts. Let us now understand what ideally would be the components of a post implementation review. As discussed earlier, some components can be answered immediately at the completion of a project with a formal closure. But for answering some other components, customer needs some time for project to run in the absence of project team, experience it, feel it, see the user’s reaction on the way things are happening in the product when it is in use.

Infact before filling the post implementation review, it is advisable to use the software at its maxima, as extensively as possible, involving all key user’s areas, using all inflow and outflow procedures. The basic guidelines required while filling a post implementation review can be take up in my next post. Let us also understand that this questionnaire has to be quite elaborative and descriptive. Let us first understand the essential components of Post Implementation Review for a software project. The questions can be built as per the need of the vendor and product. The essential components to be covered are:
1. Effectiveness of the Project Team
2. Effectiveness of Customer management in managing Product understanding and implementation
3. Effectiveness of Customer management in understanding the requirements, building the product, selecting the right team and procedure
4. Change management during the complete cycle
5. Issues management
6. Preparedness of key users and management for accepting the product
7. Communication skills and management of vendor team and management
8. Risk perception, risk management
9. Product effectiveness, usefulness, maturity and friendliness
10. Customer management eagerness for future business to the same vendor

These are the core components based on which the elaborative questionnaire can be build to assess customer satisfaction over the product, vendor and team.

Mar 23 2009   10:30AM GMT

20 most powerful and Smart weapons for Project Manager to Lead in Recession Period

Posted by: Jaideep
Quality Assurance, project manager, Project Management, recession, Software Project, scarcity of business, win-win situation, smart weapon, software organization, software business, experience, knowledge, wisdom, quality, QA, QC, quality control, quality manager, product quality, product and quality, software team, project team, Project Plan, quality issue, product knowledge, quality strength, quality dependence, thinking, innovation, brainstorming, linchpin, cornerstone, team management, team culture, ascending approach, organizational interest, best result

Due to recession, there is scarcity of business and projects for software organizations. In such a situation, the projects in hand (and the forthcoming ones) have to be handled very carefully for a win-win situation. To attain that, there are certain smart weapons that a project manager needs to be equipped with which will not only make him and his organization a winner but would definitely have an edge over the competitors to acquire more projects. The weapons are well tested based on experience, knowledge and wisdom.

The 20 most powerful and smart weapons can be listed as:

1. Place importance on Quality
2. Be Sincere and frank in your meetings of all levels
3. Maintain and demonstrate a sense of mission
4. Work hand in hand with your peers – quality manager, development manager etc.
5. Be convinced of the trust between your product and quality
6. Let your team feel the weight of responsibility
7. Plan your course of action on all issues to avoid a crisis
8. Listened attentively to every word of your customer demonstrating great sincerity towards product and customer
9. Have strong interest in quality issues
10. Be highly knowledgeable about your product
11. Your Product and Quality (with your technological prowess and their quality strengths) must work together
12. Higher is the rate of dependence on Quality, higher is the success rate
13. To avoid major problems never leave a problem unresolved for tomorrow
14. Thinking, Innovation, Brainstorming are good tools if used regularly
15. Always have common awareness of all issues, so that your discussions are of highly substantive in nature
16. Be a linchpin (A central cohesive source of support and stability)
17. Consider customer requirements as “cornerstone” throughout the project. (The fundamental assumptions from which something is begun or developed or calculated or explained)
18. Build a culture of putting fullest sincere effort by everyone in the team(s) (vertical and horizontal).
19. Maintain a continuous gently-ascending approach (act of changing in an upward direction)
20. As a bearer of the highest level of responsibility reaffirm your determination to safeguard the organizational interest and ensure the best of the results

Feb 25 2009   10:02AM GMT

Top 20 End Objectives of any Software Project

Posted by: Jaideep
Software Project, software business, software project management, project objectives, business survival, growth, revenues, profits, maturity, Project Lifecycle, standards and methodology, software metrics, stakeholders, transparency, project completion, project sign-off, customer satisfaction, customer delight, customer requirements, software requirements, Team building, team role, team responsibility, team accountability, software quality, project quality, first time right, project overrun, continuous learning, Increase in revenue, Avoid revenue loss, Reduce costs, Avoid cost increases, Improved service

Certainly and obviously, every business has a set of objectives. Every business strives for survival, growth, revenues, profits, satisfaction and maturity. The clearer the objective are, the easier it is to achieve them. To achieve the objectives, if the destination is clear, it becomes easier to set the direction of the business, to set the milestones, to chalk out the roadmap, to set the drive, to decide the pace and to achieve them. The top 20 end objectives of any software project can be listed as below (note that the hierarchy is not as critical as the understanding of the gravity of each of the objective):

1. Control on Project Lifecycle

2. Standards and Methodology

3. Metrics

4. Stakeholders rights

5. Transparency

6. Pro-active approach to avoid post-mortem

7. Universal approach for similar projects

8. Timely completion, sign-offs and payments

9. Customer satisfaction and delight

10. Customer requirements and both end clarity on objectives of the product

11. Team building

12. Roles, responsibilities and accountability

13. Continuous Learning from failures/ overruns – no repetition of same mistakes to achieve continuous improvement overall

14. First time right approach

15. Quality right from start – ongoing – every step

16. Increase in revenue

17. Avoid revenue loss

18. Reduce costs

19. Avoid cost increases

20. Improved service