Category: Software Development Project Management Articles

What’s Wrong With Agile Methods

Current agile methods could benefit from using a more quantified approach across the entire implementation process :t development, production and delivery. The main benefits of adopting such an approach include improved communication of the requirements and better support for tracking progress and getting feedback. This article first discusses the benefits...

Lean Principles and IT Demand Management

This article explains how, given the current global economic climate, many IT organizations’ frozen budgets and cost-cutting drive down value-adding and innovative IT initiatives. It describes how Lean principles can help to institutionalize IT Demand Management processes in the correct manner so that it reduces investment risk, optimizes resource utilization...

Metrics for Better Software Teams

The article “Moneyball for software engineering” explains how metrics-driven decisions can build better software teams. The basic idea is that organizations can use statistical data to build more competitive teams. Most of us work in software project teams, but we rarely use metrics to identify strengths and weaknesses, set and...

Agile Planning Benefits

One of the most common myths is to believe that being “Agile” means avoiding planning. This myth couldn’t be further from the truth and people use it as a way to avoid agile practices. Agile planning does not mean “no planning” but rather a flexible plan that changes with the...

Appraisals and Agile Don’t Play Nicely

In this blog post, Gary Reynolds explains why the traditional appraisal systems (performance reviews, 360 feedback, evaluations) are in conflict with Agile values because they focus on the individual and not on the teamwork. The challenge is that individuals within an organization expect and deserve feedback on their performance, thus...

Uncertainty in Project Management

Uncertainty in project management cannot be eliminated by any estimation methods. It arises partly because of imperfect knowledge of what to do and how long it should take, and partly because of unpredictable events. This article discusses uncertainty in project management: why it exists, how it behaves, how it accumulates,...