Coursework Example on Project Management in Software Development

The project requirements included designing of a website that will enable Tech Solutions Pty Ltd to have an online presence, ultimately attracting people to the catalog as well as using the companys mail-order system. The software should also allow the owner (system administrator) to change text and images by him/herself using an internet connected laptop which will be in the store. The design of the website should be appealing to the targeted demographic by applying the general theme of PC gaming. After considering the requirement specifications of this process, agile development methodology was selected.

Ideal Team Size

The perfect team size adopted for this project was four people, to facilitate the delivery of the best schedule outcomes and performances. It follows that a small team size is appropriate for this project, thus answering the questions raised regarding the insufficiency of the team size (Armel, 2012). This increased the viability and success of the project.

Team Structure

The project manager will supervise all activities undertaken by the four software developers (Developer 1, Developer 2, Developer 3 and Developer 5). The team is expected to liaise its efforts in developing software as per the requirements of the client (Tech Solutions Pty Ltd).

Task 3: Suitable Collaboration

Managing a virtual team will require suitable technology that will enable the members to communicate with other regarding the progress of the project tasks. The team will utilize Redbooth, which an online collaborative tool which supports functionalities such as video conferencing and creation of the Gantt charts. Redbooth will be integral in enabling the project manager and the software developers to communicate or interact with one another while undertaking the assigned tasks.

Monitoring and Review

Project monitoring and reviewing are vital software development components which ensure the progress of the project aligns with the expectations such as budget, schedule, specifications and quality. In this project, the development team is required to design and develop a website which will enable Tech Solutions Pty Ltd to have an online presence, ultimately attracting people to the catalog as well as using the companys mail-order system. The website should allow the owner (system administrator) to change text and images by him/herself using an internet connected laptop which will be in the store. The design of the website should be appealing to the targeted demographic by applying the general theme of PC gaming.

Through the application of effective strategies, the project manager will review the progress and the performance of the project. This will facilitate the identification of emerging issues, risks as well as assessing the commitment of the stakeholders. Monitoring and reviewing will be done at various managerial levels on different phases this project (Clark, 2014). This approach will facilitate effective management control and easy way of detecting project issues that are likely to derail the achievement of the project goals. Under this scenario, the project manager will apply robust monitoring and reviewing models, ultimately ensuring that the team members develop a website which meets the clients requirement specifications.

Task 6: Project Creep

Scope creeps are those incidences where the software project grows beyond their initial bounds. The management should apply the proven methods to avoid scope creep from occurring. The project manager needs to be vigilant from the moment the designing and development of the website begins (Clark, 2014). The project manager should carefully accept or decline new requests from the client (Tech Solutions Pty Ltd) as a way of handling scope creep. Over-communicating to the users is also another way to avoid project scope creep. The project needs to over-communicate with the users to ensure that the involved stakeholders are engaged and updated regarding the status of the project. This will ensure the client is receptive to the overall progress of the project.

Documentation of everything is also another strategy for combatting the possible emergence of scope creep. The project manager should refrain from agreeing on anything which has not been documented during the official meetings with the client or the users. Understanding the clients vision is also another way of avoiding the occurrence of scope creep (Clark, 2014). The project should fully capture project specifications and requirements outlined by the owner, which facilitate the understanding of the projects vision. This will ensure website developers do no go beyond the original limits of the project. The project should also be guarded against gold plating,' which is the tendency of the developers to deliver more than what was specified, by including additional features to the software (website).

Phasing out the project is another strategy for managing scope creep. The project o creating an appealing website for Tech Solutions Pty Ltd is made up of phases. The project manager should allow rolling out of every step before moving to the next stage. The seventh approach of avoiding project creep is through the adoption of a flexible software design. This involves externalizing possible parameters and configurations which need to be made, thus allowing for the features of add-ons (Tan, 2017). These approaches will be useful in controlling the occurrence scope creep since they are effective, proven preventive measures.

Task 7: Stand-up Meeting

Stand-up meeting or scrum meetings is where the members of the software development team assemble to demonstrate their commitments toward the project. They are typically short (between 5-15 minutes) are aimed at improving the productivity and efficiency of the team members. The three questions that a stand-up meeting asks are:

What did a member did yesterday to help the development team accomplish its goal?

What will a member do today to assist the development team achieve its objective?

Is there any hitch that can prevent the members of the development team from attaining project goal?

Stand up meetings are crucial, especially when it comes to controlling a project creep. In these short sessions, the members state and review what they have accomplished as well as identifying possible obstacles towards the project (Lum, 2016). This ensures that the members remain within the project scope thus acting as a deterrent to the project creep.

Task 8: Difference between a Scrum and Kanban?

Scrum and Kanban are two software development methodologies which are both iterative and depend on the process flows, targeting to reduce waste of resources. However, they depict some dissimilarities. For example, in Kanban approaches, the teams do not have pre-defined tasks, but instead, the emphasis is on the collaboration of efforts at various phases of the project. When it comes to scrum, every member has a pre-defined task or role, with the scrum master dictating timelines as well as defining the objectives which should be executed (SmartSheet, 2017). In Kanban, project deliverables are delivered continuously as opposed to the scrum where deliverables rely on the sprints or defined periods where a set of tasks should be provided. Whereas modifications during the sprint in scrum are highly discouraged, kanbas has room for changes during a project mid-stream, ultimately facilitating for continuous enhancements before the project completion.

Task 9: Project Review Meeting

Project review meeting is earmarked as a crucial tool utilized in delivering project progress or status to the project owners and other stakeholders. For instance, in this case, study, the project manager will meet with the executives from Tech Solutions Pty Ltd to have a recap of the project vision (Nag, 2011). This will reaffirm their commitments towards the delivery of the task which involves designing and developing an appealing website for the company.

References

Armel, K. (2012). Part III: Finding the Optimal Team Size for Your Project. Quantitative Software Management , 1-4.

Clark, T. (2014). How to Manage Scope Creep and Even Prevent It From Happening. Liquid Planner, 1-4.

Lum, M. (2016). Scrum Meeting Best Practices: Master the Daily Stand-U. Sprintly , 1-5.

Marschall, M. (2015). Kanban vs Scrum vs Agile. Agile Web Development & Operations, 1-4.

Nag, A. (2011). Tips for Conducting Effective Project Review Meetings. 1-2. Retrieved from https://blog.commlabindia.com/elearning-design/project-review-meeting

SmartSheet. (2017). What's the Difference? Agile vs Scrum vs Waterfall vs Kanban. Smartsheet , 1-3.

Tan, G. (2017). Proven Ways To Control Project Scope Creep. Project Skills, 1-4.