|
|
|
|
Papers & PresentationsSoftware is a Risky Business: There are many risks involved in creating high quality software on time and within budget. With ever increasing software complexity and increasing demand for bigger, better, and faster product, the software industry is a high-risk business. When teams don't manage risk, they leave projects vulnerable to factors that can cause major rework, major cost or schedule over-runs, or complete project failure. Adopting software risk management processes is a step the can help effectively manage software development and maintenance initiatives. However, in order for it to be worthwhile to take on these risks, the organization must be compensated with a perceived reward. The greater the risk, the greater the reward must be to make it worthwhile to take the chance. In software development, the possibility of reward is high, but so is the potential for disaster. Risk exists whether it is acknowledged or not. People can stick their heads in the sand and ignore the risks but this can lead to unpleasant surprises when some of those risks turn into actual problems. The need for software risk management is illustrated in Gilb’s risk principle. “If you don’t actively attack the risks, they will actively attack you" [Gilb-88]. In order to successfully manage a software project and reap the rewards, software practitioners must learn to identify, analyze, and control these risks. This paper focuses on the basic concepts, processes, and techniques of software risk management. This paper was presented at the ASQ World Conference for Quality and Improvement, May 2009.
Software Acquisition & Supplier Management: Part 1 - Product Definition & Supplier Selection: This paper was presented at the American Society for Quality's Annual Quality Congress (ASQ AQC) in May 2003. Before
the task of purchasing commercially available software, contracting a supplier
to create a custom software package, or developing a “homegrown” software
application can commence, adequate planning must take place.
Having a defined software acquisition and supplier management process
helps insure that important steps in the acquisition process are not forgotten.
Predefined goals and objectives align the business needs with the mission
of the acquisition. The software
industry is now several decades old, however problems including schedule
slippage, budget overruns, missing functionality and poor quality and
reliability are still prevalent. These
continuing issues make the need for good software acquisition and supplier
management practices essential to the success of our organizations. This
paper discusses the first seven steps in the Software Acquisition and Supplier
Management process, including:
Software
Risk Management:
There
are many risks involved in creating high quality software on time and
within budget. However, in
order for it to be worthwhile to take these risks, they must be
compensated for by a perceived reward.
The greater the risk, the greater the reward must be to make it
worthwhile to take the chance. In
software development, the possibility of reward is high, but so is the
potential for disaster. The
need for software risk management is illustrated in Gilb’s risk
principle. “If you don’t
actively attack the risks, they will actively attack you" [Gilb-88].
In order to successfully manage a software project and reap our
rewards, we must learn to identify, analyze, and control these risks.
This paper focuses on the basic concepts, processes, and techniques
of software risk management.
Recommended ReferencesIEEE Standards for Software Project Management Plans, IEEE
Std. 1058-1998; IEEE
Standards Software Engineering, Volume 2; The Institute of Electrical and
Electronics Engineers, 1999; ISBN 0-7381-1560-6. Managing Risk: Methods for Software Systems Development;
Elaine M. Hall; Addison-Wesley, Reading Massachusetts, 1998. Managing Software Development Project - Formula for Success, 2nd Edition; Neal
Whitten; John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 1995.
Peopleware - Productive Projects and Teams,
Second Edition;
Tom DeMarco
and Timothy Lister; Dorset House, New York, 1999 The Project Manager’s Desk Reference – A Comprehensive
Guide to Project Planning, Scheduling, Evaluation, Control & Systems;
James P. Lewis;
McGraw Hill, New York, NY, 1995. Risk Management for Software Projects, Alex
Down, Michael Coleman, Peter Absolon, McGraw-Hill Book Company, London, 1994. Software Engineering Project Management;
Richard Thayer
editor; IEEE Computer Society, Los Alamitos, CA, 1997. Recommended LinksCOCOMO - Constructive Cost Model - http://sunset.usc.edu/research/COCOMOII/index.html Project Management Institute - www.pmi.org
Software Program Managers Network - www.spmn.com For more information about consulting services or training offered by The Westfall Team Send an email to: lwestfall@westfallteam.com Or call: 972-867-1172
© 1999-2010
Westfall Team, Inc. |
