a guide for the rolling out of a software delivery project

GETTING READY TO ROLL OUT YOUR SOFTWARE DELIVERY PROJECT

A User Friendly and Easy to Follow Approach

Across the world today software development in all shapes and sizes is growing exponentially. There is a software revolution and without a doubt it is an exciting world to be part of. The future is literally happening before our very eyes and never before have we as project managers needed to be on our toes to ensure that we keep pace with this technology race.

OVERVIEW

Get Fast: A Survival Strategy For Software DevelopmentEditor at Large, Enterprise MobilityThomas Claburn

http://www.informationweek.com/mobile/mobile-applications/get-fast-a-survival-strategy-for-software-development/d/d-id/1320195




This presentation will give you the basic and fundamental steps to plan, develop and rollout a software project.

OVERVIEW

The Project Framework

The Business Case

Software Delivery Lifecycle (SDLC)

THE PROJECT FRAMEWORK

A project Management Framework consists of three parts a project lifecycle, a project control cycle and tool and templates to facilitate the execution of the project. It is important to remember that the project framework supports the critical path.

The Project Framework is setup to manage the project management phases that will plan, control and execute the product to be delivered and the software delivery that forms the critical path and triple constraints

Project Management Software Delivery Life Cycle

Not on Critical Path

Supports and controls the software delivery cycle

Always on the Critical Path

Will have a baselined project plan to control the project

This will result in • Delivering the product in line with current strategic objectives• The roles and responsibilities for the business, project and technical teams• A process that is adaptable in line with current requirements• A process that is not complex and easy to use• Control of the documentation and administration used during the course of each project.


A recommended approach


The Project Framework Team The Roles The Methodology

The PMO The Risk Profile The Success Factors

The Project Roadmap

The Project Phases

The Project Folders

PMO Management

Business

Technical

Operations

Production/On-Line

The Project Framework Team

• Business Sponsor• Product Manager• Business Analyst• Stakeholders

• PMO Mngr• Project Mngr• Project Admin• Suppliers

• Technical Team• UX Team• Testing Team• Quality Team

• Financial Mngr• Quality Mngr• Process Mngr

• Production Mngr• On-Line Mngr• Support team


Each company will have a different approach for the project framework but the framework should cover the key business units involved in project delivery

Team Role

Business At this stage business will provide an advisory role outlying how the project will help the business to develop their vision and mission and what they hope to achieve with the product to be developed

Technical The technical team whether internal or external must identify the key requirements to roll out their technical strategy and assist the PMO to ensure that the correct processes, methodologies and environments are in place for product development

Operations Operations will provide the full support to ensure that contracts, financials and operational processes are in place and aligned to how all projects need to be rolled out and delivered

Production/On-Line Production/On-line will provide the essential guidelines on what is required once the product goes live and how the product will be integrated into the live system

The Roles

The project framework will outline the roles where the process, governance and the overall management for the delivery of the software product is understood and agreed by the key management divisions


Establishing the project methodology will provide the correct

process for managing and delivering a project successfully. The two

main bodies of project management practices that are used today

are PMBOK and Prince2. Each methodology has its own set of

principles providing the advantage of the ability to combine the best

of both worlds.

The Methodology

• Provides all round guidance and knowledge on project management

• The knowledge areas provide a systematic approach to managing a project

• Provides guidance and a step by step process to managing a project

• Provides structured documentation through the project life cycle

• Ties in to the PMI approach for managing projects

• Is accepted across the world as an industry standard

• Provides a well-rounded administrative approach to project management

• Focusses on the product and business case• Detailed guidelines for change control,

configuration management and quality• Can be tailored and applied to any project • Offers a framework for facilitating individual

projects• Is widely used by banks throughout the

world as the preferred methodology for project management



The PMO

PMO Governance

Best Practice

Change Managemen

t

Supplier Managemen

tResource

Management

Process Developmen

t

Projects Execution

Setting up a formal PMO allows for a structured approach to the overall project management and can be used effectively whether it is a small or large company.

• Dashboard status reports• Management of resources and skills

required• Control and track of all decisions made• Tracking and control of financial targets• Change management• Process development• Strategic alignment to company objectives• Management of governance within the

Project Life Cycle

These factors should be based on the project to be deployed and should be amended accordingly

The Risk Profile


Time to Market

Skills

Technology

Infrastructure

Suppliers

Team Size

Stakeholders

One of the advantages of identifying the risk profile

will allow you to clearly specify if the project is a small,

medium or large project. This will provide a clear way

forward on how to setup the project framework and

what governance, skills are required to deliver

successful projects. .

Using lessons learnt here from previous projects provides valuable insights into the risk profile

Risk SkillsCorpor

ate Culture

Complexity Priority

Size Infrastructure

When beginning the process of setting up the project framework it is important to note the key success factors that are required as part of your overall methodology and what will drive the project to success and a return on investment

Establishing the success factors will help you to ensure that the project is setup to achieve these factors throughout the project life cycle

The Success Factors



The Project Roadmap

• Reflects the deliverables and priorities • Projects can be adjusted on the roadmap in line with business

changes and requirements• Reflects status milestones at a glance• Shows projects at risk• Shows dependencies between projects

The project roadmap is a perfect application to allow for the

rollout and priority of all projects under the radar. It will

easily reflect the business requirements of when to launch the

products and the feasibility to do so in line with the current

technology and infrastructure that is available to the company

at any given time.

The Project Phases

Initiation Planning Execution and Control Close Out

• Setup the Project• Setup the Team• Finalise the Charter• Baseline the business

case• Finalise the project

approach• Prepare the Kick Off

Presentation• Complete the Project

Kick off check list• Hold kick off meeting• Submit notification to

announce project in now live

• Finalise Project Initiation Document

• Plan Communication Strategy

• Plan Quality Strategy• Plan Procurement

Strategy• Plan Configuration

Strategy• Finalise Project Schedule• Finalise Project

Financials• Define issue and risk

protocols• Define governance • Setup Project Folders• Finalise Resource Plan

• Manage business case• Manage work packages• Track issues and risks• Hold status meetings• Track financials against

approved project budget• Track supplier

performance• Manage project plan and

resource time sheets• Update agreed

dashboards and PMO reports

• Hold regular stakeholder meetings to agree a go or no go throughout the project

• Close out all administration activities

• Ensure that all documentation has been moved to a central location

• Conduct final contract reviews

• Conduct lessons learnt• Release resources• Conduct project audit and

release findings• Finalise all invoices and

payments• Close financials on project


This is a generic process and should be adapted to your own individual project

Project FoldersProject Name

Initiation

Planning

Control

Close out

Programme ManagementStatus Reports

Time Sheets

Financials

Reports

It is a good idea to setup a standardized folder structure for project documents which follows the agreed methodology that you have implemented.

This would be located on your shared document server and this must be carefully planned and controlled with the project team.

There are many ways to do this however SharePoint seems to be the preferred solution.


The Project Folders

THE BUSINESS CASE

A business case captures the reasoning for initiating a project or task. It is often presented in a well-structured written document, but may also sometimes come in the form of a short verbal argument or presentation. The logic of the business case is that, whenever resources such as money or effort are consumed, they should be in support of a specific business need.

A well-constructed business case will provide the correct way forward on how the service or product must be designed, planned, developed and finally launched.

At a high level the business case will outline the benefits, costs and feasibility of the product to be launched. This document must be very clear and definitely show the company how their return on this investment will become a reality once their product is launched

Going forward the approved business case becomes the barometer throughout the project guiding the way towards meeting the agreed strategy, goals and objectives

What Why How

Desired Business Results

THE BUSINESS CASE


THE BUSINESS CASE

The Business Team The Roles

The Methodology

The Business Canvas

The Schedule

The Document

During the compilation of the business case the project manager and operations manager provides an advisory role. They may be required to approve the business case.

THE BUSINESS CASE

The Business Team

Business Case

Business Owner

Business Analyst

Project Manager

Operations Manager

Team Role

Business Owner The New Business Manager is responsible to build the client relationship by acting as the interface between the client and the Forgood project team. The New Business Manager is responsible to ensure that the client’s requirements are identified and provide a solution and cost on how Forgood can meet those requirements

Business Analyst The Business Analyst identifies business needs and determines solutions to business problems. Solutions often include a systems development component, but may also consist of process improvement, organizational change or strategic planning and policy development.

Project Manager The Project Manager provides an integrated framework for project organisation; planning and control which is designed to ensure the timely and cost-effective production of all the end-products maintain acceptable standards of quality achieve for the enterprise the benefit for which the investment in the project has been made.

Operations Manager The operations manager will provide an end to end view of the business which can incorporate the understanding of strategic objectives, development of an operational strategy, design of the operations services and process, planning, controlling and improving the performance of the operation. These factors will help establish the project framework across operational activity

THE BUSINESS CASE

The Roles

The role will define what the expectations are during the business case phase

Define Strateg

y

Ensure financi

al support

Ensure management commitment

Deliver business case

The Methodology

THE BUSINESS CASE

A business case captures the reasoning for initiating a project or task. It is often presented in a well-structured written document, but may also sometimes come in the form of a short verbal argument or presentation. The logic of the business case is that, whenever resources such as money or effort are consumed, they should be in support of a specific business need.

Setting up a business canvas with your team will give you an edge in identifying the key points that need to be incorporated into your business case.

The agreed points should be included into the business case table of contents.

THE BUSINESS CASE

The Business Canvas

Task NameDefine the OpportunityEvaluate Business ApproachEvaluate Potential Risks and RewardsReview and modify the strategic planDefine the MarketIdentify Needed Materials and SuppliesEvaluate Potential Risks and RewardsReview and modify the business opportunityConfirm decision to proceed

THE BUSINESS CASE

The Schedule

Setup the schedule and timeframe to complete all of the tasks for the business case. This should also include the people assigned to do the actual activities. Ensure that the assigned time is as agreed with the business owners to complete the business cases to inform the stakeholders whether the project will proceed to a Go status.

The schedule for the business case must be setup looking at the full scope, cost and timeframe and a project plan should be setup to manage the business case from the concept until the final sign off process has been completed

Prepare the approval meeting and presentationSend out the final business case for review

Ensure that the final updates have been incorporated into the business case and note who made the changesAny new decisions note them in a decision log and

Setup the final walkthrough and advise of the date, venue and agenda

Ensure that all equipment needed for the meeting is in working order

Conduct the approval meeting and ensure that minutes are recorded

Record the final updates

At the end of the meeting submit the business case for approval

If the project is given a No-Go at this stage store all of the documentation and note the decision on the product road mapIf it is a Go begin the process of setting up the full project

THE BUSINESS CASE

The Document

A business case document is a formal, written argument intended to convince a decision maker to approve some kind of action. A well-crafted business case explores all feasible approaches to a given problem and enables business owners to select the option that best serves the organization outlines the reasons why a business should spend money. It helps the management team to evaluate and prioritise investment decisions.

SOFTWARE DELIVERY LIFECYCLE

SDLC stands for Software Development Life Cycle. A Software Development Life Cycle is essentially a series of steps, or phases, that provide a model for the development and lifecycle management of an application or piece of software. The methodology within the SDLC process can vary across industries and organizations, but standards such as ISO/IEC 12207 represent processes that establish a lifecycle for software, and provide a mode for the development, acquisition, and configuration of software systems.


The software delivery lifecycle (SDLC) shifts into gear once the business has given the project a Go Status and the project team begins to focus on delivering the project in line with the approved business and quality requirements.

The agreed approach for the SDLC whether it is a Waterfall or Agile approach will now become an important factor to ensure that the project is scoped, scheduled and budgeted for correctly



The SDLC Team The Roles

The Methodology

The Project Plan

The SDLC Phases Analysis

Design Development

Testing Deploy

The SDLC Team SDLC Project Manager

Technical Team

Design Team

Development Team

Testing Team

Production


• Projects of different sizes have different needs for how the people are organized. • In a small project, little organization structure is needed. • There might be a primary sponsor, project manager and a project team.• However, for large projects, there are more and more people involved, and it is

important that people understand what they are expected to do, and what role people are expected to fill.

The Roles


Team Role

Technical Team The technical team will be solely responsible for defining the functional and technical solution to be implemented and provide the necessary documentation to ensure that the technical solution is approved and will provide the desired results.

Design Team The design team can also be referred to as the UX team and is primarily responsible for the look and feel of the website as well as how the content will be displayed. They will be responsible for producing UX wireframes

Development Team The development team will work with the technical and design team to code and do integration testing ensuring that the business requirements, technical requirements and design requirements are integrated and provide a quality solution

Testing Team The testing team will do end to end testing to ensure that the agreed test cases are finalised and signed off and will only deliver the correct quality product to be moved into the live environment

On-Line On line (always referred to as web management) will take over the software delivery once testing has been concluded and it responsible for the management of the live product and will be the primary point of communication to the business once the product is in live status

Within your project framework you need to establish the correct delivery approach for your software projects. However this could also include setting up a SDLC methodology that will combine the elements of both Waterfall and Agile to provide an optimal result

The Methodology

Delivering

http://www.computerworlduk.com/project-management/agile-waterfall-is-hybrid-approach-best-for-enterprise-app-development-3572875/

Agile and waterfall – is a hybrid approach best for enterprise app development






Task Name Duration

Basic SDLC Project Plan 141 days

Requirements Analysis 40 days

Design 11 days

Test plan 10 days

Development 87.5 days

QA 11 days

UAT 11 days

Go-live 4 days

The Project Plan

Cost

Scope

Time

Quality

Once all of the pieces for the project plan are in place and approved you will need to baseline your project plan and setup the critical path for delivery. It is important to note that the project baselines will be modified throughout the project as slippage or approved changes are introduced

Baseline

The main benefits of having a project baseline are:• Ability to assess performance.• Earned Value calculation.• Improved future estimating accuracy.• Manage quality

In conjunction with the Project Management Methodology, a formal end to end SDLC process model must be formalized to ensure that there is an end to end process for the development, testing and implementation of a product. This will assist in meeting the quality deliverables of the product as defined in the relevant technical and analysis documentation and can be applied to any lifecycle : Waterfall or Agile


The SDLC Phases

Analysis

Design

Development

Testing

Release

That no matter what methodology you do choose the key SDLC steps will still be performed in order to deliver a quality product


SDLC – Analysis

Analysis

Design

DevelopTest

Deploy

SOFTWARE DELIVERY LIFECYCLE Analysis

Design

DevelopTest

DeploySDLC – Design


Design

DevelopTest

DeploySDLC – Develop


Design

DevelopTest

DeploySDLC – Test


Design

DevelopTest

DeploySDLC – Deploy

A final word

Software delivery is where you as the project manager will really lead the way ensuring that every step and process is followed and managed and ultimately delivering a quality product into the marketplace.

Without a doubt there are many ways to plan and deliver a software project but my advice is ensure that the basics are in place, well defined and then build the approach on top of these well understood and tested principles.

Doing this will provide you with a sure fire way to deliver and meeting both the stakeholder’s and business requirements and your project’s goals and objectives.

Remember to have fun along the way and enjoy your project.

Contact Information

Email [email protected]

Mobile +44 (0) 77 84 302 708

LinkedIn Profile LinkedIn Profile

Skype clionaoh

Cliona O’HanrahanMPM; Prince2 ; PMI SME

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=43191576&trk=nav_responsive_tab_profile

a guide for the rolling out of a software delivery project

Technology

software project

project delivery

project lifecycle

project phases

project roadmap

project folders

project managers

project management framework