03-08-2012, 10:58 AM
Software Education Requirements Methodology Pack
Software Education Requirements Methodology Pack.pdf (Size: 187.66 KB / Downloads: 303)
Introduction
Purpose
The Software Education methodology explicitly states that one size does NOT fit all – projects are
different and trying to make a single set of rules apply to every project is setting the project team up
for failure from the beginning.
This document describes the configuration choices that are available to project managers and business
analysts and presents guidelines on different elements of the methodology pack, which are applicable
to different types of projects, and the activities to be undertaken in the project.
Outcomes
After reading this section you should be able to:
· Understand the factors that affect how projects are classified
· Understand of 3 main development methodology models
· Understand how to classify a business or IT project based on its size, complexity and risk
profile
Project Classification Elements
There are a number of factors, which combine to define the project classification:
Project Focus – Business Processes or Information Technology
The most fundamental difference is in the high level focus of the project – is this piece of work
targeted at a new or changed business process which will be implemented without changing the
existing information technology systems or is it about using information technology to enable and
implement a change to the way we do business?
There is a third, very uncommon type of project – the “pure” information technology project; those
undertaken within the information technology team to meet technology demands. These types of
project are normally technology upgrades or changes such as migrating from one platform to another.
The selection between these three project types is the most fundamental choice to be made, as this will
significantly impact the methodology approach to be undertaken.
Project Risks – Low, Medium or High
All projects have risks associated with them. Understanding the degree of risk and the nature of these
risks is important to the selection of the methodology elements.
The methodology identifies project risks at three levels – Low, Medium and High.
To identify the level of risk associated with the project please refer to the Risk Assessment in the
Business Case.
Total Investment – Size
Project size is measured in the overall investment, in the following bands:
Under $250,000 Enhancement
$250,000 to $1M Small project
$1M to $3M Medium project
$3M to $10M Large project
$10M or more Very large project
The larger the investment involved in the project the more stringent the governance and oversight
activities must be.
Communication Complexity
There are three aspects to complexity:
1. The number of people who are actively involved in the project
2. Geographical/temporal distribution of the project activities
3. Cultural distribution of the project team
The more people there are on the project the more reliance there must be on written artefacts for the
explicit transfer of knowledge. Likewise the larger the geographic distances over which the teams are
spread the more reliance there must be on written communication. Where teams are distributed over
large geographic distances they are often unable to effectively coordinate verbal conversations and
must correspond in writing.
Where team members are from different cultural backgrounds they must work harder to ensure that
they understand each other. See appendix 1 for a discussion of culture as it relates to team formation.
When assessing the communication complexity of a project the project a simple three-tier assessment
should be used which takes into account these factors. It is acknowledged that this is a subjective
assessment made by the project manager in consultation with the team.
The three rankings are:
· Low Complexity - The team is small, located within the same geographic area and
largely homogeneous. Projects of this nature are well suited to low-ceremony largely verbal
communications, with an expectation that the team will talk to each other frequently.
· Medium Complexity - Any two of the three factors are present that will prevent the team
from communicating effectively at all times. Perhaps there are groups within the project team that
are co-located but other team members are off-site, or the total team is too large to get together at
one time. Project of medium communications complexity will require more formal, written
communication than a low complexity project, but there will still be some reliance on verbal
informal communication.
· High Complexity - Large teams, outsource/offshore development activities and
distributed multi-cultural teams will require much more formal communication channels and will
necessitate reliance on formal, written artefacts, with rigorous review and sign-off procedures.
These projects will by definition take longer and run higher risk of misunderstood requirements.
Team members are encouraged to talk to each other frequently and build relationships to reduce
the risk involved in having to rely on explicit communications channels.