Learn to manage software projects successfully
If you have a software consultancy or work in the management of projects of this type for various clients, would you like to know how to handle these projects in a simple and productive way? Read on and learn how to manage software projects successfully.
What does managing a software project entail?
When we think about managing a software project, we must define whether we will use a structured life cycle, such as Waterfall (the cascade development cycle and the best known of this type), or an agile cycle with, for example, the methodology Scrum.
If you prefer to go for the first case, you will need to use a Gantt-based tool, a diagram with relationships between tasks and stages, such as Microsoft Project or similar. In summary, the phases of the project will be carried out in well-structured steps, namely: analysis, design, coding, testing and putting into production. If necessary, you could go back to an earlier stage, but this will cause an extra cost for the project.
In the second case, that of applying agile development cycles, the objective is to deliver a product with the highest quality, in the shortest possible time. Following the Scrum methodology, there are different intervening roles: the product owner (the one who knows the product), the development team (autonomous, multidisciplinary and self-manageable) and the scrum master (the facilitator, responsible for enforcing Scrum development and carry the team forward).
Stages of software project management with Scrum
- The product owner presents a series of user stories, the different descriptions of the characteristics of the product to be achieved.
- The entire team takes a series of product backlogs, prioritized user stories, and includes them within a sprint, during a meeting called sprint planning.
- Once analyzed, these product backlogs become sprint backlogs; A product backlog can generate one or more sprint backlogs, with an estimate of effort.
- With a series of tasks defined, the sprint backlogs, the iteration begins. The ceremonies of the methodology are carried out, the tasks are executed and, when the iteration ends, a product with the implemented characteristics is obtained.
- At that point, a sprint review takes place; that is, a demo meeting in which the product that has been created is shown to the entire team involved.
- In the middle of the iteration, refinement occurs: product backlogs that are not within said iteration are taken and refined. In other words, they are analyzed in more detail to include them in future sprints. The product owner and the entire development team participate here.
- Every day, a daily meeting is held, a meeting of approximately 15 minutes to discuss what was done, what is going to be done and the impediments that exist to progress and that the scrum master will try to resolve.
It is worth noting that following this methodology does not require that the initial planning be complete, it is not necessary to delve into the details from the beginning. You shorten planning periods and therefore don’t waste too much time in the event of something unforeseen. In a week or two, you could rectify or get a change, saving time, cost, and effort.
Steps to manage an agile project with MyTaskPanel
- Create the project. Go to the New Project option and choose the project with iterations. You will access an iteration tree and a Kanban-style board with the columns by state: ToDo, Doing, Done.
- Load the product backlogs as tasks. Write down the details of each one and use the checklist to enter the acceptance criteria. You could put an estimate of the effort in story points (this will depend on the way each team works) and a priority.
- Create the different iterations or sprints with start and end dates. During the planning meeting, take the opportunity to estimate the effort of each product backlog and move it towards the first sprint to start the iteration. Each team member is assigned at least one product backlog (or task) to develop. Depending on the maturity of the team, members could self-assign their own tasks.
- The sprint or iteration begins. The team goes to work, and as a task starts, it works to move it towards the Doing column. And when he finishes it, he ends up moving it to Done. The remaining time, which has been modified by changing the task, now goes to zero.
- During project management, you can use the calendar and / or the timeline to check the due dates of the tasks. You can access the dashboard to see the general status, who is assigned each task, how the progress of each group is going, etc. The more details you have placed in the tasks, the more these tools will serve you.
- In case at the end of the sprint there are unfinished tasks, analyze the why in the next retrospective meeting or in the new planning and move those tasks to the next sprint in MyTaskPanel.
In short, following the Scrum methodology will help you manage software projects, without wasting too much time or costs in the face of any problems that may arise along the way. Take advantage of MyTaskPanel to successfully manage your projects.