Managing A Programming Project

List of Figures.


Preface to the Third Edition.


Preface.


Acknowledgments.
PART I. INTRODUCTION.



My Ground Rules.



Your Ground Rules.



Your Contract.



The Nature of the Beast.



The System.



Interactions.



Change.



The Long Run.



Current Techniques.



An Atypical Project.



The Development Cycle.

PART II. DEFINITION.

 1. The Definition Process.


First Things First : Defining the Problem.



What, Not How.



Prototypes.



Simulations.



Key Documents.



Attributes of a Good Problem Specification.



The Analysis Team and Its Work.



Sanity Check: Can This Problem Be Solved?



Analysis Techniques I: Structured Methods.



Analysis Techniques II: Object Methods.



Moving into Design.



Defining The Plan.



The Project Plan.



Selecting Project Tools.



Writing Acceptance Criteria.

 2. The Manager.


The Manager as Model.



Work a Normal Workday.



Make Your Workplace More Productive.



Don't Hog the Credit.



People Ain't Modules.



Trust Your People.



Stay Technically Competent.



Invite Criticism and Comment.



Act Fast to Right a Wrong.



Reward Technicians the Same as Managers.



Instill the Idea of Service.



Give Up Your Perks.



The Manager as Teacher.



Training Subordinate Managers.



Training Nonmanagers.



Training Yourself.



Salesmanship.



Let Your People Grow.



The Manager as Communicator.



Job Descriptions.



Project Meetings.



Making Meetings Effective.



The Telephone.



Memos and Letters.



Mapmaker and Historian.



Appraising and Fund-Raising.



Glue Keeper.



Choose Your Weapons.



My Company, Right or Wrong.



Surround Yourself with Excellence.

3. The Analyst.


What The Analyst's Job Isn't. . .



. . . And What The Job Is.



Finding the Customer.



Understanding the Customer's Problem.



Reading.



Interviewing.



Participating.



Analysis as a Team Sport.



Writing It Down.



And in Your Spare Time.



Keeping Solutions in Mind.



Getting Approval.



So, What Is an Analyst?



When It Can Go Wrong . . .



Some Practical Advice about Managing Analysts.

PART III. DESIGN.

 4. The Design Process.


Designing the System.



The Designers.



The Design Environment.



The Role of Architectures.



The Design Specification.



Design the Whole System First.



Designing Improves Definition—and Vice Versa.



Designing for Integration with Other Systems.



Design Guidelines.



Design Documentation Tools.



Assessing Design Quality.



Complexity.



Project Planning.



Change Management.



Preparation for Testing.



Resource Estimating.



Documentation.



Training.



Design Process Review.



Preparation.



What to Cover.



Results.

 5. The Designer.


Bridging the Muck.



First Things First.



Getting at the Possum.



What Is Good Design?



A Bridge Too Far?



The Cart Before the Horse Putting.



Managing Change.



Avoiding Wanderlust.



How Much Design?



Keeping the Customer Tuned In.



Training (Again).

PART IV. PROGRAMMING.

 6. The Programming Process.


The Nature of Programming.



Coding as a Last Resort.



Structured Programming.



Goals of Structured Programming.



Techniques of Structured Programming.



Is Structured Programming Obsolete?



OOP.



When Should Programming Start?



A Word of Caution.



Organization.



The First Approach: Conventional Organization.



Analysis and Design Group.



Programming Groups.



Test Group.



Testing from a Management Perspective.



Staff Group.



Numbers.



The Second Approach: Programming Teams.



How It Works.



Informal Teams.



Building Quality In.



Keeping Defects Out.



Inspections.



Walkthroughs.



Change Management.



Baseline Documents.



Management Procedures.



A Few VERY IMPORTANT Words about Change Management.



Programming Tools.



Written Specifications.



Test Executives.



Environment Simulators.



CASE Tools.



Power to the People.



Debuggers and Run-Time Monitors.



The Project Library.

 7. The Programmer.


The Professional(?) Programmer.



Finding Good Programmers.



Compensating the Achievers.



Programming versus Coding.



Stop Design Soon Enough.



Move People Around.



Documentation.



Chickeneggchickeneggchicken . . .



Introducing New Ideas.



The Corporate Cocoon.



Managing Perry Programmer.

 8. Day-to-Day Management.


Technical Leadership.



Planning and Controlling.



Communicating.



Building Credibility.



Carrying the Water.



Assigning the Work.



Working Hours.



Adding More People.



Reporting Technical Status.



Reporting Financial Status.



Training.



Appraising and Counseling.



Sanity Maintenance.



First-Level versus Upper-Level Management.

PART V. SYSTEM TEST.

 9. The System Test Process.


System Testing.



Test Early and Often.



System Test Specification.



The Testers.



Timing.



Conducting the Tests.



Beta Testing.



Customer Training.



Using the System.



Maintaining the System.



Bugs and Defects.

10. The Tester.


Who's a Tester?



Module Test: The Programmer.



Integration Test: The Designer.



System Test: The Analyst.



Acceptance Test and Site Test: The Manager.



What Gets Tested?



Programs.



Documents.



Procedures.



Warranties: A Distant Goal.



Is the Bug Really Gone?



Avoiding Panic.

PART VI. Acceptance.

11. The Acceptance Process.


Acceptance Test Specification.



Acceptance Criteria.



Execution.



Documentation.



Testing and Timeliness.



Site Testing.

12. The Customer.


The Honeymoon.



Fidelity.



The Bad News Bearer.



Change Management (Again).



Stepchildren.



Other Offspring.



Something You Already Know, But Rarely Think About.



Happily Ever After.

PART VII. MIGRATION.

13. The Migration Process.


The Migration Specification.



Cutover.



Data Conversion.



Migration Strategies.



Flash Cut.



Immediate Replacement.



Parallel Operation.



Staged Conversions.



Rollout.



Keep Talking.

14. The Support Staff.


Recognition.



Being of Service.



No Dumping Allowed.



Quality of Life.



Credible Support.



The Right Tools.



Quality Assurance.



Managing Support People.

PART VIII. OPERATION.

15. The Operational Process.


Maintenance and Tuning.



Project Evaluation.

PART IX. SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS.



Big Projects.



The Processes.



Organization.



Customer Controls.



Configuration Management.



Multiple Releases.



Some Big Project Benefits.



Small Projects.



Proposals.



Evaluating New Technologies: Object-Oriented Development as an Example.

PART X. IMPACT.

Appendix A. Model Project Plan Outline.


Introduction.



Section 1: Overview.



Section 2: Process Plan.



Section 3: Organization Plan.



Section 4: Test Plan.



Section 5: Change Management Plan.



Section 6: Documentation Plan.



Section 7: Training Plan.



Section 8: Review and Reporting Plan.



Section 9: Installation and Operation Plan.



Section 10: Resources and Deliverables Plan.



Section 11: Project Plan Index.

References and Selected Bibliography.
Index.