10 Keys To Successful Software Projects

10 Keys to Successful
Software Projects
An Executive Guide
© 2000 Construx Software Builders, Inc.

All Rights Reserved.
www.construx.com
Construx
Del
ivering Software Project Success
Background
State of the Art vs. State of
the Practice
“The gap between the best software
engineering practice and the average
practice is very wide–perhaps wider than
in any other engineering discipline.”
– Fred Brooks
Construx Software (www.construx.com) 3

Productivity Varies
Significantly
v 10:1 variations in productivity between
different companies working in the same
industries
v Productivity is a learned characteristic
and can be changed

Typical Project Outcomes
More than
200% Late
6%
101-200%
Late Cancelled
16% 29%
51-100% Late
9%
21-50% Late
Source: Standish Group Survey, 8%
1999 (from a survey of 8000
business systems projects) Less than On-Time
20% Late 26%
Construx Software (www.construx.com) 6% 5
Most Common Sources of
Cancellations and Overruns
1. Ill-defined or changing requirements
2. Poor project planning/management
3. Uncontrolled quality problems
4. Unrealistic expectations/inaccurate
estimates
5. Naive adoption of new technology

Project Success
Success = Planning * Execution
Assign values between 0% -100% for

Planning and Execution. Multiply to
determine your chance of success.

Planning
Key #1
Clear Vision
Clear Vision
v Project teams work toward the goals you

set for them
v Too many goals = no goals
v Good vision statement describes what to
leave out— prioritizes
v Product vision affects achievement of
business goals

Example:
v What kind of Rapid Development do you

want?
u Speed oriented
u Schedule-risk oriented
u Visibility oriented
v Without clear vision you can end up with a
project outcome completely counter to
your goals

Speed-Oriented Practices--
Better Best Case ...
6 Months:
Nominal Schedule
Average
Project
“Rapid”
Project

… Worse Worst Case
6 Months:
Nominal Schedule
Average
Project
Risk of Overrun
“Rapid”
Project

Sometimes it’s Justified
(sometimes not)
6 Months:
Nominal Schedule
Average
Project
Risk of Overrun
“Rapid”
Project
Competitor will release

next version of their
product

Key #2
Stable, Complete,
Written Requirements
Requirements
v Requirements change is the most

common software project risk
v Comprehensive, 100% stable
requirements are usually not possible,
but...
v Most requirements changes arise from
requirements that were incompletely
defined in the first place, not “changing
markets” or other similar reasons
Techniques for Defining
Stable Requirements
v Requirements workshop
v User interface prototyping
v User interview
v Use cases
v User manual as spec
v Usability studies
v Incremental delivery
v Requirements reviews/inspections

Key #3
Detailed User Interface
Prototypes
User Interface Prototypes
v Addresses the most common project

risk–changing requirements
v Involves users with a “hot” medium
v Correlated with lower costs, shorter
schedules, and higher user satisfaction
v Significant skill required to develop
prototypes successfully

Key #4
Effective Project
Management
Project Management
v Poor planning/management is the second

most common project risk
v Project planning/management is a high
leverage area
v Some people don’t appreciate the leverage
of project management— they’ve never
seen good project management!

Project Manager
Responsibilities
v Where do most project managers come from?
v What are they trained to do?
v Good software management require
significant software-specific expertise
u Scope estimation u Technical staffing
u Cost, effort & u Project tracking
schedule computation u Risk management
u Lifecycle selection u Data collection
u QA planning

Key #5
Accurate Estimates
Need for Accurate Estimates
v Unrealistic/unjustified expectations are a

major cause of project problems
v State of the art is dramatically better than
the state of the practice
v For example, the average project overruns
its planned schedule by more than 100%
(and many projects are much worse)

Typical Estimation
Effectiveness
20%
Over/Under Percentage
in Effort Estimates
0%
-145%
Without Historical Data
Variance between -145% to +20%
(Mostly Level 1 and 2)
From 120 Projects in Boeing Information Systems

Improved Estimation
20%
Over/Under Percentage
in Effort Estimates
0%
-145%
Without Historical Data With Historical Data
Variance between -145% to +20% Variance between +20% to -20%
(Mostly Level 1 and 2) (Level 3)
From 120 Projects in Boeing Information Systems

Improved Estimation
Project Performance Compared to Estimate
600%
Actual Results as a Percentage of
500%
Estimated Results
400%
300%
200%
100%
0%
0 1 2 3 4
SW-CMM Level
From a set of U.S. Air Force projects
Improved Estimation
600%
500%
Estimated Results
400%
300%
200%
100%
0%
0 1 2 3 4
SW-CMM Level
Improved Estimation
600%
500%
Estimated Results
400%
300%
200%
100%
0%
0 1 2 3 4
SW-CMM Level
Effect of Estimation
Accuracy
Non-linear impact due

to planning errors,
upstream defects,
high-risk practices Cost Linear impact due to
Effort Parkinson’s Law
Schedule
Underestimation Overestimation
< 100% 100% >100%
Target as a Percentage of Nominal Estimate

Accurate Estimation
v Estimation is a specialized technical skill

v Treat estimation as a mini-project
v Plan to reestimate periodically

Execution
Key #6
Two-Phase Budgeting
Estimate Refinement
Project cost
(effort and size)
4x
2x
1.5x
1.25x
1.0x
0.8x
0.67x
0.5x
0.25x
Time
Two-Phase Estimation and
Budgeting
Project cost
(effort and size)
4x
Typical time that 2x

commitments are
made
1.5x
1.25x
1.0x VS.
0.8x
0.67x
Time that commitments
0.5x should be made
0.25x
Time
Benefits
v Delays commitment until time when a
commitment can be meaningful
v Forces activities that should occur upstream
actually to occur upstream
u Requirements, technical planning, quality
planning, etc.
v Helps set realistic expectations for all project
stakeholders
v Improves coordination with non-software groups
v Improves execution by putting plans on more
informed basis
Key #7
A Focus on Quality
Defect Costs Increase the
Longer Defects Stay in Process
50-200X
Cost to
Correct
50-200X
Phase That a
Defect Is Created 1X
Requirements
Architecture 1X
Detailed design
Construction
Requirements Architecture Detailed Construction Release

design
Phase That a Defect Is Corrected

Fixing Upstream Defects
Upstream is High Leverage
$
QA Late in QA Early in
the Project the Project

Fix More Defects Earlier!
50-200X
Not Here Cost to

Correct
Fix Here
50-200X
Phase That a
Defect Is Created 1X
Requirements
Architecture 1X
Detailed design
Construction
Requirements Architecture Detailed Construction Release

design
Phase That a Defect Is Corrected

Why Focus on Quality?
v For most projects, unplanned defect

correction work is the largest cost driver
(40-80% of total)
v Can focus on quality for sake of
economics (as above)
v Can focus on quality for sake of quality
(not needed nearly as often)
v Quality must be planned into the project; it
can’t just be tacked onto the end
Key #8
Technology
Expertise
Technology Expertise
v Many projects suffer because of poor

adoption of new technology
v “New technology” = high risk
v Golf analogy
u Technology as golf clubs
u Best practices as technique
v Expertise in technology matters;
software engineering technique matters
much more
Key #9
Active Risk Management
Software is Risky Business
v KPMG Study:
u 55% of runaway projects did no risk
management
u 38% did some, but half of those didn’t use their
risk findings after the project was underway
u 7% didn’t know whether they did risk
management
v Total: About 80% of runaway projects did
no meaningful risk management

Role of Risk Management
v About as many projects fail as are

delivered on time
v More than 50% of projects show their
problems during initial development
v About 25% show their problems during
initial planning
v Active risk management keeps small
problems from turning into big, project-
killing problems
Relationship to Business
Risk Taking
v Perception is that high energy companies
take risks
v Reality is that most companies are beset
by risks from all sides— they aren’t
choosing which risks they take
v Key to success: Manage non-strategic
risks so that you can take strategic risks

Key #10
Do the Right Thing
Key Elements of Execution
v Take care of your people

u Staffing
u Training
u Motivation/morale
u Work environment
v Follow the plan
v It works!

Construx
Del
ivering Softw are Proje ct Success
Contact Information
Services Software Resources
v Custom Software v info@construx.com
Solutions
v www.construx.com
v Consulting
v Seminars

10 Keys To Successful Software Projects

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10 Keys to Successful

© 2000 Construx Software Builders, Inc.

Construx Software (www.construx.com) 3

Construx Software (www.construx.com) 4

Construx Software (www.construx.com) 6

Success = Planning * Execution

Assign values between 0% -100% for

Construx Software (www.construx.com) 7

v Project teams work toward the goals you

Construx Software (www.construx.com) 10

v What kind of Rapid Development do you

Construx Software (www.construx.com) 11

Construx Software (www.construx.com) 12

Construx Software (www.construx.com) 13

Competitor will release

Construx Software (www.construx.com) 14

v Requirements change is the most

Construx Software (www.construx.com) 17

v Addresses the most common project

Construx Software (www.construx.com) 19

v Poor planning/management is the second

Construx Software (www.construx.com) 21

Construx Software (www.construx.com) 22

v Unrealistic/unjustified expectations are a

Construx Software (www.construx.com) 24

From 120 Projects in Boeing Information Systems

Construx Software (www.construx.com) 25

From 120 Projects in Boeing Information Systems

Construx Software (www.construx.com) 26

Non-linear impact due

< 100% 100% >100%

Target as a Percentage of Nominal Estimate

Construx Software (www.construx.com) 30

v Estimation is a specialized technical skill

Construx Software (www.construx.com) 31

Typical time that 2x

Requirements Architecture Detailed Construction Release

Phase That a Defect Is Corrected

Construx Software (www.construx.com) 39

Not Here Cost to

Requirements Architecture Detailed Construction Release

Phase That a Defect Is Corrected

v For most projects, unplanned defect

v Many projects suffer because of poor

Construx Software (www.construx.com) 45

v About as many projects fail as are

Construx Software (www.construx.com) 47

v Take care of your people

Construx Software (www.construx.com) 49

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