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Better Software Conference & EXPO 2006 Concurrent Sessions
Go To: Agile Development | Managing Projects and Teams | Measurement | Outsourcing | Plan-Driven Development |
Process Improvement | Quality Assurance | Security | Special Topics | System Requirements | Testing
View by Date
| Managing Projects and Teams | | | Wednesday, June 28, 2006 11:30 AM |
There's Always Time for Pragmatic Project Planning
Robert Galen, RGCG, LLC
�Plan your work. Work your plan.� Or, �Plan? Plan? We don�t need no stinkin� plan.� Which is the best approach for your software project? According to Robert Galen, neither is the right answer. Because software projects are expensive and challenging, you need a pragmatic project plan�one that is concise, targeted, useful, used, and adaptive. Beginning with a chartering process that leads to a high level project strategy, stakeholders determine the critical success factors and where to focus their planning activities. Robert describes the use of �Sticky Note Planning� workshops to develop and, more importantly, to maintain pragmatic plans as living documents. Learn from Robert what to monitor in your project, what milestones to set, and what the important drivers should be for adjusting the plan. Make planning one of the top contributors to the success of your project.
� What should�and should not�go into a pragmatic software project plan
• How to create and maintain a plan that actively guides the work
• Introduction to "Sticky Note Planning as a general purpose planning method |
| | | Wednesday, June 28, 2006 1:45 PM |
Mentoring for Rookie (and Experienced) Managers
Kevin Bodie, Pitney Bowes Inc
In the same way that every athlete needs a coach to help him develop and perfect their skills, software managers and technical leads need mentors to help them improve his leadership and management skills. Working with an effective coach should be part of every manager�s personal career development plan. With his proven track record of identifying and developing strong technical managers, Kevin Bodie discusses how to find and recruit personal mentors. He also explains how to become a great mentor yourself. Learn what you can expect from a mentor, what your mentor will expect from you, and practical techniques for mentoring and coaching others. Take away tools to build and keep leading-edge management skills and ways to assess the results of mentoring.
� Effective selection and recruiting of coaches and mentors
• Mentoring techniques that really work
• How to keep developing as a manager |
| | | Wednesday, June 28, 2006 3:00 PM |
Common Scheduling Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
Kenneth Katz, DST Output
A project schedule is an essential tool for planning the project, monitoring progress, managing the impact of changes to scope and requirements, and ultimately achieving customer satisfaction. Unfortunately, three common mistakes can make schedules useless�or worse, even destructive to the project: (1) using date constraints when dependencies should be used; (2) using dependencies when resource constraints should be used; and (3) poorly structured work breakdown structures. Using a sample project schedule that has these common scheduling mistakes, Kenneth Katz illustrates their impact through different scenarios for handling them. He shows how revising the schedules with the right practices will result in benefits to the project and the team. Learn how project schedules can become a positive force in your projects.
� Project schedules that easily accommodate scope and resource change
• Sequence project activities and manage project resources with good schedules
• How to organize project activities in a logical sequence |
| | | Thursday, June 29, 2006 9:45 AM |
How to Estimate Anything
Payson Hall, Catalysis Group Inc
Given the choice between making an estimate of the time and resources to complete a project or getting root canal surgery, most of us would rush to the dentist�s office. We know that the pain of a root canal is short lived . . . poor estimates can cause us agony and frustration for months or even years to come. The good news and bad news is that anything can be estimated. However, the quality of the estimate will depend upon the effort invested in the estimate, how thoroughly the thing to be estimated is understood, the quality of relevant assumptions, and finally, luck. An effective process can improve everything but the luck. Join Payson Hall as he presents a practical estimation process that can be applied to estimate anything and then practice applying the process during his presentation.
� What goes into any good estimate
• How to develop a good estimate for complex things
• A method to systematically document estimates and explain them to others |
| | | Thursday, June 29, 2006 11:15 AM |
An Integrated Configuration Management System Revealed
Geree Streun, ANS
Many people talk about an end-to-end software development process in which requirements are developed and transitioned seamlessly into code with tests tracing back to the requirements. Geree Streun has learned that an integrated configuration management system should be at the center of that process. She explains the criteria for evaluating and selecting a configuration management tool to support your development process and why configuration management should be implemented in an integrated way. Find out what an integrated configuration management tool can do for you, how much control to impose, and how much administration you can afford. Watch a demonstration of the integrated configuration management system Geree�s company uses to record defects against any software artifact and to ensure that tests track to the current version of the requirements.
� The costs, benefits, and drawbacks of using an integrated configuration management system
• Steps and criteria for selecting a configuration management system
• Establishing low level version control on all software artifacts |
| | | Thursday, June 29, 2006 1:30 PM |
Managing Distributed Teams
Keith Casey, CaseySoftware, LLC
Globalization, open source software, and cheap communications have forever changed the structure of software development project teams. Project managers face a new set of challenges with geographically distributed work teams. Unclear expectations, language and idiom differences, lack of direct supervision, and a lack of accountability are just a few of the issues that project managers must overcome. As the leader of a development team with members and customers all over the world, Keith Casey is intimately familiar with the character of distributed teams. He explains why you need a coherent strategy�and that means more than email, instant messaging, conference calls, and software tools�for effectively executing a distributed development project. Join Keith for a discussion of the strategies you can use to avoid the disasters awaiting those who ignore the needs of a distributed team.
� The differences between distributed and co-located teams
• Distributed team problems and mitigation strategies
• Tools to assist in managing a distributed team |
| | | Thursday, June 29, 2006 3:00 PM |
Managing Upward: Getting Approvals for the Tools You Need
Doug Smith, Aberro Software
Executive management does not like to spend money (on others); however, to build better software you may need to purchase better tools. Although skilled in producing code and running software tests, many development and QA managers do not have much experience preparing proposals and driving requests for funding through the management approval process. To gain their enthusiastic approval, you need insight into the executive heart and mind to better frame your proposal. Learn the decision-making process of executive managers, the facts they need to make a decision, and why they are reluctant to spend money even if it is in the budget. Build the case for your proposal in terms that match the business objectives of the CEO, CTO, CFO, and others with decision-making authority. Take away a template for a proposal along with examples of successful proposals, including visuals, data, competitive analysis, and much more.
� A tool selection process that helps management say ��Yes�� to your purchase request
• The people side of executive decision-making
• Ways to frame your proposal in terms that speak to executive managers |
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