The essentials of project management in under 500 words
Software development – not by PERT alone
Software is abstract, invisible and runs at extreme speeds. People who are good at building software have to possess talent at visualization and a willingness to use complex tools. When software developers become project managers (PMs), they rely on software tools to monitor, control and report on projects, just as non-technical PMs do. Problems technologists have as managers relate to people, including conflict, collaboration and just plain old listening well.
What’s wrong with complexity?
We tend to design things that are complex, and that can be our undoing.
Software Development – not by PERT alone
Software is abstract, invisible and runs at extreme speeds, so the people who are good at building it have to possess a particular talent at visualization and a willingness to use complex tools. When software developers become project managers (PMs), they tend to rely on software tools. But simply having good tools will not make your project succeed. Software development projects frequently fail to produce results that the customer or end-user wants. Why?
No silver bullet
Software is in everything and we and our businesses depend on it more and more. Yet Software Quality is not rising, so we have rising numbers of failure incidents and out-of-control costs in maintaining software. What should you do about it?