Book profile: Managing web projects, by J Rodney
Turner
The start of the project
It is better to spend a week planning and have a team of eight
people work at 100% efficiency for 12 weeks, than a team working at
50% efficiency for 13 weeks. The project start process can also be
used to build team identity and build psychological attachment
between members.
Managing scope
Follow the principles of goal-directed project management,
developing a strategic plan in terms of milestones. By clearly
assigning milestones to different project teams or team members,
you can co-ordinate the inputs of different people, especially
those working remotely.
Managing quality
With tight timescales, the quality of web-delivery projects is at
risk, so effective quality management processes must be applied. In
all but the simplest cases, it would take an impossibly long time
to work out the chance of achieving the spread of outcomes. Thus, a
technique based on simulation and sampling has been developed -
Monte Carlo analysis software.
Monte Carlo software will offer a choice of distributions and give
guidance as to which are appropriate. You do not need to do the
sums, just nominate the distributions. The model must then be run
several thousand times.
Closing the project
You need to ensure that all work is finished at the same time and
that different outputs are tied together. With a wide range of
stakeholders, you also need to ensure they all come online together
to achieve maximum benefit. A project review can also improve
future performance.
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