Project management is said to focus on the 4 Ps. People, Product, Process, and Project. – And it should focus on that order.
People
Software development is an intensely People driven process. They have to design, model, develop, debug, and support the project. So without people you will not have a completed project.
Often managers think they can pick a good process to solve a people problem, but that rarely works.good, motivated people is what drives successful software projects.
Product
Before a project can be planned, product objectives and scope should be established, alternative solutions should be considered, and technical and management constraints should be identified. Stakeholders must meet to define product objectives and scope.
Process
Chapters 3 – 5 provided a framework for building out a process. Regardless of size, certain things are necessary, such as tasks, milestones, etc.
The Project
We conduct planned and controlled software projects for one primary reason—it is the only known way to manage complexity. And yet, software teams still struggle. In a study of 250 large software projects between 1998 and 2004, Capers Jones [Jon04] found that “about 25 were deemed successful in that they achieved their schedule, cost, and quality objectives. About 50 had delays or overruns below 35 percent, while about 175 experienced major delays and overruns, or were terminated without completion.”
Although recent examples are much better at staying on task and on budget, it isn’t considered a good number, and is well below other engineering projects.
The Project Management Spectrum was originally found on Access 2 Learn
