Don’t Get Stuck With Unpredictable Software Projects

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Business owners invest in software development with the promise of significant performance improvements in efficiency and quality. Sometimes these projects are designed to exploit a core advantage that the company has over its competitors. It should be no surprise, then, that leaders want to know that their investments are likely to produce the desired outcomes both before and during the development of the software development project.

There are several important ways the software development team can keep the business leader confident in the outcome and motivated to fund the project through to completion:

1. The first is to provide a comprehensive assessment of the risks and mitigation strategies involved at the time the project is proposed. As the project progresses, these risks and any new potential risks must be reassessed and reviewed periodically with the leaders. This avoids bad news being delivered as a surprise event, which is the quickest way to erode confidence.

2. The second way to build confidence is to ensure that the business leader and operations personnel who will be the primary users of the system are engaged in the entire process. Including their needs in the requirements stage assures delivery of a product they will use and gains their buy-in up front. Helping them plan for user training, testing and ultimate implementation of the project before completion also assures that they buy-in and plan for the changes to their practices proactively. The worst scenario is delivering a comprehensive software system and having the operations manager refuse to adopt it because the change appears too disruptive.

3. Next, tie the outcomes of the project to the business stakeholder’s goals and plans. You will only achieve new performance metrics and process improvements if the stakeholder is seen to visibly support and manage the project. This leaves the stakeholder little choice but to connect their success to the success of the new IT project – after all, the goals of both are the same.

4. Finally, communicate, communicate and communicate. When managing complex software development projects, it may seem tedious to answer questions or present seemingly insignificant information on progress. Maintain a regular drumbeat of communication to keep the project alive and in the forefront of the minds of the business teams that you are counting on for acceptance and implementation. They are accountable for the bottom line in delivering the product and service to customers. They need solutions to increase output, reduce cycle time, lower costs and so on. Aligning the project’s goals with theirs goes a long way to establishing the basis for a highly productive alliance.