Project management software environmenta

Similarly, reverse engineering of poorly constructed legacy source code into an object-oriented design model may be counterproductive. The code components may still need to be fleshed out with the specifics of certain object attributes or methods. Change management is as critical to iterative processes as planning.

Tracking changes in the technical artifacts is crucial to understanding the true technical progress trends and quality trends toward delivering an acceptable end product or interim release. In conventional software management processes, baseline configuration management techniques for technical artifacts were predominantly a late life-cycle activity. In a modern process —in which requirements, design, and implementation set artifacts are captured in rigorous notations early in the life cycle and are evolved through multiple generations—change management has become fundamental to all phases and almost all activities.

The atomic unit of software work that is authorized to create, modify, or obsolesce components within a configuration baseline is called a software change order SCO. Software change orders are a key mechanism for partitioning, allocating, and scheduling software work against an established software baseline and for assessing progress and quality. The example SCO shown in Figure is a good starting point for describing a set of change primitives.

It shows the level of detail required to achieve the metrics and change management rigor necessary for a modern software process. By automating data entry and maintaining change records on-line, the change management bureaucracy associated with metrics reporting activities can also be automated.

The level at which an SCO is written is always an issue. What is a discrete change? Is it a change to a program unit or to a component, a file, or a subsystem?

Is it a new feature, a defect resolution, or a performance enhancement? Within most projects, the atomic unit of the SCO tends to be easily accepted. In general, an SCO should be written against a single component so that it is easily allocated to a single individual.

If resolution requires two people on two different teams, two discrete SCOs should be written. The basic fields of the SCO are title, description, metrics, resolution, assessment, and disposition. The title is suggested by the originator and is finalized upon acceptance by the configuration control board CCB. This field should include a reference to an external software problem report if the change was initiated by an external person such as a user.

The problem description includes the name of the originator, date of origination, CCB-assigned SCO identifier, and relevant version identifiers of related support software. The textual problem description should provide as much detail as possible, along with attached code excerpts, display snapshots, error messages, and any other data that may help to isolate the problem or describe the change needed. The metrics collected for each SCO are important for planning, for scheduling, and for assessing quality improvement.

Change categories are type 0 critical bug , type 1 bug , type 2 enhancement , type 3 new feature , and type 4 other , as described later in this section. Upon acceptance of the SCO, initial estimates are made of the amount of breakage and the effort required to resolve the problem. The breakage item quantifies the. Upon resolution, the actual breakage is noted, and the actual rework effort is further elaborated. The analysis item identifies the number of staff hours expended in understanding the required change re-creating, isolating, and debugging the problem if the change is type 0 or 1; analysis and prototyping alternative solutions if it is type 2 or 3.

The implement item identifies the staff hours necessary to design and implement the resolution. The test item identifies the hours expended in testing the resolution, and the document item identifies all effort expended in updating other artifacts such as the user manual or release description. Breakage quantifies the extent of change and can be defined in units of SLOC, function points, files, components, or classes.

Manual back office processes create wasted time and frustrated staff. Difficult to use systems decrease utilization and make it even harder to accurately track time and expenses.

Without accurate project history and solid project management underbidding proposals is likely to happen. And hits your bottom line hard.

EVX gives you the visibility you need to track and manage projects that are unique to environmental consulting firms.

Project tasks and reporting help you stay on track and understand where you are on the overall project. EVX helps you automate back office processes to save time and increase process adoption. Get more accurate tracking, faster and make managing expenses easier. Increase confidence in your project bids with accurate project histories. EVX gives you the ability to accurately track projects so you truly understand what it takes to complete a project.

In general, the following capabilities should be present in software development management software:. Instead, we will focus on a select few which seem to be the most popular as of the writing of this document. It should enforce a disciplined approach to software development without requiring the organization to abandon processes, techniques, and approaches that work well or provide a competitive advantage.

Then, given all of these products have a free trial version, take these products for a test drive. Actual use by a team on a product is the best way to determine which product to select. See the feature list for each application below.

The following charts show all available features for each of the project management software applications reviewed in this document. Superior Consulting Services SCS is a Microsoft Gold Certified technology firm providing innovative solutions that enable our clients to solve business problems.

We use Microsoft products and tools to provide custom solutions to small- to medium-sized businesses in the Twin Cities, as well as large companies in the area and across the U. Email: scs teamscs. Contact Us. Stages of the System Development Life Cycle There are seven primary stages of the modern system development life cycle.

Feasibility or Requirements of Analysis Stage Gathering specific details for the system. Design and Prototyping Stage Design of the user interface, system interfaces and network storage or database requirements. Software Development Stage Developers will write the code to satisfy the requirements.

Implementation and Integration The software is integrated into its final environment and the software begins to be used in production. Also, other changes may be proposed which might require modification of the software which will go through a miniature version of these outlined phases.

Responsibilities of the Project Manager Project management is an important function in the software development process. The primary duties of the project manager are or should be as follows: Plan and develop the project idea. Create and lead the development team. Monitor project progress and set deadlines. Solve issues that arise. Facilitate and manage stakeholder and developer interactions.