Workshop title: “Mature Software Project Management”

Mark Paulk

This seminar addresses the challenges, strategies, and tools for managing software projects. The seminar is structured according to the knowledge areas of the Project Management Body of Knowledge. Customer relationship management, decision making, earned value, critical path, critical chain, and agile methodologies will be discussed.

Effective project management is a prerequisite for meeting commitments, yet all too many software projects fail to meet customer expectations for budget, schedule, functionality, and quality. Many customers now require their suppliers to demonstrate their commitment to process improvement and quality management by using, or being certified against, various models and standards. Project management is a fundamental requirement to achieve Level 2 against the Capability Maturity Model for Software or to be certified against ISO 9001.

Effective project management requires more than implementing a set of basic functions, however. It implies selecting qualified people who can work together effectively, structuring decision making processes both internally and externally, managing customer expectations, monitoring progress, managing risks, and taking corrective action as appropriate. None of these are easy, although there are a number of tools that can help.

This seminar is therefore a broad survey of a variant of project management styles and techniques, as used in diverse environments. The perspective of the discussion is that of “mature” processes, i.e., processes that are well-defined, managed, measured, controlled, and effective.