Introduction to Managing Software Development

Introduction to Managing Software Development // Tech 401, Business 376
Peter Bell, Cto, PowWow
Wednesday, March 21st from 8:00 - 9:30 pm
Session I (3/14): How to Specify Software We all know what we want our software to do. But how do you communicate this to your development team? Maybe you're trying to write an effective Request for Quotation. Perhaps you've already selected a developer and you're trying to find a more effective way to get them to write the code that you are envisioning. Most of what entrepreneurs know about specifying software is woefully outdated, but there are best practices from the lean software development movement that can help you specify your software more efficiently.
In this session we'll look at proven approaches for specifying software quickly and usefully: to help developers to better estimate scope, to improve the quality of the software you receive, and to make sure there is a clear "definition of done" so you're not arguing with your dev team about whether they've met the spec or not at the end of the project.
Session II (3/21): How to Find a Great Developer It has been suggested that great developers are at least ten times as productive as average ones. In my experience, this contrast is even more stark. Beyond a certain level of complexity, many developers fail to deliver robust, maintainable software whereas other developers can keep extending and refining your code base as your business evolves. But how do you find a great developer - and how do you persuade them to work with you? Because great developers can't charge ten or a hundred times what their less capable brethren do, they are a rationed resource, always trying to find new ways to pick from a range of options available to them.
In this session we'll start by looking at how and where you should look to find professional developers. We'll then go through some of the other personalities you'll meet on the way to finding a true professional and some simple questions that will help you to determine the quality of a developer without having to know anything about writing code. Finally we'll look at "care and feeding" of developers - how to make sure they will decide to work with you, and how to keep them engaged and involved with your project despite the many other options they have. Session III (3/28): Managing Software Development You've written a good RFQ and found just the right developer. How do you manage the process of going from specifications to software as quickly and cost effectively as possible?
In this session we'll look at proven best practices for decomposing a project effectively, managing a development team, monitoring the success of a project and ensuring that your software meets your business goals within your agreed budget and timeframe. If you've ever wondered why managing software development projects is so hard, it's probably because you're doing it wrong. Learn how top entrepreneurs and project managers get the very best value from their software development budgets using principles from lean software development, eXtreme Programming and the broader agile software development movement. Peter Bell has helped start-ups and existing businesses to develop over four hundred web applications since 1996. He presents internationally on requirements and estimating and agile development and has been published in Information Week, Dr. Dobbs, Ieee Software, Methods & Tools and NFJS the Magazine.
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