Essays 2007

Abstract:Tools for tracking issues, time worked, software configurations or source code versions are essential for good software team cooperation. These tools provide project state overview for project manager and necessary information for project planning. They also create an environment for effective cooperation of developers. In this essay, I describe requirements for various kinds of tools used in software development and explain their use on a real-world example. I mention experience with certain products obtained from various sources and add my own experiences from working in a commercial software company.

Abstract:There are many requiremets on software behaviour. One of most important is software quality. How to reach required software quality?. The main idea is to support software developement by using tests and quality metrics. In this paper I discuss the nowdays trends or methods for example unit tests, TDD (Test Driven Developement), IoC (Inversion Of Control). I will write my opinion about this methods and discuss advantages and disadvantages.

Abstract:The project has been scheduled in perfect fashion. We hold the best managers who supervise and monitor the project with respect to the given schedule. However, the problems and issues not covered in the schedule may arise and impose undesirable delay. What's our status? Is the planned completion of the project going to be put in jeopardy? In order to be able to answer preceding questions, the procedure for monitoring our project must be defined. One can extract suitable metrics to be capable to estimate the work that has been completed so far and to estimate what is still needed to be done. Then, the managers should be adapted for supervision and for the schedule as well. The question is: Are we going to monitor the project on-the-fly or are we going to let it flow by itself?

Abstract:Software industry is quite young, but dynamically expanding segment. Software managers have to handle with risks in whole process of software development. Each of them should know, how to identify them, prevent them and if they happen, try to minimalise loss. Otherwise has company not only financial or time loss but also might loose its customers. This essay tries to refer, what exactly the risk in software project is, what kind of risks could happend and how they could affected the project. Next are mentioned most often kind of risks and their basic categorization.

Abstract:A good plan is the base success of every software project. Essay begins with consideration above relevance and need creating the plan in generally. Begins with plan of human day and gradually comes to plan of software project. Discuss the nine deadly sins of project planning. Next I entertain with an idea of universal way how to create a plan and I represent step by step the way of creating plan that like me. At the conclusion I aim above the question on behalf of is the plan of software project is making.

Abstract:Everyone is individual and has his own specific qualities and imperfections. One of the most important tasks in building new team is to analyze hidden capability in each member of team. Every software team needs basic elements in human resource form with specific roles and authorities. Indeed, not everyone suits to any role. Good assessment of ideal team configuration can help to avoid problems and create optimal team. Unequivocal recipe for optimal team doesn't exist. The main purposes of this document are introducing this problem and try to help in finding our "dream team".

Abstract:It is natural that man facing a difficult problem tries to create a plan that could lead him to successful solution of that problem. Because solving of software projects is also kind of general problem solving, it is clear, that planning will find wide application in the area of software development. This essay will introduce reader to the problem of planning of software projects. Reader will be informed how can a good plan help him, how can a bad plan harm him and what should a good plan contain, so it doesn't change management of software project to a large amount of bureaucratic procedures, but it still contains everything necessary. In conclusion, reader will be informed about the fact, that plan that looks ideal on first sight, can also become a nightmare of every manager, if he doesn't take care of its fulfilling and actualization.

Abstract:Testing is an important phase of development of every software system, including object-oriented software development. However, testing of object-oriented software has its own special features, that testing of other software has not. This essay is concerned with importance of testing, different testing techniques and their possible advantages and disadvantages. Essay contains comparison of different testing strategies and approaches that are used by these strategies. Essay is concerned with testing of single classes based on their formal specification more in detail. In next part it is concerned with regression testing, its importance in the software maintenance phase and necessary assumptions for effective execution of regression tests.

Abstract:Information technologies provide many products and tools suitable for software project management. Choosing the one, which make this process much more simple and effective could be the key task. The main aim of this essay is to discuss properties which should be the part of these products and offer direction to ease the choice. This essay follows processes related to project management such as human resources, issue tracking, effective team communication, output interchange, project state visualization.

Abstract:Having your project watched over carefully is the very essence of having it done successfully. Therefore this essay covers the issue of monitoring a software project in various aspects. Non-conventional design solutions caused by changed customer requests in advanced stage of the project, complicated and unclear implementation elements can decrease the final project quality. That eventually makes maintenance very difficult. By having the project watched closely, checking its quality attributes and by reacting to arising problems in a flexible fashion you can avoid complications and premature project cancellation.

Abstract:Minimizing the failure probability is one of the most ultimate goals of every manager. It is importaint to realize the risks that can endanger our project in every stage and to estimate countermeasures that can avoid the risks or at least minimize the negative effects on our project's success. Many projects still fail and make obvious one fact - that risk management is not taken seriously by many companies nowadays.
In this essay I will try to describe several ways of managing risks that are being widely used today to analyze, plan and control risks. I will try to express my experiences with work on smaller projects in smaller teams.

Abstract:Every SW project, no matter how big it is, is usually solved as a team work. That kind of team includes more people connected with particular relations. This kind of group is called work group. Work group is only one from many social groups that people take part in during their lives. Every group comforts certain needs and has special meaning for the person. People in groups interact with each other and are related to each other. Social groups, especially work groups, help people to growth. This kind of personal growth is influenced by interactions and confrontations with other personalities in work group. Because of that is very important to think about the optimal composition of the team to prevent unexpected situations or even the failure.

Abstract:No doubt that evolution in software engineering tends to produce new systems by composing separate components. Nowadays, it is not a problem to find classes and class libraries in the Internet, freely available to everyone who wants to enhance the speed and decrease the costs of his project development. Author realizes that this medicine for many everyday problems might be illusionary and can result in unpredictable problems. The component quality as the measurement of its feasibility is described briefly. Document draws attention to need of the quality ensuring during whole design and implementation phase, while the focus is placed on unit testing as the most common and the most efficient way to do it. As the object oriented paradigm is considered typical for reusable software development, the automation possibilities of class testing and the code coverage is discussed in this paper.

Abstract:Software project management is a complex activity, which requires lots of resources during whole life cycle of project. Several kinds of support tools can be used in this activity, covering its specific aspects. This work attends to the use of support tools in small project and their effect to some project attributes. Author examines tools for creating schedules, tracking these schedules by tracking task accomplishment, and managing human resources. He tries to identify their effects to project performance and visibility. He also tries to identify some desirable functions of tools supporting communication and coordination for using them in small project. End of this work is dedicated to the need of integration of these tools, to risks which support tools can bring into project and their total effect to project success or failure.

Abstract:Department of Defense US (DoD) recognizes that risk management is indispensable process to project success. The objective of risk management is to minimize reification of risk or to minimize impact of risk's real reification. This essay doesn't introduce all processes of risk management but only offers a complex overview of two important phases that is phase risk analysis and planning. Analysis is a second and most important phase of risk management with the intent to answer the question "How big is the risk?" We don't only analysis risks but also analysis their effects or factors that can cause a risk. While planning is following phase of analysis with intent to answer the question "What is the project approach for addressing this potential unfavorable consequence?" Purpose of this essay is to help reader in effectively managing risks during analysis an planning phase. This essay also provides an overview and a classification of usual risk factors identified by experienced project managers.

Abstract:Essay deals about planning in software projects. As in other projects, so in software projects the problems of many kinds arise in time. In ideal case, the effort for their elimination should begin before the whole project starts by creating on of the basic parts - the project plan. The plan is supported by processes which define methods how to fulfill the plan. This work deals about decomposing the whole project into smaller parts which are easier to manage and track their progress. Created plan allows tracking how the work is going and helps to divide resources needed for achieving its goals. These sources can be on one hand financial and material, on the other human sources. Both of these have to be assigned into planned tasks.

Abstract:The importance and benefits of monitoring of software projects are discussed. Approaches for small and large scale projects are analysed and briefly compared, examples of existing systems are presented and conclusions are drawn.