Essay Collection 2010

Abstract:Project management is relatively new issue. Its handling began intensive since creation of the first nuclear bomb which was created by US army. Actually it was the first official project. Project management is very comprehensive issue. In project management it is not always straightforward which way or method is the most appropriate in problem solving. In this essay I give you my opinion about one part of project management. To be more specific it is about management of human resources. I discus about a question if it is, or it is not necessary to use support means in the project management. I express my opinion on when I would use support means a when I would not. It is not my goal to convince reader that my opinion is true because the answer is very subjective. I leave the answer to the reader and his intuition. In the introduction I describe some of the support means to provide partial view on problematic to the reader.

Abstract:Plans surround us during whole life, whether we know it or not. Software projects tend to be quite comprehensive, therefore planning is essential. Software crisis has been named together with creation of software engineering and it survived up to this day. Many projects are delayed or completely cancelled nowadays. There are several factors which influence software creation process and one of them is poor planning. Planning could fail in several ways as well. I describe here consequences which are united with bad planning or not planning at all and on the contrary I highlight benefits of planning. Next I summarize bad practices in project planning and last but not least I focus on schedule’s psychical impact on people.

Abstract:A software solution development process consists of more periods. With analysis, design and implementation of a software product, testing together with quality cannot be missed out. It is a common point of view that testing is a simple or unnecessary activity, that doesn't demand any special knowledge. However, with growing complexity grows number of errors in development process. Therefore, it is vital to find suitable methods and techniques that would improve measuring or ensuring of quality of the developed software. This is the reason why I describe importance of testing as an independent part of a software project development process. Does testing ensure quality or just misleads developers about correctness of their product? Next, I look on effects of underestimating the importance of testing during the development, cost of correction and I describe possible problems that can occur during the testing process and when to stop testing. Finally, I compare organization of testing in large team to team of 6-7 developers.

Abstract:Software development requires an enormous amount of time, effort and money. It is important not to underestimate the risks associated with it. It is essential to identify risks as a threat at the beginning. The next step is an attempt to eliminate some of them and to mitigate most of their effects. There are many projects which vary in scope and number of people assigned to them. Risks which are real for small projects may not be threat for large projects and vice versa. In the essay I describe different risks and the need to deal with them in specific projects. Some risks are critical and we need to take good care of them, other are less important. But ignoring even one risk may sometimes result in disaster and failure of the whole project.

Abstract:For people, who are interested in evolution of software project, is basically the most important to be successful. Due to this fact is necessary to define different kindsof criteria’s. According to fails criterias it is possible to evaluate the momentary situation of workson development project. It is necessary to evaluate this criterias regulary and afford them to the managers, who will force the project if there’s any abnormalitt. It is also important understanding of reader to necessity of correct representation of given criteria, the wrong evaluation leads to the situation, when it is necessary to rework the project from the base point, what in better case costs too much time and financial sources. In worse case it is possible to end the project. The main purpose of this essay is to inform the reader with principles of monitoring project, and its influence to the managing and planning the software project. The essay also pointed out of differences in criterias, that are used by small or big companies, that are concerned with evolution of software project.

Abstract:Some purpose is hidden in every human action and it’s called motivation. Software development teams and other human teams contain various types of individual personalities. Good personality analysis is tool to create tailored motivation for each team member. One of the objectives of managers’ work is to achieve maximum team productivity and quality of its product or process. Therefore, team members have to be well motivated. In this paper I am focusing on various ways of team members’ motivation and discussing how the motivation depends on the type of personality, according to Mayer’s-Briggs personalities’ classification. I analyze some personality types to set the best way of motivating them. Last but not least I discuss the effect of human over-motivation.

Abstract:Communication is an inevitable part of each team project. Any communication medium has its advantages and disadvantages in using in team project. First of all, in this essay paper I discuss about disadvantages of these means of communication. My intention is to show how to avoid making common mistakes in communication and how it can be more effective by using appropriate communication medium. Secondly, based on the results of real research, I extent these advices in two more directions. Based on the results I can point out common mistakes and problems in communication in novice team programmers. And finally I’m comparing communication in team project and distributed teams.

Abstract:Software project managers are challenged to accomplish many tasks to make their software project successful. Some of them are effective task and human resource management. There are many tools created for this purpose. They are able to make these processes easier to do and make software project more organized. Even though many of them are quite effective in what they do, project managers are sometimes required to use more than one. This essay is aimed at characteristics of these tools and their impact on big and small software teams. I also discuss alternative methods of task management and time effectiveness of their usage in teams with different sizes not only from manager's view but also from view of other team members.

Abstract:Nowadays, nearly any activity needs planning, from huge building projects to the smallest everyday activities like travelling to work. It is applied to software projects as well, where planning is indeed an essential factor. Thus, it is important to have a good plan; nevertheless, it is more important to use it. In this essay I show my personal point of view and also the view of plan-making team to the problems of creation and fulfilling plans of software projects. I also assess the suitability and flexibility of some well-known methods of plan making in respect to their repeated usage with plan update. Lastly I devote to an interesting method of planning of two plans, that effectively allows creation and maintenance of plan and in brief I will show my view to plan as a living entity.

Abstract:Quality of software product plays very important role in software project. If we say quality, we often mean how we keep client requirements and client specification. In this essay I deal with different kinds of follow client requirements using different kinds of methods. First of all, I debate about the definition of testing and about its purpose. I note advantages and disadvantages of different kind of methods and strategies of testing. I point at basic testing principles and I debate about their importance. I mention problems that can occur during testing or why the testing sometimes fails. I also add my experiences with testing on different projects.

Abstract:The risk management is a tool of identificating risks, which follow all projects. Characterization and specification of all individual project is brought other risks. Occupy oneself with these risks is often disputable. In this article I treat of financial costingness and potential losses, which projects of any complexity levels and extensity bring to. Also I separate projects by environment, where it is developed and developer's failures. The mentioned differences project is seen in terms of management and enhance the validity of risk management. I confront the financial and time costs of identifying and analyzing risks of losses that may arise from inadequate or neglect management. Essay includes assessing the risk of the project, the need for risk management and the scope for different types of projects.

Abstract:The success of team software projects, but also projects in general, does not depend solely on the knowledge and capabilities of respective team members yet from their temperament and personality. A wrongly assigned task can lead to catastrophic consequences for the whole project, vice-versa proper division of tasks is one of the prerequisites of a quality product. In this essay I present a standard division of personality types according to the Myers & Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), their relationship to individual activities in team work and their preferences, whereby I focus on the difference between work on large software projects and the small ones. More detail is dedicated to small team projects and the allocation of tasks and roles between individuals on the basis of their personalities. In the end I introduce a proposition of the division of roles in the team of which I am a member on the basis of results of an MBTI test.

Abstract:Testing is part of every project, whether small or large, software or even not software. It is underestimated by many people and in many cases is testing on the last place in creating a software product. When it is so important, let’s ask a question. Why it has so unflattering label with the word „Irrelevant!“? In my opinion, especially small projects are pushing the testing on the sideline, resulting in a waste of time spent on the project. Do not test small project! When someone says this sentence, he is not worthy working on any project. Every small project can hide a secret place, which may be very important in its core. In this essay I will point, that the testing of any small project makes sense and I will try to get him rid of label "Irrelevant!". I also explain that testing of small projects is not to prolong the process, but in many cases it saves the whole project.

Abstract:One of the natural human beings’ properties is the ability and willingness to group into societies. The development team is one of such a societies as well. It is actually one of those, which do not rise naturally, but on the basis of some requirements. Correct team building and selection of individuals is very important for it’s ability to work and cooperate properly. Essay is about correct team formation. It shows off the importance of answering many questions before the team composition itself. Duration of the project, it’s difficulty and targets. Answering these questions goes hand in hand with choosing the right employee with the characteristics needed and expected. Every one of us is unique, every one of us has different needs and therefore influences the team integrity. This makes it necessary to compose a balanced group of people, not only considering the professional aspect, but the psychological one as well. Some problems that may occur as a result of bad team composition are pointed out in the conclusion along with possible solutions and team building options.