Essay Collection 2010

Abstract:This paper mentions some of the aspects of team project management, important for human resource management. Management is a complex activity, which is in different extent maintained during the whole existence of a project. First the management is understood as assigning tasks and roles to the team members. People without enough motivation tend to approach some task also in this kind of manner: “What I can do today, I’ll leave on after tomorrow and I’ll gain two free days.” Because of this fact management has a need for communication and control. The possibility to control the process and the finalization of assigned tasks is critical for planning and managing. In the end of the paper I discuss the environment for creation of a software project, which we have choosen for the work on our team project.

Abstract:More and more the demands on software development are growing, particularly demands on development time. From this perspective, it is an important part of planning because it consumes time allotted for the project. Performance planning is therefore a topical issue. Over time there were created a few best practices. They are variedly suitable for small or large projects. Is it really so important to plan everything and always? What effect would have an omission or simplification of this part? I will try to answer these and similar questions. Large-scale projects are not interesting in that context because it would be impossible to finish them without sufficient planning. The essay will thus focus on smaller projects and to assess to what extent it is appropriate to plan their course.

Abstract:This essay contains author´s personal view on the importance of quality management in software projects. Definitions of quality and quality management are introduced in the first place. The essay then discusses some of the most important activities of quality management and differences between applicaton of quality management in bigger and smaller companies. In the end, auhor explains why he thinks quality management is important to conduct.

Abstract:In genereal, among almost all human activities risk of failure appears. This is why it so important to define risks and prepare to solve potencional problems in advance, perhaps even avoid the risk. Risk analysis is one of important activities contributes to achieve sucessfull software project. It was proven that thoroughly made risk analysis make software project more effective. I would like to explain basic advantages of risk analysis in project development in this essay and so I want to compare its importance in bigger and smaller projects. I will apply the knowledge on software project beeing developed by Team 17 on FIIT STU.

Abstract:Tools and methods which allow us to continually monitor the quality of source code, user interface or performance has been developed hand in hand with the development of software engineering. However, those methods require initial investments of money and effort to be set up. The cost of those investments is the cause why so many projects are developed without them, despite the fact those investments are continually proved to be worthwhile. A question ‘why’ is raised. To understand the causes of this seemingly irrational behaviou and to understand what can be done to change it, we have to trace roots of those actions. We will show that decisions and processes, which are irrational and ineffective from the point of view of the entire project or company may stem from rational reactions of individua on given incentives. We will look into impacts of those decisions on the quality of a software product, it’s defect reate, maintainability as well as their impacts on planning caused by the lack of thereof.

Abstract:Strength of the team is in it’s members. Every single team, not only in software development is built from people, connecting not only their virtues. There are no two identical persons in the world – therefore building a working, succesful team becomes rather complex task with no simple solution. Right composition is fundamental influencing future of each team. There can be achieved healthy and productive atmosphere inside the team, also raise effectiveness of solving problems and grant cooperation without problems only by choosing the right composition. I will be writing about methods of human personality analysis in order to set team roles and define some basic types of human personalities in my essay. The goal is to set together a complete mosaics of the team – to recommend optimal composition granting effectiveness, maximal performance and minimize number of conflicts.

Abstract:Software projects consist of activities, means and people. Even with a huge rate of tolerance towards the word project it is hard to consider a simple software calculator as a project. It must be something of larger extent and complexity, something that involves more people than one or two. So as the individual components of the final product must cooperate, so it is necessary for the people who work on the project to co-work and communicate. The selection of the right form of communication and its manner, the delegation of responsibility among the members of the team and their observance is are important requirements for the effective development of a software and the minimization of collisions among the team members during working on the project, because time is not a negligible thing .There are various means that ease the communication in the team and they can save some time and in dependence on it also the financial resources that were spent on the development of the project. In this essay we will describe which means of communication are suitable for a small software team, how can information in the team distribute and which form is the best for clear communication.

Abstract:Currently, in the software development we commonly use various support resources to software development and support management of software projects. The rapid spread of software resources to support the management of software projects has created space for the dynamic development in the development of such tools. Today there are many different tools with different functionality, the implementation of user interfaces, focus, varying in price and licensing policy. When choosing a support tool, it is important to consider its contribution to the project to manage the project with its aid was counterproductive especially in relation to the waste of human resources to work with this tool. The essay describes a few selected instruments from various categories, focusing on their functionality and benefit to the software project itself, particularly in relation to the size of the project and it presents my views and insights gained from working with them.

Abstract:Every large activity needs to have multiple steps of planning. Planning is used not only in software industry, but also in every field of our life. There are many ways and approaches to planning, but their efectivity is in question. When we look at the area of software projects, some approaches are better than the other. Timetables have a significant role in all the types of the projects. One of the many ways, how to produce such timetables is using a gantt chart. It is not only a simple tool, but also a powerful one that you may use for your planning. But does the use of this chart provide only benefits, or are there also some disadvantages, which we should take into account and therefore revise using it?

Abstract:The following essay describes the general software project testing and the safety of the product, its functionality, behavior in certain situations. The project must be properly secured against unauthorized system access, data leakage or loss. It must be immune to the entry of unfair and incomplete data from the user. Furthermore, the essay focuses on various techniques for testing software product, characterized by a number of specific techniques. Also important is the project quality control, product with a lack of quality often needs unnecessary investment in the future. Nevertheless, the quality and safety of software products is not sufficient even today. The essay is guided by personal observations and opinions.

Abstract:Risk management is a common part of project management. There are plenty of international and industrial standards devoted to specification of this process and its documenting. Main goal of the risk control is to predict risks and to minimize the impacts of risk realization. First part of the essay aims at the elements of project risk management. This means, that I would like to go in for a description of identification, analysis and planning. However, I am mainly searching for practical mistakes in understanding of the risk management methods. Furthermore in this essay I bring reasoning whether there is any kind of time dependent change in project managers’ approach to the risk analysis process in bigger projects. As a resource that served me well, I used an interview with a project manager familiar with a long term project. Because of two different sources from two different worlds, this essay is somewhat more interesting insight into the project management realm.

Abstract:Main target of monitoring is supervising over the work of software team. It is used as a help tool for efficient project control. If the project isn’t shaping up as planned, manager suggests actions to fix problems. His incorrect verdict could have counterproductive effect, like for example inappropriate changes, development slowdown or too high resources consumption. Therefore it’s important to think about main principle, that monitoring should help speed up progress and not to be a burden. This essay discusses mainly about, what is needed to monitor, which methods to use and how does monitoring influence the final success or non-success of project. As main target of monitoring is to keep eye on project, team and workers’ progress, we will focus on methods of progress measuring.

Abstract:Every human has inside of him something called the type of personality. I am sure that inside of everyone of us there are qualities we are not able to discover unless there occurs a problem, which we cannot solve without them. Human qualities of a person are often seen when we first encounter the person. Therefore in this essay I would like to concentrate on the many types of personality, their division, and their influence on the whole success of a project in his various parts. Every human role in the project development is somehow specific and every personality is suitable for only some actions. My opinion is that a strong personality is present inside of all of us, but it is true that some abilities are natural and everyone of use has the talent to do something different.

Abstract:Most software projects are currently being developed by a team in which these team members must communicate with each other and exchange information. Each of the members must fulfill their role for successful finalization of the entire project. Many projects are time-limited and need to use effective forms of communication and dissemination of knowledge to complete the project as soon as possible the necessary quality. Much of the planning of communication in the hands of a project manager role is to coordinate the project and be kept informed of project status and relevant issues. There are many means of communication and it can help to develop the project smoothly. The essay discusses how to plan communication among team members, as well as means of exchanging information using support tools.