Being the project manager at a software development company, I often have to deal with the requests like "I want to do this app for a fixed price, can you do it?" or "Could you tell me a precise cost of my project?". Moreover, clients asking these questions may have just a brief idea of what they want to implement and they may not be sure about all the details of their project, however, they need the answer.
The only way to handle such situations is to introduce a clear process which lets us deliver a software product that meets technical requirements and at the same time achieve desired time / cost outcomes. Basically, this brings us to the necessity to find the right balance between the constraints faced in every IT project: scope, schedule and cost. This is also known as the Triple Constraint or the Project Management Triangle.
When managed properly, it can become a triangle of success for your business venture.
Project managers (PMs) each year face challenges to bring projects through to a successful completion. The year 2015 will be no different from in years past as far as this is concerned. Trends for this year within this field will include a continuation of some of the same tools popular in 2014, but with a bit more emphasis on other tools and innovations. Project managers as usual will need to be flexible enough to embrace these trends where necessary to improve their success rate. We provide you with some of the trends we see being important in the following information.
Project management is all about taking an idea, a future product or a future service and turning into the product or service it was planned to be.
How can you do this?
You can do this by using various skills such as leadership, communication, planning skills, time management, risk assessment and negotiation skills. You have to take the idea, the project, and make sure you negotiate the terms of delivery very thoroughly, so unexpected requirements won’t appear along the way.
Then, you need to be able to evaluate it in terms of time and resources. If you are a project manager in the IT industry, you will have to be able to reach an affirmation like this: ‘To be able to deliver this project I will need 6 developers, two quality analysts, one business analyst. They will work on roughly 400 tasks which will be done during 24 sprints.’
Also, a very important aspect of project management is the ability to predict risks, bottlenecks, and, last, but not least, motivate the entire team in order to deliver the project in a timely manner.
If you are already working as a project manager, at least once during your career, you might’ve reached a moment when you thought you need to take your project management strategy to the next level.
During this article, we’ll go through aspects that might help you get over this resistance in your career and turn the situation into a support for the development of your career.
When you come to a software development company with app ideas, you’ll be assigned a project manager.
Let’s go through some particular responsibilities of the project manager and see why you need a professional when creating your app.
Brainstorming with your IT project manager is a way to find that uniqueness and let it bloom, since a professional PM can offer insights based on experience acquired over the years.
A good IT project manager knows their way around all parts of the development process and can mitigate risks, add valuable opinions, and research the best options for a successful start.
The reasons vary: you can have an “AHA!” moment when perfect ideas dawn on you that you just know will propel you to the top of the App Store charts; there might be a shift in the market when a new player enters your segment; a new technology might be released that’s just what your product needs; testing by you and your development company might bring unexpected results, either good or bad.
Control at every stage is the only way to manage unexpected issues and implement changes without missing deadlines.
