s01_whyprojectsfail

8/22/2019 s01_whyprojectsfail

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Why do software projects fail?

Gilberto Pedraza Garca


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GOOD COOKING TAKES TIME. IF YOUARE MADE TO WAIT, IT IS TO SERVE

YOU BETTER, AND TO PLEASE YOU.

MENU OF RESTAURANT ANTOINE.

NEW ORLEANS


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Overview

Context

Software project problems

Mythical man-month

Possible solutions

Lessons learned


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Context

Software improving the quality lifeof people.

Software production is a verycomplex and expensive task.

The global software marketexceeds 541 billion dollars.

Software costs are composed for:

Direct cost related with its

production;

Indirect cost as training, installationand maintenance;

Hidden costs such as those caused

by faults.


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Problem

In 1995 a studyconducted by theconsulting StandishGroup found that

31% of softwareprojects were cancelled

53% challenged

Only 16% successful.

Failures in softwaresystems

Technology evolution


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Problem (2)

Source: Standish Group survey


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Not enough time

Deadline date is defined before the projects

start


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Lack of communication between the participants


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Insufficient budge for the project

Policy: lowest price

most successful

candidate


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The poor quality of software

Gap between software

engineering and software

management

Product oriented

No documentation

No project measurement


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A reactive management policy for defects

.


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Mythical man-month (1)


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Adding manpower to a late project makes it later


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Brooks' observations are based on his experiences at

IBM while managing the development of OS/360.

The mythical man-month

Brooks discusses several causes of scheduling failures. The most

enduring is demonstrating Brooks's Law:Adding manpower to a late

software project makes it later.

The second-system effect

When an architect designs a second system, it is the most dangeroussystem he will ever design


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The tendency towards irreducible number of errors

Any attempt to fix observed errors tends to result in the introduction

of other errors

Progress tracking "Question: How does a large software project get to be one year late?

Answer: One day at a time!"

Conceptual integrity

To make a user-friendly system, the system must have conceptualintegrity, which can only be achieved by separating architecture from

implementation


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Why is software project disaster so common?

1. Estimation techniques are poor & assume things willgo well (an unvoiced assumption)

2. Estimation techniques fallaciously confuse effort withprogress, hiding the assumption that men and months

are interchangeable3. Because of estimation uncertainty, manager lack

courteous stubbornness

4. Schedule progress is poorly monitored

5. When schedule slippage is recognized, the naturalresponse is to add manpower. Which, is like dousing afire with gasoline.


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Solutions

Not enough time Planning should involve project management

activities in addition to the activities of softwareengineering

Lack communication The software architecture is the tool to communicate

decisions that impact on the project and it is the siteto achieve the agreement of stakeholders and project

participants. The poor budgeting of the project

To identify and guide the planning with the functionalrequirements of the project.


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Solutions (2)

Poor quality

Documentation of project activities

Identification and definition of process

Monitoring activities Definition of metrics

Measuring process

Postmortem task to end each cycle of development

A reactive policy for defect management

Software costs decreases when the defects aredetected at early stages


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lessons learned

The process of software development is

complex.

Some proposed solutions can not bequantified and they are developed by people.

Devote more effort in planning offers more

chance of success in the project.

Future projects need to learn from past

mistakes.


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Questions

[email protected]

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