The 70% Solution: Practical Testing and Version Control
"What do you mean you need to push back the launch date?"
Says the CEO. Says the CFO. Says the user community. CTOs, CIOs, and all officers
who oversee major development projects have had to deliver the dreaded message.
But a deadline for the sake of a deadline is a dangerous pitfall that can consume an
entire project and stymie it to the point that it never launches. Over the years I've
come up with six simple rules that help deadlines become more meaningful, while
keeping the developers, the user community, the CFO and the CEO all satisfied. 1. Always have minor version control throughout development. Group functional
requirements into minor versions so that core functionality is prioritized and so that
the entire development team is generally active on the same minor version. 2. Always target minor version releases every 2 to 4 weeks. 3. Always begin testing immediately once each minor version is complete. 4. Always prioritize bug-fixing to the highest level upon the completion of any
testing. 5. Never allow a problematic functional enhancement to be a showstopper.
Negotiate
with the user community and the CFO or CEO for a delay in, or removal of, the
delivery of that functionality. 6. Always launch the product on time - as long as the most recent fully completed
minor version is functionally equivalent or better than the current production
system. Launch it, no matter how far you are from 100% complete. So I want you to launch an incomplete application?
Let's just call it "functionally challenged". This is what I call the 70% solution. The
deadline doesn't move and the developers deliver a fully tested, bug-fixed version
on time and within budget. This gives management the opportunity to evaluate
further investments into application functionality while reaping the benefits of any
developments to date. Don't blame the developers.
It's more likely a project runs over budget and over deadline because of optimistic
cost planning or scope creep than poor developer skills. Following these rules
ensures delivery of the best product the development team can achieve within a set
budget or period of time. Even in an environment where scope creep becomes a
factor, escalating requirements can be scheduled into minor versions so they never
hold back the launch of the "functionally challenged" application. Testing? Who needs testing?
So you didn't follow the six rules, you're past the code freeze date, and you're
supposed to be in final testing but there are still more things to implement. The
user community and the CEO want to know if you'll be able to launch on time
regardless. That's when it hits you- if only we could "streamline" the testing phase
we could still make it. Very bad idea. The cost of backing out due to insufficient
testing can cost more than the project itself. Recently I witnessed a botched
implementation of a customer service application that almost cost the company in
question its three largest clients-and millions of dollars. Work your mediation magic.
Application development managers have to be part negotiator and part magician.
They need to keep all sides happy, even if product expectations and budget
restrictions are in conflict. No one really wants the 70% solution, but everyone can
live with it. And when no one's 100% happy, you know you're probably doing it
right. Read more in Case in Point: "The Thursday Rule" Steve Pickard
CEO, Founder Working actively with Oracle since the early '90s, Steve has architected and
developed everything from large data-warehouses and decision-support solutions
to award-winning instant Web applications. Steve has degrees in Mathematics and in Management of Information Systems from
Ottawa University.
Before founding Pythian, Steve worked as
a consultant for numerous companies as well as the Canadian government. He
remains the key architect of Pythian's highly sophisticated internal applications and
business process systems.
Related News
|
 |
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Sharing the Reins: 10 Reasons To Sell Your Company To Your Employees
In 1987 I sold my business, South Mountain Company, to my employees (and myself). My sole proprietorship became an employee-owned cooperative corporation. It was a hinge point in the history of the company. Ownership has become available to all employees, enabling people to own and guide their workplace. The responsibility, the power, and the profits all belong to the group of owners.
What Consultants Want You to Know (But You Never Ask)
I've been both a CEO and a consultant, so I've seen from both perspectives what goes right and what goes wrong when a consultant comes in to a company. Generally the CEO or the manager who hires the consultant tells the consultant what he or she wants. Often the manager is frustrated with something that is happening at the company and expects the consultant will have the expertise to "just fix it". While the manager needs to set the expectations, of course, the consultant rarely gets to voice what he or she knows would make the consulting engagement more successful for both.
Creating Your Own Business Upturn - Powering Business Development
We all see it . . . business markets are trying hard but continue to be flat, easily scared, and "frozen in the headlights," - - - primarily maintaining, and definitely not building. Workforce attitudes suffer from a steady flow of negative global and economic events, career disappointments, and the constant threat of being laid off. Customers are struggling to identify their path forward, which in turn makes it even more difficult for any business to determine their own plans for the future. The fear of post Enron scrutiny on business leaders and organizations is ever present. When will the "upturn" come?
Why Do Managers Create Low Morale? Or Does My Bum Look Big In This?
Why do managers create low morale as a product of their management and what can we do about it?
Teaching Large Companies To Think Like The Little Guys
Q: I am an executive at a large company and in our industry we are seeing a trend wherein smaller companies are gaining market share at an alarming rate. Our CEO believes the reason for this is that smaller companies are more prone to innovation and more entrepreneurial than larger companies. He has instructed me to form a committee to study this trend and make recommendations on how we should deal with it. I'm an executive, not an entrepreneur. Any advice would be very much appreciated.
-- Name withheld by request
Effective Multi Cultural International Business Meetings
Of the many areas in international business where cultural differences manifest is in the corporate meeting room. International meetings are an area where differences in cultural values, etiquette, interpretations of professional conduct and corporate rules are at their most visible and challenging to control.
Performance Management Made Easy
Performance Management is a process that both employer and employee often fear!
7 Strategies for Sustained Innovation
The need for constant reinvention is a given in today's business environment. And while a breakthrough product or concept can catapult an organization ahead of its competitors, in these fast-paced times, that advantage is often short-lived.
What Every Manager Should Know About How to Maximize the Two People Inside
Every one of us, in reality, has two people inside: The person we are today and the person we can become tomorrow and in the future.
Focus On the Prize
People talk to me about making personal and professional changes in their life. I hear comments about how hard they think it will be, concerns about their ability to be successful, pressure on themselves to produce results, etc. The anticipation (what you imagine or assume will happen) of the experience can be daunting enough to deter a person from taking the first step! How often does the anticipation match the reality of what happens? If your thoughts and emotions are getting in the way of what you want, read on for 10 tips to get going and stay moving.
Implementation the Catalyst of Change for Management to Reach that Next Level of Success
From the personal and professional experiences of other colleagues and myself, one of the more critical success factors for management is implementation. Through my observations, I have discovered that people and organization spend a great deal of resources including time, dollars and the cumulative total of the energy generated from these efforts to create business or strategic plans. Yet, these very same costly plans languish in a manager's desk drawer or on an executive's shelf. The incredible inspiration power within these plans lay untouched because few individuals understand how to implement the plan.
9 Strategies for Writing Accounts Payable Procedures
The Cash to Cash Cycle
Part Four of Series
Innovation Management ? Producing Great Products, Motivation
Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation whilst innovation can be defined as idea selection, development and commercialisation.
Giving a Good Appraisal Interview
Although this performance discussion is an opportunity for you to discuss your employee's work during a given period of time, it is also, and importantly, a time for you and your employee to check perceptions and reach mutual understandings and agreements about the purposes and priorities of their jobs. This discussion can positively influence your mutual working relationship. For the performance appraisal process to fulfill its purposes, both of you need to actively participate. If you find that your ideas about the job are different from those of your employee, you should not be reluctant to encourage your employee to explain their perceptions. In preparing your employees to participate fully and productively, have them consider their job and their performance in terms of the following questions. Have them plan to provide feedback about what is going well and what could be done differently that would be beneficial for them and their job.
Why You Need a Business Plan
This article was originally called "Do You Need a Business Plan?"
Supplier Sees 53% Reduction in Out-of-Spec Orders Case Study
The goal of perfection is a challenge. It is often viewed as an expensive process requiring large investments. Yet one company has realized a 53% reduction in orders that have to be set aside for additional Quality Control checks. How did they do it? They used communication techniques - not capital outlay!
The Changing Boss-Secretary Relationship
THE CHANGING BOSS-SECRETARY RELATIONSHIP: Imagine a partnership at work. One member is outlining the agenda for the annual stockholders' meeting, the other is managing the logistics. The last decade has brought many changes to the traditional boss/secretary relationship. We now see powers and responsibilities delegated to "executive assistants" that only ten years ago would have been the sole province of the boss. And there has been a corresponding rise in the prestige and influence of those secretaries chosen to fill such positions. The fact is that fewer women are willing to be career secretaries.
Don?t Get Down ? Manage Up!
"Experience is not what happens to a man; it is what a man does with what happens to him."
- Aldous Huxley
Dont Sweat the Small Stuff with Your Credit Policy
Do you know how many customers you have that are past due right now? How many bad checks are sitting on your desk that you don't know what to do with? How many dunning letters do you send out a month?
Using Employee Opinions Effectively When Designing HR Programs
Using Employee Opinions Effectively When Designing HR Programs
|