Managing And Leading Software Projects

Too often those who develop and modify software and those who manage software development are like trains traveling different routes to a common destination. The managers want to arrive at the customer ’ s station with an acceptable product, on schedule and within budget. The developers want to deliver to the users a trainload of features and quality attributes; they will delay the time of arrival to do so, if allowed. Sometimes the two trains appear to be on the same schedule, but often one surges ahead only to be sidetracked by traffi c of higher priority while the other chugs onward. One or both may be unexpectedly rerouted, making it diffi cult to rendezvous en route and at the fi nal destination.