Risks in software development
Risks in software development: how to cope with them?
Any project for the development of mobile applications is associated with certain risks of varying degrees. Risks may vary depending on the nature of the project, but in general they can be divided into 5 categories:
1. Budget: the risk of exceeding the allocated budget. Perhaps this is the most common mistake in software development, which entails other errors.
2. Personnel: the risk of loss or shortage of project team members. Even if this problem does not last long, it can lead to errors and delay.
3. Knowledge: a team can have only narrowly focused knowledge, or it is incorrect to transfer information among themselves. In this case, team members have to relearn, which leads to additional expenditure of effort, time and resources.
4. Productivity: this risk most often threatens long-term projects. A large amount of time sometimes leads to slow and unproductive work.
5. Time: When developing software, delayed product releases are very common, which is the result of improper planning, extremely tight deadlines, and the inability of developers to adapt to changing requirements for the product.
Methods of risk management in dynamic software development.
The method of dynamic software development takes into account most of the above risks. However, even in a flexible development environment, no one is immune from them: the risks arise from design team errors, inappropriate planning, disruptions in the workflow, and unexpected changes in the process of working on a product. Let's look at ways to manage these risks.
1. Budget
Solution: “Oncoming Wave” Planning
The goals and objectives for software development can change in the process of its creation, and in order for the product to remain viable, you must be able to adjust to possible changes. For this purpose, there is planning the method of "incident wave". Teams make decisions on the product as work progresses, instead of developing a detailed action plan at the very start of the project. Effective decisions made on the basis of new knowledge about product development, reduce the likelihood of risks associated with the budget, as the team does not need to spend time and resources on re-planning.
Nevertheless, at the beginning of work it is very important to draw up a budget plan that will take into account all possible costs of the project. Many companies underestimate the cost of developing functional software and make some mistakes in calculating the budget.
2. Personnel / Knowledge
Solution: split developers into small groups
The ideal team for software development is several groups of 10-12 people who jointly plan a project, share experiences with each other, perform code verification and work together on a task from beginning to end. Developers should have the maximum amount of knowledge that helps to solve problems related to both staff and the risk of lack of necessary knowledge. Also, the team should have the opportunity to freely perform work in the event that one of its members is temporarily absent or left the team.
3. Productivity
Solution: sprint based development
Sprints are short-term development stages in order to create a demo version of a product within a given time frame (1-2 weeks). They serve to indicate the correct goals and objectives for the project teams and allow you to see the intermediate results of the work. This gives developers confidence in the correctness of product creation, and allows you to adhere to the desired speed of the task.
4. Time
Solution: proper organization of the process
Errors due to lack of time may arise due to improper planning of the work process or excessive confidence in its successful flow.
The process must be flexible so that developers can quickly adapt to changing requirements, have the ability to quickly deliver the revised product to the customer, and can accurately determine the amount of time it takes to complete a task.
All of these methods can help development teams better manage time and reduce risks when creating software to a minimum.
Any project for the development of mobile applications is associated with certain risks of varying degrees. Risks may vary depending on the nature of the project, but in general they can be divided into 5 categories:
1. Budget: the risk of exceeding the allocated budget. Perhaps this is the most common mistake in software development, which entails other errors.
2. Personnel: the risk of loss or shortage of project team members. Even if this problem does not last long, it can lead to errors and delay.
3. Knowledge: a team can have only narrowly focused knowledge, or it is incorrect to transfer information among themselves. In this case, team members have to relearn, which leads to additional expenditure of effort, time and resources.
4. Productivity: this risk most often threatens long-term projects. A large amount of time sometimes leads to slow and unproductive work.
5. Time: When developing software, delayed product releases are very common, which is the result of improper planning, extremely tight deadlines, and the inability of developers to adapt to changing requirements for the product.
Methods of risk management in dynamic software development.
The method of dynamic software development takes into account most of the above risks. However, even in a flexible development environment, no one is immune from them: the risks arise from design team errors, inappropriate planning, disruptions in the workflow, and unexpected changes in the process of working on a product. Let's look at ways to manage these risks.
1. Budget
Solution: “Oncoming Wave” Planning
The goals and objectives for software development can change in the process of its creation, and in order for the product to remain viable, you must be able to adjust to possible changes. For this purpose, there is planning the method of "incident wave". Teams make decisions on the product as work progresses, instead of developing a detailed action plan at the very start of the project. Effective decisions made on the basis of new knowledge about product development, reduce the likelihood of risks associated with the budget, as the team does not need to spend time and resources on re-planning.
Nevertheless, at the beginning of work it is very important to draw up a budget plan that will take into account all possible costs of the project. Many companies underestimate the cost of developing functional software and make some mistakes in calculating the budget.
2. Personnel / Knowledge
Solution: split developers into small groups
The ideal team for software development is several groups of 10-12 people who jointly plan a project, share experiences with each other, perform code verification and work together on a task from beginning to end. Developers should have the maximum amount of knowledge that helps to solve problems related to both staff and the risk of lack of necessary knowledge. Also, the team should have the opportunity to freely perform work in the event that one of its members is temporarily absent or left the team.
3. Productivity
Solution: sprint based development
Sprints are short-term development stages in order to create a demo version of a product within a given time frame (1-2 weeks). They serve to indicate the correct goals and objectives for the project teams and allow you to see the intermediate results of the work. This gives developers confidence in the correctness of product creation, and allows you to adhere to the desired speed of the task.
4. Time
Solution: proper organization of the process
Errors due to lack of time may arise due to improper planning of the work process or excessive confidence in its successful flow.
The process must be flexible so that developers can quickly adapt to changing requirements, have the ability to quickly deliver the revised product to the customer, and can accurately determine the amount of time it takes to complete a task.
All of these methods can help development teams better manage time and reduce risks when creating software to a minimum.