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As difficult as it is to buy the right software, you’d think they’d call it hardware. You need to be an expert in how to buy software. You need to know how to write a software specification. For every business there are many problems or needs that can be addressed. Technology will only be able to solve certain problems. For every one of those there are many technologies that will work. For every technology there are many more products or solutions of that technology. And, for every product or solution there are that many more vendors. How do you know if the vendor you picked is even going to have a product, a technology or a solution that can solve your problem and that it's the right problem to solve with technology? First you need to figure out which business problems need to be solved. Then you need to narrow down which of those business problems can be solved with technology. After that you need to determine which technologies are the right ones to apply to solve those problems. Only then can you identify the technology product or solution to address those needs. Don't even think about talking to a developer or vendor until you've done these steps. CMMI can be applied to small companies and in agile development environments and methods.You can achieve a CMMI level rating even though you use XP (Extreme Programming) or another Agile Development approach or method.Looking for help implementing CMMI? Need someone who will understand that 'your're different?' Looking for discipline in a lightweight environment? Entinex understands and can help you achieve your process objectives.Software development isn't manufacturing. So why do people keep trying to use manufacturing methods on software? Manufacturing QA doesn't work in software which is why so much software QA is so painful. Entinex has the solution. Don't let obsolete thinking about software processes intimidate you out of pursuing a CMMI level rating. Old-style thinking about software processes have not kept up with the times, but Entinex has. Entinex understands that you're in business not for the process but to make money selling software products, solutions, and services. Let Entinex help you achieve your process goals without breaking your bank or rhythm.
When Entinex works with a client, because we are not selling any software or technology, we can make suggestions that would seem self-serving if made by a software developer or product vendor. In the end, the client is more likely to be responsive to a project scope that is much larger than when proposed by the developer directly. Developers win because they get a bigger contract, a fully fleshed-out specification, and someone who knows how to prevent scope creep. Clients win because they get what they need and have an advocate for their expectations.

CONTROL CUSTOMER EXPECTATIONS AND REQUIREMENTS, AND PROJECT RISKS

 Would you like your software estimates to improve? Would you like to have predictability and consistency in your software projects? Wouldn't it be nice if you could forecast your capacity for new work and your sales effort? Wouldn't better estimates result in happier clients? Improving your ability to estimate software projects depends on your ability to produce reliable businss intelligence about your software development process. Reliable business intelligence comes from consistent data, and consisten data comes from consistent processes. Processes at the developer level must feed into processes at the management level in a meaningful way. This requires that management methods be defined independently of the development methods. There's a difference between management methodologies and development methodologies. Knowing this difference is the key to successful software process improvement. Management methods give software companies the ability to make management decisions and commitments internally and to customers. These decisions and commitments are made on the basis of data produced in a few key process areas. Without these processes, the data is unreliable, therefore, project predictability and success is only one project deep and doesn't fully contribute to the projections and success of the company.
Less than 3 out of 10 software projects succeed to come in on time, come in on budget, do what the customer wants them to do. Why should your software project be among the (more than) 7 failed projects? Over 50% of all failed projects over-run their budgets by 189%, over-run their Schedules by 222%, deliver an average of 60% of what the customer wanted. In other words, customers paid twice as much, waited twice as long and got half of what they expected. The common theme is that NONE ever had a reliable estimate in the 1st place. The odds are against you. Most software developers and their clients have no means of accurately estimating the software project, predicting the outcome of projects or ensuring project success.
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If there weren't any requirements there'd be no risks... or projects for that matter!

Requirements Management

Get a handle on knowing whether what you are building is what you've been asked to build. 

Make sure you are testing what you built and didn't miss anything or aren't trying to test something that wasn't required.  See what the impact of a change is to your system before you build it in.  Better yet, show your client what the change will cost before you let them agree to it.  Manage your estimates based on how long you know certain requirements take to complete.  Be able to hand your projects off to subsequent teams and maintenance personnel and have them know exactly what to do.

Risk Management

Don't shove problems under the rug, they only get bigger under there. 

Have an effective means of identifying, tracking, and resolving your projects' risks.  Risk is a necessary reality of any worthwhile project.  Having a risk is not a danger, but not knowing about it or not doing something about it just plain "working stupid" (see where that comes from).  Let your risk management program be a standardized way of making sure project leaders know where and when to place resources.

 

Entinex has a comprehensive and well-priced Service Package which includes training and on-going consulting support that may be appropriate for your company.

 

 

  
Did you know that your technology project has an 80% chance of failing? Do you know what to do to improve those odds? Do you know what to ask your software developer or vendor to make sure they know what to do so that the project you're paying them to do doesn't fail?
Would you like your software estimates to improve? Would you like to have predictability and consistency in your software projects? Wouldn't it be nice if you could forecast your capacity for new work and your sales effort? Wouldn't better estimats result in happier clients?

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