Managing ConstructionManaging Construction

By Semirindi MakalaBy Semirindi Makala

Encouraging good codingEncouraging good coding

• Assign two people to every part of the project : If two people have to work on each line of code , you’ll guarantee that at least two people think the code works and is readable.

• Review every line of code.

• Require code sign-offs by the managing engineer.

Configuration ManagementConfiguration Management

• Configuration management is the practice of identifying project artifacts and handling changes systematically so that a system can maintain its integrity over time.

• To achieve this , we have to :• Follow a systematic change-control

procedure making sure that change will be considered for what’s best for the project overall

Configuration Management cont’dConfiguration Management cont’d

• Handle change requests in groups

• Estimate the cost of each change (time , revision of the code and retesting the system)

• Be wary of high change volumes because they often mean that the original product wasn’t well done enough to support effective construction.

Estimating a Construction scheduleEstimating a Construction schedule

• Establish objectives: Figure what you want out of the system/ software that you’re creating .

• Spell out software requirements by defining the requirements or plan a preliminary exploration phase before making an estimate.

• Estimate at a low level detail :

Estimating a Construction scheduleEstimating a Construction schedule

• Estimate at a low level detail :Depending on the objectives the more detailed your examination is, the more accurate your estimation will be.

• Reestimate periodically: Factors on a software project change after the initial estimate , so plan to update your estimations periodically.

MeasurementMeasurement

• Measurement gives you a handle on your software development process that you wouldn’t have without it.

• Here are some useful software development measurements

• 1. Size (Lines of code, comment lines, declarations, etc)

• 2. Overall quality ( Total number of defects, mean time between failures

MeasurementMeasurement

• 3. Maintainability :(Lines of code in each class or routine, Number of local variables used by each routine, etc)

• 4. Defect :( Severity of each defect, location of each defect, etc)

• 5. Productivity :(Work-hours spent on the project, work-hours spent on each class or routine, dollars spent per defect, etc)

Treating Programmers as peopleTreating Programmers as people

• Be aware that you’re dealing with a sensitive area : Don’t expect them to be perfect : software development is still going to involve bugs.

• Avoid setting rigid “rules” or “standards”• Have your programmers develop their own

standards : Don’t set your standards for your programmers , let them develop their own.

Managing your ManagerManaging your Manager

• Non-technical managers are common in software development , therefore you can help a manager by:

• Planting ideas for what you want to do.

• Educating your manager about the right way to do things.

Managing your Manager cont’dManaging your Manager cont’d

• Refuse to do what your manager tells you as far as the technical side is concerned and insist on doing your job the right way.

• Find another job.

Questions ?Questions ?