What is Software Project Management (SPM)?

Did you know that with project management practices in place, organizations have achieved a 92% success rate, implying the significance of harnessing project management competencies?

Now, it is your time to discover how project management skills in the realm of software engineering can streamline the process of creating, managing, and implementing software.

In this detailed guide, we examine the challenging aspects of software project management, including their various forms, characteristics, and top methods.

What is Software Project Management?

Software project management is a subset of project management that specifically oversees the planning, scheduling, resource allocation, execution, tracking, and delivery of software and web projects. By utilizing project management tools and skills, managers strategically plan, schedule, execute, implement, and monitor software projects.

Besides creating a timeline for a project, SPM largely focuses on managing and allocating resources associated with the project while keeping budget limitations under consideration. The ability to face and successfully tackle curveballs while working on developing software across several stages is what makes SPM a crucial approach.

Types of Management in SPM

Managing software projects demands an understanding of various management approaches to handle the special problems and risks associated with software projects. We will look into some important management types in SPM:

1. Conflict Management

Conflict management in SPM refers to the art of conflict resolution, which requires the strategic use of relevant skills, policies and tools to manage disagreements respectfully. By implementing skills like problem-solving, effective communication and active listening, managers can address and effectively resolve any conflict that can potentially hinder organisational processes.

2. Risk Management

Managing risks is very important in managing software projects. It includes spotting possible dangers, evaluating their likelihood and potential effects, and creating plans to reduce or remove them. Risk management in any project demands responsible entities first to evaluate such risks and then create impactful solutions that are economically optimized and efficient to evade them as much as possible. While risk evaluation might not always help avoid them, managers are also responsible for strategising to limit/ mitigate their impact.

3. Requirement Management

Managing requirements includes gathering, writing down, studying, and ensuring the needs for a software task. It ensures that those working on the project clearly grasp what stakeholders are hoping for and that the developed software matches these expectations.

4. Change Management

Change management refers to a compilation of efforts required to naturally align a team with any change introduced in the project management cycle. These changes could range from new tools, technologies and processes to any additional goals provided by the client or stakeholders. For effective change management, project managers are required to develop strategies for a smooth transition of such changes within the project’s scope.

5. Software Configuration Management

Software configuration management is about handling and controlling different versions and setups of software parts during the development process. It makes sure that the project team knows well what stage the software is in and can manage changes and updates successfully.

6. Release Management

Management of releasing deals with preparing, timing, and overseeing different versions of software to give it to the final users. It makes sure that this software reaches the necessary level of quality, undergoes thorough testing, and gets passed on to those who use it in a streamlined and effective way.

Phases of Project Management

The process of software project management is facilitated using a strategic segmentation of a project. These segments are then identified as different phases, which demand individual attention for error-free execution. Besides being broadly classified into two groups- Engineering and Production, these groups further comprise four other phases.

Let’s decode these phases to grasp the software project management life cycle comprehensively.

1.   Engineering Phase

The engineering phase comprises a small, less predictable team that establishes a project’s primary objectives. This may include tasks like setting the baseline architecture, designing, planning, setting timelines, and navigating technical feasibility.

Let’s see how the engineering phase is further divided into two phases.

a.    Inception Phase:

The inception phase establishes a project’s overall goals, costs, and estimated timeline. It clarifies the ‘whats’ and ‘whys’ of different tasks, developing a clear understanding of each aspect and why it plays a critical role in the SPM process.

b.    Elaboration Phase

As the name suggests, set goals are evaluated under elaboration phases, which oversee the creation of an executable architecture prototype. The phase further requires the team to analyse relevant use cases to gauge the efficiency of the architecture and to assess any potential risk.

2.   Production Phase

The production phase comprises a series of dynamic steps where the remaining features are finally integrated into the software after in-depth application testing. This phase plays a key role in the SPM life cycle since the application under production is thoroughly evaluated against various eligibility criteria to analyse its quality under practical implementations.

a.    Construction Phase

The construction phase oversees the strict assessment of software elements along with their accurate implementation. This helps tackle any risks in its Alpha or Beta version while cutting down on potential costs associated with the product.

b.    Transition Phase

A project enters the final phase of an SPM life cycle, the transition phase, after its quality check is accomplished and it is ready to be deployed. This phase follows a user’s perspective, running diverse tests on the product/ application to check if it aligns with the required quality standards.

Hereby, the SPM process finally concludes with the development of its most stable variant, ready to reach its end-user!

Features of Software Project Management

Managing software projects successfully includes many important aspects that help the project succeed. We will examine some of these crucial elements to decode the importance of software project management further.

➢  Planning

Planning is an essential part of managing a software project. It includes setting the goals, range, schedule, and resources needed to complete the project successfully. Good planning makes it easier for project managers to match the objectives of a project with their company’s goals and ensures everyone on the team knows which direction to take.

➢  Leading

Project managers are required to have good leadership abilities to encourage, influence, and guide the team working on a software project to its final objectives. Good leadership means making sure everyone knows what to do, helping people work well together, and giving help and advice when the team needs it.

➢  Execution

Carrying out the project plan means handling the team’s daily tasks and making sure everything goes as planned. It requires good organisation, clear communication with people, and problem-solving so that all parts of the project finish when they should, don’t cost too much money, and meet the expected quality.

➢  Time Management

Time management is very important in software projects. Project managers need to organise and handle the time well so that they can reach project goals on schedule and finish the work within the set timeframe. Managing time well means dividing project work into smaller tasks, guessing how long each will take, and watching carefully to spot and solve any possible hold-ups.

➢  Budget

Managing the budget is also a key part of managing software projects. Since project management takes up an average of 20% of the overall project budget, creating smart tactics to stay within the budget is essential to optimising project costs.

Project managers need to manage project money well, which means estimating the cost, deciding where to use resources, and monitoring spending so that the project does not exceed the set budget. To manage a budget well, you must report on finances often, take steps to keep costs under control and make early decisions to use the project’s resources best.

➢  Maintenance

Maintenance is a continuous part of managing software projects. It includes the management and support of the software application or system following its first launch. A good team that is focused must take care of fixing errors, making updates and improving the software so it keeps working well for the people who use it as their needs change.

This concludes our list of features required to make software project management successful. From navigating complex life cycle phases of software development to ensuring compliance with industry standards– the best results can only be achieved by carefully integrating the provided features.

If you wish to explore these features more deeply, check out the Project Management Tutorial to get started!

Conclusion

Managing software projects is an essential skill that greatly impacts the outcome of creating new software. When project managers learn about different management methods, important characteristics, and recommended practices for managing such projects, they can handle the complicated nature of developing software well and provide excellent-quality software products.

To further enhance your software project management skills, consider pursuing the PMP Certification or enrolling in a comprehensive Project Management Masters Program offered by Edureka. These programs provide in-depth knowledge and practical skills to help you excel in the field of software project management.

Frequently Asked Questions

1.   What is software project management?

Software project management means using project management techniques to ensure that software projects are completed as planned, within set cost limits and timeframes.

2.   Why is SPM important?

Software project management is extremely important for organisations to handle the difficult aspects and challenges of creating software.

3.   What does a software project manager do?

A software project manager plans, executes, and completes software projects. They also lead and motivate the project team, manage risks, and ensure project quality.

4.   What are the two main types of software project management?

The two main types of software project management include traditional project management, which is a fixed, predictive approach to project management, and agile project management, which is an iterative approach that takes place in small sprints.