Process Improvement / Recommendations in Software Development Project(s)

Process:

A
process is no more than the steps and decisions involved in the way work is
accomplished.

Process
Improvement:

“Process
improvement” means making things better. Below are some Process Improvement
factors:

Requirement Gathering- Recommendation

Involved
Subject Matter Expert in requirement gathering meetings.
Record
all the meetings for future reference.
Sending
understanding document to client and get clarification is good practice.
Send
minutes of meeting to all the attendees
Analyze
and notify client if any requirement can not be achieve due to technical
limitations.
Reverse
KT/ Playback adds advantage in terms project of better project
understanding

Estimation- Recommendation

Very
rough order of magnitude is good enough initially in place of detailed estimation
Define
clearly what need to be estimate
InScope
and Out of Scope should mentioned clearly.
While
doing estimation, we should take suggestions from the Developer/Tester or
any technology expert.
Risk and
Assumptions should be clearly mentioned in the estimation.
Tasks
can be divided into more granular level. Calculate the efforts/time
required at granular level.
Clearly
mention that any risk/delay involved with third party (if any) to be taken
care by client only.
Well
defined resource plan
Mentioned
Hardware/ software dependency.
Identify
the critical points in your schedule. Include dependency
It is
good practice to have estimation by project stage (kickoff, Pre-Baseline,
Baseline, Build phase)
Estimation
should be reviewed by two level hierarchy.

Development- Recommendation

Functional
Specification document should be signed off before starting development.
Database
Project and VSTF should be configured for the project.
Write
Pseudo code and get reviewed by senior developer before writing any
SP/code
Apply
code reusability that reduces development efforts.
Follow
standards for coding. A standard code is easy to review and understand.
Use the code
review tool for code optimization e.g FXCops
Refer
any existing project having similar features. It will help us to
understand implementation
Always
log all the efforts into VSTF.
Daily
Sync up call
Daily
Status report should go to Onsite Manager/Team and clients.
Daily
Database Backup to avoid any data loss required for Development.
Proper
unit testing will reduce lot of bugs at development stage, it reduces test
efforts.
Provide
standard drop note/ deployment guide to test team with build.
Developing
the documentation for QMS, this includes quality manual, processes,
working instructions, forms, templates, and checklists and base lining.
Conduct
the periodical audit to discover the potential issues.
Conducting
regular (at least monthly) process focused meetings with all key process
area members to ensure steady progress
Management
should encourage the developers to do Certifications based on their
Technical skills.

Test – Recommendation

Testing
cycle should start with the study of Client’s requirement.
Create a
document / list of all possible scenarios before writing test cases.
Include it into test planning.
Keep
developers away from test environments.
Keep
track of bug fixing time taken by development team. Keep informed about
the time remaining for regression testing to relevant stack holders.
Tester
should try to understand the logic behind the screen and try to break that
logic.
Use the
appropriate tool for testing is added advantages for test team.
While
doing test execution, a code review will be helpful to understand the
process.
Reusing
existing test cases from repository is a good practice.
Encourage
the testers to do ISTQB certifications to enhance their testing skills.
We
should have well planned test execution time to meet project deadline.
Establish
a defect prediction model in the project using Six sigma, CCM5
methodology.
Always
do the BVT after deployment.

Build and Deployment – Recommendation

Review
Drop note and Deployment guide. Escalate in case of any issue.
For any
deployment, Rollback process should be mentioned in the deployment
document.
Take
Backup of all the existing items before deployment.
Verify
access to required servers and file share.
Always
send notification to the required team in an automated way.

Project Execution – Recommendation

Lead/PM
should have thorough knowledge about the client requirement
Onboard
the team for project based on technical/Management/Personal interview.
Conduct
trainings for the team to meet technical requirement for the project.
Establish
process roadmap for project execution with clear responsibilities and well
defined control points.
Managers
should utilize leadership, project management trainings and certifications
conducted by the organization.
Follow
the Quality improvement model in the project – CMM5, Six Sigma ISO, IEEE
Strictly
follow the sign off process.
Ensure
timely participation of all the team members in the daily/weekly status
meeting.
Identify
and set the project priorities.
Conduct
the post implementation audit.
Post
mortem meetings must be planned after every release
Encourage
and keep motivate the team member for their work.

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