Assignment

Imagine that you have recently finished your MBA and have a company that has entered the arena
of Project Management. During your interview, you are told that project management is not
something that the company has always done. In fact, the company began as a retail software
design company. As the company grew from small to medium-sized, it became apparent that they
needed to employ Project Managers to help their clients rollout the use of their software and not
leave the PM to the client. As their newest hire, you have been asked to create a proposal for the
management team to consider the installation of a bonfire Project Management Department. Your
duty is to prepare a concise (about 2-pages) proposal addressing the value of robust project
management approach will bring to the company. Be as concise as possible and ensure that at least
three key benefits are clearly emphasized.

Introduction

In order to give the company comparative advantage over the competition, it is necessary to
implement the principles of project management. This is particularly important when it comes to
risky markets where it is particularly important to stand out. If a company can deliver a product or
service on time for an agreed price, we can often predict whether the product will be successful on
the market or whether it will get the next deal. In order to demonstrate the importance of
establishing a project management department in the company, it is necessary to define what
software companies do. „Computer software developers and computer programmers design and
develop software. They apply the principles of computer science and mathematics to create, test,
and evaluate software applications and systems that make computers come alive. Software is
developed in many kinds of projects: computer games, business applications, operating systems,
network control systems, and more“(Watt, 2014). Software developers use project management
skills for several causes which I will explain briefly.

Developing the requirements for the software

Given the competitiveness of the modern market, more and more software development companies
are relying on project management to remain competitive and deliver their products on time with
appropriate quality. Software product developers are beginning to rely on project management and
healthy software engineering practices to take their products out into today's competitive market.
Project management deals with the initiation, planning, monitoring and control of activities
necessary for fulfilling all phases of the project and submitting reports of their status to project
stakeholders. The software development process deals with the technical aspects necessary to
complete the project or product. The process itself must take into account many things: functional
and technical specifications, analyses, databases, standard book, testing and maintenance, and
quality assurance in the lifespan of the software. In order for everything to go according to plan, it
takes joint work of engineers and project managers for each of them to do their part.

Identifying and tracking the product development tasks

Although engineers are familiar with the order of tasks when creating software, changes and
unforeseen situations may occur during the development process. In this case, team members who
know what risks they face and how best to deal with them are needed. Project management also
includes addressing changes and reducing risks to avoid major business disruptions and unexpected
costs. This is especially important for companies that don't just work on one product at a time. There
are multiple approaches to project management, and it is up to the project manager to choose the
optimal one.

Communicating within the development team and with clients

There are no successful projects without successful communication and this is where the role of
project manager comes to the fore. „A communication plan plays an important role in every project
by: Creating written documentation everyone can turn toSetting clear expectations for how and
when updates will be sharedIncreasing visibility of the project and statusProviding opportunities
for feedback to be sharedBoosting the productivity of team meetingsEnsuring the project
continues to align with goals“ (LaPrad, 2018).

Test cases

Testing is one of the most important parts of the software development lifecycle. Although
sometimes more engineers work on the brass parts of the test, the project manager has to see the
whole picture.

Manage quality, the schedule, and resources (staff, equipment, labs, and more).

Project managers are almost twice as likely to deliver products on time, according to research (The
Value of Project Management, n.d.). Where a project is answered to managers, managers meet or
even exceed expectations % more often than when they respond directly to an investor.

Conclusion

Organizing a new department is demanding, both temporally and financially. But in companies that
have exceeded micro sizes or are no longer start-ups, forming a project management department
can bring great long-term value to the company. To sum up, the project manager, or the project
department, management has been in management of the project from the initial phase to the
delivery of the product and is a vital part of the project. It is not enough just the existence of a
department or a person in charge of project management. Mutual consideration of all project
participants and mutual cooperation is required. It is the only way the project can end successfully
and on time.

References
Ulf Eriksson. (2016, March 31). What Test Managers Should Know About the Software
Development Life Cycle | ReQtest. ReQtest. https://reqtest.com/testing-blog/what-test-
managers-should-know-about-the-software-development-life-cycle/

The Value of Project Management. (n.d.).

https://www.pmi.org/-/media/pmi/documents/public/pdf/white-papers/value-of-project-
management.pdf?v=893cecac-1fec-4ea9-b855-7b80aab3213b

Watt, A. (2014). Project Management. BCcampus Open Textbook project. Licensed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Unported License.
LaPrad, L. (2018). How to Create a Project Management Communication Plan | TeamGantt.
Teamgantt.com; TeamGantt. https://www.teamgantt.com/blog/project-management-
communication-plan
The Importance Of Project Management For Software Development. (2020, August 3).
Orases. https://orases.com/the-importance-of-project-management-for-software-
development/
Luba, E. (2002). Successful project management for software product and information
systemdevelopment. Pmi.org. https://www.pmi.org/learning/library/pm-software-product-
is-development-1079