Project management: the same yesterday, today and tomorrow? Please nooooo...

I can't think of a more depressing thought than that software project management never becomes more productive nor predictable. Ever since I was first on a team that faced "big software failure" I have been keenly interested in this dance. It's something bigger than the coding and the design, invisible and yet tangible in its effects. This is why the Jim McCarthy videos are so funny and poignant (21 Rules of Thumb for Delivering Great Software on Time, 1995). This was why I became involved in MSF in 1998.

Thankfully, the face of software project management is changing because practical methodologies are being integrated into the dev tools. Effective methodologies are just collections of good practices, but when they are adopted by teams and enshrined in tools, they can make a difference to the software crisis that Brooks talks about ("The Mythical Man Month").

While there will never be a world of extreme programmers and we still need far greater automation in software production, nonetheless tools like Visual Studio Team System (VSTS) are a step in the right direction.

This could have a positive impact on businesses that adopt it.

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Andrew Delin

...more on team processes and innovation at ProcessofInnovation.com