Software Project Management: Setting the Context
This chapter is designed as the introduction to the book. It provides the motivation for studying software project management as a response to the increasing variety of software development methodologies. The chapter characterizes software projects and pr
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Software Project Management: Setting the Context Gu¨nther Ruhe and Claes Wohlin
Abstract This chapter is designed as the introduction to the book. It provides the motivation for studying software project management as a response to the increasing variety of software development methodologies. The chapter characterizes software projects and presents ten knowledge areas in software project management. This body of knowledge is described in the software edition of the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK). The chapters of the book are classified in terms of their contribution to these knowledge areas. The chapter also discusses the multidisciplinary nature of the project management discipline. Based on some predicted trends for the future of software engineering, a prediction on the future of software project management is given. Finally, an overview of the content and structure of the whole book is presented.
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Motivation
The world is continuously changing. Software and software-intensive systems are among the key drivers of this trend. The speed and magnitude of all these changes is breathtaking. What would happen today if any of the existing telecommunication, health-care, financial, or logistic systems were not performing securely, safely, and reliably? The rapid growth in technology in combination with the strong dependence of products and services on software raises the demand on managing the development and evolution of such systems. G. Ruhe (*) University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada e-mail: [email protected] C. Wohlin Blekinge Institute of Technology, Karlskrona, Sweden e-mail: [email protected] G. Ruhe and C. Wohlin (eds.), Software Project Management in a Changing World, DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-55035-5_1, © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2014
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G. Ruhe and C. Wohlin
Project management is one of the youngest, most vibrant, and most dynamic fields among different management disciplines. According to the PMBOK, project management is the “application of knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to project activities to meet the project requirements” (PMI 2013a). Project management is accomplished through the application and integration of 47 logically grouped project management processes divided into five process groups: initiating, planning, executing, monitoring and controlling, and closing. Software is a direct product of the cognitive processes of individuals engaged in innovative teamwork. Many of the procedures and techniques used in software project management are designed to facilitate communication and coordination among team members engaged in an intellectually intensive work. Software development is often characterized as a learning process in which knowledge is gained and information generated during the project. Dealing with people and conflicts, team building, knowledge sharing, and communication will be the determinants of good project management. Software project management deals with software projects and the challenges of human-based development (as opposed to the more deter
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