Business Case Project Report

8/10/2019 Business Case Project Report

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The Quality Software Solutions Case


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Table of Contents

Page

A. Background 1

B. Issues and Problems 2

C. Alternative Courses of Action 3

D. Recommendations 4

E. Implementation Steps 4


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The Quality Software Solutions Case

A. Background

Quality Software Solutions (QSS) is a small software development organisation involvedin the design and development of library information systems.

It was founded in the early 1990s and enjoyed some success and expansion, doublingits staff from 15 to 30 personnel between 1995 and 1998, with plans to recruit additionalsoftware developers.

Early in 2001, as a direct result of the slump in the software development industry, QSSwas forced to retire 10 of its employees. Since then however, the company has beenable to nurture and grow its customer base. Because of this, QSS hired 15 staff on acontract basis.

At this time, QSS plans to recruit an additional 15 software developers, some of whichmay be on a permanent basis. The majority of these new hires are expected to haverelevant experience, also it is also planned to recruit a number of recent graduates.

QSS approach to project execution

The company is made up of three project teams; each one devoted to a separatesubsystem of the product. An independent test team has recently been formed.

Success in meeting deadlines and delivering quality product has been mainly due to thecommitment and experience of a core group of staff who have been with the companysince its inception.

Developments during the last four months

Development during the last four months had a major impact on the operations of QSS.These developments include:

The resignation of two experienced project managers, who were both on contract, forpermanent positions elsewhere.

The pirating by other companies of five skilled QSS software developers forspecialist development roles.

Experience with Version 3.0 of the Library Orders Subsystem

The development of version 3.0 of the Library Orders Subsystem encountered thefollowing difficulties:


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There was an overrun of three months. Team members had to work an average of16 hours each week just to finish their work.

There is no record of actual time spent by staff in each activity.

B. Issues and Problems

1. Responsibility for the quality of the work done by the three teams responsible forcreating the library information system is limited not to the entire project but to thesubsystem that they are assigned to handle. While this "assembly line" approach hasits merits, team members do not have the opportunity to gain the experience ofhandling all aspects of software development. Thus, when a resignation occurs, agap is created, forcing inexperienced staff to fill a position that he is ill-prepared tohandle.

2. There is no clear career path defined for each staff. It is possible for a staff to bepromoted to a higher position even without the necessary requisite training on project

management. An example of this scenario is the assignment of a team leader whohas very little previous exposure in project management to the handle the position ofproject manager because the incumbent manager suddenly resigned.

3. Roles and responsibilities are not clearly defined for project activities. As a result,two significant activities were "forgotten" until near the end of the project. Five peoplehad to give up their weekend to complete these activities.

4. There appears to be no guide for team members to follow to handle and manageprojects. Indicators of this problem are as follows:

- A company template for software requirements was never used, because new

staff were unaware of its existence.

- A number of requirements that were identified during the requirements phasewere never implemented, as they were omitted in error during software design.

- During system testing, it was identified that an incorrect version of software hadbeen tested. The correct version was re-tested, delaying the project by two days.

- An error which had been found in Version 2.0, but fixed in Version 2.1 andsubsequent versions, reappeared during early testing of Version 3.0. This wasquickly rectified.

- Just before release, a significant error was found and tracked to a particularmodule. The person who developed that module had not used the codingstandards, and had left the company 4 months earlier. It took two developers 2days to correct the problem, and a further day to re-test the module.

- An incorrect version of software was shipped to one customer, causingconsiderable embarrassment.


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D. Recommendations

In instituting improvements within QSS, a holistic approach is recommended. Thismeans that improvement initiatives are made on the basis of improving the entire systemand not just a part of it. Using this approach, the following is recommended:

1. Consider restructuring the QSS organization so that a matrix type of arrangement isattained. This means that every time a project is made, a set of experts andspecialists are assigned to it so that their combined expertise are brought to beartowards its successful completion.

2. When undertaking project, all stakeholders, from top management down to the codewriter, should be involved and their views taken into consideration. This creates anenvironment of taking responsibility for their actions, reducing finger pointing whenthings go wrong. Also, a Steering Committee should be formed to provide direction,guidance and approval to all aspects of the development of projects. This SteeringCommittee will be the court of last resort that will arbitrate any issues that cannot beresolved at lower levels.

1. Design a management and technical training program that will be the basis forpreparing all staffmembers for the next position. This should enable staffmembers tohandle new projects based on experiences gleaned from actual case studies.

2. Initiate the preparation of an Operations Guide and adopt a conscientious effort toimplement and adhere to it. With this guide, QSS staffmembers and managersshould be able to:

prepare realistic estimates and plans.

track costs, schedules and functionalities

follow design standards that are agreed upon

E. Implementation Steps

To implement the above recommendations, we suggest the following steps:

1. Organize an Implementation Team who will be responsible for monitoring andimplementing the reorganization as well as the preparation of the Operations Guide.

2. Organize a Steering Committee composed of top management and selectedmembers of the Implementation Team and responsible for providing direction andapprovals.

3. Implement the reorganization effort.

4. Brief everyone on the new way of doing things.5. Assign teams to prepare the Operations Guide. Also assign someone the

responsibility of overseeing its implementation and updating.

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Business Case Project Report