I would like to learn what tools there are and whether you have positive or negative experiences with them. For me important features are Nesting of tasks within tasks calculation of effort summaries across task hierarchies dependencies between tasks resource allocation Gantt or other timeline view I stumbled across OpenPROJ and it ...
We have Product Backlog in an Excel Spreadsheet that we also commit to SVN, so everyone can open use it and update to latest version. The problem we have is: How do you enable Excel spreadsheet to be simultaneously used by many people and not override each other's data. Some kind of merging data? Is it at all possible? We would like to...
What are the challenges of transition a team in a corporate atmosphere from a traditional non-iterative, spec list, gantt chart, phase dependent team to a more iterative approach? Moreover, what was a successful way to gain acceptance with other groups while using a newer development strategy? ...
Our software development department currently consists of a project manager/chief architect, a few developers, and a DBA (as well as some support/helpdesk staff.) We're looking to expand and formalize the roles/positions of the team members as well as bring on addition members. What roles do people feel are essential, ie: absolutely ne...
As I am just learning about Scrum, it seems to me that for part of an iteration you may be a chicken but then become a pig when it comes time to do your part. Then go back to being a chicken. Is this correct thinking? That your stake in the iteration will change during an iteration? if not how does that work? because when software is bui...
I am a PHP developer, and I often have no idea in terms of days--let alone hours--how long something will take me at work. I am often writing new stuff, merging it with old legacy crap. I can tell my boss what week I will likely have something done--and maybe what half of what week--but I how in the world am I to know specifically what d...
Hiya, I'm looking for a book that tells you how to split up a software (or anything; doesn't have to be software-specific) task or project into discrete chunks, and helps elucidate all the issues and nuances that aren't apparent when you just start programming. Should I get a book on use cases? If so, what? What I'm looking for is a b...
Hi, Here are my two questions: I am now learning to manage my code with CVS, and I just want to make a repository for my C++ files, Makefile and bash and python scripts only, not the object files and executables. So I made several subdirectories under my project directory: src, bin, scripts, results and data. I put C++ files and Makefi...
I've done most of my coding on smaller projects for myself and classes, and this summer ended up working on a fairly large project. For reference, I'm working on a web app using Zend Framework, and I'm working with one other person. I started working on it in May - at the time, there was a lot of code already written (pretty sloppily)...
Hi all, My boss worked for a big company where V-model and Rational Notes are used. Now I am working for him and he really don't like TRAC which I am using. For him, it's too simple, it has no idea of a "project", it doesn't have clear separations of "Requirement analysis -> System Design -> ..." So he asked me to find some new tool...
Whilst browsing through answers on SO I came across something that is, in my view, one of the more frequent software development management misconceptions: "[software development] plan is a reasonably detailed description of all the activities you need to undertake". Hence the question: what is good software development plan? Can it be ...
I work in a small shop where we have a LOT of legacy Cobol code and where a methology has been adopted to allow us to minimize forking and branching as much as possible. For a given release we have three levels: CORE - bottom layer, this code is common to all releases GROUP - optional code common to several customers. CUSTOMER - optio...
When asked to estimate and/or while reading my coworkers estimates they often read something like this: Make new ############# page with feature ############## - 8 hours Create new ########## control - 21 hours Solve bug in ######## module - 15 hours I think that when the estimate for a single task is more than 5 hours you should str...
Simple question. Let's put on our engineer/project manager hat for a second: You have a large project and you will have several different developers working on different parts. You have a solid functional spec and are ready to start figuring out your implementation. You want to practice Test Driven Development. Assume you will be given...
You are working with someone in one project and this someone writes bad code. Not that bad to fire him ar you can`t work with it, but person do not follow coding conventions code is not always covered with unit tests (and it should be) code is sloppy and do not have comments where it should have them person do not know design pattern...
What would you say are the development tasks for any given project? Say you are handed a functional spec for some sophisticated asp.net form to implement; what are the formal steps from specification to release? I mean something in the spirit of: Get functional spec Identify business objects Create Flow chart Create data chart 5 ... C...
I have finished developing the core of a web application I have been working on. Since I was the only developer I just developed locally (lamp stack) without using version control (probably stupid but anyway..). Now that it is getting close to production ready, I have a couple other developers working with me so I set up a repository f...
I have heard the phrase: "Good, cheap, and fast: pick two." For programming projects is there usually a "best two?" ...
When you get a description of some project that should be made with Drupal, and requires some extra-functionality (beyond core and most popular modules), how do you decide how're going to do it? Do you spend a day or two (or week?) searching for all possible modules, narrowing down the list? What is the cricial point to start writing o...
A group of us are starting a new project and are working in a distributed fashion. Our intention is to use agile development methodologies and in particular Extreme Programming (XP). This is intended as a learning experience, but while some of us have experience with XP in a "traditional" team none of us has experience doing XP with a re...