Software Project Tasking and Multi-Task Portfolio Management

Dr. Richard Bechtold
President
Abridge Technology

Concepts:

There is a well-known general correlation between the size, duration, and complexity of a software project and the resulting risk of project failure. That is, larger, longer duration, more complex projects are typically far more likely to fail. To address this issue many software organizations are moving towards increasingly smaller projects. However, this introduces the problem of ensuring that project management overhead for the increased number of projects does not become excessive, and yet also does not become insufficient on any particular project or task.

This presentation addresses this double-challenge by describing how to systematically transition your organization from a traditional large software or IT project mindset and approach, to a flexible and responsive multi-task portfolio management approach. Basic principles for software task portfolio management are discussed, and task prioritization is explained. Key techniques for effective multi-task portfolio management are presented, challenges are described, and techniques are provided for overcoming those challenges. Finally, recommendations are presented for ensuring that your portfolio management approach remains compliant with the Software CMM, the Acquisitions CMM, and applicable CMMI requirements.

Outline:

• Motivation for reducing software project size
• Size and cost
• Size and duration
• Size and complexity
• Size and likelihood of failure
• Basic principles of software portfolio management
• Cost
• Schedule
• Complexity
• Development risk
• Deployment impacts
• Sustainment impacts
• Expected value
• Near term
• Long term
• Techniques for task prioritization
• Development-centric
• Market-centric
• Mission-centric
• Success-centric
• Techniques for transitioning to multi-task portfolio management
• Start small
• Incrementally build the portfolio
• Focus on early and rapid success
• Collect reusable metrics
• Improve predictive capabilities
• Regularly reprioritize the portfolio
• Periodically rebalance the portfolio
• Issues and challenges related to portfolio management
• Significant diversity in task size
• Temptation to skip important phases on smaller tasks
• Potential confusion regarding management authority
• Task Technical Lead
• Task Lead
• Task Manager
• Multi-Task Manager
• Multi-Task Portfolio Manager
• Achieving consensus
• Techniques for successful portfolio management
• Leverage quality frameworks
• Software CMM
• Acquisitions CMM
• CMMI
• Systematically migrate towards a system-of-systems environment
• Design systems for ease of retirement and replacement
• Technically decouple systems
• Technically decouple tasks
• Maximize reuse of task management processes, techniques, and support material
• Maximize reuse of task management performance data
• Manage the portfolio as a set of existing and potential investments

Learning Objectives:

• Understand the motivation for reducing software project size
• Learn basic principles of software portfolio management
• Learn techniques for task prioritization
• Learn techniques for transitioning to multi-task portfolio management
• Identify issues and challenges related to portfolio management
• Learn techniques for successful portfolio management

Biography

Dr. Richard Bechtold

Dr. Bechtold has over twenty years of progressive experience in the development, management, and improvement of complex software systems, architectures, processes, and environments. This experience includes all aspects of organizational change management, process improvement, process assessment, process definition and modeling, workflow implementation, and managerial and technical training. Additionally, Dr. Bechtold works with both industry and government in the performance of Software Capability Evaluations, contractor process maturity monitoring, software process improvement, and acquisition process improvement.