September 20, 2011 - This week, we continue our project planning theme by talking about overall project planning.
When planning your next complex, safety-critical embedded software development project, just remember that you don't need to do it alone. If you plan to use outside resources for development, those resources may also be able to help scope the project.
While you may have already scoped the work and figured the budget, have you thought through all project issues? Outsourced service providers can help with project discovery that could impact the statement of work. They may also be able to deliver a detailed basis of estimate (BoE) to help you get everything approved by management.
A BoE provides specific detail on the project work breakdown structure and estimators. It is based on past project metrics, coupled with up-to-date project assumptions. This is the best option for management justification and project success. Providing detailed justification is important to help management understand what they are getting for their money.
An accurate statement of work (SOW) is just as important to the success of the project. It can be tempting to limit the details in the SOW for the request for proposal (RFP), but the quality of the requirements correlates directly to the quality and satisfaction of project deliverables.
These are important tools to use, even if there is already a vendor in mind for the project. In a competitive bid situation, a detailed and accurate SOW helps ensure correct bids, so you and other decision makers can effectively compare bids from multiple vendors.
These tools also help prevent any future project changes, or “scope creep”, that can happen if initial project requirements aren't sufficiently detailed. If schedule or resources are tight, consider engaging an objective, outside consultant to help develop a detailed SOW.