Definitions
Product - an item produced by a process, meeting the requirements.
meeting the requirements - passing Acceptance Criteria associated with requirements.
Release - a finished Product that serves as a base for all client-facing versions.
Clients - Any team internal and external that uses released product that developers supposed to support.
Areas to cover before getting to project management
Product
- Requirements
- Are requirements immutable?
- Are order which requirements are getting prepared is comfortable to deliver?
- How are changes/updates made?
- Are changes reviewed by other teams?
- Tests
- Does our tests map to requirements?
- Do we divide our tests into phases?
- Are tests automated?
- How do we track defects identified in product?
- Responsibilities
- Do we have clear idea of responsibilities division between teams?
- Who sets the priorities/order of requirements to be done?
- Who checks and approves finished work?
- Visibility
- Do we have clear definitions of common terms used between teams?
- How do we track incoming work?
- What is our way of differentiating between different categories of incoming tasks?
- Where do we store Project Knowledge Base?
- How do we track delays/issues/risks raised, and have them addressed in one place?
- Development process
- Are requirements approved before being worked on by development?
- Does the team do only prescribed work?
- Is the team responsible for their work?
- What is delivery time to production?
Project
- Scope Management
- Is the project scope clearly defined and documented?
- Are scope changes managed through a formal process?
- Time Management
- Are project timelines realistic and achievable?
- Is there a schedule management plan in place?
- How are delays managed?
- Quality Management
- Are quality standards defined for the project?
- Is there a quality assurance plan in place?
- How is the product fixed post-release?
- Stakeholder Management
- Are stakeholders identified and their expectations managed?
- Is there a communication plan for stakeholders?
- Is there a process for managing stakeholder feedback?
- Risk Management
- Are potential risks identified and documented?
- How are the risks communicated across working group?
- Maintenance & support
- Is there a process for product maintenance and support?
- Are there documentation on product maintenance?
Workgroup
- Accountability
- What is the workgroup structure?
- Do teams have
- Communication
- What are communication patterns and channels?
- Do teams have their mailing lists?
- Meetings
- Is the agenda provided before the meeting?
- How well do the meetings follow the agenda?
- Are meeting minutes sent after the meeting?
- How are action items from past meetings tracked?
- Is scheduled time sufficient?
- Mail threads, Teams Channels, Chatgroups
- Do the threads refer to specific task id?
- Do we use mailing lists rather than addressing specific people?
- Do we use @’s when ping’ing people for response?
- Private Communication
- How much information on the project comes from gossip?
- Tools
- Task backlog
- Are all planned project tasks in one backlog?
- How often plan gets updated? Are updates properly announced?
- Do developers track and comment on their work progress?
- What channels are used for:
- broadcast/announcement-making?
- decision-making?
- status?
- requesting additional work or support? *
- Task backlog
- Team Dynamics
- Is there a clear understanding of team roles and responsibilities?
- Are team members collaborating effectively?
- Training and Development
- Are team members provided with necessary training?
- Is there a plan for continuous development of team skills?
- Conflict Resolution
- Are conflicts within the team identified and addressed promptly?
- Is there a process for conflict resolution?