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Copyright © 2011 Polarity Automation Ltd.            Registered in England.               Number 06356776.

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+44(0)1403 791794
Email
info@polarityautomation.com
Delivering Embedded Software Solutions


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ADDING AN EFFECTIVE EDGE TO YOUR SYSTEM CONTROLS

 











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Contact Polarity Automation to discuss your requirements today
Phone 01403 791794
Email
info@polarityautomation.com
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Polarity Automation can either manage your complete software project or work with your existing engineers and managers to review, advise or lead a particular aspect or aspects of a project.

It is important to involve the project team in the planning process, and this can be done with a project kick off meeting, outlining the project definition, and obtaining the team’s feedback.

Polarity Automation can assist your company in the planning process by looking at the following areas:
Assign Responsibility
Assign each task to a team member and then have them report back at the next project meeting on the feasibility, risks, resources and time frame for each one. This information will be collated by the project manager and presented to senior management at a planning phase review.
Planning for Risk Management and Control
Identify risks, for example:
Lack of test tools
Data loss
Technical challenges
Software virus
Assesses the risk level
Risk level is rate of occurrence multiplied by impact of event
Risk Avoidance, Reduction, Retention, and Transfer
Decide which category a risk is in, and then create your plan according to the risk level.

Avoiding a risk simply means not doing an activity.
Examples can be: not flying the whole software team together in the same plane or not changing to a new operating system 2 months before a new product release.

Ways of reducing risks, for example, can be by installing a configuration management system, which would greatly reduce the potential for losing work, also another example is the use of anti virus software.

Retention of risks means living with the problem should it occur. In other words the impact would be minor and cost of it absorbed by the organisation.

Transferring a risk may involve bringing in a sub-contractor or outsourcing and hence shifting the responsibility.
Software Development Life Cycle Models
Decide on the best model for the situation. Iterative methods such as Agile or RUP, have the advantage of providing feedback as to the state of the project and its progress earlier on and at regular intervals compared with a Waterfall method.
Produce Time and Resource Estimates
It is notoriously difficult to obtain accurate estimates for software tasks; often this is due to the fact that a task is rarely a repeat of something that has been done before. If you are following an iterative release method then any errors in estimating, indicated by either a loss of quality or an overrun on time, will become apparent much earlier in the project life cycle. The best practice for producing estimates is to use all the relevant historical data available, to ensure you are working from a detailed requirements document and to account for all aspects in developing a change.
Types of Plan
Software development plan
This is usually what people mean when they talk about a project plan and it describes how the system will be developed. It usually takes the form of a Gantt Chart.
It includes:
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Project organisation - people and roles
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Risk analysis - what are the key risks?
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Hardware and software resources - what is required and when?
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Work breakdown - activities, milestones, task dependencies
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Project Schedule - estimated time required, allocation of dates
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Reporting and progress measurement - monitoring mechanisms 
Quality assurance plan
Specify the quality procedures and standards to be used.
Test plan
Define how a client will validate the system that has been developed.
Configuration management plan
State how the system will be configured and installed.
Maintenance plan
Define how the system will be maintained.
Financial Plans
All projects have to be concerned with financial plans.

Resource Allocation
Ideally you should be looking for the best match of skills with the task, but also take into consideration personalities, aptitude.
Technology
As a project manager it is important to understand the technology being used, rather than relying on engineers at the coal face, as they may not have a view of the bigger picture.
Tools and Environments
Are the best tools for the job available? What development environment is to be used? Are the engineers’ PCs adequate? Will an operating system upgrade be required? Are there sufficient test rigs?
Transition of Product to User
Will engineers need to be assigned to assist with installation? Will special installation documentation need preparing? What about training classes for users, which may also cover maintenance? Is there a need for support contracts to be prepared?