Preventing Runaway Software

So the first step in preventing a runaway software project is: Make sure you know what you're supposed to do. That means you need to make sure you understand the problem sufficiently, so that you know if your solution will work. At Twin Forces, that means that the first thing we do is sit down with the customer and work with him to understand the problem. The better you understand the project, the more you can make sure that you're fixing the right problem, and the more you can plan around future problems down the road.

The next step is planning the project well to begin with. Frankly, that's just experience. We've done a lot of software projects, so we're pretty good at estimating when things will be done. Not only that, but in business its always best to underpromise and overdeliver. That is, we have the business sense to realize that we need to interface with other people, and its much easier for people to adjust for you being early, then for them to adjust for you being late. 2

New technology is always a problem, however, it doesn't have to be. The right way to integrate new technology is to integrate it gradually, a step at a time. Its rare that you really need to jump with both feet into a new technology. Generally, you can build something that works, then add a piece of the new technology. Once that new piece works, add another piece, and so on until you've fully integrated the technology. If you must add the new technology all at once, test that technology early in the project rather then later. However, to be honest, new technology is rarely a problem for us simply because we have the experience to know when and where to use new technology, not just use it because its "cool".

Bad project management and too junior of staff are generally not a problem for us because the principals are all quite experienced, and no employee has less then 6 years of experience.

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