Question

ASSIGNMENT:

Answer the following questions:

1. What are the reasons that IT projects fail after listening to the podcast? Describe the reasons and impact. What experiences have you had?
2. List and describe “soft skills” needed in managing projects. Why is each important?

Answer 1

Poorly Defined Requirements - Requirements not clear - project scope has to be clearly defined during the initial phases of the project

Failure to create Minimal Viable Product : Lean model requires to develop a minimum viable product after lot of prototype iterations. Failure to analyze the product design that meets customers expectations is critical.

Periodic Results Measurement - Gathering metrics at different phases of project development and thoroughly analyzing them is critical . The metrics will give the direction of product development.

Performance Reviews of Employees - Employees form the core of product development. Having good understanding between the business and technical teams is critical to develop the products that brings out good high yielding products.

Customer Needs to be in the loop - Every smaller product functionality release we need to have customer looped in for the release and continuous feedback of the project. The direction or strategy should be changed if customer is not satisfied with the project.

Soft Skills Required -

1. Good Communication skills - effectively understand and communicate between business and technical teams

2. Being Humble - Arrogance should not be tolerated in high yielding teams . Being humble and helping colleagues in place of distress is important.

3. Problem Solving - Data structures and algorithms is critical for developing customer centric applications

4. Conflict Resolution - Difference in interests leads to conflicts. Sit down and talk to your colleagues to understand each other at personal level will go a long way through.

5. Adaptability - Try to learn from others and keep growing individually and also as a team.