How To Effectively Manage An Offshore Team Of Developers

There are probably two primary reasons you would go with an offshore team. (1) Your customers are also offshore, or (2) you're hoping to save money on development costs.

I'm going to assume your reason is number (2).  Though this post is brief for such a complicated topic, it should give you some things to think about.  Yes, you can certainly save a lot on development expenses. Then again, it can come back to bite you in rework expenses if there are communication issues.

How do you bridge the language barrier? (1) You need a go-to guy or gal who speaks the same language as your developers but will be working at your location. This is a must. Your probability for success is going to go way up by ensuring there is no breakdown in communications.

How do you receive the quality of code you need? (1) Use continuous integration (2) Use test scripts to understand requirements (3) Use short iterations (4) Have regular builds (5) Separate teams by functionality (not activity)

How do you communicate? (1) If you can afford to send/bring someone (an ambassador) over to work with the other team at the beginning of the project, do it. (2) It is critical that your "go-to" has a daily meeting with the team. Select a method that allows each side to see one another. (webcam/Skype) (3) Have everyone use Skype (VoIP) and/or a chat client for one-on-one communications. (4) Keep a Skype connection open between the offices. (5) Use wikis or other collaborative solutions for common project information. (6) Stay away from email, unless it is for formal communication. Information is going to get lost along the way and it will take longer to clarify.

Remember to use parallel communication methods, not serial.

Impress Your PMP Friends By Understanding SPI and CPI

Variance Charts

Are you studying for the PMP exam and struggling with the concept of Schedule Performance Index (SPI) and Cost Performance Index (CPI)? Are you just bored and want to impress your friends with your knowledge of SPI and CPI?  Well, I'm going to try to make it easy for you. To the left you'll see two charts.  Both are displaying variances on a monthly basis.  The first chart is displaying variances in thousands of dollars, both in schedule and cost.  The second chart is displaying the variances as they relate to a performance index.

Definitions and Formulas

• Earned Value (EV) - The estimated value of the work actually accomplished

• Actual Cost (AC) - The actual cost incurred from the work accomplished

• Planned Value (PV) - The estimated value of the work planned to be done [Chart 1 - Variance (In Dollars)]

• Scheduled Variance (SV)=EV - PV a NEGATIVE schedule variance is behind schedule and a POSITIVE schedule variance is ahead of schedule

• Cost Variance (CV)=EV - AC a NEGATIVE cost variance is over budget and a POSITIVE cost variance is under budget[Chart 2 - Variance]

• Schedule Performance Index (SPI)=EV ÷ PV You are progressing at __% of the rate originally planned

• Cost Performance Index (CPI)=EV ÷ AC You are getting $_____ worth of work out of every $1 spent

Practical Application

So, where does that leave us?  Your goal is to have a $0 (zero dollar) cost and schedule variance, resulting in a SPI and CPI of 1.0.  That would mean you estimated correctly, leading into your project.  Going into the PMP exam, you should know these formulas and how to calculate all of the above.  Here are a 2 simple questions you should be able to answer:

1.  Is a 1.3 CPI a good thing or a bad thing?  Why?

This is a good thing!  A 1.3 CPI translates to you getting 1.3 dollars of results for every dollar you put into the project.

2.  Is a 0.90 SPI a good thing or a bad thing?  Why?

This is a bad thing!  A 0.90 SPI translates to your project progressing at 90 percent of the rate originally planned.

Here is the moment of truth. What kind of question is going to be on the PMP exam?

Example Question: Based on the charts listed above, what would you be more concerned with, schedule or cost, if you were taking over this project from another project manager?

Answer: The answer is cost.  As of August, CPI is closest to 1.

Free COTS Package Evaluation Template

COTS Product Evaluation Template

At my last assignment, I was asked to compare 3 vendors and make a commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) product recommendation to the client.  The client knew their budget and products they wanted evaluated.  They didn't know if the product capabilities were all marketing hype or if the products would indeed meet their needs. When doing a product evaluation, I tell the customer they must help me do the following  [1] List the specific business requirement(s) that must be satisfied by the COTS package.[2] List the specific business data or information requirement(s) that the COTS package will need to support. [3] List the strategic and performance plans that must be met by the COTS package.  [4] List the practices and processes the COTS package will compliment.

By detailing the information above, it demonstrates the requester thoroughly understands their needs.

The customer must then answer 2 critical questions that will impact the total cost of the implementation:

[1] Does the COTS package need to be modified to work with current practices and processes?

[2] Do practices and processes have to be modified to work with the COTS package?

Some companies believe if you throw enough money at something, you can fix a problem.  Spending a lot of money on a product to "fix" a bad business process just means you spent a lot of money and still have a bad business process.

The last thing you do is create a capability matrix to do a side-by-side comparison of products.  Don't paint yourself into a corner!  Make sure you complete the Package Evaluation first so the details are available for others to review later.  Give your stakeholders the facts. Enjoy this free copy of my COTS Package Evaluation Template.

Free Total Project Status Report Template

TPS Report

As I study the collection and reporting of metrics and project statuses, I find many reports just do not deliver what they should. I believe there should be a stand-alone deliverable that a project manager is able to provide to a stakeholder at any time, illustrating the total project status.  I created a report and used the name "TPS Report" from the movie Office Space.  I try to interject a little humor into a project, where I can, without raising too many eyebrows.  Because I do not think I should keep all of the good stuff for myself, I hope others will download my free template.  It captures everything from overall project status to schedule, budget, scope, and quality, including a RAG (Red, Amber or Green) status.  What milestones were planned and accomplished?  What is planned for the next period?  Though I believe a subjective narrative does have its place in project reporting, I like the more objective approach.  Give your stakeholders the facts!Please enjoy this free copy of  my Total Project Status Report Template.

Did you learn your lesson?

I'm going to be facilitating a second lessons learned session later today. As part of the project closing processes, all project managers should collect and document lessons learned.  But, as many will attest, you need to be able to implement approved process improvement activities or you will just continue to revisit history at the end of each cycle or project.

Do you learn from your mistakes?  You should be able to at least be aware of them if you document them at the end of each cycle or project. Revisit them at the beginning of the next project or cycle.

Corrective Action:  Document your direction for executing future project work. Bring expected performance of the project work in line with the project management plan.

Preventive Action:  Document your direction to reduce the probability of negative outcomes associated with project risks.

Defect Repair:  Document a defect in a project component with the recommendation to either repair it or completely replace the component.

What is missing from a Cost Performance Report

I recall a very positive meeting where we exposed several non project management team members to a Cost Performance Report (CPR) for the first time. A CPR addresses project performance through a defined period of time in relation to contractual requirements.  The CPR details budgeted work scheduled and performed, actual cost work performed, and the variance in both schedule and cost.  All of this is itemized per Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) element for both the current period and the cumulative to date.  The last values you see are the budgeted, estimated, and variance at completion of the contract. There were a lot of questions as to why one WBS element has a positive or negative cost variance and why it may have a positive or negative schedule variance.  Trying to explain this to those without a project management background can be a challenge.

I was having a sidebar conversation with one team member who could not understand how the element that pertained to him could be both ahead of schedule and below budgeted cost. The answer came from across the room in the form of a question.

"Is there any way this report captures quality?" The answer was no.

That my friends is called Triple Constraint.  We know the Scope, Time, and Cost within this report.  What we don't know is Quality, Risk, or Customer Satisfaction.  That's ok.  This is the CPR, not a Total Project Status (TPS) Report.

By not committing the scheduled time and budgeted dollars to complete the task to a level of quality that meets the customer's expectations, the contractor looks good only on paper.

Project Duration Forecasting

I've had a subscription to a trade rag called CrossTalk (The Journal of Defense Software Engineering) for a few years now. I've read the articles but none really got my attention and kept it. In the December 2008 issue, there is an article about comparing Earned Value Management Methods to Earned Schedule. It was written by Walt Lipke of the Oklahoma City Chapter of PMI. Now that I'm working on a very large government project, this article really sparked my interest. If you're working in a government PMO or on a government project, I recommend you give it a read. The author did a really good job of using real project data and also did an excellent job comparing EVM methods to the Earned Schedule (ES) prediction technique.

If you're new to Earned Value Management or still studying for your PMP, this may make your head hurt a little. If PVcum, EVcum, and BAC are in your daily vocabulary, you'll enjoy it. Article Link

Earned Value Management (EVM)...the basics

Should all projects or programs utilize Earned Value Management? Short answer: No Long answer: The industry standard for project control systems described in American National Standards Institute (ANSI) EIA-748, Earned Value Management Systems, must be implemented on all projects with a total project cost (TPC) greater than $20M for control of project performance during the project execution phase.

Earned Value Management (EVM) is a systematic approach to the integration and measurement of cost, schedule, and technical (scope) accomplishments on a project or task. It provides both the contractee and contractor(s) the ability to objectively examine detailed schedule information, critical program and technical milestones, and cost data.

In layman's terms, it quantifies the estimated value of the work actually accomplished.