Software project managers resign themselves to expecting certain problems because many believe software project management is a young field with very unique issues and the relative difficult that comes with developing software.
Construction project management has been around for a while longer than software project management. Is it easier to deal with because it has been around for longer? Or has it solved the problems we face as software PMs? Do we even face the same issues?
I met Glen B. Alleman, first, when I started reading his project management blog (http://herdingcats.typepad.com/my_weblog/), and second, when he called me on underestimating the issues associated with modern construction projects on Elizabeth Harrin's blog (http://www.pm4girls.elizabeth-harrin.com/2009/06/making-projects-work-is...). Glen has worked in "the heavy construction, aerospace and defense and enterprise IT program management domain." His view is that, "we’ve built a paradigm that says software development is different," which then wrongfully makes software PMs skip essential steps in managing their projects.
Glen has agreed to a friendly discussion with me on whether software project management is different from construction project management, how so, and what we can learn in the software field from the construction field.
My background is in software project management. I come from a few years of experience in UP style methodologies as well as agile (SCRUM and XP) methodologies. Additionally my company has a tool to help manage software projects for teams of 5+ (http://mypopproject.com). My interest in this discussion is to learn lessons that I can bring back into our tool as well as into my practice.
The discussion itself is too far open ended so the way I will format it is a single blog entry will ask a specific question or compare a specific method. Then Glen and I (and all of you) may weigh in on the topic via the comment stream.
Here are the discussion entries
- Common Problems in Construction vs Software Project Management - What issues would a PM face in either field?
- Methodologies in Construction vs Software Project Management - A few representative formal approaches used in either field (i.e. agile in software).
- Ideal team sizes in Construction vs Software Project Management - How large a posse does a PM in either field have?
