Managing software development projects can be tricky. Keeping everything in check requires a lot of communication, otherwise, things quickly turn into chaos. Communicating with team leads ensures your project is on track and communicating your progress to the client is important, as it shows them you care about the project and are completely involved in it. This is the key to every successful project of this kind.
Two crucial factors of any successful project are feedback and management. Feedback is important as it gives all involved parties insight into the status of the entire project. It also helps with accountability and will help determine any flaws or problems early on.
There are many platforms that help project managers keep track of the project and communicate ideas and feedback to others. Some apps like Asana were designed with that purpose in mind. But some project managers choose a more traditional approach to managing by relying on online personal assistant apps and apps such as Skype or Hangouts for communication.
Ask for Daily Reports
Whichever option you choose, you should have your team deliver a daily report in addition to a daily briefing. It’s a good practice to hold the meeting in the morning, either in person, via a conference call or even via email. A daily briefing will set everyone on the right track at the beginning of the day.
Employ Project Tracking Features
Some online tools and apps offer a great project tracking feature that visually represents the development process. This is mostly used for complex projects that require multiple teams working on individual features. For simple projects, these systems will only be a distraction. But if the project involves a lot of parties and a lot of aspects, having a visual tracker can help get on top of what is going on.
Don’t Forget to Give Praise
Remember that feedback does not always have to be negative. Don’t forget to give your team a pat on the back if they earn it. Everybody likes to get praise for a job well done. Developers are only used to getting feedback when something is broken or does not work as intended. To boost team morale, try giving as many praises as you do criticisms. It will make everyone happy and make your team work harder.
Get the Right Tools
Since communication and project tracking are so important, you need to use the right tools. If you use project tracking tools, make sure to use tools that are not too complicated to master so your clients will be able to easily keep track of what’s going on and provide their own feedback. If you use to-do lists to keep track of smaller projects, get a reliable tool such as Blink the Bee to get notifications of pending tasks.
Have the Early Version Out Quickly
If you are developing software with minimal functionality you’ll want to get a working version of it as quickly as possible. Ask your team to deliver a demo or a mock-up early on. This way you can identify some issues early on. You will notice the process will be much easier with a test version to work on.
