Tips For Managing The Software Engineering Pipeline
Posted on: 9 May 2017
If you are in charge of overseeing a software engineering project for a big client, you might not know the best way to make sure that your client's needs are being met. You likely have a vague sense that you need to improve your communication of the client's needs to the development team. Here are some tips for managing the software engineering pipeline.
1. Inform the Development Team of Any Requirement Changes
Depending on the software development methodology that the development team is using, additional requirements or requirement changes might be difficult to work into the current development plan. If the team is using a waterfall development methodology, there is a good chance that the requirements that were made up front are set in stone and that it will be very difficult to accommodate any requirement changes. These changes will need to be tacked on at the end as additional features, rather than built-in requirements. If you are working with a team that is using an Agile development strategy, then these requirement changes can be added to the user stories and told to the developers in the next daily meeting. Regardless, getting the team the requirements as soon as possible can help you ensure that those requirement changes can be met.
2. Attend the Development Meetings Regularly
There are going to be meetings throughout the development process. Try to attend as many as you can. This will help you monitor the state of the software and ensure that everything is proceeding according to plan. If you are working with a waterfall development team, then these meetings will happen on a set time schedule every few days. If you are working with an Agile team, then these meetings will likely happen each day for a short period of time. Try to at least call into these meetings so that you can get updates and communicate client needs.
3. Set Up Testing
Finally, be sure that you have a testing framework set up ahead of time so that you can move straight from development to testing and confirmation that your client's needs have been met. This can involve engaging with quality assurance specialists and setting up a comprehensive test plan before the software is even fully finished. This will allow you to write the scripts ahead of time to run the tests.
For more information, talk to a company that specializes in software pipeline management.
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