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Methodology madness

What are the best techniques for managing your Java projects?

By Anil Hemrajani, JavaWorld.com, 09/21/01

Page 2 of 2

Is there a clear solution?

Why do so many projects still operate in a chaotic fashion or fail even after well-defined processes are established and implemented? In my opinion, there are several key reasons.

First, one of the most obvious problems is lack of communication with the customer. I strongly believe that frequent verbal and written communication with the customer is essential to keep everyone in the loop at all times.

Second, many projects do not follow the iterative development approaches advocated by methodologies such as RUP and XP. These approaches emphasize smaller deliverables that constantly update customers on their projects' progress and help keep them on track.

Third, members of a development team often lose sight of the company vision and the key problem the software project is trying to solve for the company. In my opinion, the fundamental principle behind information technology is that it should be "technology for managing information." In other words, it all boils down to moving data from point A to point B. The data starts with people (e.g., data entry) and at some point will end up with people (e.g., queries/reports), regardless of how many systems the data will travel through or how much it is manipulated along with the way.

Your thoughts

Here are some questions I would like you to consider:

• Which methodology, if any, do you follow?
• What are your thoughts on RUP?
• What do you think is needed for software development projects these days?
• Do you believe a distilled version of RUP (or another methodology), in the form of a checklist and templates, is the answer?
• Would add-ins for specific technologies (e.g., Java 2 Enterprise Edition) be helpful?
• Is there a need for patterns in methodology (similar to architecture and design patterns)?

Discuss your thoughts in the iSavvix Soapbox forum for this column.

Please remember this is a "soapbox" column; that is, this column is not intended to answer all questions but rather open a dialogue on issues described in each column and get feedback from readers.

About the author

Anil Hemrajani is chief technology officer at iSavvix, a technology services firm for full-service Java and Internet technology solutions.

 

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