Surprising finds on project success and failure
Robert L. Glass has written a short article on developer.* that lists some “surprising discoveries about project success and failure”:http://www.developerdotstar.com/mag/articles/software_success_failure.html. The points that I found interesting were
bq. Most projects that had no schedule were successful
Although I am not sure how you judge success on a project with no schedule?
bq. The choice of requirements methodology does not matter; UML was “no help”
This one I find interesting only because at work we have put a very high importance on the use of UML and Big Up-front Design. Personally, this is something that I am beginning to question. However, I do think it has a place when you are trying to create software with co-op students and a very inexperienced team of developers.
bq. Requirements are needed for project success, but not necessarily early in the project
I guess all those Agilists are right 
bq. The vision for the project (its business goals) must be shared among all project personnel, especially the project manager
This point was listed under the heading “Predictable”. And I would definitely agree with it. The project I am currently working on, everyone, from senior management all the way down to the developers, have a different view of what the project should be, how it should be created, and what it should do. This does not make for a very healthy environment. In fact, I would call it downright hostile at time.
If you check out the article, also check out the comments for some insights from the trenches.
