In the “real world” software development does not occur in a vacuum. In the risk management exercise you and your group members focused on the development risks that might impact the success of your project. Now it’s time to broaden your view. If your group project were developed in a fortune 500 company as a product, a number of factors would be taken into account to ensure the success of the project. These include the concerns of marketing, sales, support, and upper management.
You work in the software division of a fortune 500 company. The company has developed a checkpoint process for all software development projects. At the outset of a software development project a series of checkpoints are set at key points during development and delivery of the software. At each checkpoint a representative from each of the parties involved in the software development project come together to review the current status of the project, assess any risks that have impacted the project, and make any modifications necessary to the project’s staffing, schedule, or scope of work.
You are going to represent the development team during the checkpoint review. Ideally you want upper management to be in the development team’s corner. You want them to understand the current status of the project and the impact the project modifications discussed during the checkpoint would have on the development team’s ability to successfully complete the project. During this exercise it is also imperative that you make a compelling argument to upper management of the importance of the top 10 risks your group identified during the risk assessment exercise. In addition you should bring up any other issues that have arisen since the risk assessment exercise that affect the success of your project.