The 70% Solution: Practical Testing and Version Control

"What do you mean you need to push back the launch date?" Says the CEO. Says the CFO. Says the user community. CTOs, CIOs, and all officers who oversee major development projects have had to deliver the dreaded message. But a deadline for the sake of a deadline is a dangerous pitfall that can consume an entire project and stymie it to the point that it never launches. Over the years I've come up with six simple rules that help deadlines become more meaningful, while keeping the developers, the user community, the CFO and the CEO all satisfied.

1. Always have minor version control throughout development. Group functional requirements into minor versions so that core functionality is prioritized and so that the entire development team is generally active on the same minor version.

2. Always target minor version releases every 2 to 4 weeks.

3. Always begin testing immediately once each minor version is complete.

4. Always prioritize bug-fixing to the highest level upon the completion of any testing.

5. Never allow a problematic functional enhancement to be a showstopper. Negotiate with the user community and the CFO or CEO for a delay in, or removal of, the delivery of that functionality.

6. Always launch the product on time - as long as the most recent fully completed minor version is functionally equivalent or better than the current production system. Launch it, no matter how far you are from 100% complete.

So I want you to launch an incomplete application? Let's just call it "functionally challenged". This is what I call the 70% solution. The deadline doesn't move and the developers deliver a fully tested, bug-fixed version on time and within budget. This gives management the opportunity to evaluate further investments into application functionality while reaping the benefits of any developments to date.

Don't blame the developers. It's more likely a project runs over budget and over deadline because of optimistic cost planning or scope creep than poor developer skills. Following these rules ensures delivery of the best product the development team can achieve within a set budget or period of time. Even in an environment where scope creep becomes a factor, escalating requirements can be scheduled into minor versions so they never hold back the launch of the "functionally challenged" application.

Testing? Who needs testing? So you didn't follow the six rules, you're past the code freeze date, and you're supposed to be in final testing but there are still more things to implement. The user community and the CEO want to know if you'll be able to launch on time regardless. That's when it hits you- if only we could "streamline" the testing phase we could still make it. Very bad idea. The cost of backing out due to insufficient testing can cost more than the project itself. Recently I witnessed a botched implementation of a customer service application that almost cost the company in question its three largest clients-and millions of dollars.

Work your mediation magic. Application development managers have to be part negotiator and part magician. They need to keep all sides happy, even if product expectations and budget restrictions are in conflict. No one really wants the 70% solution, but everyone can live with it. And when no one's 100% happy, you know you're probably doing it right.

Read more in Case in Point: "The Thursday Rule"

Steve Pickard
CEO, Founder

Working actively with Oracle since the early '90s, Steve has architected and developed everything from large data-warehouses and decision-support solutions to award-winning instant Web applications.

Steve has degrees in Mathematics and in Management of Information Systems from Ottawa University. Before founding Pythian, Steve worked as a consultant for numerous companies as well as the Canadian government. He remains the key architect of Pythian's highly sophisticated internal applications and business process systems.

In The News:

---

PRACTICE MANAGEMENT: What Brokers Should Know Before They Go
CNNMoney.com - 3 hours ago
( Kristen McNamara writes Practice Management, a column that looks at ways financial advisers can build and improve their business. ...

MedaSorb Technologies Corporation Announces Management Changes
CNNMoney.com - 3 hours ago
These statements are based on management's current expectations and assumptions and are naturally subject to uncertainty and changes in circumstances. ...

Reuters
Lehman Private-Equity Arm Gains New Investment
Wall Street Journal - 21 hours ago
The business has $4.5 billion under management, and holds stakes in more than a dozen portfolio companies including a Spanish railcar manufacturer to a US ...
Lehman Deal Spins Off Part of Private Equity Unit Into Independent ... New York Times
Lehman deal on private equity close Reuters
Lehman Said to Be in Talks to Sell Fund to Managers, Reinet Bloomberg
FINalternatives - RTT Newsall 95 news articles

HE-5 Resources, Corp. Announces Reorganizational Changes Are ...
CNNMoney.com - 7 hours ago
New Management stated the following: "We are very pleased to begin our new operations and to share our visions and exclusive development program whit HE-5 ...

Management Consulting in the Government?
Newsweek - Jan 8, 2009
In the world of management consulting, high-powered and often expensive contractors infiltrate all levels of a company to determine how it can run more ...
Chief Performance Officer: Nancy Killefer TIME
Obama Appoints Government Performance Officer Washington Post
Obama's performance czar has tried to improve IRS The Associated Press
CFO.com Magazine - GovExec.comall 486 news articles

Amazon’s New Management Console Treads Lightly
GigaOm, CA - 3 hours ago
Today, Amazon ( s AMZN) Web Services announced a management console that illustrates how carefully Amazon is playing its role as a platform provider. ...
Amazon Web Services Launches Management Console CMSWire
Amazon Web Services releases web-based EC2 console CNET News
Amazon EC2 launches Web-based management console Examiner.com
ReadWriteWeb - PC Worldall 28 news articles

Peregrine management drops buyout plan, shares fall
Reuters - 8 hours ago
JOHANNESBURG, Jan 9 (Reuters) - South African wealth and asset management firm Peregrine Holdings Limited (PGRJ.J) said on Friday a management buyout plan ...

University of California regents may freeze management pay
Bizjournals.com, NC - 4 hours ago
A pay freeze for senior management of the University of California system will be considered by the UC Board of Regents during a Jan. 14 teleconference. ...

JPMorgan Asset Management's Bull SA Stake Falls To 1.72%
CNNMoney.com - 4 hours ago
PARIS -(Dow Jones)- JPMorgan Asset Management's stake in French IT company Bull SA (BULL.FR) has fallen through the 5% threshold to 1.72%, according to a ...

Helios High Income Fund, Inc. Monthly Dividend Declaration
CNNMoney.com - 41 minutes ago
Helios High Income Fund, Inc. is managed by Hyperion Brookfield Asset Management, Inc., a registered investment advisor located in New York City. ...
Pimco Pays Seven Dividends It Postponed Last Month Financial-Planning.com
PIMCO Municipal Income Fund and PIMCO New York Municipal Income ... Trading Markets (press release)
Western Asset Income Fund Declares Monthly Dividend Distribution PR-Inside.com (Pressemitteilung)
MarketWatch (press release)all 62 news articles

management - Google News

Quality Hiring: Are You Doing It Right?

Quality hiring is more than running ads, screening, interviewing and checking references. It is a series of specific procedures that can bring in top candidates or create... Read More

Humor in Business

With the advancement of computer simulators, anybody can repeat all the business routines before he goes to the field, and have the opportunity of relaxing from the... Read More

Creativity and Innovation Management ? Feasibility

Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation whilst innovation can be defined as idea selection, development and commercialisation.There are other useful definitions in this... Read More

Innovation Management ? Good Leadership

Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation whilst innovation can be defined as idea selection, development and commercialisation.There are other useful definitions in this... Read More

Six Honest Business Friends - They Guide Me In All I Do

SIX "HONEST BUSINESS FRIENDS" - THEY GUIDE ME IN ALL I DOI keep six honest serving-men(They taught me all I knew);Their names are What and Why and... Read More

Are You A B.O.S.S. -- Boisterous, Omnipotent, Self Indulgent, Sociopath

Boisterous, Omnipotent, Self- indulgent Sociopath. Avoid the B.O.S.S. syndrome with five leadership principles that translate academic leadership theory to real world, 21st century application.There are many academic... Read More

The Inferno of the Finance Director

Sometimes, I harbour a suspicion that Dante was a Financial Director. His famous work, "The Inferno", is such an accurate description of the job that it cannot... Read More

What Is Business Sense?

What is the principal thing you need to succeed in your business today? Money. Sure, you need it, but it is not the main ingredient for success.... Read More

How To Hire Superstars

Can a person's behavior and values really determine if they will be a future SuperStar for your company? If you knew the formula for hiring SuperStars and... Read More

Future Business Success - What Does Good Look Like?

When you know you need to shift up a gear, in any area of your business (or your life for that matter), it's really important to have... Read More

HRM: Contributing to Well-being or Ill-being at Work?

If you were to take the people out of an organisation you would be left with some stock and machinery that would be of little value, and... Read More

New Leadership For A New War

Military analysts call this "asymmetrical" war (as if war has a terrible symmetry); and we know that it will be as different from conventional war as three-dimensional,... Read More

Bolster Credibility with Investors--Avoid These Phrases in Your Business Plan

Remember Papa John's commercial on TV with the slogan "Better Ingredients, Better Pizza"? Well its nothing more than puffery: general, non-provable, inane claims. The problem is puffery... Read More

Employee Motivation - Access Their Unique Talents

Your people are invaluable to you. They are the lifeblood of your business or organisation. And yet, in many situations, managers take little time to truly find... Read More

The Retailers Calendar

The Julian calendar we use to pass the time every day, every week, every month and every year is the one most commonly used by businesses. Its... Read More

To Meet or Not to Meet - What are the Questions?

Meetings can be a total waste of time or a powerful and productive communication tool that solve problems, stimulate ideas, promote team spirit and generate action. The... Read More

The Diamond Cutter

Geshe Michael Roach is a Princeton graduate and a Buddhist monk. After graduation, he spent seven years studying the wisdom of Tibetan Buddhism. At the suggestion of... Read More

Effective Email Communication

Email, when used properly, can generate additional direct sales and leads; can be used as a tool to communicate with your existing client base to let them... Read More

Experiences of Management Coaching (Part 2)

In our experience, we have found that there are several reasons managers fail to get employees to see and acknowledge that they have a problem.They assume. Many... Read More

The Truth About Performance Reviews

Now that it is January, many of you are putting together, or have just finished putting together your annual Performance Appraisals for your staff. Feedback on performance... Read More

The Silent Assassin - What to Do When They Visit You?

IntroductionThere are a group of people in the community that will some time in their career visit your business; the silent assassin.The silent assassin displays all the... Read More

Communication: Managements Responsibility

I've just watched, again, an episode in the Back to the Floor television series, which aired on the BBC (United Kingdom) and PBS (United States). Once more,... Read More

How To Use W Edwards Deming

Human beings and the way they interact are extraordinarily Complex. Deming tried to define that complexity.We have since learned the impossibility of defining natural events in a... Read More

Managing Employees Is A Little Like Herding Cats

Q: I started my small business about a year ago and it's grown steadily. I like having my own business, but I'm having a tough time managing... Read More

Entitlement Programs Kill Productivity

In articles I've written over the years, I have used "laissez-faire," a term more frequently used to characterize governments than businesses, to describe a rather laid-back management... Read More

Employee Discipline: How to Nip Problems in the Bud

Are you uncomfortable with delivering disciplinary action, even involving employees you know deserve it? You're not alone. Disciplinary action is one of the least favored tasks a... Read More