Software Development - Essay Example

Student’s Name] [Instructor’s Name] [Class] Critical Thinking Case Study Executive Summary The purpose and scope of the document is to describe the present situation at the company and to present courses of action which can be taken to complete the project on time with the demands which have been placed on various departments. At the moment, there are several concerns of the company and most of them are connected with the two resources we need the most i.e. time and money. We have very little time and the money we have might be reduced as budgetary concerns remain in place. To correct the problem, the company itself and the senior members of the company have to realize that the problem will not be solved with hope and prayer. What we need is to generate more money quickly or to get more done within the same time. The solution therefore is to obtain a loan from the bank or to engage in cooperative software development where we can outsource some of our project features to another company that specializes in software development. The first solution would give us more money to play with in terms of developing more features of the software in house while the second will allow us to get more done in the same timeframe that we have will adding very little to the cost and even give us a chance to save on the costs. The Assumptions When it comes to assumptions, the first and primary assumption which is noted in the case is that outsourcing the software development side of the project would be cheaper than building the software in-house. It must be noted that the software itself is running on specialized hardware and by giving up developmental control the company may also be giving up the idea to the competition. Further, while Kelly seems to be less sure about the capabilities of the programming department, others within the company are assuming (based on very little information) that the project can be completed within time and within the specified budget. Most importantly, it seems that there is a strong assumption that the project will be a success when it is launched as a product in the retail market. It is entirely possible that the customer’s reaction to giving their retinal scans to the retailers may create privacy concerns and other issues. The Arguments and Evaluations Kelly makes the strongest argument by saying that they only have time and people enough for one objective of the project. Kelly can be said to have perfect knowledge about the programming department and with this knowledge the project is unlikely to be completed within time or within the specified budget. Martinas also makes a good argument from a sales and marketing point of view that such a product would be useful for retailers but does not take into account how the public would react to retina scans for entering a shopping mall or retail store. O’Connor is focused on saving his company and knows that the rough environment will sooner or later force them out of business if they do not create new markets for themselves based on the same product. He wishes to reduce costs while making sure that the project is completed on time and this is rather difficult to reconcile since alternative means may need to be found in order to develop the software within time and within budget. However, the problems between Pat Lambert and Kelly Thomas seem to be a lack of communication since both cannot seem to come to an agreement about what can be accomplished in the given time frame. Lambert argues that a prototype should be made ready in the given timeframe while Kelly believes that all features need to be deployed at launch. The two have exchanged several emails back and forth discussing their arguments but there is no real result from it. It does seem that Kelly is being a little negative about the situation in the department since Lambert’s interaction with the programmer may go to show that more than one feature of the product can be ready at launch. Conclusions The primary issue within the company is communications while the secondary issue is unrealistic expectations. O’Conner has an expectation that the software and the project can be completed without an investment, Kelly has an expectation that one feature would be enough to sell the product and Lambert believes that the entire project can be completed within the stipulated deadline. The data concerning the financial situation and budgetary expectations of the company is unrealistic and while the demands of the project are significant, the money assigned to completing the project is not enough. There are several solutions which can be given in the present situation. The company has a strong financial and sales history and it should use that to extend a line of credit for the company that would allow it to bring the project to completion as soon as possible. Being first to the market with a lot of money backing the product would give it several advantages over the competition and allow it to develop more futures within the given timeframe. Further, outsourcing software development of some features in collaboration with in-house development of others could also give it the chance to make more features available before product launch. The advantage of borrowing money is that the company would have a fresh influx of cash to recruit new programmers, retain and develop existing employees and give marketing a boost as well if needed. The downside is that if the product does not bring the company out of financial trouble the company would be worse off than when it started. For the second solution, the strength is that in-house developers would be able to collaborate with outsourced developers in India or elsewhere to make sure that the project has more than one feature as suggested by Kelly. However, the downside is that quality of the second feature may suffer or that cultural issues may come into play when dealing with outsourcing services providers in other nations. The recommended solution depends on the needs of the company. If the current situation does not allow for an extension of the line of credit, then collaborative outsourcing is the best recommendation. If the line of credit can be extended, then software developers should be recruited on a contract term basis to make sure that the project is completed on time with as many features as possible. It seems that collaborative outsourcing where some parts of the software are developed by programmers outside the company is the best solution given the state of the company and the problems that are present with regard to the senior members of the team. Read More