Agile Development Conference & Better Software Conference West 2010: Rightsizing Your Project in a Down Economy

In tough times, both shoes often drop simultaneously. Then, unsustainable "scarcity thinking" takes over. Many times, the tendency is to say "yes" to impossible dates, take on too much, quietly suffer the budget cuts, and pray that heroics will save the day. Resulting dysfunction can wreak havoc on your projects in the form of scope greed, death-march deadlines, and budget cuts. It takes a skillful manager to "right size" critical projects-right team, right scope, right dates-from the beginning. Michael Mah describes how to lead difficult conversations and discuss the undiscussable when needed resources are threatened. He shares how to artfully frame trade-offs for stakeholders to help them set priorities. Learn how to get buy-in for realistic scope, schedules, and team size using a blend of common sense, essential measurement concepts, and rules of software estimation. Whether you're agile, waterfall, or you outsource, you'll discover information you need to make the right choices and gain the support of your organization.