On 2 February 2011 16:43, Jason Grout <jason-s...@creativetrax.com> wrote: > On 2/2/11 10:33 AM, rjf wrote: >> >> 1. What happens if you don't have a plan? > >> >> 2. Who makes a plan? >> > > You have long experience with other open-source projects. Have they had > plans? (I'm really genuinely curious). Who made it? How > comprehensive/detailed was it? Was the plan a "success" (i.e., was it worth > making?) Was the plan followed? How did you give incentive to follow the > plan?
> Jason Obviously that is for Richard to answer, but you also need to consider that a lot has been learned about software development over the years. The field has advanced since Richard was actively involved in some of these projects. Many software projects have failed, and people have analysed the reasons for the failure. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_project_management#Project_planning.2C_monitoring_and_control states the most common reasons for failure are 1. Unrealistic or unarticulated project goals 2. Inaccurate estimates of needed resources 3. Badly defined system requirements 4. Poor reporting of the project's status 5. Unmanaged risks 6. Poor communication among customers, developers, and users 7. Use of immature technology 8. Inability to handle the project's complexity 9. Sloppy development practices 10. Poor project management 11. Stakeholder politics 12. Commercial pressures There's a little bit about planning on that page http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_project_management#Project_planning.2C_monitoring_and_control There are many models of software development, but most or all of them have elements of * Defining the goals/specifications * Planning how to achieve the above. * Modifying plans where necessary. * Reporting the status of the project. I think Sage would be in a better position to attract both * developers * investors to fund development if Sage was seen to have more clearly defined goals, and plans on how to achieve them. Dave -- To post to this group, send an email to sage-devel@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to sage-devel+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/sage-devel URL: http://www.sagemath.org
