Deliveryship: Mastering the Process of Delivering Valuable Software

Link to presentation poster

When it comes to software development, business stakeholders want to know what valuable features are going to be created, and when to expect them. Engineers want to deliver valuable features by writing quality code at a sustainable pace. In many organizations, these are incompatible goals because of the way the delivery process is implemented.

In this poster session, I explain why that's the case, how software engineering is different from other types of non-trivial business projects (and why that matters), and how to set up a software delivery process that maximizes the value of releases while satisfying the needs of both business and engineering. I'll also talk about the commitments each side has to be willing to make in order for the process to work, and some of the special considerations around delivery in large, grant-funded software projects.

Category

Current trends/topics/projects

Areas of Focus

  • Knowledge

Objectives

Attendees will learn why creating software is different than most large-scale projects, and how to set up a software delivery process in their organization that reliably produces valuable features in a predictable fashion. This includes:

  • How to define the work
  • How to organize the work
  • How to deliver the work
  • How to measure delivery
  • How to work within the bounds of grants
  • What key roles and agreements are needed for success

Collaborators

Bill Horvath, Full-Stack Engineer Supervisor and Delivery Lead, ICPSR