I was listening to the hearings about the Obamacare website failures today. Before we get started on whether the law is a good one, let me tell you that this is not about that. I’m not going there. My feeling is that there is no room for politics in computers. I want to focus on the creation of the website. To be exact, let’s talk about the team that would create a website of that size. HUGE! I’ve been there and done that.
The Project Team
Whether you are developing a computer application, system, or website, sometimes you have to have a team. If the project is big enough, there may be several teams involved. Project planning, development, coding, infrastructure, testing, and implementation teams can be as small or as large as the project requires. Depending on where your strongest skill sets are, that is the team you are assigned. There is no room for weak links. Sometimes, though, they do slip through the cracks.
As you might imagine, communication between the teams and the end customer is the most critical thing. The first thing you have to establish is who is talking to whom. Each team elects a representative, who then updates the other teams on how things are going, presents issues, and asks questions. Once that meeting happens, other meetings are held to inform the customer as to what is going on. By the end of the project, fill in the time frame of your choice, and everyone who needs to know will know what is going on with the project. It kind of sounds a little familiar, doesn’t it? It has a government feel to it.
Now for some real fun
Now the real fun begins. The teams march forward in order of importance to complete the tasks at hand. Project budgets, milestones, dates, and deliverables are planned out. The requirements for the outcome of the project are to be drawn up. If there are any scripts written, the coding team uses the specifications to produce the needed applications. When new computers, networks, or other resources are needed to make the process go, the infrastructure people are all over it. The next-to-last team is what I like to call the “break it if you can” team. These people are the ones who test all the parts that make up the given solution. Last, but not least, are the people who make the solution live and accessible to everyone. In these days, there are also teams for security and to support the solution. You really can get out of hand with creating teams.
Changes in the air
When people work well together and everyone is talking to each other, projects end successfully. The biggest things that can throw a wrench in the mix are last-minute changes. Here, you are creating something from nothing. Someone wants to turn some functionality off. On the surface, that doesn’t sound all that bad. Just turn those areas off and retest. Now let me give this picture an atmosphere. This drama is playing out in Washington, D.C., and the project is a website for a highly political piece of legislation. Project commitment dates are cast in stone. The American public is waiting to see this thing in action. Can you imagine the pressure cooker that I just created for you? You could make a TV show from that premise alone. If any Hollywood types are out there reading this, please email your inquiries to rhorner@hornerconsulting.com.
Conclusion
I have to say that I do feel sorry for the people who worked on that website. According to news reports, this is not a done deal by a long shot. Some of the decisions made were a bit shaky at best. They will fix the website, and the people involved will sit back and laugh over it. Insert your favorite choice of drink here when it’s done. I have some experience working on big projects. If there are any government types that need a little help clearing the fog, please email me at rhorner@hornerconsulting.com. Good luck, my IT brothers and sisters. I feel your pain.
Later… rrh