Managing projects of all sizes and
levels of complexities is part of business, regardless of what vertical
industry you’re talking about. Software development is no different. New
in-house software development and implementations, infrastructure
related projects, enhancements or upgrades, and the increasing
development of web-based solutions and mobile apps are a constant within
the software industry.
The software industry is in an endless and rapid state of flux,
influenced greatly by the globalization of a plethora of product and
service offerings. There are various types of projects undertaken by the
software industry and equally as many challenges, including the
following:
- Globalization causing high competition.
- Older legacy systems and infrastructure issues.
- Adoption rates and time to market pressures.
- SaaS offerings taking over.
- Internal sourcing or outsourcing.
- Sufficient software requiring specific expertise.
- Integration and interface issues.
- Multiple software bug testing & resolution iterations.
- Multiple and complex user level requirements.
- Difficulty attracting and retaining applicable talent.
- ROI (return on investment).
- Evolving revenue recognition requirements/reporting for software companies
The software industry is highly complex, requiring workers with both
industry-specific skills as well as the requisite software development
expertise. Identifying the relevant people with the appropriate level of
proficiency and knowledge for dev projects is no easy task.
The software industry is also one of the fastest moving and evolving
industries, creating an environment where companies can go under as fast
as they started, due to domestic and international competition.
Business owners, executives, middle management and all other employees
working in this field are continually pressured to keep up, and project
management professionals are under even more pressure to ensure the
successful execution of projects.
It’s not enough to only know about project management. Project
managers must also keep pace with this fast-moving industry in order to
anticipate possible risk, quality, integration, financial and other
factors that may hinder the chances of a successful project. These
factors may apply to many industries but due to the speed at which
technology changes, and competition increases the pressure to deliver
projects on time, on budget, and with the quality standards expected,
managing projects in the software industry can feel like being in a
pressure cooker.
Here are some of the challenges that have a large impact specifically on project management within the software industry.
1. Globalization causing extremely high competition
If your business is in the software industry and has a great idea,
odds are another software company may have ready thought of it; if not,
there may be no away to determine how close another company is to
developing it. Time to market pressures is a stressful reality in the
software industry. Competition can be local or international and impact
software companies in terms of pricing structures, customer reach,
customer retention, service level agreements and a host of other
factors.
Project managers will need to work closely with business owners,
executives and other stakeholders to flush out all factors that may
impact the successfulness of software related projects. There have been
many software companies that have developed and implemented terrific
software only to find the return on their investment was simply not
there due to high competition.
2. Legacy systems and infrastructure issues
Often businesses have invested significant financial and human
resources implementing, enhancing, maintaining and patching older legacy
systems and infrastructures. As a result, there may be great reluctance
to replace them, even if these systems no longer meet their needs,
creating a scenario where it is an uphill battle for innovative software
companies to get their foot in the door, even though they have a
top-notch solution that businesses can greatly benefit from.
If and when they do manage to convey the benefits to a company and
are successful, project managers typically still have an uphill battle
working with various stakeholders who are personally vested in older
legacy systems and infrastructure, making them change resistant. In
order to gain buy-in, it is critical for project managers to be able to
clearly convey all benefits to stakeholders and find ways to alleviate
their fears.
3. Sufficient software specific expertise
The software selection process can be time-consuming and tedious for
business owners and executives, and when it comes to implementations,
finding project management professionals with the relevant experience
can be just as difficult, whether in-house or outsourced. While there
are general systems project implementation skill sets, it may be
necessary in most cases, especially when it comes to large ERP
implementations, to seek project managers who are highly experienced
implementing those specific systems. As a general rule, the more complex
the system, project implementation, and the larger the organization,
the more likely direct system related project implementation experience
will be required.
4. SaaS offerings taking over
With increasing frequency, older legacy systems and large ERP systems
are being replaced with Saas offerings, enabling small, mid-siz and
large businesses to access the same or better features and capabilities
without outlaying large amounts of valuable capital. Companies are
subscribing to this model because they are able to redirect larger
amounts of capital towards other projects that may be more value added
to the overall business strategy. They are able to instead allocate
operating funds towards outsourced monthly SaaS offerings that provide
what they need and are more scalable and flexible.
Additionally, they no longer need to account for and deal with
depreciation issues. It also may be more cost-effective and more
efficient to have an outside vendor take care of maintenance and
service-related requests that companies otherwise would have to hire
additional staff for. Often times project managers work for these
outsourced SaaS vendors and are highly experienced in implementations
with that exact type of software, taking a lot of pressure off of the
company’s leadership. That said, the business strategy, project
alignment, and other due diligence still remains a responsibility of the
leadership.
5. Multiple complicated user level requirements
Businesses require system users at multiple levels, some may be basic
users, some may be power users, administrators and some may be strictly
IT users. When it comes to systems implementations project managers in
the software industry need to be versed in all the different types of
users with specific systems, and the types of user access rights and
permissions for each. This can range from complex to extremely
complicated depending on the system.
Some businesses utilize user-specific models or role-based models.
There is a fair amount of technical knowledge that is required to ensure
systems implementation projects go smoothly and user level requirements
are properly and fully addressed to ensure internal controls are
followed correctly. This is particularly critical with financial systems
implementations, where there is a need to accurately adhere to GAAP
(generally accepted accounting principles), adopted by the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
6. Third-party integration and interface issues
Software vendors can no longer develop standalone solutions. There is
an increasing need for third-party integration, making it more complex
for project managers as they are under pressure to increase their
knowledge and experience with other software that may interface with the
one they are implementing. To some degree, it can be as if they are
implementing multiple systems within one project. For example, if a
project manager is implementing a financial management system, including
G/L, A/P and A/R and financial reporting modules, these may interface
with applications from external payment vendors, financial institutions,
contract management, CRM or other vendor software. In this case, the
project manager may be required to work with third-party vendors and
have sufficient knowledge of these other systems to ensure data is
accessed and passed correctly between these systems.
[Related: 5 trends that will transform project management]
7. Quality testing and bug fixes requiring numerous software iterations
In this industry systems implementation projects are plenty and
constant. Within these projects, various iterations of testing occur
throughout the project cycle to ensure the actual outcome meets the
intended outcome. It is common to discover issues/bugs throughout the
testing phases that require fixing and retesting until the issues are
resolved. It can be extremely difficult for project teams to isolate
issues, requiring escalation to more senior IT staff/developers. Project
managers need to practice sound judgment to ensure all issues are
resolved prior to systems going live. The testing phase is critical in
ensuring no additional rework is required after going live, and to avoid
customer dissatisfaction.
8. Revenue recognition reporting requirements for the software industry
In addition to the factors mentioned above, there are specific
revenue recognition requirements that are specific to the software
industry that will need to be factored in throughout projects. These
requirements can affect the company’s day-to-day accounting as well as
customer contracts and how they are executed. Project managers need to
ensure reporting requirements are sufficiently addressed with a
CPA/accounting professional involvement throughout the project
lifecycle. Not addressing this key factor can result in consequences for
a software company. The AICPA is a great resource to find out more on
revenue recognition.
The software industry is extremely complicated and requires project
management expertise in areas of software development, software testing
and quality assurance, implementation, user security, internal controls,
customer relationship management, change management, business processes
and many other areas.
