2 CHECK WHETHER THESE TASKS ARE NEEDED FOR A PROJECT TO PREPARE A M...

30.2 Check whether these tasks are needed for a project to prepare a meal,carried out by a group of people.As we have seen, a process model is a model for the framework or plan for a project.Individual tasks, tools and techniques fit within this overall skeleton. Earlier in thisbook, we described a number of process models – waterfall, incremental, prototyping,open source, agile methods and the unified process. The project manager can choosebetween these, or create their own.Similarly the project manager needs to select a package of techniques and tools that fitwithin the process model. These techniques are what the main part of this book is allabout. For example, a decision has to be made about the choice of programming language.Different organizations of teams were reviewed in Chapter 28.Project management usually involves monitoring and control: monitoring ascertainswhat is happening. Then control remedies things that are going wrong. In order tomonitor a project, what is happening must be visible and therefore reliable informationabout the state of the development must be available.Another important task associated with project management is people management –dealing with people’s needs, behavior and foibles. This involves trying to ensure thatpeople are well motivated. At the end of this chapter, we look at ideas for influencingthe behavior of a development team.