PROJ 584 Managing SW Devel Projects Week 3 Discussion Question 2 Why the Need for Meticulous Planning

Why the Need for Meticulous Planning?

 As Richard H. Thayer justly states: “A plan in the mind of a man is not a plan.”Taking a cue from the above, planning is a scrupulous effort that needs to be well documented in order for projects to succeed. In your experience, what projects have you seen fail (or terminate abnormally) for which you think the planning was not well thought out? 

As Richard H. Thayer justly states: “A plan in the mind of a man is not a plan.”

Taking a cue from the above, planning is a scrupulous effort that needs to be well documented in order for projects to succeed.  It’s the old “if you fail to plan you plan to fail” scenario.  We have all experienced it.  We go to the store without a plan and almost buy the entire store. We forget the budget, time slips by and when we get home we realize we did not get what we originally wanted from the store.  

In your experience, what projects have you seen fail (or terminate abnormally) for which you think the planning was not well thought out?

I’m sure that anyone who has been involved in software development for more than a few years has experienced one or more of these situations. If you haven’t yet, you will– and it won’t be pretty.

Why do software projects fail?

Would you like to succeed more and fail less?

 Based on the list above, how can an inattention to policies have a negative impact on a health care IT initiative?