EPM for Software Development

Software application development follows a set of formal, logical steps in order to develop a new software product or system. The process has different phases like Requirements Gathering and Analysis, Design, System Testing, User Acceptance Testing and Production Deployment.

Microsoft's EPM Solution and Visual Studio® Team Foundation Server helps organisations to better connect the two worlds of Project Portfolio Management (PPM) and Application Development (AD).

Both tools are already used by many organisations to support PPM and AD processes. Integrating these tools allows the development team to work in a familiar environment, maximising productivity and focusing on quality, while ensuring all required data is provided to the project manager to facilitate project and portfolio reporting.

This flavour subjects the project to the appropriate governance controls throughout its lifecycle. The main governance phases are described below:

Initiate Phase: The Initiate Phase focuses on capturing project requests from across the organization and developing business cases in accordance with governance workflows.

Select Phase: The Select Phase focuses on prioritising, optimising, and selecting a project portfolio that best aligns with the organisation's business strategy.

Plan Phase: The Plan Phase focuses on scheduling, resource planning and task assignment. The integrated solution ensures the project manager can capture high-level tasks for the development work and collaborate with the development lead that is responsible for defining the granular activities and assigning members of their team.

Execute Phase: The Execute Phase primarily focuses on tracking the project to a successful conclusion. The integrated solution allows the development team to utilise familiar tools and methodologies and focus on releasing a high quality product, without being diverted by administrative tasks and project reporting. Likewise, the solution ensures the project manager and stakeholders have visibility and insight into the development activities and progress.

The following are benefits of using Microsoft EPM Solution and Microsoft Visual Studio Team Foundation Server to manage software development projects:

Align IT with the business

• Transform IT from a "cost centre" into a value add
• Integrate governance controls into processes; minimise the risk of non-compliance
• Facilitate smooth projects with standard processes

Enhance resource utilization

• Increase return on investment (ROI) by using resources more effectively
• Maximise limited IT resources by leveraging the right people on the right projects
• Gain insight into resource gaps/strengths; know when to hire or train

Improve project execution

• Deliver high-quality projects on time, within scope, and on budget
• Gain visibility into project performance across the portfolio
• Make more informed and timely decisions

Effective Collaboration

• Bridge the gap between the PMO and development teams
• Allow teams to spend more time developing and less time in overhead activities

 A typical scenario would start with project managers using Microsoft Project to create their project plans. The project manager then publishes an entire project plan, or just aspects of it.  Development team members see this data as work items, which they can view and edit inside of Visual Studio.

During the course of a project, team members resolve, postpone and possibly reassign these work items. In parallel, the tool synchronises these activities with their original product plans, which brings the project plan up-to-date by retrieving the latest state of work from Team Foundation Server. For example, Microsoft Project can use the time remaining in a work items to calculate project schedules and completion dates, just as if team members entered data directly into Microsoft Project itself.