Software/System development people: a few weeks before GoLive....

[Ns1]

How big is this project? I've been the part of some pretty big make or break go-lives in my jobs and I have seen some really good and some really bad.

20m+, maybe high as 50m when all is said and done.

I'm not in the PM area so I don't know, but it's a fucking huge team and requires a lot of business resources as well.

 

[brianmanahan]

I actually have a web app question that I posted but I can't PM any of you till I have 25 posts

So basically, I am intending to start an insurance comparison site.

sort of like www.comparethemarket.com or www.mozo.com.au

I am just wondering how I should go about getting the data to make the premium calculator work.

do I have to go and snag a excel spreadsheet that the agents carry around with them to showcase the premium to their customers?

or do I call up the insurance company direct and explain to them what im trying to do and hope they help me out?:wub:

appreciate any input!

2 words: comparative raters

 

[Wet Squirrel]

Don't mean to derail this thread.

But what do you mean by using a comparative rater?

I did a quick google on the software and it says that it generates an insurance quote for you.

However, my problem is that different companies probably use different methods for calculating their premium.

Should I go get a copy of their premium list off their agent to feed into my quotation calculator

or should I go direct to the compliance department of the insurer, let them know what I like to do and if they can help me out?

 

[KentState]

20m+, maybe high as 50m when all is said and done.

I'm not in the PM area so I don't know, but it's a fucking huge team and requires a lot of business resources as well.

Never been part of something that big for just software. Largest was building a million sq/ft facility, consolidating 6 companies into it and implementing a new warehouse management system to run the distribution center. We rolled things out in phases so there were many go-lives over 12 months.

 

[yllus]

We're now 4 weeks til technical go live and 8 weeks away from functional go live, and I don't have a good feeling about this.

is that normal?

Yeah, pretty much.

The launch before the one I just had in March, I was working with people new to the software development cycle and they all seemed so down about our chances to launch successfully. I told them to cheer up and that we'd be fine, and we were. There's always a tidal wave of bad news before a launch - that's a good thing, people are looking at the details.

No software was ever released bug free, it's just a matter of risk assessment and deciding what's good enough. Just avoid the temptation to stay mum - make sure the risks are properly communicated to everyone and people will be fine with it.

 

[Saint Nick]

Yes. We are implementing a project, in August, that we've been working on for over a year now. I don't think it's going to go as smooth as we think it is.

 

[Ns1]

Never been part of something that big for just software. Largest was building a million sq/ft facility, consolidating 6 companies into it and implementing a new warehouse management system to run the distribution center. We rolled things out in phases so there were many go-lives over 12 months.

yeah this is just wave1 golive, there's like 3 more waves planned that I know of...

Yeah, pretty much.

The launch before the one I just had in March, I was working with people new to the software development cycle and they all seemed so down about our chances to launch successfully. I told them to cheer up and that we'd be fine, and we were. There's always a tidal wave of bad news before a launch - that's a good thing, people are looking at the details.

No software was ever released bug free, it's just a matter of risk assessment and deciding what's good enough. Just avoid the temptation to stay mum - make sure the risks are properly communicated to everyone and people will be fine with it.

thanks for the reply; yeah this is pretty much where we're at!

 

[Broheim]

this is why I like XP (ExtremeProgramming), short iterations, pair programming, continuous integration and test first means we catch 99% of shit while were doing it and I don't get that bad feeling towards the end.

of course with a "fucking huge team" agile methods are going to a monumental task to implement properly (I'm assuming you aren't using an agile method).

 

[Ns1]

of course with a "fucking huge team" agile methods are going to a monumental task to implement properly (I'm assuming you aren't using an agile method).

as agile as corporate bureaucratic will allow.

 

[Broheim]

as agile as corporate bureaucratic will allow.

haha, corporate and agile are like the polar opposites of each other

 

[Ns1]

haha, corporate and agile are like the polar opposites of each other

I have no idea how the fuck I typed "bureaucratic" when I meant "bureaucracy".

and yes, that was my point exactly. My PM tried to implement agile strategies but there's only so much he can do.

 

[Broheim]

I have no idea how the fuck I typed "bureaucratic" when I meant "bureaucracy".

and yes, that was my point exactly. My PM tried to implement agile strategies but there's only so much he can do.

well at least he's trying, if I ever have to use unified process or some shit like that again I'd probably eat a .45


"oh you want another UML chart" *click clack, poow* all the usecases scattered on Broheims desk are now soaked in his brains...

 

[Vdubchaos]

I have no idea how the fuck I typed "bureaucratic" when I meant "bureaucracy".

and yes, that was my point exactly. My PM tried to implement agile strategies but there's only so much he can do.

Your PM tried to do nothing and he ended up accomplishing nothing?

Sounds familiar, I'm a PM and see how MOST function. I also noticed that PM is the new field that's being over flooded by Indians.....