APPLICATION TO SOFTWARE ENGINEERING

Here we fill in Form 2. We have filled out the form categorizing a team of people in accordance with the scheme introduced in Chapter 4. From the form it looks like we're in reasonable shape. There are some training requirements arising from the 4s; however, it is the rightmost two columns which interest us. This form shows exactly where the project manager ought to expend management effort and suggests the management style that will be right in any particular situation.

In Figure 6.5 we see that everyone appears in the don't trust column of the form; the reason might be that this is a brand new team with which the project manager has not worked before, and everyone has been classified as either a Category B or a Category D. This team will require intensive monitoring on the project manager's part. There is no part of the project he will not have to stick his nose into. If, after a period of time, he finds that he has come to rely on some people, and finds that they consistently deliver, he may have reason to revise his rating of them and place them in the do trust column. However, until then he will have to keep a careful eye on things to make sure nobody drops the ball.

Figure 6.5. Using Form 2