Insight
Insights
Timeless wisdom for timely project delivery
Published on
16 June 2025Category
Insight
Sometimes the simplest project advice is the most powerful. Escient Managing Consultant, Sam Durland shares his go-to principles for getting delivery right.
– Benjamin Franklin
Planning increases your chances of success and reduces the likelihood of delays, cost blow-outs, and quality issues.
This wisdom remains as relevant today as it was over 200 years ago. Whether following an Agile, Waterfall, or Hybrid delivery approach, it is essential to have a plan for what you want to achieve and to manage your team to that plan. Regularly analyse and review the plan with your team to ensure it remains achievable and that progress stays on track. When required, adjust the plan to address challenges encountered along the journey.
Projects without an achievable and well-managed plan often risk delays, cost blow-outs, or quality issues. Effective planning provides the foundation for success.
– Warren Buffett
Projects are investments with an expected return, whether tangible or intangible. Regardless of the delivery approach, clearly defining your requirements – user stories, technical specifications, functional needs, and more – is a critical contributor to on-time, on-budget, and on-quality delivery, ensuring your expected return on investment (ROI) is achieved.
Invest time upfront in detailing what you aim to achieve and manage these requirements consistently from start to finish. This practice safeguards ROI by minimising non-value-added effort and rework, ensuring that the project delivers outcomes that matter most.
– Hans Hofmann
This quote highlights the importance of shared understanding in project teams. Just as builders rely on architectural plans to guide their work, software engineers and testing teams need clearly articulated solution architectures to develop individual components and integrate them seamlessly.
Teams working from an assumed or outdated architecture can struggle to understand the broader picture, leading to quality issues or unnecessary rework. A well-maintained design framework ensures alignment across all phases of development, creating a cohesive and high-quality solution.
– Bert Rutan
In software development, testing provides the clarity needed to confirm success and identify areas for improvement. Comprehensive testing ensures the solution works as required and reveals potential failures that can be resolved before deployment.
Assuming a solution will work based on light-touch testing is a high-risk approach that can cause significant challenges for both your organisation and your customers. A thorough testing process mitigates these risks, delivering a solution that meets expectations and maintains trust.
– Sam Durland (that’s me)
Projects are often first-time exercises, laden with the risk of the unknown or unanticipated. This reality means that delivery risks, if left unmanaged, can quickly escalate into issues that result in delays, cost blow-outs, or compromised quality.
Take the time to identify potential risks, assess their likelihood and impact, and develop strategies to address them proactively. Regularly review and update your risk profile throughout the project lifecycle to stay ahead of challenges. Proactive risk management keeps projects on track and minimises surprises that could derail success.
These first principles of software project management – planning, managing requirements, designing effectively, testing thoroughly, and managing risks – are essential to delivering high-quality outcomes. By staying grounded in these fundamentals, you can ensure your projects meet their goals and provide long-term value.
