Technical knowledge is only current for weeks or months rather than years, and it's impossible to keep track of the ebb and flow of all the dot-coms. High risk and overwhelming pressure are the norm in this sector, but as Geoff Hewson points out in this week's article, there are a few steps that project managers of web applications can take to reduce the heat. Just as the sources of pressure in web projects are merely the same old sources turned up a few notches, the strategies described here are all fundamental project management best practices. Given the industry's current track record, they're probably worth repeating. Software Productivity Center Inc. Developing web applications shares many similarities with conventional software development.
Requirements are often vague initially, and only become clearer over time.
Internet technology is evolving rapidly. The user interface is critical - your competitor is only one click away. These people all have different mindsets and rely on different styles of communication. Web development teams are often geographically dispersed and include subcontractors. Controlling these types of projects is usually very document and process intensive, which simply doesn't work in the rapidly moving, dynamic world of web development.