Patent ID: 8671007

Claim:
A method of managing projects in a software factory, the method comprising: launching, by one or more processors, a project management tool, wherein the project management tool comprises an end-to-end project plan for at least one project, and wherein said at least one project creates at least one software product by utilizing at least one software factory in a global delivery network; appending, by one or more processors, a status block to a work packet that is utilized when executing said at least one project within said at least one software factory, wherein the work packet is a self-contained work unit that is assembled within said at least one software factory, wherein each work packet constitutes a contractual agreement that governs a relationship among a design center, a software factory governance board, a software factory operations unit, and an assembly line in the software factory, wherein the design center breaks a software project into major functional areas, wherein the software factory governance board determines whether or not to allow the software factory to accept the software project, wherein the software factory operations unit dispatches the software project to the assembly line, and wherein the assembly line receives and executes work packets that are specified by the design center to create a customized deliverable unit of software; initiating, by one or more processors, execution of said at least one project within said at least one software factory; automatically triggering, by one or more processors, an alert from said at least one software factory whenever an execution status of the work packet changes; and transmitting, by one or more processors, the alert to the project management tool to update a completion status and project schedule for said at least one project, wherein the completion status of the end-to-end project plan reflects a status of the project schedule for a project described by the end-to-end project plan.