This was a document based on interview with the CEO of a start-up company in Coimbatore.
1. Can the software scope be unambiguously defined and bounded?
Initially the scope was not clearly defined. Q3 obtained the scope of the project HIQ ERP through the gap analysis. This gap analysis identifies the requirements of the client. Then it compares the functionalities offered by the package with the functionalities required by the client. The extent of mismatch between the two is the gap. The gap in the required set of functionalities is nullified by developing the necessary workability. For instance, initially the requirement of Balu spinning mills (their client) was only a streamlined MRP. The Q3 team began to modify the open source framework to develop the necessary options in the system to fill in the gap. Once the development is done, an inter-testing at the Q3 office was performed. This was followed by the second level testing at the client’s premises. This testing at the client’s site made them to add new requirements to their list and thereby the scope got extended based on the outcome of the test results to an ERP implementation. The CEO Mr.Arun Eshwar says that their status of being a start-up company imposes the need to be flexible to their clients. He adds that Q3 can’t be black & white in describing the terms and conditions of the project, the reason being the same. So, the scope was not bounded in the project HIQ ERP.
2. How can a developer clarify the terminologies?
The CEO of Q3 recalls his experience with their client who was delivered with the HIQ ERP package, Balu spinning mills. This was basically an enterprise related to textile industry. As the CEO himself was from a family with textile background the terminologies associated with the client did not be a menace to the owner. The terms used in the client’s business forms the basis of the entities & functions used in the ERP system. So the terminologies associated with the firm are clear to the CEO, who was also the project lead for the HIQ ERP project and thereby to the developers also. The later clients say Mandu India pvt ltd and TCC belonged to a different category. Expert advice was the option of the PL to clarify the terminologies associated with these firms. Ultimately, the terminologies were clear in all these projects and installations.
3. Are resources adequate for the scope of the firm's project?
At Q3 India software solutions, the resources are adequate In subject to the scope. The basic resources for a project to be developed are the human resource in sufficient number with the required skill set in the desired location; the reusable software such as COTS components, both full and part experience components and new components specifically developed for the project; the environment comprising the network in which the software is developed, the hardware and the software tools involved in the development process.
The CEO makes a statement that the human resource of the firm is adequate enough to meet the scope of the project in spite of it being continuously modified by the clients. The open source framework was the base substrate of the first installation at Balu mills. The later projects were benefitted with the reusable data components for the various incorporated modules. In case of the working environment, the firm has a good environment with necessary tools and networks being available whenever needed.
4. Are resources readily available for ERP implementation in Coimbatore?
The human resources are readily available for the firm to operate in Coimbatore. Mr.Arun Eshwar mentions that he is well equipped the human resource with the desired knowledge and capabilities in Coimbatore than in Chennai, where Q3 India software solutions started its operations. The IT professionals at Chennai prefer MNCs than a startup of its kind. But in case of Coimbatore, the work force is stable and there was no employee resignation in the past three years, right from the beginning of its operations in CITRA, Coimbatore. When we made a query about the availability of technology and other technical resources, the answer was that those can be made available or can be created, but are not readily available as in the tier 1 cities. Except the open source framework for ERP development, they did not have any on the shelf component during their first assignment. But later they added their modified framework and the related source codes to the list of reusable components for further projects.
5. Have historical productivity and quality data been used?
Q3 India Software Ltd uses historical data in their succeeding projects. Historical data such as number of people involved in a similar previous project helps them in planning for their next project. Data such as the headcount (i.e.) the number of employees involved has helped the company in allocating the required work force and for a better scheduling activity. Past data like the time duration for a particular module helps in estimation. Q3 uses a time tracking software to measure the idle time, the active time, the time online and production time associated with each project. The application is also capable of generating a productivity report of the project. Using the historical data about the time duration, the company was able to prepare schedules more realistic than the previous one. This helps to reduce the deviation from the estimated time in their subsequent projects. The company also makes use of a machine tracking software to measure the productivity of the machine, say a system in use by tracking the key strokes, the websites visited, the extent to which the special keys are used etc. This data is used in preparing the estimate of resources and also in allocating the same to various employees involved in the project. The company says that the historical data which they use in their future projects are usable only to a level of 50%, which means Q3 software cannot completely rely on the historical data. Each and every client wants his ERP package to be tailor-made for his/her organization. So along with the basis of historical data, the customization according to the client’s needs should also be considered in a software planning process. However, the company which does not use any decomposition techniques for estimating their costs makes use of historical data for cost estimation.
6. can the differences in estimates be easily reconciled?
Like all companies, Q3 software has also experienced difference in estimates. The difference in estimates which they have faced till now is deviation in cost and time. Since Q3 India Software is a startup and since they don’t have very much exposure in this field, they faced difference in estimates in the first project. The deviation in time in their first project for Balu spinning mills was nearly two months. For their next project the deviation was reduced. According to Mr. Arun, the difference in time estimate is because of three reasons. Deviation in estimate is caused because of the client not disclosing all their requirements in the beginning and revealing it slowly in the course of the project. Second reason is change requests are made once the project is commenced. The third reason is poor understanding of the development team or the requirement gathering team. During the initial phase, if the company does not gather the necessary requirements and only after the estimation process they get the actual requirements, there will be a change in schedule which will cause additional cost. Q3 India Software has so far tried to reconcile the deviation in time as far as possible and the maximum deviation in time estimate till date is one or two months. In case of cost estimates, what Q3 India Software does is, they themselves compromise the cost incurred due to faults on their side. On the other hand, if the project is delayed due to a mistake committed by the clientele they reconcile it from the customer in an indirect way. The reason for this is they are a startup and they do not want to charge the client with additional cost.
7: Are task properly defined and sequenced ? Is parallelism reasonable , given available reasonable?
In Q3 systems software development has been done by module wise. At the beginning of the project current plan(CP)is prepared and at this stage sequence of designing modules is to be decided. In there project of HiQ ERP first they designed sales module then production and so on. Sequence of module designing is based on convenience of customers and company. If customers demands a module at the beginning stage of project they will change sequence according to customer need. Else sequencing is done based on a general pattern sales, production etc. Before starting the development phase of project entire sequence of module designing is to be finalized as a result of negotiation between company and customer.
If parallelism is to done for designing modules of ERP software it become very difficult to determine functional boundaries of different modules. Omission of functions of various modules are also possible in case of parallel designing of modules. In case of parallel design it is very difficult to determine in which module error occurred. This will increase complexity of testing process. Main advantage of module wise design is that testing become more efficient. Testing can be done individually for each module .In planning stage of task time for testing is also included .Only after completing design and testing of one module next module will start .This will ensure design of two modules will never overlap between each other.
8: Is the basis of cost estimation reasonable? Has the cost estimate been developed using two independent methods?
In Q3 India Software, there is no standard method or paradigm for the estimation of cost. Cost estimation is done generally based on types and requirement of clients. Cost estimation is done by doing gap analysis between clients need and existing ERP system of company. If the requirement of customers and HiQ ERP systems is similar project can be completed with minimum customization and so cost of that particular project is also minimum. If client requirement is having large variation from HiQ ERP system large customization is needed and so cost will also increase. Cost of the project will also depend upon the additional recruitment and such other additional resources needed for the completion of project. Complexity of the project is the another factor that determine cost of the project.
Final product delivery is one of the very important determining factor for cost estimation . Productivity & quality of final product is to be analyzed and costing will be done based on that. Productivity and quality of products are measured based on results of testing. So requirement changes and deviation in plan will lead to increase of cost. The previous business transactions done with customer are also considered as one of the factors that influences cost. In total Q3 India Software has not found a need for any standard method for costing and they are doing well with the current unsystematic procedure.
