Product Development Plan
Advanced Computer Systems is one emerging organization that has highlighted its effectiveness in the market significantly. The 4 different product lines of the company consist of six teams functioning for different operations associated with the productivity of the firm. However, the maturity levels of these product development teams differ significantly as the range starts from being matured for 2 months to being 4 years old. In the context of this product development plan which is also dedicated to enhancing the support life cycle, each team from every product line is engaged in the following activities:
- Development
- Build and Packaging
- Testing
- Bench-marking & Release
- Deploy
- Support
As mentioned, the aforementioned activities are covered by each team which consists of 6-10 people. Hence, to enhance the functionalities of the firm it is necessary to structure it accordingly based on the perspectives of the team members. Subsequently, appropriate distribution of roles and accountabilities is also crucial for maintaining their efficient production in the market. In the development team, members have to perform planning, testing, analysis, programming, and other various activities in the entire course of the project. It should not be expected that all of the team members will be having the required skills to complete a project. The team will include a product owner, software architect, UX and UI Designers, QA engineers, software developers, and an engineering manager. Here the development team is cross-functional and will have people who will form the central element of the Scrum development team structure. This is the team that will be vested with the responsibility of developing the actual product increment and thereafter meeting the goals of the sprint. Each of the team members will have to work in collaboration with others so that the project objectives can be achieved. The development of products and services requires that the team members be given roles as per their eligibility and experience. There is also a need to foster team development through means of sessions and discussions. Something to focus on is resource allocation and team roles and responsibilities. In the development team, roles are clear with the portfolios mentioned. For instance, a software architect will be vested with the responsibility of designing the software and ensuring in all ways that the design as aspired by the company for a specific project is met. It has to be ensured in every way that product development is a crucial thing and a part of the critical business functions of a company. This can be said to be the wholesome process of referring to an idea starting from the concept to the delivery phase and beyond. This can include coming up with a brand new product or making modifications to an existing one. In all cases, there have to be some special considerations for the part as to how the product is aligned toward the goals of the organization. The team has to be a balance of freshers and experienced persons. This will help to ensure that the development ideas include the good points of both the generations. The freshers can help with the integration of new technology and the experienced ones can enhance the product in terms of security and more. There is a need to be more specific about the product design and its value to the customer to ensure that it succeeds to capture the market. Most importantly, the development team will use the agile project management methodology (Ciric et al., 2018), to design and develop products as in it there is much scope to incorporate feedback. The stakeholders as well can be highly involved in the development stages thus it can be ensured that many changes be done before the final implementation is proceeded with.
IT Infrastructure Management
An IT infrastructure management role is to offer a platform for a range of technological activities, including hardware, application, and communication in both real and virtual contexts. Reduced downtime and increased production are the primary objectives. There are several structural components to IT managing projects, including information systems, network administration, and storage administration because of the complexities of the IT infrastructures. Services provided by the IT network infrastructure for Advanced Computer Systems are often invisible to the end-users (Bañares and Altmann 2018). They are responsible for the day-to-day operations of the company, including the Internet, communication, and data access. When it comes to productivity, the team depends significantly on real-time control and reporting systems.
A team responsible for IT infrastructure management is made up of a variety of technical as well as non-technical positions. However, whenever it comes to maintaining connectivity projects, such as updates, integrations, and maintenance, and Information Program Manager (IPM) has certain special tasks that are not shared by other project managers. Construction projects management encompasses many of the basic project management features, such as planning, implementation, monitoring, verification, and project closing, as well as certain unique elements. Nevertheless, it is also very technical, since all initiatives are involved with ensuring that the information technology infrastructure continues to operate indefinitely. IPMs are often involved in a range of current projects with no clear end date in mind, while conventional project managers are involved in sectors as diverse with a clear end date in mind.
Cost reductions, operational simplicity, and data clarity are all features of Advanced Computer Systems IT infrastructure control systems. The following behaviors help to achieve these outcomes:
- Rapid responsiveness to changing potentially disruptive situations.
- Flexible and responsive processes that lead to proactive strategy.
- With automation, we can better plan our capacity for important events and crises, cut personnel costs, consolidate information, and deliver near actual information and monitoring.
- Everyday tasks and processes have been streamlined. free up staff time so that they can then better plan and fulfill the needs of the entire company strategy, including growing for potential profoundly.
- Improved client satisfaction and in turn effectiveness.
- Reduced interruption by expediting deployments and minimizing recovery time.
Even though IT infrastructure maintenance is used to streamline operations, it may be disruptive during the first stages of implementation. It is the job of CIOs as well as CTOs to be flexible within the restrictions of their resources and the capabilities of their personnel to move now at the speeds of the business and rapidly adopt, implement, and successfully manage structures and procedures – often at the expense of sufficient preparation and study. Business user needs and customer expectations for trustworthy IT products continue to expand. With these expectations, the environment of IT operations and its administration continues to grow more complicated and wider in scale (Bañares and Altmann 2018). The requirement for simple answers, clear analytics, genuine views, and providing stable, cost-saving capabilities, scalability, mobility, and dependability would also continue to develop.
Agile can be implemented in groups in a variety of ways for Advanced Computer Systems:
Being business-led: The company must lead on diverse practices of Agile working. There is also dedicated engagement between the HR executives and the company that may aid in producing the working practice that will result in meeting customer, workers, and business demands.
The first step is to have a good awareness of the company’s business objectives that may aid in the formation of the ideal personnel, and then to figure out how flexibility can aid in the attainment of both of these goals. Agile processes can only be developed with a full understanding of the company’s work characteristics and the attributes of its employees.
Agile Implementation for Advanced Computer Systems
Bottom-up development of the agile mechanistic explanation: For the establishment of the Agile marketing strategy, it is essential that the methodology should have been at the correct level via having a separate services business or processes at a moment instead of throughout the full company.
Considering the large strategic choices: It was discovered that in certain circumstances the modest modification in the functioning of agile may result in a huge impact. For all this, it is needed that there will be an installation of the new movement schedule that may aid in fulfilling the increased demand.
Education of the executives in organizations: The management mentality may typically become the bottleneck in the implementation of agile working therefore having the top leaders on board is highly critical. As a consequence, senior management time and energy will be well spent in terms of increasing employee engagement and improving performance.
Scrum is a methodology for guiding teams within iterative development delivery of the products that are part of the agile framework. Often described as the impactful project managing foundation,” its emphasis is on the use of an experimental analysis that enables teams to adjust fast, effectively, and productively to change. Conventional project management approaches fix specifications in an attempt to control time and expense; Scrum but on the other hand solves time and expense in an attempt to manage demands (Arnold, Söbke, and Reichelt 2019). This sort of project may make use of a wide range of tools and approaches to improve the infrastructure for Advanced Computer Systems. The first tool that I would utilize is the Narrative board, which could handle the situation that perhaps the 10 participants of the project are dispersed in various countries. Because members are acquainted with one another, there may be challenges with synchronization or dedication. Next, I would utilize the Project plan to handle an ethical concern, such as any disagreements between members of the team that may delay the project. Sprint Incarnation Planning keeping the teammates honest but all of your work accessible. Sprint Iterative process Review eliminates any doubts regarding who is accountable for each project job. During the evaluation, we have the opportunity to clarify any aspects of the assignment on which a team member is unsure. In this way, team members who fail to raise concerns about poor work quality or the failure to finish assignments on time might remain silent. Several of the technologies that would be advantageous for this initiative would indeed be tools for communications amongst those groups that are situated in various areas. Also, a dashboard where sprint items may be shown to highlight who owns what and when they need to be completed would be useful.
Azure Developing Ops would indeed be excellent for the producer to upload their work, which would display the designer work that’s successfully done with every sprint. The agility coach may also use Project Server to keep track of modifications made during a project (Arnold, Söbke, and Reichelt 2019). The advantage of the Project server enables modifications to be performed as the project proceeds, while other approaches do not evaluate changes with both the contract administrator or stockholders again until the project is well along. If the shareholders make any alterations. The construction will have to be completely rebuilt from the ground up, starting with the planning process.
Implementation of Agile Methodology
The second technology that I would advise is Zoom for coordination of any video conference sessions working on the project including sprint assessments. Zoom be utilized for team building activities putting creating agile games and is another approach to establishing camaraderie on the team. I have attached a chart with something like a list of approaches that may be applied in an Agile context. Regulating the standard of work initially starts at the earliest phases of the most competent candidates for such diverse jobs required for project organization. Setting individual of these on 1 meeting may play a huge influence in acquiring a decent quality of work. Also defining goals for Advanced Computer Systems improvement in the campaign is another way to assist acquire the greatest quality output from every team will indeed finish a great operation with learning learn meeting for both the team. At this conference, we should highlight things that have gone well throughout the assignment and problems.
For this specific project, I would employ many-core tactics for qualification sessions for Advanced Computer Systems. I would advise RFP from its very beginning, to check the list of needs submitted by the contract administrator. This enables me as a program manager or agility instructor to analyze the individuals essential to finish the project. It also provides the group once formed time to design a questionnaire to collect additional needs from the partners. It also offers folks with so little to contribute a voice via the questionnaires (Simpson et.al 2019). Even though in the collective discussion that I shall conduct, everybody cannot talk. Another key method is brainstorming this offers the team cohesion to work together in the perfect result on performing a job and discussing new ideas. To monitor the work on time I want the Tale Mapping tool, because paints the whole image of individual characters that can be tracked from the beginning till the conclusion. Applications including Visual Logic, Project servers, and Azure Dev Operations enable the agile coaches to oversee individuals as well as collaborative work. Some of the distinctions between Agile development project planning include Flexibility.
The traditional approach gives little to no option for making modifications. This procedure is strict with a critical application. After finalization, management communicates the message to their employees and offers instructions to key keep the team focused (Ioj? et.al 2021). Any alterations that may come along after this stage, will face criticism since it causes delays in the timeline.
The agile technique is more adaptive and provides a greater degree of flexibility whenever it comes to product adjustments. It enables team members to explore and perform a test to figure out all of the best outcomes. There is flexibility to share any concept they feel would assist to develop the product significantly. The primary goal of Agile is to provide the best possible product rather than to strictly adhere to predetermined processes.
Management and Accountability: The Project Manager is traditionally seen as having ultimate responsibility for the project’s success. It is the manager’s job to map out and record the product’s career stability. Besides management, only consumers are engaged in the design stage but once the approach which involves their engagement is nil. Since managers control all the strings of the program, team members normally will not be having a voice in the outcome of their work or how the undertaking is moving. As per the Agile approach, the participants share control of the project. That everybody works together again to develop a strategy for completing the project on schedule and budget. Customers can witness the evolution of the products right from the beginning to their finish. This kind of openness is critical to sustaining a work atmosphere that is both productive and deeply engaged.
Solving problems: In case of unanticipated barriers, people need to communicate the matter to their management. However, going to your boss regularly isn’t an option. It might create unreasonable delays and surpass the anticipated time limit, aside from boosting the total cost as well. Agile methodologies can make choices on their own. To save time, they attempt to resolve all concerns on their own. Having a hand in the whole thing gives them a leg up on a lot of issues that get in their way. Unless needing to take drastic actions, team members seldom need to advance petty concerns to their management.
Security checks and Measuring progress: Traditional technique emphasizes substantial planning at the modeling and analysis step of the design. Their emphasis is more on simplifying the procedures than on the products themselves. Once the procedure is established, it is anticipated that now the team would execute it stepwise with minimum direction. Once the construction is finished, it is possible to evaluate the progress made. Except in extreme cases, the boss does not often check in with employees.
Different maturity levels of the team for an organization predominantly highlight the major disadvantages related to leadership and the output of the activities they perform. Maturity level is significantly related to the aspects of experience and skill which the team members gather while working. As mentioned within the context of the organization the 4 different product lines persist with maturity levels right from a year to a range of 4 years. Therefore, in terms my perspective, the major challenge which Advanced Computer Systems might face due to the different maturity levels of the teams is role uncertainty and lack of teamwork among the pertinent employees or individuals. Teamwork or collaboration is a comprehensive approach that the employees of any organization need to include within their operational structures because it assists in the completion of activities at a much quicker rate and also enhances the decision-making procedures. Employee connections are strengthened through teamwork since the closer workers engage together, the greater they get to understand one another and create a fondness for one another. They adapt and continue to cope with each other’s preferences, inclinations, talents, and flaws the further they work alongside. When people work together over a long period, they automatically become much more cooperative, which makes the workplace more pleasurable for everyone. This aspect is closely related to the maturity of the teams since the more the team gets mature the more members of the same perceive the ability to work for each other and complete their respective activities to accomplish the objectives. A comfortable work atmosphere contributes to increased productivity, which aids organizations in meeting their objectives more rapidly. The goal of increasing cooperation is to boost production efficiency for the improvement of the organization. Sales representatives, for instance, thrive on genuine competition, but they build customer relationships and help the company when they collaborate.
Another adverse impact that different maturity levels of the team initiate are uncertainties of roles amongst the members. In a comparison of the teams that are mature for more than 4 years with the teams having the experience of just a year, the distribution of roles and responsibilities will be different. Hence, the uncertainties amongst the less experienced team are anticipated more as they will not have the experience of watching how their conducted activities might work efficiently and how they should arrange their leadership characteristics. Communication is considered one of the most prioritized aspects in terms of organizational activities.
The advantages of forming a productive workplace group cannot be overstated. Since the communication process is so important to a team’s performance, it must be understood by all members. Efficient team communication fosters a sense of shared mission between team members, allowing them to achieve their objectives. Regular friendly contact can aid in the development of a feeling of participation and the strengthening of connections among team members (Rajhans 2018). The effective team understands that organizational productivity is driven by group interaction. Individuals will become more eager to seek support whenever they need it if they fulfill the demands for their performance, and the group will become much more capable as a result. Solid team communications will lead to knowledge, and comprehension will lead to strong team connections. To sustain such beneficial parameters, the organization needs to have accurate teams with similar maturity levels or the challenge of communication management will still be a prodigy for them affecting their efficiency and productivity. Lastly, it is necessary to mention the fact that the maturity of the teams cannot be expected to be the same every time for any organization, and similar is the case with Advanced Computer Systems. Though they sustain with less mature teams as well yet it’s all upon the leaders of the organization on how they handle these teams to make them effective and mitigate the challenges.
As discussed, above Advanced Computer Systems already persists with less mature teams as well which highlights specific challenges for them but for each product line of the company they need to recruit and engage the right person who can assist them in achieving their objectives. Recruiting and including skilled people with the required skill level dedicated to the individual product lines is indeed a good option to enhance the productivity of the items and the overall firm however, I would recommend the establishment of some functional competency. Functional competency assists with items like compliance, efficiency, and safety within the organization which can be translated accurately towards the success related to profitability for Advanced Computer Systems. Advanced Computer Systems may use functional competencies to gain valuable information for production, establish successful competency-based learning, and provide more precise assessments of what constitutes somebody successful in a specific role. Functional competencies create relevance from a philosophical standpoint. This is primarily because functional skills involve someone’s ability to do a competency-demonstrating act instead of conduct. Engagement of employees validated through functional competencies also has another specific advantage since it lets establishment of reporting structures and organizational matrix for the respective firm at a much quicker rate and also assures better efficiency.
A reporting structure demonstrates the interconnections amongst several authorities of any particular firm. It is nothing but a hierarchical chain of commands which clearly states which employee needs to report to whom. The reporting structure or the organization structure can be built only once Advanced Computer Systems gets to clarify each of its members, executive leaders, and more. Once, Advanced Computer Systems sets its operational architectures, the same can be represented through an organization chart which consists of a diagram that delineates the interrelationship of positions established within the firm. Businesses adapt their organizational frameworks overtime to meet development and developments in the outside world. It’s not unusual for a company to embrace a utilitarian organization in its early years, for instance. The company may then transition to a divisional structure as it grows and it becomes more complicated, maybe to handle additional offerings or to be more attentive to specific consumers or geographic locations. Some businesses may end up relying on a mix of divisional and functional structures. When senior administrative departments and employees have access to all the information, they are best prepared to detect concerning regions and come up with mutually satisfactory remedies. A good management reporting program promotes cross-functional collaboration between organizations while also reducing duplication of effort amongst teammates (Mazurkiewicz 2020). Workers will also save endless hours digging through mountains of paperwork in quest of analysis and information thanks to computerized assessments. Advanced Computer Systems’s supervisors would have to depend on their expertise alone if they don’t have a strong, functioning leadership reporting system, and workers won’t have a sense of purpose and direction. Improved information availability decreases ambiguity and allows managers to determine effective decisions based on accurate data.
For the firm, it is not only a reporting structure that will provide them significant results. The product lines and the relevant teams they have also need to follow a specific product-related matrix, and the functional competencies mentioned above also need to stay associated with product specialists. The product specialists and the relevant matrix and structures should be built upon the considerations of one product manager per product (or feature). This is also considered one of the most comprehensive ways of growing a product team and the structure of Advanced Computer Systems should also follow the same such that every product line gets its manager. Also, the responsibilities of the product manager should not be determined by the product they administer but according to the skills they possess. Initiation of the mentioned reporting structures, organizational matrix, and product specialists in the context of the respective organization, will relatively enhance the consumer services and loyalty of Advanced Computer Systems. Moreover, being a product-based organization, the sales team and its enhancement is most important and the product specialists or the managers can effectively look to perform such activities to ensure the enhancements with their respective team members.
References
Bañares, J.Á. and Altmann, J., 2018. Economics behind ICT infrastructure management. Electronic Markets, 28(1), pp.7-9.
Chen, S., Yang, C., Li, J. and Yu, F.R., 2019. Full lifecycle infrastructure management system for smart cities: A narrow band IoT-based platform. IEEE Internet of Things Journal, 6(5), pp.8818-8825.
Ciric, D., Lalic, B., Gracanin, D., Palcic, I. and Zivlak, N., 2018, March. Agile project management in new product development and innovation processes: challenges and benefits beyond software domain. In 2018 IEEE International Symposium on Innovation and Entrepreneurship (TEMS-ISIE) (pp. 1-9). IEEE.
Ioj?, C.I., Badiu, D.L., Haase, D., Hossu, A.C. and Ni??, M.R., 2021. How about water? Urban blue infrastructure management in Romania. Cities, 110, p.103084.
Mazurkiewicz, K., 2020.Core & More–The Concept Of Intelligent Reporting For Corporate Information. Zeszyty Naukowe SGGW, Polityki Europejskie, Finanse i Marketing, (24 (73)), pp.104-113.Arnold, U., Söbke, H. and Reichelt, M., 2019. SimCity in infrastructure management education. Education Sciences, 9(3), p.209.
Muslimin, E., Fajrussalam, H., Syah, M. and Erihadiana, M., 2021. The Implementation of Educational Facilities and Infrastructure Management in Supporting Learning Process during Pandemic Covid-19 (Study at SMA Plus As-Salaam Bandung). Bulletin of Science Education, 1(2), pp.116-123.
Rajhans, K., 2018. Effective communication management: A key to stakeholder relationship management in project-based organizations. IUP Journal of Soft Skills, 12(4), pp.47-66.
Rogov, A.A., Statsenko, A.A., Obukhov, I.V. and Smirnova, A.A., 2020, January. Development of artificial intelligence systems for megacities transport infrastructure management. In 2020 IEEE Conference of Russian Young Researchers in Electrical and Electronic Engineering (EIConRus) (pp. 1663-1666). IEEE.
Simpson, N.P., Simpson, K.J., Shearing, C.D. and Cirolia, L.R., 2019. Municipal finance and resilience lessons for urban infrastructure management: a case study from the Cape Town drought. International Journal of Urban Sustainable Development, 11(3), pp.257-276.
Ulibarri, N. and Scott, T.A., 2019. Environmental hazards, rigid institutions, and transformative change: How drought affects the consideration of water and climate impacts in infrastructure management. Global Environmental Change, 59, p.102005.