Software Project Management and Process
Project management balances scope, schedule, cost, quality, and risk - change one and the others move. Know estimation techniques: expert judgment, analogy, and algorithmic models (e.g., function points, COCOMO), plus planning poker in agile settings. Understand why estimates are uncertain and why cone of uncertainty narrows as a project progresses. Grasp risk management: identify, analyze (probability × impact), plan responses (avoid, mitigate, transfer, accept), and monitor.
Be fluent in process models: waterfall (sequential, document-heavy, change-hostile), iterative/incremental, spiral (risk-driven), and agile (short iterations, working software, customer collaboration). Know Scrum roles and artifacts - product owner, scrum master, team; product backlog, sprint backlog, increment; sprint review and retrospective - and Kanban's flow-based pull with WIP limits. Understand earned value concepts at a high level: planned vs. earned vs. actual, and that schedule variance compares earned value to planned value.
Traps: assuming agile means no planning or no documentation; confusing the product owner (prioritizes value) with the scrum master (removes impediments, coaches process); treating a risk response as "monitor" when mitigation is needed; and questions where a schedule slip is blamed on effort when scope creep is the cause. Also beware conflating velocity (team throughput) with productivity across teams.
Rule of thumb: when a project is behind, the honest options are reduce scope, extend time, or add cost - adding people late (Brooks's law) usually slows it further.
Worked example: A risk: "key developer may leave." Probability 30%, impact high. Response: cross-train a second developer (mitigate) and document critical knowledge (reduce impact) - not simply "accept and hope."