Personnel Planning in Software Development: Staffing for Project Success

Learn about personnel planning (staffing) in software project management—determining the number of people, their skills, and team organization. This guide explains how to estimate staffing needs, create staffing plans, and manage personnel effectively throughout a software development project.

Personnel Planning in Software Development

Introduction to Personnel Planning

Personnel planning, also known as staffing, is a crucial aspect of software project management. It involves determining the number of people needed for a project, their skills, and how they'll be organized into teams. Effective personnel planning ensures that projects have the right people with the right skills at the right time.

Estimating Staff Requirements

Estimating staff needs typically involves:

  1. Defining Personnel Requirements: Identifying the skills and experience needed for different roles.
  2. Recruitment: Finding, interviewing, and selecting suitable candidates.
  3. Compensation: Determining salaries and benefits.
  4. Training and Development: Providing ongoing training and support.

Early in a project, when the detailed design isn't complete, estimates are often based on high-level subsystems and modules. Once the overall project effort and schedule are estimated, you can calculate the average staff size by dividing total effort (person-months) by project duration (months).

Staffing levels typically increase during implementation and testing and decrease during the final stages of the project.

(Further discussion on how to use methods like the COCOMO model for effort and schedule estimation would be included here.)

Team Structures in Software Development

Several team structures exist, each with its own advantages and disadvantages:

1. Ego-Less or Democratic Teams

Small teams where decisions are made by consensus. Leadership rotates among team members. Suitable for long-term projects or research-intensive projects.

(A diagram illustrating the communication paths in an egoless team would be included here.)

2. Chief Programmer Team

Hierarchical structure with a chief programmer responsible for major technical decisions. Includes a backup programmer, a librarian, and other programmers. Minimizes communication overhead but can create bottlenecks.

(A diagram illustrating the communication paths in a chief programmer team would be included here.)

3. Controlled Decentralized Team

Combines elements of both democratic and chief programmer teams. Small teams work independently, but communication between teams is channeled through senior programmers. Suitable for larger, relatively straightforward projects.

(A diagram illustrating the communication paths in a controlled decentralized team would be included here.)