Successfully completing a system which others then use is a very rewarding experience. It s even better if you can bring the project in on time and within budget. All this can be yours if you follow the principles in this book, and add to them from your experience, and the ideas of your colleagues and other books.

At any time, you can check you are on the right lines. Ask yourself the following:

• Have I got an up-to-date plan? Does it answer, clearly, what? why? when? where? how? and who?

• Have I communicated the plan to my team, the users and my managers?

• Am I using the plan? Do I know how far each task has progressed against it?

• Are we following the procedures and standards we agreed? Have I checked?

• Have we thought about the risks? Have I planned to prevent or handle them?

• Do we have a clear specification for the system?

If you can answer yes to these, you re probably on the right track. It won t guarantee success, but your prospects are very good! If you have to answer no , then you know where to concentrate your efforts.

Good luck!