Abstract
Are technical problems or managerial problems the main cause of software problems? I agree with the author that many of the difficulties associated with software project management can be solved by better adherence to standard project management principles. However, I think that there are critical features of software production that render conventional project management approaches insufficient for software projects. In this context I regard conventional project management techniques as those appropriate to dealing with long-linked technology 1, i.e., serially independent production in which sequential activities are coordinated by means of a plan. Such techniques are sufficient for dealing with manufacturing processes but are not necessarily sufficient to handle software production, which is a design process. Walker 2 argues that software production is an 'intensive technology', i.e., a process geared to the production of highly dependent components that must be coordinated by mutual adjustment rather than by plan. He suggests that there are two major characteristics of software projects that need to be managed:
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