Short initiation for lazy colleagues

Question

Last summer I finished a PBA in Software Development. and got hired into a Company with a small IT department. (8 Guys.. 4 developers)

We make inhouse solutions, from services to websites or small applications. These four developers are working kinda rogue.

What would usually happen is a guy from the legal department wants a small app that can do something, like sort our legal documents. So he grabs a developer. they talk about it, and the developer does it.

Then we have experienced some issues like these:

1: A boss somewhere determinds we don't need the program anyway

2: It takes a lot longer to make, or is more complicated

3: The developer and the user don't agree on the result

So my boss asked me to create a standard way for us to project initiate, to avoid these Things. (I've been taught Prince2 and SCRUM) But here is the problem.

If I make them fill out project initiation documents, with full buisness case and risk analysis etc. they simple won't do it.

So I need a compressed version, and that is why I'm here I'm here to ask, for creating smaller sites and applications, what is the core data you need before starting.

I was thinking something like this:

1: Owner: WHO is responsible and WHO decides outside IT

2: Buisiness Case Description: Why are we making it?

3: timetable

4: Cost

5: Requirements and/or user stories (created with owner) <-- So many times we haven't had matching specs with the user

What else? .. if this exceeds two documents, its not gonna get done.

Answer 1

Add in a "Business Value" line... you have costs and need to balance this off against benefits.

I'd also retitle:

• "Cost" to read "Cost/Effort to Develop" to make sure that developer time is captured.
• "Business Case Description" to read "Business Need". Where I work if someone sees the former they can get their knickers in a knot when all you want to know is the "why".

You can also make the form a bit less onerous by turning items 1, 3 and 4 and any line on Business Value into checklists that give broad buckets (e.g. <20 hours effort, 20-40 hours effort, >40 hours effort).

But ultimately you are only going to get acceptance if there are consequences for non-use. Hopefully you'll have upper management support for this.