The success rate of software development projects has improved dramatically over last several years. However as per the available industry statistics, the current rate is still not phenomenal and satisfactory. The larger the size of the project, higher is the failure rate. Generally, certain standard rules and guidelines like involvement of users, executive management support, clear requirements, appropriate planning, realistic expectations etc have been applied to the projects. Although these factors have definitely contributed towards increasing the success rate of large projects, these do not guarantee success of any project as these operate at a significantly higher level. This paper explores ten ground zero rules / commandments that are sometimes less focused on but are still very critical for the success of a large software project. These practices are gathered from author’s experience of working in multiple large projects and if not followed diligently, can be detrimental to the success of a large project. These commandments span over five broad project management processes of – Initiation, Planning, Execution, Monitoring & Control and Closure. The target audience of this paper includes Project Managers, Project Leads, Development Managers and Configuration Managers.

Uday Katira has 7+ years of experience in software industry. He has played various roles like Application Developer, Systems Analyst, Data Modeler, Configuration & Release Manager, Team Lead, Project Management & Client Account Management.

Currently he is a Manager at Deloitte Consulting India Pvt. Ltd., Hyderabad. He is involved in management of Microsoft technology based application development and testing projects. He has managed two large size projects and three medium size projects so far in his career. Apart from that he has worked in several application development and maintenance projects so far performing different roles other than management. His paper is the outcome of his collective experience, knowledge and lessons learned from those numerous projects he was part of.

He holds bachelors degree in chemical engineering from Gujarat University. He is also CSQA and PMP certified professional and has extensive experience in implementing CMMI Level 5 processes for his various projects.