Shaping or “just enough architecture” is the upfront design work done to set boundaries and reduce risks on projects before they are committed to teams.

Founders often fall into the trap of thinking they can skip this step; however, the results are usually painful:

1. According to Boston Consulting Group(BCG), 70% of digital transformation attempts fail short of meeting targets.

2. According to Standish Group’s 2020 CHAOS report, approx 66% of software projects fail.

3. A 2020 CISQ report says the entire cost of failed development projects among US enterprises is estimated to be $260 Billion.

4. The total cost of operational failures caused by poor quality software is $1.56 Trillion.

So, how can we drive software project failure risk to zero? This is the problem I want to solve for entrepreneurs. It’s also the company’s mission.

My talk will provide answers to the following questions that teams experience when working on their projects:

• Why do team members feel like projects go on and on, with no end in sight

• Why do product members can’t find time to think strategically about the product?

• Why do founders feel they can’t get features out of the door fast and smoothly?

The Agenda:

1. What is shaping?

2. Why shape?

3. How to shape?

4. Who shapes?

5. Targeting risk

6. Making teams responsible

7. Deciding when to stop

8. The value equation(Dream outcome, Perceived value of achievement, Time delay, Effort & sacrifice)

9. Output VS outcome

10. Questions

The Speaker:

Allan Sendagi is on a mission to drive Software project failure rates to zero.

He is the author of the book “A Savvy Business Owner’s Complete Guide to Web Development”, CEO, and founder at RARL where he helps especially non-technical entrepreneurs shape Software projects before they commit to the build process with development shops and freelancers. He is also a trained software engineer.

He believes technology must free humans from menial labor and pointless work.