https://github.com/ardalis/new-software-project-checklist

The ultimate new software project decision/question checklist
https://github.com/ardalis/new-software-project-checklist

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The ultimate new software project decision/question checklist

• Host: GitHub
• URL: https://github.com/ardalis/new-software-project-checklist
• Owner: ardalis
• License: mit
• Created: 2021-03-09T18:44:55.000Z (almost 4 years ago)
• Default Branch: main
• Last Pushed: 2021-06-28T20:20:05.000Z (over 3 years ago)
• Last Synced: 2024-12-22T23:43:07.013Z (2 months ago)
• Size: 22.5 KB
• Stars: 454
• Watchers: 25
• Forks: 42
• Open Issues: 0
• Metadata Files:
  • Readme: README.md
  • License: LICENSE

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# Ultimate New Software Project Decision Checklist

When starting a new software project, there are many decisions that need to be made. Every decision can be phrased as a question. The following checklist outlines the questions that should be asked, and answered, as early in the life of a new software project as possible.

## Give a Star! :star:

If you like this list or found it helpful, please give it a star. Thanks!

And now, the list!

## Who

- Who is on the team (and what are their roles)?

- Who is ultimately responsible for the project (management owner)?

- Who is the project being built to support? Who will its users be?

- Who does the team coordinate with downstream (for QA, deployments, support, etc. if any)?

- Who does the team coordinate with upstream (for requirements, direction, prioritization, etc.)?

## Communication

- How will/does the team communicate?

  - Is there an email alias for the team?

  - Is there a list of team members and their contact information available?

  - Is there a real-time chat tool configured (Teams, Slack, Discord, etc.)?

- Does the team have any regular standing meetings?

  - Daily standup or sync meeting?

  - Periodic demo to customer/management?

  - Iteration/sprint-related meetings?

## What

- What is the ultimate goal of the app? What problem does it solve?

- What are the "user personas" of the app?

- What kind of app is the team building? What hardware will it run on (web, mobile, desktop, etc.)?

- What kind of methodology will the team use to collaborate (Kanban, Scrum, XP, etc.)?

- What framework(s) will the app be built with/on?

- What architectural pattern(s) will the app leverage?

- What programming language(s) will the app be written in?

- What code formatting standards has the team adopted?

- What persistence store(s) will the app use?

- What kinds of tests will the app require?

  - Unit tests

  - Integration tests

  - Functional tests

  - UI tests

  - Load tests

  - Security tests

- What will the initial source control structure look like?

  - Where does code go?

  - Where do tests go?

  - Where do docs go?

  - Where do build scripts go?

- What is the branching strategy used?

  - What is the main branch called?

  - What is the dev branch (if any) called?

  - Are there other long-lived branches (per release, per feature, etc)?

- What process is envisioned for accepting commits?

  - Pull requests?

  - Approvals required?

  - Automated build/test pass required?

  - What team members have admin access?

- What build/deploy automation tools does the app use?

## Where

- Where is the team located, physically?

- If remote, what remote collaboration tools will be used?

- Where will the project's artifacts (code, work items, builds, etc) be located?

## When

- When is the project due?

- When is the first milestone due?

- When is the first proof-of-concept demo planned for?

## Why

- Why is the company building this app?

  - Why is the company building **this** app?

  - Why is the company **building** this app?

  - Why is **the company** building this app?

- Why were the decisions made on this list chosen vs. their alternatives?

  - Consider recording [Architecture Decision Records](https://ardalis.com/getting-started-with-architecture-decision-records/)

## How

- How is the application deployed? Where? On-premises, in the cloud?

- How often is the application deployed?

- Does the team differentiate between [production deployments and product releases](https://mailchi.mp/ardalis/dev-tip-1379429)?

- How do different parts of the app communicate with one another?

  - In process library method calls

  - Out of process API calls

  - Out of process async messages

- How does the system communicate with its persistence store?

  - Direct SQL calls

  - OR/M

- How does the system communicate with other dependencies?

  - HTTP client

  - FTP

  - Shared database

  - Carrier pigeon

- How will the app handle cross-cutting concerns?

  - Logging

  - Security/Auth

  - Auditing

  - Monitoring and Health Checks

## Further Reading

- [Stack Overflow Blog - A practical guide to writing technical specs](https://stackoverflow.blog/2020/04/06/a-practical-guide-to-writing-technical-specs/)