Design and Budget Elements of a Proposal

Paper Summary:

The paper discusses a fixed budget proposal. This proposal as reviewed by the paper, is specifically designed for a company named 'Agile Software Development.' The paper states that when developing software programs, details should be provided on the different elements, and compares and contrasts four principles of proposal design. The paper concludes suggesting that a fixed budget proposal with a variable element provides the most flexibility when designing and developing software programs for a company.

Outline:
Introduction
Fixed Budget - "Agile on a Fixed Budget" Proposal
Conclusion

From the Paper:

"A fixed budget typically entails many restrictions, meaning a defined amount of money is available for defined purposes. This amount should not vary much on a fixed budget proposal. Ambler reviews three factors of "resources, schedule, and scope" noting that even in a fixed budget, "at least one must vary" because if it does not quality production will "suffer" (Ambler, p. 1). Why is this? Quality will often decrease because technical staff may have to conform to "budgetary constraints" typically introduced by a fixed budget. This may lead according to Ambler (2007) the technology team to taking shortcuts which will also sacrifice quality. In any other type of budget, like a flexible budge, all three factors (resources, schedule and scope) could vary in terms of funding. This allows more flexibility for management (Ambler, 2003). However, Ambler (2007) notes that rarely in the technology field do software applications or development teams utilize a flexible budget fully (Ambler, 2003). Some resources, especially funding when considering the fixed budget, can vary (Ambler, 2007). Typically when someone is using a fixed budget, all financing options are fixed. However, one may provide a fixed estimate at the start of a project which allows the stakeholders to "minimize" their perceived risk; then stakeholders can treat an IT investment like "a true investment" by increasing the amount of money they provide to effective teams and decreasing funding to inefficient or ineffective teams. "

Sample of Sources Used:

• Ambler, S. (2007 Aug) "Agile on a fixed budget" CMP Technology, Retrieved December 14, 2007: http://www.ddj.com/architect/201202925?pgno=3, pp.3-4
• Ambler, S. (2007b Apr). "The dire consequences of fixed price IT projects" CMP Technology, Retrieved December 14, 2007: http://www.ddj.com/dept/architect/199001126
• Ambler, S. (2003 Mar) "Iron triangle: Something's gotta give" CMP Technology, Retrieved December 14, 2007: http://www.ddj.com/dept/architecht/184414962.
• Hickey, J.G. (2001) Budget surplus disappears, Insight on the News, September 17, 17(35), p. 8.

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