Software Best Practices

Not so far I posted on the Joel's The Business of Software group
about idea of "Business of Software Body of Knowledge" (BOSBOK). 
I think the objectives of this body should be the same as of SWEBOK,
but for business side of software.

The indended audience are Micro and Small ISV starting their business.
The Business of Software FAQ, MicroISV Reference have some structure.

Is there some common sence in this idea?

I see clear organized software engineering knowledge,
but I don't see clear organized software business knowledge.

Not all, but some chapters of the Return on Software are interesting.
Thank you.

For the business side, are micro ISV really that different from what the older term consultant used to mean (before it became a for a non-employee programmer)? Two books that address how to set up a self-run business with a software bent are two from Gerry Weinberg The Secrets of Constulting and More Secrets of Consulting. Another good consulting book more on the business side is Alan Weiss' Million Dollar Consulting.

Here is the definition of "What is small ISV" from Eric Sink's "Business of Software" book:

ISV stands for independent software vendor. The acronym seems to be most
often used within the Microsoft ecosystem, so it carries somewhat of a
Windows-centric connotation, but that’s not really part of its definition.

An ISV creates, markets, and sells software products. Consulting shops
are not ISVs, although an ISV sometimes does consulting work. Valueadded
resellers are not ISVs, although an ISV sometimes resells stuff from
somebody else. In an ISV, you have to envision the product you want to
build and take a risk that somebody will still want to buy it by the time
you get it built. If you don’t have a software product, you are not an ISV.

A small ISV is an ISV that is not big. :)

I think I am understanding better. What you want is more on the marketing, selling, and supporting the product that the very small team (of 1, maybe 2) produces. If that is the case, you got me on that one. I will have to ask around.

I think trying to define a Software Business Body of Knowledge is one of those goals that seems like an intuitively appealing idea on the surface but that wouldn't really work. For example, a micro ISV is a very small subset of all possible software businesses, and even defining a body of knowledge that would be general to that one small market niche would be a challenge. Sales knowledge would depend on what market the ISV is selling into. Marketing knowledge would also depend on that. Sale, Marketing, Operations, Human Resources, Strategic Planning, Executive Management, etc.-- knowledge in all those areas would depend on each specific company's culture and market. Even with a small niche like Micro ISV I think you'd end up drawing in a whole MBA curriculum to cover all the cases, so unfortunately it just doesn't seem practical to me.

According to Micro ISV survey results - part 1 most people
write desktop applications. Mostly these are consumer and
business applications.

The biggest issues that Micro ISVs face are time, motivation,
sales and marketing (see Micro ISV survey results - part 2).
And I know it by myself too.

So, when I will launch a web site about Micro ISV I will try
to "make" some body of knowledge for peolpe, who write
this subset of applications.

How does it sounds?

Maksym,

I have to agree with Steve McConnell here. A Body of Knowledge about software business would be pretty much the body of knowledge of business itself--basically what one learns in getting a Master's of Business Administration (MBA) degree. It would certainly be possible for a software person to become exposed to those topics, the more exposure the better in my opinion. However, to learn those skills and knowledge in enough depth to become a competent pracitioner would require several more years of education (e.g., get an MBA) together with several years of practical experience.

My suggestion would be for you to read a couple of books on business to learn the general things, but either hire a competent business person or get one as a consultant to help out on the day-to-day work needed to help the ISV be a successful company. There is enough detailed skill, knowledge, and effort required just to be competent and successful in running the business that it's virtually impossible for the software developers to do both jobs.

I hope this helps,

-- steve

Steve,
I see. But how do I recognize that a business person is competent?

I'm asking because 90% of IT professionals (or so) in Ukraine
are working in outsourcing/outstaffing companies. But also here
are offices of such companies as Microsoft, Apple, Sun, Adobe.
Also here are some big Ukrainian IT startups.
Maybe, it will be a good luck if I get one of IT managers from such
a company as a business consultant :)

What do you think?

Maksym,

It's impossible to guarantee that a business person is competent, sorry. Just as it's impossible to guarantee that a developer is competent. But there are some things you could look for that would significantly reduce the risk of them being incompetent:

1) Look for relevant education. Does the person have a relevant undergraduate or graduate degree from a reputable college or university? Ask them to show you their diploma, ask them to show you samples of their coursework (homework assignments, graded exams, ...).

2) Look for relevant certifications. I don't know what the specific certifications would be, but I'd assume that there would be some kind of certification program out there.

3) Look for relevant experience. Have this person explain to you how they solved real-world problems for real-world organizations. The work products from those places are probably proprietary so they wouldn't normally be able to show specific examples, but they should at least be able to talk about them. Check their references--contact those people and ask them whether they thought this person really did a competent job. Ask this person how they would approach doing this job for your organization. If their approach sounds reasonable, they're more likely to be competent than if their approach sounds completely unreasonable.

I would personally be very cautious about hiring an IT manager from one of those companies. The problem is that most IT managers got to be IT managers because of their technical skills--not because of their business skills. You have the technical skills already, you probably don't need more of them. You need the business skills. Don't be afraid to look at getting managers from non-technical businesses, it's the business knowledge that's more important to you than the technical knowledge that you already have.

-- steve