How much time should be spent on planning a project?

Question

Say you have 10 hours to complete a project. To complete the project within the deadline and with a reasonably good result, how much time should be spent in the planning phase. For larger projects with many workers, one can use Scrum or similar. but with smaller projects I haven't found any good guidelines for when one should begin to write the code.

Answer 1

the adage "measure twice, cut once" definitely holds true for software development. whether you’re working for a large or small project , you must plan the project to ensure that everyone on your team is working towards da same goal...
da key to a successful balance of planning and development lies in situational awareness and flexibility to meet that situation. just because you have a process for planning doesn't mean it should be applied in every situation. and just because you have a short deadline doesn't mean that planning should be cut short. being creative and having a realistic opinion of the importance of da planning stage to your project will help you get da job done right, without having to cut twice ^_^
all da best ✌

Answer 2

For the most part, since analysis, design, and implementation phases have a repetitive nature and they might take several revisions, it is a good idea that your earlier A/D processes be planned as fast as possible in order to start to coding your first prototype, and see what the initial result is. After which you're going to have a much clear view of your project and you'd decide to repeat your next A/D cycle.

Answer 3

Anyone following this thread, you might be interested in a free ebook on Scrum:
https://www.packtpub.com/application-development/professional-scrummasters-handbook

Answer 4

the better the planning the easier the coding. usually that's a 50:50 time ratio. however since I never heard of a "10 hour project" you will probably find nothing which applies to your problem at hand.

Answer 5

10 hours really doesn't sound like a real project but more like a task. Given such a narrow time frame, it really depends on the exact situation.

Generally, the rule is the more you plan the easier and faster and better is the implementation. But I think that this rule is only true, if you already have some programming/project experience.

In such "mini-projects" Iike yours I would use tequniques like divide and conquer and iteration. This means you break down your task into smaller tasks which are easier to handle and then you start to code. If you still don't know how to solve your problem iterate and divide your tasks again into smaller ones.

The difficult part is to break down the big problem. This is the answer to your question how much planning is needed. It depends on how much >you< need to solve your problem. Maybe you need UML diagrams for it, maybe you have to solve mathematical problems, maybe you have to read the API of a certain library.

Answer 6

10 hours IS more for a task or two. not for a project