作者：Randell Trulson

我花费了几年的时间去开发各种类型的软件，包括设备驱动器，应用，武器软件以及游戏引擎等等，并在整个过程中遭遇了成功与失败。我从这些经历中所吸取了一大最重要的教训便是，项目的成功与否直接取决于准备与管理。我见证了许多优秀软件理念被撤销的情况，我也看过许多非常愚蠢的项目因为有效的项目管理而最终取得了成功。

虚拟项目管理

如果你是90年代末00年代初的开发者，那么在家工作便非常不实际，因为那时候的网速真的非常慢。甚至是现在也未存在任何特定的规则能够管理虚拟的项目。

关于管理虚拟项目的诀窍

可靠的人—-这里存在两种类型的人：自觉工作的人以及需要直接监督的人。根据经验，我发现有些人只会在别人的监督下才能正常工作。

他们缺少原则。这种类型的人会花大量的时间去玩游戏和看电视。

当你遇到这类型的人时，你就需要清楚地给予他们指示，因为他们总是不知道自己完成了些什么。你可以让他们描述进度，那时候他们便会感到担心，或告诉你能否在工作更深入时再公开。这种情况经常出现在与好友一起开始创建游戏公司时。每个人都会认为创造游戏很简单且很有趣，但是之后却发现有太多事要做了，所以他们便会停止执行自己的任务（或者甚至从未开始）。而解决这一问题的一大方法便是：解雇他们。你不需要做其它工作，也不需要在未来推动他们，只需要解雇便可。即使他们是自愿者，但是如果阻碍了项目的发展，也就等于阻碍了你的成功。

我发现如果你在一个充满志愿者的团队中，你便可以排除可能阻碍未来发展的人，如此问题也就能够得到解决了。你必须让这些退出者清楚，这是他们自己的问题所造成的。

你必须去寻找那些因为迫切希望看到项目的成功（就像你这样）而想要努力工作的人。这些人可以不受催促自觉地完成自己的任务。如果你找不到这样的人，那么以下的诀窍也就失去了意义。

良好的沟通—-前提是你面向的是自觉的人。确保团队中所有人都能够有效地沟通。有时候，有些人会需要能够立刻获得同一团队中其他人的特殊资产。确保每个人都知道如何联系其他人。如果某人离开了，也确保其他人知道这一情况。然后让那个人在所需内容真正落实前完成它们的创造。

使用项目追踪系统让所有人能够清楚其他人的工作，完成了什么以及哪些需要去落实。

执行日程表—-除非人们真正热爱一项工作，否则他们便不可能在周末也致力于工作中或每周投入90个小时的工作时间。如果人们的工作就像“追赶赛”那样紧凑，这便是一个糟糕的项目计划。我见过的每个开发者（包括我自己）都认为他们能够比现实预计的更快速地完成工作。所以以下便是我的2X+20规则。不管你说可以花多少时间去完成任务，你只要将这一时间值乘以2并加上20%。这将得出你真正需要的现实时间。将最后的结果置于甘特图上，它将告诉你游戏开发何时能完成。

使用时间盒—-当一个人在家工作时，他总是很难准时开始做事，也很难适时停下工作。在家工作也会让人们难以衡量任务所需时间，因为每个工作日都在变化着。这时候我们便可以使用名为Pomodoro的时间盒技巧。如果你设定了12至16个pomodoro计时器，你便能够执行6至8个小时无间断的工作。这便等于在办公室不受任何打扰而工作2至3天的量。

虚拟追踪—-虚拟追踪一个项目非常困难，基于有限的预算去执行它就更加困难了。我将列举一个非常廉价的方法。你只需要微软办公软件便可。

1.为团队设置Dropbox。如果你担心的话可以无需用它去执行那些较为敏感的内容。而只是追踪内容便可。

2.让所有人安装MS OneNote。我知道你不想使用SharePoint，因为它大大超出了你的预算。而LifeHacker能够帮助你解决这一问题。

3.然后你可以使用MS Visio，如果你拥有该软件或者其它程序包，你便可以创造任务图表（游戏邦注：类似于需要做什么的流程图）。你应该创造出带有游戏主要部分（关于需要完成哪些任务）的大型图表，核对哪些任务已经完成并做出标记。只有一个人能够管理这张图表，就像配置管理者那样。而在这里可以是项目经理，流程经理等等，如下：

management（from gamasutra）

基于这种方法所有成员便能够清楚需要完成哪些任务。如此在项目最后才不会出现“天哪！我忘记执行XYZ！”的情况。

4.如果你面对的是一个巨大的项目，你就需要获得源代码控制。你可以免费获得Perforce的评估版本，控制包的优秀版本，并将其连接到你的Dropbox中。

你只有做到这些才有可能成功地管理一款巨大的虚拟游戏。

（本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译，拒绝任何不保留版权的转载，如需转载请联系：游戏邦）

Managing a (Virtual) Game Project

by Randell Trulson

Project Management

Having spent years as a developer on an array of software genres from device drivers, applications, weapons software to game engines, I have seen my share of success and failures.  One of the most important lessons I have taken away from all of this is that a projects success or failure is directly dependant on its preparation and management.  I have witnessed many great software ideas get canceled and I have seen really super stupid projects make it all the way out the door all as a direct result of project management.

Virtual Project Management

If you were a developer in the late 90’s and early 00’s working from home wasn’t really practical because of internet speeds at the time.  Even now, there really aren’t any set rules for managing virtual projects that I am aware of.

My Tips on Managing a Virtual Project

Trustworthy People – There are two types of people; those that can work on their own and those that need direct supervision.  It has been my experience that some people simply won’t work unless someone is physically present.  (I call this the, “Out of sight out of mind syndrome.”)

They don’t have the discipline.  These types will spend the majority of their day playing games and watching TV.

You can tell these types when you get them because they will be very vague about what they have completed.  You can ask to see their progress and they will get defensive or tell you they don’t want you to see it until they are further along.  This happens a lot when people start game companies with friends.  Everyone thinks it is easy and fun to make games, and then find that it is a hell of a lot of work and so they stop performing (or never start).There is only one solution to this problem and I have come across it many times; fire them.  There is no work around, no meeting after meeting to get them to improve in the future….just fire them.  Even if it is a volunteer, if they are holding back the project they jeopardize your success.

I have found that if you are working on a team of volunteers for a project, you can simply exclude the loser from all further development and the problem is fixed and will take care of itself.  They quit and make it look like it was their idea.

You have to find people that want to work because they too want to see the project succeed as much as you do.  These people will work on things without being asked or told.  If you don’t have good people, the rest of these tips are useless.

Good Communication – This kind of goes with having good people.  Make sure everyone can reach everyone at all times.  There are lots of times where someone will need a particular asset from another person on the team in short order.  Make sure everyone has up to date information on how to reach each other.  If someone is going away make sure they tell everyone.  Then have that person get anything done that needs to be before they are unavailable.

Also make sure you use a project tracking system where everyone can see what everyone else is working on, what is already done, and what needs to be done.  I will tell you how to set this up below for next to nothing.

Rule of scheduling – I don’t believe people should have to come in on weekends or work 90 hours a week on anything unless they love it that much.  If people have to work like that to play “catch-up” it is the fault of bad project planning, not the people.  Every developer I have ever met (including myself) thinks they can get things done faster than reality dictates.  So here is my 2X + 20 rule.  Whatever amount of time someone says they can do something in, take that amount of time multiply it by 2 and add 20%.  That will give you the realistic time period it will require. Put that on your Gant chart and that will tell you when the game will be done.

Use Time Boxing – When working from home it is hard to start working some times, and hard to stop working other times.  Working from home also makes it difficult to gage how long something takes because each work day varies.  We use a time boxing technique called Pomodoro.  If you do 12-16 pomodoro timers, you do 6-8 solid none interrupted hours of work.  This ends up being about 2-3 days in an office full of distractions.  There are tons of free pomodoro timers out there.

Virtual Tracking – Virtually tracking a project is hard enough, but to do it on a shoe string budget is even harder.  Here is a super cheap way of doing it.  You need Microsoft Office suite for this.

1.Setup Dropbox for the team to use.  You don’t have to use it for sensitive stuff if you are concerned about that.  Just for tracking stuff.  www.dropbox.com

2.Have everyone install MS OneNote….I know you don’t want to use SharePoint because it costs and you are on a shoe string.  LifeHacker has you all fixed up.  Go here to see how to do it OneNote with Dropbox

3.Then you can use MS Visio if you have it or some other similar package to make task charts (sorta flow charts of what needs to be done).  Big charts with major components of your game that needs to be completed and completed tasks checked off and grayed out.  Only one person should be the keeper of these, like a configuration manager.  This will be the project manager, scrum master or whatever.  Like this!

That way everyone can see at a glance what needs to be completed.  Then at the end of the project there isn’t any, “Oh my god!  I forgot we still have to do XYZ!  So glad I caught that.”

4. If you have a really big project, get source control.  You can get evaluation versions of Perforce for free, an excellent version control package, for up to 20 developers with 20 projects and creatively hook it up to your Dropbox.

That is really about all you need to do to seriously manage a huge virtually developed game successfully.(source:gamasutra)