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  Anatomy of Success  
     
  When asked to define Successful Software Development many respond by pointing to the CHAOS Report by the Standish Group and the Capability Maturity Model by Carnegie-Mellon University. Althougth the understanding and application of these works would effectively provide the IT professional with the tools to achieve success, they do not define success from a very significant perspective.
   
  The success or failure of many projects is dependant on issues unrelated to software development altogether. A customer may be very concerned about internal political issues that may negatively impact the project. Issues like this are often discovered after the project has failed. Likewise, the developer may enjoy the power of showing up his client when they are in meetings with superiors. In either case success is elusive when hidden agendas go unmanaged. This is why the first step toward success is to foster a customer-developer relationship based on honesty, integrity, and openess.
     
  Discuss issues like the ones mentioned above at the beginning of your project. The sooner you discover what is simmering beneath the surface the better. Learn how running a transparent process can improve your chances for success by attending PRACTICUM Process Training.