Project Life Cycle and SDLC Quiz

Project Life Cycle

• A project life cycle is a collection of project phases that defines what work will be performed, what deliverables will be produced, and when, who is involved, and how management will control and approve work.
• A deliverable is a product or service produced or provided as part of a project.

Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC)

• SDLC is a framework for describing the phases involved in developing and maintaining information systems.
• Types of SDLC:
  • Predictive life cycle: scope of the project can be clearly articulated and the schedule and cost can be predicted.
  • Adaptive Software Development (ASD) life cycle: requirements cannot be clearly expressed, projects are mission driven and component-based, using time-based cycles to meet target dates.

SDLC Models

• Predictive Life Cycle Models:
  • Waterfall model: has well-defined, linear stages of systems development and support.
  • Spiral model: shows that software is developed using an iterative or spiral approach rather than a linear approach.
  • Incremental build model: provides for progressive development of operational software.
  • Prototyping model: used for developing prototypes to clarify user requirements.
  • Rapid Application Development (RAD) model: used to produce systems quickly without sacrificing quality.

Project Management Process

• A process is a series of actions directed toward a particular result.
• Project management process groups:
  • Initiating processes
  • Planning processes
  • Executing processes
  • Monitoring and controlling processes
  • Closing processes

Scrum Roles

• Product owner: responsible for the business value of the project and decides what work to do and in what order, as documented in the product backlog.

Project Attributes

• A project has a unique purpose.
• A project is temporary.
• A project is developed using progressive elaboration.
• A project requires resources, often from various areas.
• A project should have a primary customer or sponsor.
• A project involves uncertainty.

Project Management

• Project management is the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities to meet project requirements.
• Project managers strive to meet the triple constraint (project scope, time, and cost goals).
• Project managers facilitate the entire process to meet the needs and expectations of project stakeholders.

Triple Constraint

• Scope Goal
• Time Goal
• Cost Goal

Stakeholders

• Stakeholders are the people involved in or affected by project activities.

Knowledge Areas

• Project managers must have knowledge and skills in 10 knowledge areas:
  • Project integration
  • Scope
  • Time
  • Cost
  • Quality
  • Human resource
  • Communications
  • Risk
  • Procurement
  • Stakeholder management

Super Tools

• Super tools are those tools that have high use and high potential for improving project success.
• Examples of super tools:
  • Software for task scheduling (such as project management software)
  • Scope statements
  • Requirements analyses
  • Lessons-learned reports

Three Sphere Model for Systems Management

• The three spheres are:
  • Business
  • Organization
  • Technology

Organization Structures

• Three basic organization structures:
  • Functional: functional managers report to the CEO.
  • Project: program managers report to the CEO.
  • Matrix: middle ground between functional and project structures; personnel often report to two or more bosses; structure can be weak, balanced, or strong matrix.

Organizational Culture

• Organizational culture is a set of shared assumptions, values, and behaviors that characterize the functioning of an organization.
• Many experts believe the underlying causes of many companies' problems are not the structure or staff, but the culture.