Project Life Cycles & Initiating Projects PDF

Chapter 3 - Project Life Cycles and Initiating Project Iterative vs Incremental Development Approaches ➢ Iterative: Customer provides feedback after every iteration, often done in a set amount of time ➢ Incremental: Each increment builds on top of the previous one Predictive (Waterfall): The predict...

Chapter 3 - Project Life Cycles and Initiating Project Iterative vs Incremental Development Approaches ➢ Iterative: Customer provides feedback after every iteration, often done in a set amount of time ➢ Incremental: Each increment builds on top of the previous one Predictive (Waterfall): The predictive approach, commonly known as the waterfall model, follows a sequential and linear process. It involves completing one phase of the project before moving on to the next. Agile development is an iterative and incremental approach that focuses on flexibility and collaboration. It emphasizes adaptive planning, continuous improvement, and delivering working software in short iterations called sprints. Project Life Cycles ➢ Project life cycle is a series of phases that a project passes through from its start to its completion ➢ Project phase is a collection of logically related project activates that culminates in the completion of one or more deliverables Description of Process Groups ➢ Monitoring and controlling processes measure progress toward achieving project goals, monitor deviation from plans, and take corrective action to match progress with plans and customer expectations. ➢ Closing processes include formalizing acceptance of the project or phase and bringing it to an orderly end. Characteristics of the Process Groups Level of activity and length of each process group varies for every project ➢ Normally, executing tasks require the most resources and time ➢ Monitoring and controlling processes are done throughout the projects life span ➢ Initiating and closing tasks are usually the shortest, and they require the least amount of resources and time ➢ Every project is unique, there can be exceptions Mapping Process Groups to the Knowledge 1.) ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢ Project Pre-Initiation and Initiation Initiating includes recognizing and starting a new project Right kinds of projects for the right reasons Strategic planning should serve as the foundation for deciding which projects to pursue Express the vision, mission, goals, objectives and strategies of the organization Provides the basis for IT project planning The Importance of Top Management Commitment and how they can support the Project ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢ Without top management commitment, many projects will fail Provide adequate resources Approve unique project needs in a timely manner Encourage cooperation from people in other parts of the organization and deal with political issues ➢ Mentor and coach them on leadership issues Pre-initiation Processes ➢ It is a good practice to lay the groundwork for a project before it officially starts ➢ After a project is approved, senior managers should meet to accomplish the following tasks: ➢ Determine the scope, time, and cost constraints for the project ➢ Identify the project sponsor ➢ Select the project manager ➢ Meet with project manager to review the process and expectations for managing the project Business Case for a project A business case is a document that provides financial and the strategic justification for investing in a project and contains typically: - Introduction/Background, Business Objective Current Situations and Problem/Opportunity Statements Critical Assumptions and Constraints Preliminary Project Requirements Budget Estimate and Financial Analysis Schedule Estimate, Potential Risks, Exhibits Initiating Process Identifying project stakeholders Creating the project charter - Creating the assumption log Holding a kick off meeting Stakeholder Register: document that includes details related to the identifies project stakeholders – usually available to many people, so it should not include sensitive information. Stakeholders analysis: technique for analyzing information to determine which stakeholders interests to focus on and hot to increase stakeholder support throughout the project. Identifying Key Stakeholders (Scrum) - Product owner is responsible for maximizing the value of the product created by the development team by managing the product backlog. Scrum mater is responsible for promoting and supporting the Scrum process as defined in the Scrum guide. Development team or developers are professionals who do the work of delivering a potentially releasable increment of a product at the end of each sprint. Project Charter 1 - Projects title and date of authorization Project managers name and contact information Summary schedule or timeline, including the planned start and finish dates; if a summary milestone schedule is available, it should also be included or referenced Summary of project estimated cost, budget allocation Brief description of the project objectives Project Charter 2 - Summary pf the planned approach for managing the project, which should describe stakeholder needs and expectations, overall project risk A role and responsibilities matrix A sign-off section for signatures of key project stakeholders A comments section in which stakeholders can provide important comments related to the project Assumptions Log - An assumption log is a document to record and track assumptions and constraints throughout the project life cycle It aids in communicating information to key stakeholders and avoids potential confusion Most projects include several assumption that affect the scope, time, cost, risk and other areas. It is important to document and validate these assumptions.