TECH3001

1
TECH3001

• Small Scale projects including a review of
  Rapid Application Development and DSDM
• Some slides prepared by S. McRobb and amended by
  J. Ivins

2
Overview

• Small and large projects
• DSDM - a methodology for RAD
• The 9 Principles of DSDM
• Critical success factors for RAD projects
• The RAD team
• NB DSDM and RAD were developed by software
  engineers

3
Small and Large Projects

• In year 1, you gained experience of working a
  teams to produce an application
• Year 2 allowed you to develop an application on
  your own
• From your perspective, what were the advantages /
  disadvantages to each way of working?

4
My guesses!

• You prefer working on your own because
• Work at your pace
• Work when you want to
• Do not need to rely on others
• All the estimating and planning business
  doesnt need to be done because you will work
  until the task is finished

5
Problems!

• In the real world you will have clients who
  expect
• Work on time
• Work done to spec
• Work done to budget
• If you cant meet these requirements it is likely
  that you will not work in new media and, very
  probably, sued by the client.

6
An interim conclusion

• All projects, including one-man band ones need
  to be
• Estimated correctly in terms of costs, time,
  manpower, etc
• Planned properly (time, eqpt, resources, etc)
• Managed properly (resources, people, handover,
  etc)
• Risk management is done
• Change management is performed as necessary
• Training and education needs to be executed at
  the right time

7
DSDM

• 5 phases-
• feasibility
• business study
• functional prototype iteration
• design prototype iteration
• implementation
• Ideally suited for small-scale projects

8
Project Selection

• appropriate projects have
• functionality that is visible at the user
  interface
• all users clearly identified
• limited computational complexity
• if large, can be easily split into increments
• a real time-constraint
• flexibility in the detailed requirements

9
DSDM
Lifecycle Model
Feasibility
Business Study
Implementation
Functional model
Design build
10
DSDM9 Principles

• active user involvement
• teams are empowered
• focus on frequent product delivery
• fitness for business purpose is the essential
  criterion for acceptance
• iterative and incremental development

11
9 Principles (continued)

• reversibility of all changes
• requirements baselined at high level
• testing integrated throughout life-cycle
• collaborative and cooperative approach

12
Timeboxing

• absolute time frame for a deliverable
• product-, not activity-based
• unfinished products delivered on time
• deliver what you can.
• . but it must work !

13
Timebox

• Can apply to
• whole project
• single component
• Focuses minds on delivery
• Improves manager client confidence
• Built into project schedule very early
• Not ( usually ) changed later

14
Timebox planning advice

• Short (2-6 weeks optimal)
• Prioritise requirements with MoSCoW
• Must have...
• Should have...
• Could have...
• Want to have...

15
Timebox planning advice
checkpoints
C
O
O
C
C
O
refine
consolidate
investigate
set objectives
16
Managers role

• A logistical challenge
• Move from analysis to design very fast
• No room for slip
• All facilities must be ready when needed
• Little emphasis on change control
• scope controlled by plan and timeboxes
• within timebox, changes are made as easy as
  practicable

17
Managers role

• Project contingency
• .is accounted for by MoSCoW rating of
  requirements
• .thus no contingency in schedule
• Gantt chart usually of little use
• You know where the project has got to by a given
  date!

18
Organisation impact

• Significant culture change
• Education training required
• In large organisations especially, Project Board
  workload may increase immensely
• Approval stage much more important, as less
  opportunity to halt / refocus later

19
Large Multimedia Projects

• Examples Microsoft Encarta, Autoroute, etc.
• Requires input from many specialists
• Many skills required
• Content has to be managed, formatted correctly
• Many external factors to consider
• Market expectations, share price, reputations
• Long time scales
• Big budget
• Many staff (technical, admin, content management,
  etc)
• Many stakeholders

20
Large Multimedia Projects

• DSDM and similar methods are not suitable for
  these types of projects
• They need effective planning, management,
  communication and control mechanisms
• The subject of the next lecture!

21
Summary

• This topic has covered
• Reasons for RAD
• Principles of DSDM
• Implications of DSDM for
• manager
• teams
• organisation

22
Reading

• Stapleton J (1997), DSDM, Addison-Wesley (covers
  V2).
• DSDM Consortium at-
• www.dsdm.org