Life Cycles

1
Life Cycles

• Defining the process
• that will be used to conduct projects.

2
Definitions

• Process
• Project
• Product

3
Why Establish a Process?

• It is nearly impossible to have a high
  quality product without a high quality
  process.

4
Benefits of Establishing a Standard Development
Process

• We are less likely to miss something or repeat a
  past failure
• Establish Organizational Responsibilities
• Improves ability to train people for their tasks
• Allows collection of meaningful Process Metrics
• better estimation of time and
• more accurate tracking of progress

5
Process Management

1. formal process definition
2. process measurement
3. feedback
4. improvement
5. optimization

6
IEEE 1074-1997
this standard describes a process for developing
a process

• Software Life Cycle Model Process
• selecting the project model
• Project Management Processes
• plan the project management
• analyze risks
• retain records
• problem reporting process
• define metrics
• manage product quality
• Predevelopment Processes
• feasibility studies
• identify the customer's needs

• Development Processes
• define software requirements
• design
• architectural
• detailed
• create test data
• integration testing
• Post-Development Processes
• installation
• training
• Integral Processes
• configuration management
• documentation
• training on the plan

7
Life Cycle Models

• Waterfall
• Spiral
• incremental development, prototyping, etc
• Rapid Application Development
• and many, many, many more

8
Waterfall Model

• strengths
• big errors found early
• provides requirements stability
• weaknesses
• impossible if customer doesn't know what they
  want
• document-driven (lots of paperwork)

9
Spiral Model

• strengths
• well suited to ill-defined problems and new
  domains
• weaknesses
• little requirements stability

10
Rapid Application Development

• Business Modeling
• Data Modeling
• Process Modeling
• Application Generation
• probably mostly reuse of existing modules
• Testing
• concentrating on interfaces

11
process model from http//www.beaver-consulting.co
.uk
12
So which model is best?

1. when problem is really big
2. when requirements are only partially known
3. when problem is similar to other past projects
4. when the various aspects of the problem are very
   common problems
5. when the project will require a proof-of-concept
6. when the team has little expertise in this area
7. when the team is composed of excellent designers
   and analyzers
8. there is little available interaction with the
   customer
9. a system integration project

13
34 Competencies

• Product Develop Skills
• Awareness of Process Standards - Understanding
  process standards
• Evaluating Alternative Processes - Evaluating
  various approaches
• Tailoring Processes - Modifying standard
  processes to suit a project
• Assessing Processes - Defining criteria for
  reviews
• Defining the Product - Identifying customer
  environment and product requirements
• Managing Requirements - Monitoring requirements
  changes
• Managing Subcontractors - Planning, managing,
  monitoring performance
• Performing the Initial Assessment - Assessing
  difficulty, risks, costs and schedule
• Selecting Methods and Tools - Defining selection
  processes
• Tracking Product Quality - Monitoring the quality
  of an evolving product
• Understanding Development Activities - Learning
  the software development cycle

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34 Competencies

• Project Management Skills
• Building a WBS - Building a work breakdown
  structure for a project
• Documenting Plans - Identifying key components
• Estimating Costs - Estimating cost to complete
  the project
• Estimating Effort - Estimating effort required to
  complete the project
• Managing Risks - Identifying and determining the
  impact of risks
• Monitoring Development - Monitoring the
  production of software
• Scheduling Work - Creating a schedule and key
  milestones
• Selecting Metrics - Choosing and using
  appropriate metrics
• Selecting Project Management Tools - Knowing how
  to select PM tools
• Tracking Processes - Monitoring compliance of
  project team
• Tracking Project Progress - Monitoring progress
  using metrics

15
34 Competencies

• People Management Skills
• Appraising Performance - Evaluating teams to
  enhance performance
• Handling Intellectual Property - Understanding
  the impact of critical issues
• Holding Effective Meetings - Planning and running
  excellent meetings
• Interaction and Communication - Dealing with
  developers, upper management, and other teams
• Leadership - Coaching project teams for optimal
  results
• Managing Change - Being an effective change agent
• Negotiating Successfully - Resolving conflicts
  and negotiating successfully
• Planning Careers - Structuring and giving career
  guidance
• Presenting Effectively - Using effective written
  and oral skills
• Recruiting - Recruiting and interviewing team
  members successfully
• Selecting a Team - Choosing highly competent
  teams
• Teambuilding - Forming, guiding, and maintaining
  an effective team

16
Homework for next class

• Which two or three competencies are the most
  important?
• Justify your answer.

17
Next Time

• Common reasons why projects fail.
• Domain Processes
• knowing how your customer's company works is
  essential for the success of your project
• Creating an appropriate Project Team