What does the project life cycle define?
What work will be performed in each phase; what deliverables will be produced and when; who is involved in each phase; how management controls and approves work produced in each phase.
What is a deliverable?
A product or service produced or provided as part of a project, such as a technical report, a training session, a piece of hardware, or a segment of software code.
What is the SDLC, and what are its four general phases?
A framework for describing the phases of developing information systems (product life cycle): planning, analysis, design, implementation.
What is the planning phase of the SDLC, and what is its output?
Understanding why an information system should be built and determining how the project team will build it. Output: project plan.
Which questions does the analysis phase answer, and what is its output?
Who will use the system, what the system will do, and where and when it will be used. Output: a system proposal.
What are the as-is and to-be systems?
The as-is system is the current system (with its problems); the to-be system is the new system to be designed.
What three options does the design strategy clarify?
Whether the system will be developed by the company's own programmers; whether it will be outsourced to another firm (usually a consulting firm); whether the company will buy an existing software package.
What is the output of the design phase?
System specification (architecture design, interface design, database design, program design).
What are the two tasks of the implementation phase?
System construction — the system is built and tested; and installation — the system is installed and users are trained.
What are the two families of SDLC models, and what characterises a predictive life cycle?
Predictive life cycle and agile software development. Predictive: the scope can be articulated clearly, and the schedule and cost can be predicted accurately.
Where does the waterfall model get its name, and when is it best used?
From the way each phase cascades into the next. It is best used where requirements have been clearly defined and agreed.
List the drawbacks of the waterfall model.
No working software until late in the life cycle; testing at the end means major defects may go undetected until late, when they are more difficult to repair; poor model for long and ongoing projects.
Describe the incremental model and two of its advantages.
Requirements are divided into standalone modules; a working version is produced during the first module and each release adds function. Advantages include: errors easy to recognize; easier to test and debug; more flexible; client gets important functionality early; suitable for large projects.
When is the iterative model suited?
When the requirements are not clearly understood and there is a need to begin development quickly.
What are the disadvantages of the iterative model?
Not knowing when to stop iterating; it is potentially difficult to monitor and control.
How do iterating and incrementing differ, and can they be combined?
Iterating moves from vague idea to realization (rough to polished); incrementing is more about delivery. Yes — an application can be broken into increments, each implemented through a series of iterations.
What is Agile, and what does it emphasise?
A methodology commonly used to deliver complex projects due to its adaptiveness. It emphasizes collaboration, flexibility, continuous improvement and high quality results.
State the four value pairs of the Agile Manifesto.
Individual and Interactions over Processes and Tools. Working Software over Comprehensive Documentation. Customer Collaboration over Contract Negotiation. Responding to Change over Following a Plan.
What is Scrum, and what is the difference between the Product Backlog and the Sprint Backlog?
Scrum is an Agile framework used to implement the ideas behind Agile. The Product Backlog lists all requirements for a viable product in order of priority; the Sprint Backlog is the tasks and requirements for the next Sprint.
Name the five project management process groups.
Initiating, planning, executing, monitoring & controlling, closing.
What is a project charter?
A document that describes the project and its goals; preparing it is an initiating process.
List the plans produced by the planning processes.
Scope plan, schedule plan, cost plan, quality plan, procurement plan.
Give the executing processes.
Acquiring and developing the project team; performing quality assurance; managing stakeholder expectations; conducting procurements.
Give the closing processes.
Archiving project files; closing out contracts; documenting lessons learned; receiving formal acceptance of the delivered work.