Development Approach and Life Cycle Performance Domain

Question 1

What is the “Development Approach and Life Cycle Performance Domain?

Answer 1

This addresses activities and functions associated with the development approach, cadence, and life cycle phases of a project.

Question 2

What results come from development approach and life cycle performance domain?

Answer 2

1) Development approaches that are consistent with project deliverables.
2) A project life cycle consisting of phases that connect the delivery of business and stakeholder value from the beginning to the end of the project.
3) A project life cycle consisting of phases that facilitate the delivery cadence and development approach required to produce the project deliverables.

Question 3

What is a “deliverable”?

Answer 3

Any unique and verifiable product, result, and capability to perform a service that is required to be produced to complete a process, phase, or project.

Question 4

What is a “development approach”?

Answer 4

A method used to create and evolve the product, service, or result during the project life cycle, such as predictive, iterative, incremental, adaptive, and hybrid method.

Question 5

What is “cadence’?

Answer 5

A rhythm of activities conducted throughout the project.

Question 6

What is “project phase”?

Answer 6

A collection of logically related project activities that result in the completion of one or more variables.

Question 7

What is the “project life cycle”?

Answer 7

The series of phases that a project passes through from start to finish.

Question 8

The deliverable approach and the desired deliver cadence determine the project life cycle.

Answer 8

N/A

Question 9

The type of deliverables and developmental approach influence the number and cadence for project deliverables.

Answer 9

N/A

Question 10

What is “delivery cadence”?

Answer 10

Refers to the timing and frequency of project deliverables. Projects can have single, multiple, or periodic deliveries.

Question 11

What is “single delivery”?

Answer 11

Often used in process delivery, where there is one solutions at the end.

Question 12

What are “multiple deliveries”?

Answer 12

When there are multiple deliverables before a project is considered complete. Sometimes deliveries are concurrent and sometimes they are lineaer.

Question 13

What are “periodic deliveries”?

Answer 13

Like multiple deliveries, they are on a fixed schedule, such as monthly or bi-monthly. i.e. software release

Question 14

What is “continuous delivery”?

Answer 14

The practice of delivering feature increments immediately to customers. Often used for digital products.

Question 15

What is a “development approach”?

Answer 15

The means to create and evolve a product, service, or result during a project life cycle.

Question 16

What are 3 common delivery approaches?

Answer 16

1) predictive
2) hybrid
3) adaptive.

Question 17

What is the “predictive development approach”?

Answer 17

Useful when the project and product requirements can be defined, collected, and analyzed at the start of the project. (aka Waterfall approach).

The scope, schedule, cost, resource needs, and risks can be well-defined in the early stages of the project. Many times, project templates are used.

Question 18

What is the “hybrid development approach”?

Answer 18

combo of adaptive and predictive.

Useful when the deliverables can be modularized or when there are deliverables that be developed by different teams.

Often uses an iterative or incremental development approach. The deliverable is considered complete only after the final iteration.

Question 19

What is an “adaptive development approach”?

Answer 19

Useful when requirements are subject to a high level of uncertainty and volatility and are likely to change throughout the project.

A clear vision is established at the start, and initial known requirements are refined, detailed, changed, or replaced in accordance with user feedback, the environment, or unexpected events.

Agile approaches are considered adpative.

Question 20

Name 8 variables that influence the development approach.

Answer 20

1) Degree of innovation.
2) Requirements certainty.
3) Scope stability
4) Ease of change.
5) Delivery options.
6) Risk
7) Safety Requirements.
8) Regulations.

Question 21

What is the development approach “degree of innovation”?

Answer 21

The degree to which a project is more suited for predictive or adaptive.

Question 22

What is the development approach “requirements certainty”?

Answer 22

The degree to which requirements are well-known and easy to define or they are uncertain, volatile, or complex and are expected to evolve throughout the project.

Question 23

What is the development approach “scope stability”?

Answer 23

The degree to which the scope is stable and not likely to change to that of having many changes.

Question 24

What is the development approach “ease of change”?

Answer 24

The degree that a deliverable is difficult to manage and incorporate changes to easily adapt to change.

Question 25

What is the development approach “delivery option”?

Answer 25

The degree to how something can be delivered, in pieces or a as a whole.

Question 26

What is the development approach “risk”?

Answer 26

The degree to how risky something is, may require additional time to evaluate those risks.

Question 27

What is the development approach regarding “safety requirements”?

Answer 27

The degree to which rigorous safety requirements need to be followed.

Question 28

What is the development approach to “regulations”?

Answer 28

The degree to which regulatory oversight is calculated.

Question 29

What is the development approach to “stakeholders”?

Answer 29

adaptive methods required significant stakeholder involvement.

Question 30

What is the development approach to “schedule constraints”?

Answer 30

An iterative or adaptive approach is more beneficial when there is a need to develop something early.

Question 31

What is the development approach to “funding availability”?

Answer 31

Projects that have funding questions may benefit from an adaptive or iterative approach.

Question 32

What is the development approach to “organizational structure”?

Answer 32

Matrix or highly complex organizations may benefit from using a predictive approach. Flat organizational teams tend to use adaptive methods.

Question 33

What is the development approach to “culture”?

Answer 33

When there is a defined culture, many times predictive is better suited.

Question 34

What is the development approach to “organizational capability”?

Answer 34

Predictive is more often used in larger organizations.

Question 35

What is the development approach to “project team size and location”?

Answer 35

Adaptive approaches, especially agile, often work better with smaller project teams located in the same physical space. Larger project teams do well with predictive styles.

Question 36

What are the 6 phases of a project life cycle?

Answer 36

1) Feasibility
2) Design
3) Build
4) Test
5) Deploy
6) Close

Question 37

What is the lifecycle phase of “feasibility”?

Answer 37

The determines if the business case is valid and if the organization has the capability to deliver the intended outcome.

Question 38

What is the lifecycle phase of “design”?

Answer 38

Planning and analysis lead to the design of the project deliverables that will be developed.

Question 39

What is the lifecycle phase of “build”?

Answer 39

Construction of the deliverable with integrated quality assurance activities is conducted.

Question 40

What is the lifecycle phase of “test”?

Answer 40

Final quality review and inspection of deliverables are carried out before transition, go-live, or acceptance by the customer.

Question 41

What is the lifecycle phase of “deploy”?

Answer 41

Project deliverables are put into use and transitional activities required for sustainment, benefits realization, and organizational change management are completed.

Question 42

What is the lifecycle phase of “close”?

Answer 42

The project is closed, product knowledge and artifacts are archived, project team members are released, and contracts are closed.

Question 43

What are “phase gates”?

Answer 43

This is checking the desired outcome or exit criteria versus where the project actually is.

Question 44

What is a secondary name for “iteration”?

Answer 44

sprint