The DSDM Process (Chapter 6)

Question 1

Unlike most agile approaches, what does DSDM do?

Answer 1

Integrates project management and product development into a single process.

Question 2

How many phases are there in the DSDM project lifecycle?

Answer 2

Six.

Question 3

What are the six phases of the DSDM project lifecycle?

Answer 3

1. Pre-Project
2. Feasibility
3. Foundations
4. Evolutionary Development
5. Deployment
6. Post-Project

Question 4

What happens at Pre-Project?

Answer 4

‘Which ideas are sensible?’

Ensures only the right projects are started, based on a clearly defined objective and set up correctly.

Question 5

What happens at Feasibility?

Answer 5

‘Do we do it or not?’

It is established whether the proposed project is…

1. Feasible from a technical perspective
2. Cost-effective from a business perspective

Question 6

Maximum effort is applied during Feasibility. True or false?

Answer 6

False - just enough effort is applied to discern whether further investigation is justified or the project should be stopped now.

Question 7

What happens at Foundations?

Answer 7

The primary investigation from Feasibility is taken to the next level.

Question 8

What are the intended outcomes of Foundations? (3 points)

Answer 8

1. A fundamental, but NOT detailed, understanding of the business rationale for the project.
2. The potential solution that will be created.
3. How development and delivery of the solution will be managed.

Question 9

The Foundations phase should last no longer than a few weeks - why?

Answer 9

Because it stays high-level and intentionally avoids detail.

Question 10

In what stage is low level detail of requirements explored?

Answer 10

Evolutionary development.

Question 11

What is the aim of Foundations?

Answer 11

To understand…

The scope of the work
How it will be carried out
By whom, when and where

Question 12

The Foundations phase determines the project lifecycle. How?

Answer 12

By agreeing how the DSDM process will be applied to the specific needs of the project.

Question 13

What is the purpose of the Evolutionary Development phase?

Answer 13

To evolve the solution.

Question 14

What practices will the SDT use during Evolutionary Development? (5 points)

Answer 14

1. MoSCoW
2. Timeboxing
3. Iterative development
4. Modelling
5. Facilitated workshops

Question 15

During Evolutionary Development, each timebox creates a Solution Increment - what is that?

Answer 15

A version of the solution, improved upon in the next timebox through iterative development.

Question 16

During Evolutionary Development, the SDT iteratively explore low-level detail of the requirements. What else do they do?

Answer 16

Continuously test the solution.

Question 17

What is the point of Deployment?

Answer 17

To bring a baseline of the solution into operational use.

Question 18

In Deployment, the release that is deployed is the ultimate solution. True or false?

Answer 18

False - it may be a subset of it. It depends how many times the Evolutionary Development phase is revisited.

Question 19

What happens at Post-Project?

Answer 19

The team checks how well the expected business benefits have been met.

Question 20

There are ‘return paths’ throughout the lifecycle, i.e. where some phases are revisited. Where are these most common? (2 points)

Answer 20

1. Deployment to Evolutionary Development (if the solution deployed was not the final version)
2. Deployment to Foundations (if the project needs have changed/it becomes clear the scope/solution need to be better understood)

Question 21

When is the project lifecycle agreed?

Answer 21

Foundations

Question 22

The lifecycle is the same for all DSDM projects. True or false?

Answer 22

False - it depends on the size of the project and level of formality needed (i.e. how corporate the environment is/how much governance is needed)