Many people think project life cycle circulates around SDLC. In this article we will discuss about other phases which occur before SDLC starts. I know that companies have tailor made phases we have just tried to put phases followed by majority IT companies. We have visualized two companies Shreya ltd who is the customer and Hanu software who is the vendor.
Title: Project Life Cycle beyond SDLC
Author: Shivprasad Koirala
Email: shiv_koirala@yahoo.com
Language: Project Management
Level: Beginner
Description: Project Life Cycle beyond SDLC
Many people think project life cycle circulates around SDLC. In this article we will discuss about other phases which occur before SDLC starts. I know that companies have tailor made phases we have just tried to put phases followed by majority IT companies. We have visualized two companies Shreya ltd who is the customer and Hanu software who is the vendor. Any resemblance to live and dead is purely coincidental ? .This article is originally written by Kapil Siddhartha and you can reach him at http://www.freewebs.com/site4guidance/blog.htm , I have written the introduction section, spell check and graphics to make the article jazzy.
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A retail company, Shreya retail ltd., decides to build a software system for selling its products online. It brings out an RFP (Request for Proposal) which is like a tender floated by government companies. Several interested S/W companies responds to this RFP. This RFP lists the features of the required system. It also lists the various constraints which must be in the implemented system like environment may have complied with existing environment. It may also indicate any preferences like Java based or .NET based system or preference for an ERP product. RFP also indicates the existing environment in which the new system has to be fitted in.
One of S/W Company, Hanu software, responding to this RFP will be responding with a written document called proposal. In this Proposal, Hanu software indicates its capability to handle such an assignment, gives a indicative technical solution and cost calculated by software estimation techniques from effort required to build the required system. The proposal also lists the assumptions and constraints taken to arrive at the cost. The RFP will also have the time-frame in which the system will be delivered.
Once all the RFPs are submitted, Shreya retail will evaluate all proposals to find out the cost-effective proposal of all. Based on the first evaluation, Shreya retail may short-list 3-4 of them for detail discussion. Shreya retail may satisfy themselves with capabilities, certifications to en-certain the capability of the companies and quality of the product that will be built. It may also negotiate on the costs, terms and conditions. Shreya Retail may also ask s/w companies for visit to their sites, meeting with existing delivery team to make sure the companies are capable and have good execution team not just the aggressive sales team.
After all negotiation, Shreya Retail decided to shortlist Hanu software as their vendor. The negotiation and proposal are formalized in form of a contract. This contract is the bible of all terms and conditions, cost and time-frame and milestones of delivery and associated payment of money. There may also be associated documents like Statement of Work (SOW).
Once Contract is signed, the project is ready to start.
Hanu software, assigns a project manager (PM) to the project. PM is the whole sole in-charge of the project. He manages all the activities of the project and is single point responsible for success or failure of the project. He is given the estimates, contract and time-frame which are committed to the Shreya Retails.PM starts planning for the project. He evaluates the estimates, terms and conditions and time-frame and if has any reservations list them as risk.
He starts creating SPMP Software Project Management Plan. SPMP is a live document in which PM documents how he will carry out all the management activities of the project. It is the bible of the project. This document lists all important people and their contact. The document will also how will the progress of the project will be reported to the client and higher management, at what frequency, reporting template is also decided. The frequency of the meeting and normal attendees is also mentioned in the report. The document also lists input required from the client and their expected dates. It also lists the activities to be carried out in case of any emergency or anything going wrong, escalations etc. The document also plans the version management, risk management and other important aspect of the project. In short SPMP is a planning document which indicates how the project will be carried out and also informs other people of the activities in the management. Any people requiring a change can contact for clarification.
PM kicks off the project. In this kick-Off PM calls all the departmental heads which he will be interacting with and asking for support. He based on his estimates and plan put forward the resource plan to the resource head, hardware requirement from the IT administration team, he also plans the quality milestone and activity with the QA head. PM may also be asking the QA head the Company quality matrices against which he will be tracking his own project. He may also predict the milestones, bug numbers and review time etc. based on the earlier metrics. Once the plan is ready and interactions with the various departments, inputs from various departments are committed, PM is good to go.
PM is allocated his team by the resource department. He based on his experience and team members capability create a project hierarchy and plan his project internal structure. He divides the responsibility of the projects to his team. PM then has internal project kick-off, where he introduces his team members and their roles and also describes the expectation from various people. Team also highlights their requirements and other constraint based on their earlier experience.
Now starts the projects team’s SDLC (software development lifecycle). Requirement Gathering, Architecture, Design, Development/Unit Testing, Integration testing, Functional testing, User Acceptance Testing (UAT).After successful completion of UAT, Shreya Retail accepts the system. The system enters into warranty phase which as per the contract's terms and conditions. In warranty phase, all the bugs are fixed by Hanu Software for free. After warranty phase, system moves in the Support and Maintenance mode.
