Anticlue

Project Lifecycle

There are a lot of proclaimed fixes to the high failure rate of project in technology. The rate of failure for a software project is exceptionately high, sometimes quoted at 35%. Before looking at a solution to project failures, I think one really needs to understand the intricacies of the project life cycle.

Projects are comprised of four phases: the conceptual phase, the development phase, the implementation phase, and the termination phase.

The conceptual phase defines the scope, timing, and cost of a project. The business case, requirements, and resource need are completed within this phase.

The building phase comprises the designing, construction, and testing phases of the software, entails defining how the system will be used and training the users on the system, and constructs the live planning. The majority of the implementation costs are consumed here.

The implementation phase is the rolling out of the system into production. Items to be considered are the live event, ensuring there are enough resources, and how to address daily live issue management.

The termination phase of the project lifecycle is concerned with the turning of the system over to the supporting organization. Another essential item in this phase is a review of the project to learn from successes, and mistakes.