Life Cycle of Project
In every project, the work progresses go through four phases, namely Conceptualization, Design, Execution (or construction) and Finish (C-D-E-f). The different domains many address these phases by different nomenclature, For example, in the software industry. Conceptualization phase may be termed as Requirements Gathering phase; phase may be termed as System Design phase; Execution phase may be termed as Coding and Testing phase; and Finishing phase may be termed as System Implementation phase.
Let’s discuss these phases in detail:
Conceptualization: In this phase, the problem statement is defined, and a solution is conceptualized
that can solve the given problem. In other words, the requirements are defined
by the business stakeholders, and the project team conceptualizes the solution
that can meet these requirements.
Take the case of a software package being
developed. The 'Business Analyst' understands the business needs of the
software, the features and functionalities that need to be a part of the
solution to conceptualize the application logic, process flow, etc.
Another example could be of an architect conceptualizing
what a building should look like, based on the requirements given by the owner
of the proposed building.
Design: On the basis of the concept created
during the previous phase, detailed design of the solution is developed in this
phase.
In case of the software, on the basis of
the requirements given by the stakeholder, system design is performed detailing
each component of user interface layer, application logic layer, and database
layer Server and bandwidth capacities for the proposed system are also
designed. Thus, in this phase, specifications are released.
These become the basis of system to be
implemented and procurement of system components to be done.
In case of the building, on the basis of
the drawings and the models created by the architect, structural designers
detail out the foundation size, columns, beams, slab sizing, etc. As a result,
detailed design of every component is developed because this drawing will
become the basis of construction work and needs to be precise and complete.
Execution (or Construction): Based on the
detailed design of the component, construction of the project deliverable is
started. In other words, during this phase, the deliverable of the project is
created.
In case of the software, coding work begins
here. The developers create the various modules as per the design, and the
testers perform the various types of test to ensure things are made as per the
design.
In case of the building, the civil
engineers, contractors, masons, carpenters, painters, electricians, etc. work
together to construct the building as per the detailed design. The work is
checked during the construction to ensure every component is being built as per
the design.
Finish: In this phase, the deliverables are
finalized and made ready to be handed over to operations. For instance, the
software is tested for functionality and bugs during User Acceptance Testing
(UAT). Building is inspected by local legal bodies for adherence to the norms
and standards of safety, facility, etc. and declared fit for occupancy.
Every project has to go through these four
phases for completing the work to be done in the project, but a bit of issue
can arise in the clarity of requirements and availability of funding or
willingness of the stakeholders to go the whole hog at a time without being
aware of the workability of the business idea. Let's look at the following
cases, which represent the different models of projects, and understand how the
project needs to be carried out in different ways in each of them.
1) A building is to be constructed where
requirements are completely clear and fixed. Since the requirements are
pre-determined upfront, the project can further be carried out in a predictable
manner. The life cycle or model used for such a project is called predictive
model.
The software industry refers this model as
Waterfall model.
2) A banking software is being built, in which
new functionality may be required to be added every 3 to 4 months, but what
these functionalities are, is not clear in the beginning and will emerge as
users become accustomed to the software, and request more features and
functionality.
In such a case, you can predict what is to be done only up to a certain point in the life cycle of the project. The clarity emerges after some time. Such projects are built in an iterative manner. In the first iteration, the solution is conceptualized on the basis of the requirements conceived at that point in time. Designing is done accordingly. This functionality is built, tested and put into production. After some time, the user demands some additional features. Then, the whole cycle is repeated in the second iteration, and the third and so on. The same product is enhanced in functionality as and when more requirements emerge.
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