Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Physical models may introduce elements and notions such as throughput
and response time, ensure that the application falls within the physical
constraints imposed by the computing environment (CPU, disk space,
RAM), etc.
One cannot do away with either model — business users will want a
logical representation, while coders will want the physical details from
the DBA (database administrator). The point is to realize the importance
of each and be aware that we maintain the connectivity between the
logical and the physical, and use it to our advantage in r equirement
gathering, estimations, and delivery.
Products, Projects, and Processes
It is essential to keep
projects
and
products
separate in planning. In
developing a software product, the
product
is the application being built
is the development project. The parties involved decide
what falls within a project and what does not. For example, in a devel-
opment project, preparing the online documentation may be in scope but
preparing the user training material may not be within the scope of the
project. At the same time, the product has its own scope, which is identified
in its specifications. Keeping the two scopes — project and product —
separate, while dealing with both of them, is key to proper management.
Both projects and products have their own life cycles. Project man-
agement processes would include activities such as initiation, execution,
or closing the project. Such processes tend to be applicable to many
different kinds of projects. For a software product, the processes could
be analysis, design, development, test, etc. In a project, the life cycles
and processes for both the product and the project are playing out
simultaneously. (Note that the term “product” includes service products
such as accounting or medical services.)
How do these two life cycles interact? The product life cycle could
consist of a number of projects. Prototyping could be a project; beta
testing could be a separate project. The development project that we are
talking about could be one of the many projects in the product life cycle.
Or the entire product development could be handled as a large project
with many phases or sub-projects, each phase or sub-project requiring
some or all of the project management processes. For the prototyping
phase, one needs to initiate the design, execute it, and close it. When
one moves on to the next phase, say, detailed design, it would again
require initiation, execution, closure, etc. The two life cycles and processes
are like two separate threads woven together.
and the
project
