Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
The product backlog list is the set of requirements defined for the project. This
list could include product features, and functionality in fresh development projects.
It would include defects, and enhancements for a software upgrade project.
The backlogs for a sprint are identified during a ''sprint planning meeting''. The
product owner, users, customers, organizational management, and Scrum team
participate in the planning meeting. The meeting decides the functionality selected
for realization during the next sprint. The users, customer and management
participate in the first planning meeting and all the subsequent meetings are only
attended by the product owner, and the Scrum team.
15.4 Dynamic Systems Development Method
Dynamic Systems Development Method (DSDM) makes the philosophy of soft-
ware development stand on its head! Instead of freezing the functionality for the
proposed product and scheduling it, it freezes the duration and then selects the
functionality to fit the duration!
DSDM is carried out in five phases, namely, feasibility study, business study,
functional model iteration, design and build iteration, and implementation.
The phases of the feasibility study and business study are carried out only once and
the remaining three phases are iterated. Each iteration is referred to as a ''time
box'' in the DSDM taxonomy. Each time box is planned with a set of functionality
and a fixed duration with the objective of fulfilling the set functionality within the
time box. Usually, the maximum duration for a time box is a few weeks not
exceeding two calendar months.
During the feasibility study, the feasibility of executing the project using the
DSDM is assessed based on the type of project and the organizational culture. The
phase deliverables are a feasibility report and an outline plan for development. The
feasibility report would include details of technical feasibility and the associated
risks. If the risks are major, then a prototype of the proposed product may also be
built. The outline plan will include schedule of the project with major milestones
and resource requirements.
During the business study phase, the knowledge transfer takes place from the
stakeholders to the development team. This is advocated to be achieved by con-
ducting meetings or workshops. These would consider all aspects of the proposed
system and set development priorities. The business processes are understood by
the development team and sometimes are even documented. The deliverables from
this phase are business area definition, system architecture definition and outline
prototyping plan. The business area definition describes the business processes in a
high level manner. The system architecture definition is a sketch and it is expected
to change during the course of the development. The prototyping plan would
consist of the strategy for prototyping and the configuration management plan.
In the functional model iteration, a prototype for the iteration is designed, using
which the product would be developed. A functional model (use and improve
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