Moving beyond projects and into products
The traditional waterfall model for software development is project-based. In the industry's early days, the project-oriented approach seemed to make sense due to the high costs, complexities, and risks involved in software development.
Let's review the type of work that is best suited to traditional project management practices. For example, the characteristics of project-based work include the following:
- Projects have definable deliverables or outputs in the form of products, services, or results.
- Project-based deliverables are relatively unique, and, therefore, the work has significant risks.
- Project constraints are defined in project charters, approved by customers or executive sponsors, with specific boundaries on authorized scope, schedule, costs, and quality.
- Project-oriented work is highly tailored to support each product's unique requirements, and, therefore, the work is relatively non-repetitive...