Software Project Management life cycle

 Activities covered by Software Project Management:

A software project is concerned not only with the actual writing of software. In fact, where a software application is bought in ‘off-the-self’, there might be no software writing as such. This is still fundamentally a software project because so many of the other elements associated with this type of project are present.

Usually, there are three successive processes that bring a new system into present.

1)      The feasibility study: This is an investigation to decide whether a prospective project is worth starting. Information will be gathered abut the general requirements of the proposed system. The probable developmental and operational coast, along with the value of the benefits of the new system are estimated, with a large system, feasibility study could be treated as a project in its own right. This evaluation may be done as part of a strategic planning exercise where a whole range of potential software developments are evaluated and put into an order of priority. Sometimes an organization has a policy where a series of project is planned as a programme of development. 

1)      Planning : If the feasibility study produces results that indicate the prospective project appears viable, then planning of the project can take place. In fact, for large project, we would not do all our detailed planning right at the beginning. We would formulae an outline plan for the whole project and a detailed one for the first stage. More detailed planning of the later stages would be done as they approached. This is because we would have more detailed and accurate information upon which to base our plans nearer to the start of the later stages.

2)      Project execution: The project can now be executed. Individual projects are likely to differ considerably but a classic project life cycle is shown in above figure.

Requirement analysis: This is finding out in detail what the users require of the system that the project is to implement. Some work, along these lines will almost certainly have been carried out when the project was evaluated but now the original information obtained needs to be updated and supplemented. Several different approaches to the users requirements may be explored. For example, a small system that satisfies some, but not all, of the users needs at low price may be compared to a system with more functions but at higher price.

Specification: Detailed documentation of what the proposed system to do.

Design: A design that meets the specification has to be drawn up. This design activity will be in two stages. One will be the external or user design. This lays down what the system is to like to the users in terms of menus, screen, screen and report layouts and so on. The next stage produces the physical design, which tackles the way in which the data software procedures are he structured internally.

Coding: This might refer to writing code in a procedural language,  such as c or ada. Or might refer to the use of a high level application builder. Even where software is not being built from scratch, some modification to the base application might be required to meet the needs of the new application.

Verification and validation: Whether software is developed specially for the current application or not, careful testing will be needed to check that the proposed system meets its requirements.

Implementation / Installation : Some system development practitioners refer to the whole of the project after design as ‘implementation’ (that is, the implementation of the design) while other insist that the term refers to the installation of the system after the software has been  developed. In this case it encompasses such things as setting up data files any system parameters, writing user manuals and training users of the new system.

Maintenance and support: Once the system has been implemented there will be a continuing need for the correction of any errors that may have crept into the system and for extension and improvements to the system. Maintenance and support activities may be seen as a series of minor software projects. In many environments, most software development is in fact maintenance.


 


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