Instrumental Success Factors, DSDM Process and Products

Question 1

Embracing the DSDM Approach’?

Answer 1

This means that success is much more likely when all the stakeholders understand and accept the DSDM project approach.

This involves understanding the DSDM philosophy that ‘best business value emerges when projects are aligned to clear business goals, deliver frequently and involve the collaboration of motivated and empowered people.

It’s also important that the stakeholders understand that to deliver the right thing at the right time whilst handling change dynamically, may require the project to deliver less that the 100% solution.

Question 1

what does ISFs stand for and what does it mean?

Answer 1

Instrumental Success Factors or ISFs help to ensure DSDM projects have successful outcomes.

Question 2

People are at the heart of a DSDM project and the Solution Development Team is key to

Answer 2

developing the right solution

Question 3

Building a successful team depends on:

Answer 3

• Empowerment
• Stability
• Skills, and
• Size

Question 4

Each role in the team should be empowered to make decisions based on their

Answer 4

expertise and the whole team should be empowered to make decisions within the boundaries specified in the Foundation phase.

Question 5

The senior business and technical stakeholders appoint people within the Solution Development Team who have the

Answer 5

desire, authority and knowledge required to make the decisions on a day-to-day basis.

Question 6

As well as being empowered the team should be

Answer 6

stable, this means people in the team should stay there for the duration of the project

Question 7

DSDM suggests that the ideal team size is

Answer 7

seven plus or minus two people. If more people are required then they should be split into multiple Solution Development Teams.

Question 8

If your DSDM project is going to be successful then the commitment and engagement of the business is essential, this relies on three elements:

Answer 8

• commitment of business time throughout
• day-to-day collaboration involving business roles in the Iterative Development of the solution, and
• A supportive relationship between the customer and supplier organisations

Question 9

In the early stages of the project business engagement and business time is needed to

Answer 9

get the project off to a good start.

Question 10

In the later stages this ongoing commitment is needed to help guide the

Answer 10

detail of the solution development.

This means that the business roles should be frequently involved with the team to help guide the evolution of the solution.

Question 11

it is very important that the sponsoring business and the supplier organisation both support collaborative working.

Answer 11

This improves the efficiency of the development of the Evolving Solution without any onerous overhead associated with change at the detailed level.

Question 12

Every Timebox should ideally deliver a

Answer 12

complete and potentially deployable increment of the solution, and this should include integrated testing.
This testing ensures that the development is acceptable before moving on, any errors can be found early in the cycle of development and corrected.

This helps to reduce the costs associated with rework which would be excessive if these tests were left until later in the development cycle.

Finally, if the organisation is happy to deploy increments of the solution into live use it will benefit from an early return of investment.

Question 13

The final two ISFs are Transparency and the Project Approach Questionnaire - Assessing Options and Risks

Transparency ensures that …..?

Answer 13

progress on ongoing work is clearly displayed to all.

Question 14

At the end of each Timebox demonstrations provide

Answer 14

physical, objective and unquestionable proof that the Evolving Solution is fit for purpose.

Question 15

Additionally Team Boards and Daily Stand-ups provide

Answer 15

clear and up-to-date information about the work in progress.

Question 16

Finally, the Project Approach Questionnaire, or PAQ, provides a

Answer 16

simple checklist to assess whether the factors we have just discussed are likely to be met or whether action is needed to encourage them or mitigate the risks of them being undermined.

The PAQ is established in the Feasibility phase to help shape the work of the Foundations phase.

Towards the end of the Foundations phase it is used to finalise the approach to be taken for the development and delivery of the project and it also helps to drive active management of the project risks.

Question 17

what is Feasibility?

Answer 17

where we decide whether the project is viable from both the technical and business perspective

Question 18

During Feasibility we create ………. evolutionary products and one milestone product.

Answer 18

6

Question 19

During Feasibility we create six evolutionary products and one milestone product.

Two of the evolutionary products are

Answer 19

business focussed and coloured orange and they are the Business Case and the Prioritised Requirements List.

Question 20

The business vision tells us what

Answer 20

the changed business will look like both incrementally as we release the solution and in its final state.

Question 21

The justification typically documents the investment appraisal and tells us

Answer 21

why the cost and effort is worthwhile.

Question 22

Feasibility Phase:

Answer 22

Definition: The phase where the viability of the project is assessed from both technical and business perspectives.

Duration: Short and sharp, similar to the Pre-Project phase.

Purpose: Focuses on justifying the Foundations phase.

Question 23

Evolutionary Products in Feasibility:

Answer 23

Products Created: Six evolutionary products and one milestone product.

Business-Focused Products: Business Case and Prioritised Requirements List (PRL).

Color Code: Business-focused products are colored orange.

Question 24

Business Case:

Answer 24

Definition: Provides vision and justification for the project.

Business Vision: Describes the changed business incrementally and in its final state.

Justification: Documents the investment appraisal, explaining the worth of the cost and effort.

Baseline: Baseline at the end of Feasibility, updated at the end of each phase.

Question 25

Business Case Review:

Answer 25

Frequency: Reviewed at the end of each Project Increment.

Purpose of Review: Decides whether further work is justified.

Baseline Update: Updated at the end of each phase when new baselines are created.

Question 26

Prioritised Requirements List (PRL):

Answer 26

Description: Describes high-level requirements at a glance.
Timeline: Considered in Feasibility, detailed in Foundations.
Baselining: Baselined in Foundations, forming the project’s scope.

Question 27

Requirements Management:

Answer 27

Development Stage: Requirements are thought about in Feasibility and explored further in Foundations.

Change Control: Formal change control for any changes to high-level requirements’ breadth, such as additions or removals.

Question 28

Delivery Plan

Answer 28

Contents: Schedule of Project Increments and Timeboxes.

Focus: Task level details considered, especially for external contributors.

Usage: Guides the execution of the project.

Question 29

Management Approach Definition

Answer 29

Contents: Guidelines for project management.

Includes: Organization and planning, stakeholder engagement, progress monitoring, control, and reporting standards.

Evolution: Created in Feasibility, evolves and may be baselined in Foundations if circumstances change.

Question 30

Feasibility Assessment

Answer 30

Type: Milestone Product

Contents: Snapshot of evolving products.

Purpose: Decision-making for project continuation into Foundations phase.

Role: Informs decision-making and contributes to governance processes.

Question 31

Foundations Phase Overview

Answer 31

Purpose: Establish fundamental understanding of project’s business rationale, potential solution, and management approach.

Requirements Detail: Postponed to Evolutionary Development phase.

Main Aim: Understand scope and project lifecycle application of DSDM process.

Question 32

Feasibility and Foundations Phases

Answer 32

Small Projects: Often combined Feasibility and Foundations.

Larger Projects: May revisit Foundations after each Deployment phase.

Question 33

Foundation Summary

Answer 33

Type: Milestone Product

Contents: Snapshot of evolving business, solution, and management products.

Purpose: Decision-making for project continuation.

Role: Informs decision-making and contributes to the governance process.

Question 34

Evolutionary Development Overview

Answer 34

Phase: Evolutionary Development

Role: Major phase for solution development.

Practices: Involves Iterative Development, Timeboxing, and MoSCoW prioritization.
Key Activities: Modelling and Facilitated Workshops.

Question 35

Practices in Evolutionary Development

Answer 35

Used Practices: Iterative Development, Timeboxing, MoSCoW prioritization.

Purpose: Evolve the solution to meet business needs and ensure correct technical implementation.

Upcoming Topics: Modelling and Facilitated Workshops.

Question 36

Solution Increments in Timeboxes

Answer 36

Key Activity: Within each Timebox.

Role: Solution Development Team creates Solution Increments.

Focus: Explore low-level details of requirements.

Testing Approach: Iterative testing as progress is made.

Question 37

Evolving Products in Evolutionary Development

Answer 37

Products:
Evolving Solution
Timebox Plan
Timebox Review Record

Purpose: Products evolve the solution and facilitate iterative development.

Question 38

The Evolving Solution is made up of the

Answer 38

components of the final solution together with any intermediate deliverables that we need to explore the details of the requirements.

At any particular time these components can be complete, a baseline of the partial solution which is called a Solution Increment or a work in progress.

We often use models, prototypes, supporting materials and testing and review artefacts as part of the Evolving Solution.

At the end of each Project Increment the Solution Increment is deployed into live use and becomes the Deployed Solution.

Question 39

Timebox Plan

Answer 39

This product describes the work of the Solution Development Team and there is one plan for each Timebox defined in the Delivery Plan.

It tells us what work has to be done, who will do it and any other resources we need and most importantly what the deliverables are.

It’s used as the basis for the Daily Stand-Ups where we update the Timebox Plan.

Normally we use the Team Board to display the plan showing work to do, work in progress and work completed.

Question 40

Timebox Review Record

Answer 40

This tells us about the feedback from each review we’ve completed during the Timebox, the achievements to date and any feedback that may affect future plans.

This document can be a formal auditable record in more regulated environments for example and if this is the case then it becomes an important governance product

Question 41

The next phase is Deployment where we bring a baseline of the Evolving Solution into operational use.

This could be a subset of the final solution or the final solution itself.

There is only one product created in this phase which is

Answer 41

the Project Review Report.

This is a milestone product which is updated incrementally after each Project Increment.

The Report has three main purposes.

Firstly it captures feedback from the review of the delivered solution and confirms what has, and hasn’t been delivered.

Secondly, we use it to capture lessons from the review or retrospective of the increment and finally we use it to describe the business benefits we expect through the proper use of the solution.

After the final Project Increment a full review, or retrospective, of the entire project is carried out and this is informed in part by the Project Review Report.

Question 42

so we come to the final phase called Post-Project.

Answer 42

The purpose of this phase is to discover whether the expected business benefits have been delivered or not.

We will produce a milestone product called a Benefits Assessment which describes which benefits have accrued following a period of live use.

In larger projects we may undertake a number of benefit reviews and produce a number of assessments.