Project management is a complex process that requires careful planning, execution, and evaluation. One crucial aspect of project management is life cycle selection, which involves choosing the appropriate approach that is most likely to be successful for a given situation. In this article, we will discuss the four types of life cycles and their characteristics, and how to determine which life cycle is the best fit for a project.
Four Types of Life Cycles
The four types of life cycles are predictive, iterative, incremental, and agile. Each life cycle has its own set of characteristics, advantages, and disadvantages, and selecting the right one is critical for the success of the project.
Predictive Life Cycle
A predictive life cycle is a traditional approach to project management. The majority of planning occurs upfront, followed by executing the plan in a single pass. This is a sequential process that reduces uncertainty and complexity and allows teams to segment work into predictable groupings. This approach is best suited for projects that have clear and well-defined requirements.
Iterative Life Cycle
The iterative life cycle is an approach that allows feedback on unfinished work to improve and modify that work. This means that prototypes and proofs are planned, and the outputs are intended to modify the plans created in the beginning. Earlier reviews of unfinished work help inform future project work. This approach is best suited for projects that are more complex and require feedback to refine the work items.
Incremental Life Cycle
The incremental life cycle is an approach that provides finished deliverables that the customer may be able to use immediately. This means that teams plan to deliver successive subsets of the overall project. Teams may plan several successive deliveries in advance or only one at a time. The deliveries inform the future project work. This approach is best suited for projects that require immediate delivery of value.
Agile Life Cycle
The agile life cycle is an approach that is both iterative and incremental to refine work items and deliver frequently. This means that teams iterate over the product to create finished deliverables. The team gains early feedback and provides customer visibility, confidence, and control of the product. Because the team can release earlier, the project may provide an earlier return on investment because the team delivers the highest value work first. This approach is best suited for projects that require flexibility, adaptability, and continuous improvement.
Characteristics of Project Life Cycles
All projects have characteristics such as requirements, delivery, change, and goals. A project’s inherent characteristics determine which life cycle is the best fit for that project. The characteristics of each life cycle are summarized in Table 3-1, and each project finds a spot on the continuum that provides an optimum balance of characteristics for its context.
Planning is Always There
A key thing to remember about life cycles is that each of them shares the element of planning. What differentiates a life cycle is not whether planning is done, but rather how much planning is done and when. At the predictive end of the continuum, the plan drives the work. In iterative approaches, prototypes and proofs are also planned, but the outputs are intended to modify the plans created in the beginning. Meanwhile, incremental initiatives plan to deliver successive subsets of the overall project. Agile projects also plan, but the team plans and replans as more information becomes available from review of frequent deliveries.
Conclusion
In conclusion, life cycle selection is a critical aspect of project management. Choosing the right life cycle for a project can significantly impact its success. The four types of life cycles, predictive, iterative, incremental, and agile, offer different approaches that can be adapted to meet the unique requirements of each project. By understanding the characteristics of each life cycle, project teams can select the approach that is best suited for their project.