Project Management Methodology/Life Cycle Overview

Process or Stage	Traditional (waterfall) Guidelines	Agile Guidelines
Initiation Processes Or Product vision	Agree to a vision for the project, define the major goals & project justification (why do this project) Bring together the core team members and the stakeholders Assign a project manager and establish others' roles and responsibilities As much as possible, identify the resources needed, the cost estimates, and a broad timeline Obtain approval to move forward with detailed planning Recommended documentation: IT Project Initiation Form IT Project Charter Template	Product vision Definition of what your product is How the product will support your company or organization’s strategy Who will use the product Recommended documentation: IT Project Charter Template Product roadmap Create user stories Identify Product owner Identify Scrum Master Identify Development Team
Planning Processes Or Product roadmap	Collect requirements as needed. Some options include, focus group sessions, stated stakeholder requirements, and surveys Begin developing the project scope by describing, in sufficient detail, the project's deliverables and the work required to accomplish those deliverables Begin development of a work plan that details the activities or tasks required, including time and cost estimates Determine resources and staffing needs (resources can be special skills, hardware, software, services, etc.) Identify special skills needed to accomplish project tasks Assess project procurement needs of goods and services and determine best course of action Develop a budget plan to include the life cycle cost or total cost of ownership, projected out 3-5 years Assess the communication needs and prepare a communication plan if required Perform a risk assessment, analysis, and plan, if required, and include mitigation options as appropriate Assess the security issues for the project and its deliverable(s). Send a completed IT project security initial review form to the IT Security Office Analyze testing needs and plan accordingly Assess training needs and develop a strategy or plan as appropriate Plan for project changes and how they are documented and submitted, responsibilities, and steering committee membership Plan for project quality management including a strategy, quality assurance, and quality control activities Analyze need for independent verification & validation (IV&V) and plan accordingly Complete the scope document that includes how to verify completion of deliverables and how to manage scope change requests Document any lessons learned up to this stage in the project Obtain approval to move forward with executing the project plan Recommended documentation: IT Project Scorecard IT Project Security Initial Review IT Project Scope form	Product roadmap A high-level view of the product backlog Loose time frame for when you will develop those requirements Prioritizing and roughly estimating the effort for those requirements Recommended documentation: ???
Executing Processes Or Release plan	Assemble and develop the project team (training, etc.) Procure or secure required resources (hardware, services, software, etc.) Review security plan with project team. Make sure security issues are prominent and addressed Implement quality assurance procedures Make project information and status available to stakeholders Recommended documentation: Status reports	Release plan Identify a high-level timetable for the release of working software Prioritize Product Backlog Typical release includes three-to-five sprints Create a release plan at the beginning of each release Recommended documentation: ???
Monitoring & Controlling Processes Or Sprint planning, Daily meetings, Sprint review	Change control and management - modifications of original project scope, cost, schedule and technical strategies Direct and lead the project team Manage project progress Implement quality control plan As required, implement independent verification & validation (IV&V) plan Measure project performance against the plan Ensure project progresses according to the plan Manage project issues and risks Conduct status review meetings Disseminate status reports Implement testing plan Plan for a final project security review. Send a completed IT project security final review form to the IT Security Office As appropriate, implement training plan Document any lessons learned up to this stage in the project Obtain approval to close the project Recommended documentation: Status reports For major projects: Independent Verification & Validation (IV&V) IT Project Security final review	Sprint planning Identify Definition of Done for that Sprint Pick user stories from Product Backlog and create Sprint Backlog for that Sprint Daily standup meetings What you completed yesterday, what you will work on today, and any roadblocks you have Sprint review, demonstrate the working product created during the sprint to the product stakeholders Sprint Retrospective Recommended documentation: ???
Closing Processes Or Sprint retrospective	Obtain acceptance of project deliverables Outline the long-term operational implications then hand off operations and support responsibilities Document or summarize costs spent on project and close any purchase orders Document any timeline changes (schedule compression and/or overruns) Document the lessons learned over the course of the project Formalize closure Obtain sign-off from project sponsor and project manager Archive project documentation Recommended documentation: Lessons Learned IT Project Closing form	Releasing the developed user stories to production Recommended documentation: ???