Ad-hoc: Code and fix.
Waterfall: Document-driven. Not well-suited for situations where:
- Errors are possible in requirement elicitation, analysis, and design
- Requirements are hard to figure out or subject to change
Incremental: Each “mini waterfall” phase produces deliverable increments of software.
- ADV: Develop major requirements first; reduces risk of failure.
- DISADV: Requires good planning and design.
Prototyping: Build a prototype to refine requirements (may require multiple iterations, and can be expensive).
Rapid Prototyping: Client-oriented, subset of product functionality.
Spiral: Risk-driven, suitable for large, complex projects.
Agile 12 Principles: Includes satisfying the customer, embracing changing requirements, and sustainable development.

Scrum:

Pillars: Transparency, Inspection, Adaptation
Roles:
- Scrum Master: Foster communication, protect team, agile coaching, remove blockers.
- Product Owner: Define vision, manage product backlog, prioritize needs.

Week 3: Risk Management

Risk Management Process:

Plan
Identify
Analyze and Assess
Respond
Monitor and Control

Risk Management Plan (RMP):

Documents procedures for managing risks.

Risk Types:

Project Risk: Affects planning (e.g., budget, schedule).
Product Risk: Affects quality or performance (e.g., design, implementation).
Business Risk: Affects economic success (e.g., demand for product).

Risk Identification Techniques:

Pondering, Interviewing, Brainstorming, Checklists, Delphi Technique, SWOT Analysis

Risk Analysis (Qualitative):

Risk Exposure = P(risk probability) * I(estimated risk impact)

Risk Response Strategies:

Accept or ignore
Avoid
Mitigate
Transfer

Monitor and Control:

Risk Audits, Risk Reviews, Risk Status Meetings

Risk Management in Agile:

Risks are documented in Risk Registers, added as user stories, and monitored by Product Owner and Scrum Master.

Week 4: Communication Management, Project Management Plan, Stakeholder Management and Engagement

Project Management Plan (PMP) Contains:

Executive Summary
Financial Authority to Proceed
Key Stakeholders
Scope
Delivery Approach (Waterfall or Agile)
Resources / People
Key Milestones
Project Budget
Lessons Learned
Constraints
Roles and Responsibilities

Agile Documentation Rules:

Just barely good enough
Just in time
Centralize
Collaborate

Stakeholder Analysis:

Stakeholder Identification
Understand Interests
Assess Influence
Prioritize Engagement
Manage Relationship

Stakeholder Engagement Levels:

Unaware, Resistant, Neutral, Supportive, Champion/Leading

Power-Interest Grid:

High Power, Low Interest: Provide periodic updates.
High Power, High Interest: Active engagement.
Low Power, Low Interest: Minimal communication.
Low Power, High Interest: Consultation and leverage support.

Week 5: Estimation, Planning, Release, Requirements in Agile

User Stories:

Format: As a [user role] I want to [goal action] so that [reason/benefit]
3C: Card, Conversation, Confirmation

Types of User Stories:

Sprint User Story: Developer’s perspective, technical level.
Feature User Story: Product capabilities, business level detail.
Epic User Story: High-level; takes more than one or two sprints.

Scrum Artifacts:

Product Backlog: Lists epics and stories.
Sprint Backlog: Stories and tasks for the sprint.
Increment: Sum of completed Product Backlog items.

Definition of Done (DoD) vs. Acceptance Criteria (AC):

DoD: Universal, not specific to any functionality.
AC: Specific for each feature.

Agile Estimation Issues:

Analysis Paralysis: Spending too much time on details.
Cavalier Approach: Ignoring uncertainty and risk.

Why Story Points:

Dates don’t account for non-project work.
Dates have emotional attachment.
Each team estimates work on a slightly different scale.

Velocity:

Formula: Number of story points completed / time over which they were completed

Burndown Chart:

Tracks work completed over time.

Rolling Wave Planning:

Plan at “the last responsible moment” for clarity.

MoSCoW Prioritization:

Must have, Should have, Could have, Won’t have

PBI: User story/epic about “what”
Sprint Backlog: “How”

Week 6: Software Quality Management

Delayed Issue Effect (DIE)

Definition: The longer an issue lingers in the system, the more effort it requires to resolve.
Note: DIE may be a historical occurrence, relevant only in specific types of projects.

Verification & Validation

Verification: Building the system right (the right way).
Validation: Building the right system (meets stakeholder needs).

Types of Testing

Unit Test: Verifies individual components.
Integration Test: Ensures subsets of the system work together.
System Test: Ensures the entire system functions correctly.
User Acceptance Test (UAT): Ensures the system meets user needs, performed by end users before acceptance.

Software Standards

Recommendation: Should not be avoided but tailored as needed.

Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) Levels

Initial: Ad hoc, chaotic processes, reliant on individual efforts.
Repeatable: Basic project management for cost, schedule, and functionality tracking.
Defined: Documented, standardized processes integrated into all organization processes.
Managed: Quantitative measures of software process and product quality.
Optimizing: Continuous process improvement with feedback.

Quality Planning Components

Product Overview: Description, market, quality expectations.
Product Plan: Critical dates and responsibilities.
Quality Goals: Goals, plans, and attributes.
Process Description: QA processes for development and management.
Document & Coding Standards: Standards for documents and code.
Risks & Risk Management: Identification of quality risks and mitigation actions.

Technical Reviews

Advantages: Early problem detection, fault identification, actual fault finding.
Disadvantages: Resource-intensive, requires careful design.

Types of Technical Reviews

Informal Review: Desk checks or casual reviews.
Formal Review: Structured meetings with stakeholders.
Walkthroughs: Author-led reviews with a group.
Code Review: Focuses on code.
Audits: Ensures product or process conforms to standards.

Agile QA Mindset

Provide Continuous Feedback
Deliver Value to Customer
Face-to-Face Communication
Courage
Simplicity
Continuous Improvement
Responsiveness to Change
Self-Organization
Focus on People
Enjoy the Process

Agile QA Principles

Shift-Left Testing: Moves testing early in the development process.
Automation: Emphasis on testing automation.
Feedback & Communication: Open channels.

Test-Driven Development (TDD)

Process: Write tests before actual code.

Acceptance-Test Driven Development (ATDD)

Process: Collaboratively define acceptance criteria and write tests before coding.

Behavior-Test Driven Development (BTDD)

Focus: Define software behavior through examples and plain language.

Agile Testing Quadrants

Q1: Test-Driven Development.
Q2: Customer-facing tests.
Q3: Business-facing tests.
Q4: Technology-facing tests.

Continuous Integration (CI) & Continuous Delivery (CD)

CI: Frequent merging of code with automated testing.
CD: Deployment of tested code into production.

QA Metrics

Quantitative: Escaped bugs, defects per requirement, test cost, etc.
Qualitative: Customer satisfaction, team morale, code quality.

Week 7: Formal SDLC Project Scheduling and Cost Estimation

Formal SDLC Planning

Plan-Driven: Uses project schedules.
Agile: Value/Vision-driven, often without strict schedules.

Project Schedule Development

Task Breakdown: Work Breakdown Structure (WBS).
Dependencies: Identify interdependencies.
Effort & Time: Allocate and estimate.
Resources: Assign and validate resources.
Schedule: Create timeline.

Fishbone Diagram

Purpose: Problem solving, visualization, collaboration.

Types of Task Dependencies

Finish-to-Start: Predecessor finishes before successor starts.
Start-to-Start
Finish-to-Finish
Start-to-Finish: Predecessor starts before successor finishes.

Cost Estimation

Man-month (Person-month): Time for one person to complete the task.
PNR Curve: Estimates effort distribution over project duration.
Three-Point Estimating: TE = (O + M + P) / 3 or TE = (O + 4M + P) / 6.

Scheduling Tools

Gantt Chart: Horizontal timeline showing tasks.
PERT Chart: Shows dependencies and critical path.

Earned Value Analysis (EVA)

Metrics: PV, EV, AC, SV, SPI, CV, CPI.

Week 8: Configuration Management and Ethics

Software Configuration

Definition: Total state and dependencies of artifacts.

Configuration Management Tasks

Identification: Identify necessary configuration items.
Version Control: Manage versions.
Change Control: Manage impactful changes.
Auditing: Check consistency.
Reporting: Report configuration status.

Configuration Items

Basic, Aggregate, Derived.

Change Control Process

Steps: Initiate, evaluate, and apply changes.

Baseline

Definition: Stable, reviewed, and approved artifact.

Configuration Audits

Purpose: Ensure consistency and proper changes.

Organizational Ethics

Purpose: Values communicated to employees and stakeholders.

Week 9: Agile Frameworks

SAFe (Scaled Agile Framework) Pillars

Respect for people, Flow, Innovation, Continuous improvement.

SAFe Levels

Essential: Core principles.
Large Solution: Scaling across teams.
Portfolio: Scaling across portfolios.
Full: Scaling across the organization.

LeSS (Large Scale Scrum)

Focus: System-wide thinking with strong Scrum roots.

Scrum@Scale Cycles

Scrum Master Cycle: Execution of Scrum processes.
Product Owner Cycle: Product backlog prioritization.

DevOps

Focus: Reliable delivery to production.
Lifecycle: Discover, Plan, Build, Test, Deploy, Operate, Observe, Feedback.

Lean Principles

Eliminate waste
Build in quality
Amplify learning
Delay commitment
Deliver fast
Respect people
Optimize the whole

Week 10: Outsourcing, Procurement, and Contracts

Outsourcing Types

Onshoring: Inside the country.
Nearshoring: In a nearby country.
Offshoring: In another country, regardless of location.

Outsourcing Pros

Access to hard-to-find capabilities & skills.
Time savings – enables 24/7 activities.
Frees up scarce internal resources to focus on core business activities.
Flexibility – ability to ramp up or down as needed.

Outsourcing Cons

Loss of control.
Fragmentation of processes / supply chain.
Security issues.
Ethical concerns – such as environmental impact, slave or child labor.

Procurement Stages

Planning
Source
Manage

RFx: Request For X

X can represent Bid, Information, Proposal, Tender, or Quote.

RFx Document Components

Prepared by the buyer and includes:

Purpose of RFx.
Organization’s Background.
Basic Requirements.
Hardware and Software Environments.
Description of RFx Processes & Evaluation.
Statement of Work and Scheduled Information.
Appendices.

Statement of Work (SOW)

Scope: Work to be completed.
Location: Where the work will be completed.
Measurement: Performance criteria.
Deliverables: Milestones and schedule.
Standards: Applicable standards and acceptable criteria.
Special Requirements: Any additional needs.

Selecting Contracts

Decide whom to consider for the work.
Send appropriate documentation to potential sellers/bidders.
Obtain proposals/bids.
Evaluate responses and select a preferred supplier.
Negotiate the contract.
Award the contract.

Evaluation Processes

Evaluation team reviews RFx responses against predetermined criteria.
Schedule presentations from shortlisted vendors.
Check vendor references.
Conduct evaluation team site visits to shortlisted vendors/references.
Finalize evaluation and select shortlisted firms.
Best and Final Offer (BAFO) with shortlisted firms.
Conduct final negotiation with the preferred supplier.

Managing Procurements

Implement
Manage
Renew
Close

Contracts

A contract serves as a single source of truth for all activities to be delivered by external parties.

Contract Types

Fixed Price Contracts: Involve a fixed total price for a well-defined product or service (low buyer risk, high seller risk).
Time & Material Contracts: Payment to the seller for actual time and materials used in providing the service (high buyer risk, low seller risk).

Contract Should Include

Intellectual Property Ownership and Indemnities.
Milestones and Deliverables.
Quality Criteria / Performance and Acceptance Testing.
Variations / Change Request Process.
Non-Performance / Termination – for convenience or breach.
Disengagement & Transition Plans.
Liquidated Damages.
Fees and Penalties.
Warranties.