Information systems engineering principles and practices

¶ … PRINCE2 vs. DSDM compares and contrasts the two methodologies used in the development of projects. This paper explicitly defines each methodology and outlines its general characteristics and important features. It also explains all the phases involved within each methodology. In the end, the writer's perspective and viewpoint about each approach is given and a conclusion is reached which specifies whether PRINCE2 or DSDM is a suitable solution for the development of projects.

PRINCE2 Vs. DSDM

Today's business world requires that products along with their provided services be marketed in the shortest possible time span. Nowadays, projects are often inaugurated on a collective basis and institute without having an enumerated understanding of the requirements. There is no doubt that in this fast paced environment, Dynamic System Development Method or DSDM is considered to be the best available publicly practiced method of the Rapid Application Development or RAD model and is exhibiting consequential increase. PRINCE2 or Projects in Controlled Environment also provides non-propriety finest practice. PRINCE2 is basically a project management methodology that is designed to be both generic and independent of any of the delineated project type or development procedure.

DSDM is a tool that is used to comprehend, scheme, communicate, direct, monitor and deliver all projects related to either IT or business change. It is a non-proprietary for forming business solutions within taut time frames. Through DSDM, time taken to deliver and market a project is shortened and therefore benefits business. This is the only approach that can be used to guarantee delivery on schedule under tight Internet time deadliness. An important feature of this technology is that it is tool independent. The prime goal of the system developers while evolving DSDM was to form an Agile Method project model that would be time, quality and cost sensitive, producing deliverables quickly and accurately - rapid and right. Since its inception in 1995, more than 20,000 practitioners have been trained and thousands of developers have used

DSDM successfully. Consequently, it has become the de facto standard for agile application development management world-wide" (DSDM In A Nutshell).

System managers consider DSDM as a methodical approach of common intellect. As a result people pertaining to either other fields or the field of Information Technology are also considering applying this approach in project development.

PRINCE2 is a project management technique that is used in an organization, management and the monitoring of projects. Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency or CCTA originally developed it in 1989 as a United Kingdom government standard for project management. "PRINCE2 is designed to incorporate the requirements of existing users and to enhance the method towards a generic, best practice approach for the management of all types of projects" (Introduction To Prince2). PRINCE2 being a project based approach for project management furnishes facilely implemented and gamut method for the management of all categories of projects. It is important to note that all projects together with their key inputs and outputs are specified with their target to be achieved and activities to be carried out.

The method describes how a project is divided into manageable stages enabling efficient control of resources and regular progress monitoring throughout the project.

The various roles and responsibilities for managing a project are fully described and are adaptable to suit the size and complexity of the project, and the skills of the organization. Project planning using PRINCE2 is product-based which means the project plans are focused on delivering results and are not simply about planning when the various activities on the project will be done. A PRINCE2 project is driven by the project's business case which describes the organization's justification, commitment and rationale for the deliverables or outcome. The business case is regularly reviewed during the project to ensure the business objectives, which often change during the lifecycle of the project, are still being met (Introduction To Prince2).

Hence, PRINCE2 is based on common language platform so that it is easily comprehensible among all the members in the parties involved.

DSDM as a result of providing a framework of control and best practice methodology of the Rapid Application Development model is being employed by five hundred companies all around the world, such as IBM, Hewlett Packard, ABN Amro, Siebel Systems, Siemens, Wang Global, Prudential, Rational Software corporation, Sapiens International Corporation etc. DSDM is a User Centered Approach i.e. users are not considered as inconnu during the evolvement of the project, rather they are recognized as active participants throughout the completeness of the development process. Users play an integral role throughout the development phase of the project. They not only aware the developers about the users needs in a product but are best judges of the end product.

In contrast when users are not closely involved throughout the development lifecycle, problems develop. Delays occur at junctures when decisions are being made without the user's input. This leads users to feel that solutions are being imposed on them by the developers and by their management" (DSDM -- the Underlying Principles).

DSDM team usually comprises of developers and users. The members of the team are given the liberty to make decisions as they purge and perhaps modify the stipulations. "They are empowered to agree that certain levels of functionality, usability etc. are acceptable. They can decide matters like this without frequent recourse to higher level management" (DSDM -- the Underlying Principles). DSDM focuses on the perpetual deliverance of products. Members of the DSDM team "continuously focus on the specific products that can be delivered in an agreed period of time" (DSDM -- the Underlying Principles). The prime reason for keeping the time span short is that team members can easily decide which activities are adequate in accomplishing the correct outcome. Hence, DSDM team can choose approaches that result in producing the required product in the right time period.

DSDM focuses on the delivery of inevitable business functionality at the requisite time. It is possible to engineer the system later, if it makes business sense to do so. "Traditionally the focus has been on satisfying all the contents of a requirement document and conforming to previous deliverables. But experienced developers know that those requirements are often inaccurate, the pervious deliverables may be flawed, and the business needs may have changed since the start of the project" (DSDM -- the Underlying Principles). DSDM strongly focuses on iteration during system development. Iteration gives developers the chance to modify the system again and again. Here the users play a very crucial role since they provide feedback to the developers. Hence, DSDM allows reworking on a given solution. "When rework is not explicitly recognized in a development lifecycle, the return to previously completed work is hobbled by changed control procedures that slow development down" (DSDM -- the Underlying Principles). Another important characteristic of DSDM is backtracking. At times it is better to perform reconstruction than to backtrack. This however, depends upon the nature of the change and the environment in which it was built. "The ability to reverse changes is limited to within the development of an increment" (DSDM -- the Underlying Principles). In DSDM requirements are baselined at an elevated level. "Baselining and requirements at a high level means agreeing on and freezing the scope and definition of the system very early in the development process, while still at a high level of specification-just enough to continue"(DSDM -- the Underlying Principles). Hence, modeling or prototyping initiates for the highest choice characteristics. At this particular point the developers conduct an enumerated examination into what the stipulations insinuate. During each iteration, the requirement definition is further investigated until a level in which the developers complete their respective task is reached. It is important to note that the scope does not modify greatly.

Testing is always the most integral phase of development. In DSDM, testing is integrated throughout the lifecycle. Both users and developers incrementally test and review the incremental development of the system. "In a product's early phases, the testing focus is on validation against the business needs and priorities. As the product nears completion, the focus is on verifying that the product operates effectively within the whole system"(DSDM -- the Underlying Principles).

In PRINCE2, a project is divided into manageable stages empowering effective control of resources and periodic development monitoring throughout the project. In PRINCE2, project planning is based on delivering the right result and not planning each phase or activities performed during the development. The business case in PRINCE2 is constantly critiqued during the project to safeguard the business objectives, which usually shift during the lifecycle of the project. People involved in the PRINCE2 project are the customer, the developers and the users. PRINCE2 provides a common language to all the participants in the project. PRINCE2 offers advantages to the organization, as well as managers and directors of the project by making controllable use of the resources and manage project and business risk more effectively.

PRINCE2 enables projects to have:

controlled and organized start, middle and end;

Regular reviews of progress against plan and against the Business Case;

Flexible decision points;

Automatic management control of any deviations from the plan;

The involvement of management and stakeholders at the right time and place during the project;

Good communication channels between the project, project management, and the rest of the organization (Introduction To Prince2).

Development of projects through Prince2 can be divided into eight phases. The first phase is Starting up a project. This stage occurs before project development has been instantiated. During this phase, a project manager is assigned and people that are responsible for making decisions are gathered. This is an integral phase of project development since it clearly defines its beginning. The second phase is referred to as Directing a project. In order to begin a project, it must first be approved by a group of senior managers. A very basic characteristic of PRINCE2 is management by exception. This means that while the senior managers are responsible for the success of the project, they will insure the project manager with the responsibility of the day-to-day management of the project. It then becomes the responsibility of the project manager to inform the senior management about the project's progress.

The third phase of the project is Initiating a Project. "For a project to be approved it must be carefully planned to ensure that it meets its objectives. This requires making detailed estimations of costs, time and other resources. The Project Manager puts these into what is called a Project Initiation Document for approval by the Project Board" (Fiona Spence, What Is Prince2?). The fourth phase is called the Controlling a Stage. PRINCE2 projects are divided into manageable stages to guarantee that the project can be governed and managed. In PRINCE2, a new stage cannot be started without finishing the previous stage and the planning of the new stage is done in the stage preceding it. The fifth stage of the development is called Managing State Boundaries. During this phase the next stage is planned and the current stage is examined.

It includes the Project Manager making suggestions to the Project Board about the likelihood of the project achieving its business objectives and any changes in the business case, project plan, risks and issues. Having clear stage boundaries allows a project to be controlled and managed by permitting the project to continue only once the Project Board is satisfied with the current stage end and next stage plan (Fiona

Spence, What Is Prince2?).

The sixth stage is called the Planning Stage, which includes what products to produce, the activities required to produce these product, estimated resources, scheduling the activities and analyzing risks. The seventh stage includes Managing Product Delivery. Prince 2 projects render products. A product may include a physical entity such as a poster or it can be a complex deliverable such as a sales agreement. The last stage is known as Closing a Project. This phase is self-explainable i.e. once a project has been completed and approved it is closed down.

Hence, the general characteristics of PRINCE2 are control, quality, planning, lessons learned and risk management. According to Fiona Spence,

Being able to control your project is key to its success. For this reason PRINCE2 breaks down projects into easily managed stages, essentially breaking a large project into bite size chunks. To ensure that a product or service meets the customer's quality expectations these must be defined and agreed when a project is being planned.

Throughout a PRINCE2 project work continuously monitored to ensure that these quality standards are met. In PRINCE2 there are documents and techniques that ensure quality is managed. One of the reasons PRINCE2 breaks down projects into small manageable stages is that they are much easier to plan. Every time we carry out project we learn something. Very often mistakes are made, what is important is that mistakes are not repeated. PRINCE2 provides a number of recommended steps that enable risks to be identified, measured and managed (What Is Prince2?).

From the general characteristics of DSDM and PRINCE2 one can easily make out the similarities and differences among the two. Both DSDM and Prince2 are tailorable, business driven and suitable for both IT and non-IT related projects. While DSDM involves active user or supplier involvement at all levels, PRINCE2 involve this only at the management level. In DSDM, the role and responsibility of the project rests upon the shoulders of team manager and core development team. In PRINCE2, this responsibility rests only upon the team manager. While DSDM involves agile management framework and products, PRINCE2 involves full management framework and products. DSDM includes management by exception that is sustained by teams. In PRINCE2, however, there is management by exception but it is not supported by teams.

DSDM like PRINCE2 has a pre-project phase but unlike PRINCE2 it discourses the commencement of the project in a much lighter way. The DSDM pre-project phase does deal with the issues of risk management and may be sufficient for some project.

Feasibility Study is a project in itself, with several options as its outcome. The chosen option is then taken forward as a separate project. The Business Study in DSDM is partly a scoping and planning exercise, as required for the Project Initiation Document in PRINCE2, but goes further than this, into the analysis and design of the specialist products of the project (DSDM And Prince2: The Perfect Marriage Or Strange

Bedfellows?).

During the phase of Managing Stage Boundaries, DSDM favors keeping each increment Lilliputian. As a result stages can become the commensurate of separate projects increments. DSDM concentrates upon planning the project in time boxes and authorize the team. PRINCE2 allows the project manager to communicate with the project's senior manager in a more formal manner. DSDM too requires the project manager to report to the senior manager and the steering committee but not in a formal manner i.e. there are no limitations to how and when reporting is done.

DSDM and PRINCE2 greatly emphasize on project planning. PRINCE2compared to DSDM gives more specific guidance. Both approaches have similar techniques of directing a project. As far as Managing Product Delivery is concerned, "PRINCE2 says little more than that the project manager should Issue work instructions monitor progress. DSDM provides techniques such as timeboxing, facilitated workshops, modeling technique advice, advice on requirements definition and prioritization, advice on effective involvement of users and detailed team roles and responsibilities" (DSDM And Prince2: The Perfect Marriage Or Strange Bedfellows?).

PRINCE2 compared to DSDM greatly emphasizes the business case as the operator of the project, under continuous review. Even though DSDM makes less of the business case as a document, the business needs and direction are exteriorized in the Executive Sponsor, Visionary and Ambassador User roles from beginning to end of the project. The organization structures of DSDM and PRINCE2 are similar however DSDM accentuates more on team roles and authorization. PRINCE2 and DSDM uphold product-based planning. PRINCE2 however, contours a particular methodology product-based planning. It also pays special attention on the levels of plan and constitutes of a repeatable planning process.

PRINCE2 has a well-defined reporting and escalation procedure. The concept of tolerance on time, cost, quality, scope and benefit is key. DSDM has team empowerment to adjust scope, and no time or cost tolerance. Communication is less formal and enabled by close teamwork. PRINCE2 gives the definition of a Project

Quality Plan and a path for quality management and control throughout the project. It also describes the technique of quality Review. DSDM has quality such as fitness for business purpose, testing throughout built into its principles. PRINCE2 has the concept of Request for Change and Off Specification as a means of managing change.

A change budget would be available for a certain level of change. PRINCE2 also describes a specific technique for Change Control. DSDM manages change dynamically, through close team working during timeboxes and using MoSCoW prioritization. DSDM keeps time and cost constant whilst allowing change via prioritization (DSDM And Prince2: The Perfect Marriage Or Strange Bedfellows?).

At this point it must be cleared that PRINCE2 is designed to be a generic method that is appropriate for administering any kind of project. The approaches is based on the concept that vanquishing projects requires visible control and thus render them with an organized start, middle and end. PRINCE2 can easily be made to work in collaboration with DSDM without pressing too much on bureaucracy. PRINCE2 is grounded in the business of which the project is a part. Every project is based on a business case. PRINCE2 recognizes active user and supplier's part in the project and thus defines this formally.

PRINCE2 defines a structure for authority, delegation, and decision-making. It also defines the communication channels between the project team, the project board, and the rest of the organization. Management of the project is by exception. There is automatic management control for deviations from the agreed project plan. The project manager works under delegated authority and within defined and agreed tolerances to undertake day-to-day project management and deliver the project (Mike

Griffiths, David Harrison, Mark Hartell, George Hay, Amanda Kent, Steve

Messenger, Using DSDM With Prince2).

Hence, PRINCE2 is an environment employed mainly in project management.

Like PRINCE2, DSDM was introduced, as a method needed for IT projects. Initially it was conceived as a platform for IT projects but with time it evolved into a more generic framework applicable to non-IT areas of business.

DSDM's flexible life cycle and the products delivered at each stage provide visibility of progress and the ability to monitor the project through frequent deliverables.

DSDM breaks development into increments, within which it uses timeboxing and prototyping controls to control time and cost. DSDM can work under PRINCE2 without creating too much overhead (Mike Griffiths, David Harrison, Mark Hartell,

George Hay, Amanda Kent, Steve Messenger, Using DSDM With Prince2).

Both DSDM and PRINCE2 are business driven approaches. It is important to know that DSDM project structure greatly matches the PRINCE2 structure. Teams in DSDM are empowered to work together with each team member performing explicitly defined roles. Communication among team members is considered to be a very important aspect. Throughout the project, communication between the team members and the users is also very important. DSDM and PRINCE2 employ the concept of fault tolerance. In DSDM project tolerance is on scope rather than on the more conventional time and resource. The product-based planning technique used by DSDM is the same as that used by PRINCE2. In DSDM change control is viewed as being highly essential. Hence, both PRINCE2 and DSDM identify the change as being essential.

Since iterative and incremental development is used as the approach to converge on a solution that satisfies business needs, DSDM requires that all changes during development should be reversible. A further characteristic of DSDM that distinguishes it from many other development approaches is its principle that testing is performed throughout the lifecycle (Mike Griffiths, David Harrison, Mark Hartell, George Hay,

Amanda Kent, Steve Messenger, Using DSDM With Prince2).

Hence, DSDM and PRINCE2 are frameworks, which greatly overlap each other. While PRINCE2 is a project management method designed for all kinds of projects, DSDM is a rapid application development method.

Products, which are produced through the PRINCE2 approach, are management and quality products. They describe the effectual and proficient management and control of the project and to project quality, respectively. Products that are produced via DSDM approach are specialist products. They contain information related to either the system or the development. During the development of the product, the prime aim is to deliver or define the prototyping techniques and methods to be used. There exist certain DSDM products that are either entirely management products or comprise of the project management section.

To avoid duplication of effort, the recommended approach is that management products should be the province of PRINCE2 and that any management elements within DSDM products should be stripped out and included in the appropriate

PRINCE2 product. Similarly, duplication of effort in creating the quality products should be avoided (Mike Griffiths, David Harrison, Mark Hartell, George Hay,

Amanda Kent, Steve Messenger, Using DSDM With Prince2).

Hence, both PRINCE2 and DSDM greatly emphasize on the quality of the products. Both approaches consider as true that quality is based upon the pre-determined quality standard conceived to guarantee user's requirements both for the project and the product delivered. Both approaches also advocate assurance activities to register the apropos quality standards.

DSDM requires that all reviews and assurance activities "add value" to the process and are not for documentation's own sake. It also points out that, although the review processes for products are similar, there are probably fewer products than in traditional projects. The PRINCE2 Quality Log should be maintained as the main way of tracking quality (Mike Griffiths, David Harrison, Mark Hartell, George Hay,

Amanda Kent, Steve Messenger, Using DSDM With Prince2).

Since both methodologies emphasize on risk analysis, risk management and monitoring each phase of the project development, the final product is based on standards.

PRINCE2focuses on the project management and controlled products and DSDM on those products, which is required to deliver the final product.

Therefore, for a DSDM project to be managed and controlled to PRINCE2 standards, it may not be necessary to use all the defined PRINCE2 products. The product flow for each project is contained in a Project Initiation Document or PID and states that if product is not to be delivered some explanation for this omission must be included

Mike Griffiths, David Harrison, Mark Hartell, George Hay, Amanda Kent, Steve

Messenger, Using DSDM With Prince2).

DSDM is very useful since it breaks down the project into more manageable pieces regardless of whether they are increments, timeboxes or iterative.

One of the weaknesses of the PID is that it is a large document and in the worst cases becomes an end in itself rather than something to assist the project. One way around this would be to break down the PID into smaller parts with different objectives. In general, the Feasibility Report and Outline Plan cover the contents of the PID. Some projects have been seen where aspects of the Business Area Definition and Development Plan have also been included in the PID, but this goes beyond the PRINCE2 description of a PID (Mike Griffiths, David Harrison, Mark Hartell, George

Hay, Amanda Kent, Steve Messenger, Using DSDM With Prince2).