Every intranet project, regardless of how big or small, has to go through a system life cycle process. If you are like me, you might be saying - hey, not all projects have to follow some big-complex formal system life cycle process, are you nuts? However, I contend that it is not really optional. In fact, it is almost like a natural law, unavoidable, like gravity. The difference resides in how formal or informal, elaborate or simple, structured or free form, the process is followed. If you really think about it, everyone who has ever made dinner has followed a project life cycle whether they were conscious of it or not.
Those of you who are steeped in formal study of Information Technology either through undergraduate or graduate IT related degrees or years of traditional IT experience have probably seen and read more about this than you ever need to know or use. However, for many of us who came to IT as a result of the boom of Internet related activities, a formal system life cycle is not quite as familiar.
A systems life cycle can follow a number of standard or company specific frameworks, methodologies, modeling tools and languages. I am far from an expert in any of these and it is not my intention to speak about any specific one of them. However, what I do hope to do in the next few paragraphs is to give you a basic outline of the stages and what types of activities fall into them. I will reference my cooking dinner scenario as well to help bring a simplistic clarity to the entire process.
As most experts would see it, the systems life cycle falls into the following phases:
1. Initiation or Inception
2. Analysis and Requirements Definition
3. Design
4. Construction
5. Installation or Deployment
6. Maintenance
And, optionally, the last phase, which may or may not be included in the actual life cycle: Remove from Service/Obsolescence.
In the "let's cook dinner" scenario your tasks associated with these phases would look something like:
1. Hmmm, we're hungry and I think we should eat some dinner. (Initiation or Inception)
2. What type of food am I hungry for? What are my requirements and constraints (as in, do I have a special diet? what is in the cupboard and fridge?)? (Analysis and Requirements Definition)
3. What ingredients, recipes, and tools (pots, pans, and appliances) do I need to cook this meal? (Design)
4. Actually cooking and preparing the food (with some testing along the way). (Construction)
5. Serving up the food on dishes. Eating it. (Installation and Deployment)
Maintenance is mostly irrelevant in this scenario and Remove from Service could be clearing the table, putting away leftovers, and washing the dishes.
As the consultant from whom I borrow some of this analogy says, you probably don't need a formal written project plan for making dinner, unless you are Martha Stewart or are cooking for hundreds, but you follow the process nonetheless.
Now that you are hungrier and less than interested in working with technology, I will give you some practical examples of tasks that fall within each of these phases.
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