Project Lifecycle
This is the typical project lifecycle, it consists of four main phases, with a fifth which should be performed at all the four main stages.
This first stage is to gather your resources and team so you can have easy and fast access to any and all supplies needed.
The second stage of a product lifecycle is to design what you are going to do. This means that you have to plan what you are going to do so that you have a rough idea of what processes you will go through to reach the endgame. This is important as if you do not complete this important step, then you will go into the project blind, and possibly overlook important aspects which could result in the delay or failure of the task.
Stage three is project execution, this is the stage where all the manpower and resources are used in order to complete the given project for a given purpose and/or client.
The fourth stage is project closure. This involves the final run through of the project checking that all of the parts of the project are completed to an acceptable standard. Also, you will go back through the project evaluating what you did at each step, then review how you did it and if you can make any improvements.
There is a stage which is completed in unison with all other stages, this is project communication. This should be used at every stage as it is important to constantly keep communication as to make sure that all areas and stages of the projects are being done in unison and correctly.
How a Project can Fail
By not following these steps, then you put into jeopardy the whole project. As if you do not sufficiently prepare, then you can lack the resources when it comes to the project execution stage, or if an insufficient amount of planning is done then you could have overlooked a specific part of the project, which when you get to it, requires special attention or time which you do not have.
The project execution can easily go wrong if you have not communicated the the first parts of the cycle well enough, so if you mess up the project communication, then the plan may not have been properly communicated, and therefore the people involved in the project may not be fully aware of what is going on and when. And at the project closure phase, if the project is not properly checked for things missing or errors then a large chunk of information or a necessary part of the project might be useless, inaccurate, or even missing!
Also, if the project is not backed up properly and there is a failure with the software, and you loose the files, then the project is as good as over, as tall resources used up to that point was wasted. This would be devastating to the length of time and the financial backing the project needs.
Training is an issue as if the project doesn't have the best trained people available, then the project cannot be completed to the highest standard possible, so will be sub-par to other competing projects and could be scrapped. Involvement can also be an issue as if a team member lacks involvement and communication with the other team members then they will not be as motivated as they do not fully understand what it is they are doing or are not convinced it is important, so are therefore demotivated. If insufficient resources are provided, then this will also ruin the project as they will literally not be able to finish due to lack of what they need. Or it will postpone the completion date until they do.
Peddlers: a shop which sold bicycles opened in Calne, and was open for roughly five months before going under. this is because they did not have a strong, well though plan and so they did not have a good advertising strategy. this means that the only way anyone knew about it was by seeing it, which is impractical as a shop such as that one needs to have a good reputation (as bikes are viable to break if not from a reputable company), and if there is an ineffective (or no) advertising campaign, then people will not buy from the business, and it will fail, like it did.
Duke Nukem Forever: This game was hyped up with advertising and its tag-line '12 years in the making'. However it was a complete flop, it had poor sales and even worse reviews. Scoring a pathetic 5.5/10 from IGN. this shows that they did not plan the game well enough,as the target audience was off, as it was aimed at teenagers, but its story was very bad, the gameplay was rubbish, and so the game failed. This is because there was insufficient communication between the execution and review stages, so when the game was done, the reviewers did not get back the right information, so the problems with the game could not be rectified.
Relation to my Project
These points relate to my project and i will take all of it on to further my projects.
These projects tell of how people simply do not think things that are vital to the success or failure of projects. This means that their projects fail and they loose money and time, as well as reputation.
From the peddlers example, i must make sure that people are aware of what i am doing, and I must keep in constant contact with the client/clients as to ensure that what i am doing is up to standard and that if it is wrong, the problem can be respecify more quickly and easily.
In duke nukem, the game was poorly designed with an outdated mindset. As it was delayed, they failed to reconsider the market for gaming, so when it came out, it failed. So i must constantly keep an eye on the actions of competitors and what they are doing as to assure i am staying ahead of them and in tune with my target market in order to maintain the validity and popularity of my end product.
The fourth stage is project closure. This involves the final run through of the project checking that all of the parts of the project are completed to an acceptable standard. Also, you will go back through the project evaluating what you did at each step, then review how you did it and if you can make any improvements.
There is a stage which is completed in unison with all other stages, this is project communication. This should be used at every stage as it is important to constantly keep communication as to make sure that all areas and stages of the projects are being done in unison and correctly.
How a Project can Fail
By not following these steps, then you put into jeopardy the whole project. As if you do not sufficiently prepare, then you can lack the resources when it comes to the project execution stage, or if an insufficient amount of planning is done then you could have overlooked a specific part of the project, which when you get to it, requires special attention or time which you do not have.
The project execution can easily go wrong if you have not communicated the the first parts of the cycle well enough, so if you mess up the project communication, then the plan may not have been properly communicated, and therefore the people involved in the project may not be fully aware of what is going on and when. And at the project closure phase, if the project is not properly checked for things missing or errors then a large chunk of information or a necessary part of the project might be useless, inaccurate, or even missing!
Also, if the project is not backed up properly and there is a failure with the software, and you loose the files, then the project is as good as over, as tall resources used up to that point was wasted. This would be devastating to the length of time and the financial backing the project needs.
Training is an issue as if the project doesn't have the best trained people available, then the project cannot be completed to the highest standard possible, so will be sub-par to other competing projects and could be scrapped. Involvement can also be an issue as if a team member lacks involvement and communication with the other team members then they will not be as motivated as they do not fully understand what it is they are doing or are not convinced it is important, so are therefore demotivated. If insufficient resources are provided, then this will also ruin the project as they will literally not be able to finish due to lack of what they need. Or it will postpone the completion date until they do.
Peddlers: a shop which sold bicycles opened in Calne, and was open for roughly five months before going under. this is because they did not have a strong, well though plan and so they did not have a good advertising strategy. this means that the only way anyone knew about it was by seeing it, which is impractical as a shop such as that one needs to have a good reputation (as bikes are viable to break if not from a reputable company), and if there is an ineffective (or no) advertising campaign, then people will not buy from the business, and it will fail, like it did.
Duke Nukem Forever: This game was hyped up with advertising and its tag-line '12 years in the making'. However it was a complete flop, it had poor sales and even worse reviews. Scoring a pathetic 5.5/10 from IGN. this shows that they did not plan the game well enough,as the target audience was off, as it was aimed at teenagers, but its story was very bad, the gameplay was rubbish, and so the game failed. This is because there was insufficient communication between the execution and review stages, so when the game was done, the reviewers did not get back the right information, so the problems with the game could not be rectified.
Relation to my Project
These points relate to my project and i will take all of it on to further my projects.
These projects tell of how people simply do not think things that are vital to the success or failure of projects. This means that their projects fail and they loose money and time, as well as reputation.
From the peddlers example, i must make sure that people are aware of what i am doing, and I must keep in constant contact with the client/clients as to ensure that what i am doing is up to standard and that if it is wrong, the problem can be respecify more quickly and easily.
In duke nukem, the game was poorly designed with an outdated mindset. As it was delayed, they failed to reconsider the market for gaming, so when it came out, it failed. So i must constantly keep an eye on the actions of competitors and what they are doing as to assure i am staying ahead of them and in tune with my target market in order to maintain the validity and popularity of my end product.
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