Page 112 - DCAP304_DCAP515_SOFTWARE_PROJECT_MANAGEMENT

Software Project Management

Notes Thus, the delivery of software initiates the maintenance phase. The time and efforts spent on the
software to keep it operational after release is important. It includes activities like error correction,
removal of obsolete functions, optimization and enhancements of functions. It may span for 5 to
50 years.
Thus, in this model the requirements must be clear at the very initial stages. The end product is
available relatively late which in turn delays the error recovery.

Task All the phases occur one-by-one without overlapping. Discuss in a group of four
why it happens so in water fall model?

Project Outputs in Waterfall Model

As we have seen, the output of a project employing the waterfall model is not just the final
program along and documentation to use it. There are a number of intermediate outputs that
must be produced to produce a successful product. Though the set of documents that should be
produced in a project is dependent on how the process is implemented, the following is a set of
documents that generally forms the minimum set that should be produced in each project:
 Requirements document
 Project plan

 System design document
 Detailed design document
 Test plan and test reports
 Final code

 Software manuals (e.g., user, installation, etc.)
 Review reports
Except for the last one, these are the outputs of the phases, and they have been briefly discussed.
To certify an output product of a phase before the next phase begins, reviews are often held.
Reviews are necessary, especially for the requirements and design phases, because other
certification means are frequently not available. Reviews are formal meetings to uncover
deficiencies in a product and will be discussed in more detail later. The review reports are the
outcome of these reviews.

Limitations of the Waterfall Model

Software life-cycle models of the waterfall variety are among the first important attempts to
structure the process. However, the waterfall model has limitations. Like a waterfall, progress
flows in one direction only, towards completion of the project (from one phase to the next).
Schedule compression relaxes this requirement but introduces new complexities.
Well-defined phases, frozen deliverables, and formal change control make the waterfall model
a tightly controlled approach to software development. The waterfall model’s success hinges,
however, on the ability:

 To set the objectives.
 To state requirements explicitly.
 To gather all the knowledge necessary for planning the entire project in the beginning.

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