Dynamic system Development Method is a popular iterative and incremental development framework. It has been widely used since its initial publication in 1995, and is supported by a number of commercial tools including IBM Rational’s Unified Change Management (UCM). Dynamics SEM is an implementation of the DSDM process method within Microsoft Dynamics CRM; it was initially released as part of Dynamics CRM 4 back in February 2010.
Since the RM1 release (2nd September 2014) we now include a version of DSDM RM directly within Dynamics CRM 2015 – this latest release is also phasing out the use of MSF Agile for project management; MSF Agile will continue to be supported, but DSDM RM become the only recommended approach to project management.
Not only are these the only two process methods officially supported by Microsoft – both are also currently used within Microsoft IT to help manage some of their largest programs of work.
The DSDM method can help teams by:
• providing a clear structure for all phases of the project cycle, from planning to delivery
• reducing conflict and cost overruns by establishing common goals at the beginning of a project
• ensuring that all key deliverables are produced on time and to specifications.
DSDM works best in environments where there is not one person or group who knows everything about a concept or topic. When this happens, it is difficult to get consensus among the various departments involved in creating, producing, distributing and/or marketing an idea .
Objectives of DSDM are:
1. To provide a simple, easy to understand project management framework which is lightweight and has the ability to scale.
2. To be “future proof” by ensuring that it can support new requirements as they are identified – through the use of building blocks which can easily be composed into larger structures.
3. To ensure that DSDM enables teams to focus on delivering business value early and often throughout the life of projects, without creating additional bureaucracy or cost overheads for an organisation .
4. To provide enough flexibility so that different organisations can adapt DSDM to meet their cultural preferences, whilst still maintaining its core tenets .
5. To enable fast track delivery schedules where possible , but also accommodate more approaches when required (e.g. MoSCoW prioritisation strategy) .
6. DSDM should be simple to learn for new team members (i.e. less than three man months training for a typical project team member), but also provide the depth of knowledge necessary to support an experienced practitioner .
7. To ensure that DSDM is practical, usable and effective in solving real world problems today, even though it has been designed by looking at best practice from the past, present and future.
8. To reduce any additional cost or time overheads associated with implementing DSDM within teams, organisations or across multiple projects/organisations , yet still allow flexibility where required.
9. To provide “plugin” tools which can easily integrate into DSDM, when needed.
10. To ensure that training is carried out in extremely practical terms, so that no theory or academic explanations are used which might confuse the issue with unimportant subtleties, but instead reference to actual business practices can be made in order for participants to grasp the essence of what is being said and done.
11. Ensure our publications remain simple and easy to understand , giving practical insights rather than creating an information overload .
12. Assume that most customers will not pay for training by us (since they will already have invested heavily in their own learning), therefore we must keep our courses affordable (plus students get a copy of all materials used by the instructor later anyway).
13. Encourage each other, even those from outside our traditional colleague groups, to contribute to forum discussions using way-of-working vocabulary , as well as the group’s unique jargon.
14. We want to welcome more people, so we should use a larger font and fewer words on each slide . Assume that many participants will come from outside the region and be unfamiliar with the details of our organization.
15. We believe that increasing familiarity is key to successful support of a complementor’s product , therefore we must provide everyone at all times with a full list of active complementors for this market sector .
16. When preparing course materials, make sure they are always available from at least two sources (such as internal external websites or intranet).
This is a major change from the original DSDM method . In that process, there were only five steps: understanding, planning, executing , controlling and closing . Those five steps are now called DP1 through DP5 . DSDM Atern is based on those same five phases but has a number of procedures to make it easier to use across a variety of teams and organizations .
This is a major change from the original DSDD method . In that process, there were only five steps: understanding, planning , executing , controlling and closing. Those five steps are now called DP1 through DP5 . DSDM Atern is based on those same five phases but has a number of procedures to make it easier to use across a variety of teams and organizations . Thus DSDM is useful for different teams and organizations. With four different types of seminars and at least two ways to take the certification exam, DSDM is more accessible than ever.
