During the 1990s, rapid application development (RAD) was becoming increasingly popular. The Dynamic Systems Development Method (DSDM) is an agile approach that focuses on the full project lifecycle while adding further discipline and structure. DSDM is founded on eight key principles. Each principle supports the DSDM philosophy that “best business value emerges when projects are aligned to clear business goals, deliver frequently and involve the collaboration of motivated and empowered people”.
Table of Contents
Understanding the Dynamic Systems Development Method
While RAD allowed developers to quickly showcase potential solutions with prototypes, the process itself was unstructured.
Each organization built its own framework with various exacting standards, making it very difficult to recruit competent RAD practitioners.
In response, DSDM was created to give software development more governance and stricture guidelines.
These changes would ultimately increase cohesion and consistency in the industry by the joint development and promotion of a singular RAD framework.
The eight key principles of DSDM
DSDM is founded on eight key principles. Each principle supports the DSDM philosophy that “best business value emerges when projects are aligned to clear business goals, deliver frequently and involve the collaboration of motivated and empowered people”.
It’s important to note that compromising on any one of the eight principles undermines the philosophy and effectiveness of DSDM.
Every project team must work according to the business case and not treat the project as an end to itself. MoSCoW prioritization can help teams gain clarity in this regard.
Deliver on time
Timeboxing should be incorporated at all times – even in projects without a fixed schedule or end date.
Self-imposed deadlines help a team create a predictable delivery schedule that boosts morale through small and frequent wins.
Collaborate
Collaboration between team members and key stakeholders is key to creating dynamic and effective cultures.
Never compromise quality
Quality standards should be defined and agreed upon before project commencement. Then, they must be maintained through continuous testing, documentation, and review.
Build incrementally from firm foundations
Project teams need to do enough design work upfront (EDUF) to build incrementally and avoid doing more work than is required.
Develop iteratively
DSDM encourages iterative development based on client, user, and stakeholder feedback.
Iterative development targets must be set with respect to the project environment.
Communicate continuously and clearly
Where possible, DSDM suggests face-to-face meetings or workshops daily. Roles and responsibilities must be clearly defined.
Documentation must be lean and produced in a timely fashion.
This promotes highly transparent projects where stakeholders feel that their particular needs are heard, understood, and catered for.
Demonstrate control
Project managers and team leaders must be able to demonstrate and communicate control of the project.
In other words, the project is fully aligned with company objectives.
Control also means that project managers track important metrics periodically to maintain project viability.
DSDM project management best practices
Businesses who want to use DSDM in a new project should consider these best practices. Given that DSDM is one of the early agile approaches, lessons learned here can be applied to most other agile frameworks.
Best practices include:
Ensuring that there is the complete and total buy-in for DSDM from senior management, employees, team leaders, and stakeholders alike.
Creating teams who have the power to make decisions autonomously, thereby avoiding delays as a result of tedious proposal and approval processes. Teams should also be given everything they need to succeed, including the relevant equipment, environment, and project management tools.
Being somewhat ruthless about prioritizing the needs of a project. To stay on time and budget, project teams need to be able to make tough decisions and scrap low priority tasks.
Case studies
Scenario: Software Development for a Startup
Principles:
Focus on the Business Model: Align the software development with the startup’s business goals and prioritize the most critical features for the initial release.
Deliver on Time: Implement timeboxing to ensure rapid development and frequent product releases, enabling the startup to gain traction quickly.
Collaborate: Foster collaboration among the small team of developers, designers, and founders to iterate and refine the product rapidly.
Scenario: E-commerce Website Enhancement
Principles:
Never Compromise Quality: Define and maintain quality standards for the website’s user experience, ensuring a seamless shopping process.
Build Incrementally from Firm Foundations: Conduct upfront design work to improve the website’s architecture while incrementally adding new features.
Develop Iteratively: Continuously gather user feedback to enhance product pages, checkout processes, and user account management.
Communicate Continuously and Clearly: Facilitate clear communication among developers, designers, and stakeholders to address issues promptly.
Scenario: Public Sector IT Project
Principles:
Focus on the Business Model: Ensure that the IT project aligns with the government agency’s objectives, such as improving public services.
Collaborate: Promote collaboration between various departments and agencies involved in the project to streamline processes and enhance services.
Demonstrate Control: Track key metrics to demonstrate that the project is on track and delivering value to the public.
Scenario: Mobile App Development for a Healthcare Provider
Principles:
Focus on the Business Model: Develop a mobile app that aligns with the healthcare provider’s patient engagement goals.
Deliver on Time: Set timeboxes for app releases, ensuring that patients can access new features and information regularly.
Collaborate: Involve healthcare professionals, developers, and user experience designers to create a user-friendly and medically accurate app.
Scenario: Agile Transformation in a Large Corporation
Principles:
Never Compromise Quality: Maintain high-quality software solutions as the corporation transitions to agile methodologies.
Build Incrementally from Firm Foundations: Invest in architectural improvements while incrementally transitioning legacy systems to agile practices.
Develop Iteratively: Continuously refine software solutions based on feedback from different business units within the corporation.
Communicate Continuously and Clearly: Foster transparent communication between agile teams and corporate leadership to ensure alignment with strategic objectives.
Key takeaways:
The Dynamic Systems Development Method is an agile approach that adds structure and discipline to rapid application development (RAD).
The Dynamic Systems Development Method is based on eight key principles that guide the creation of business value. However, project teams must follow all eight principles to avoid compromising the effectiveness of the DSDM philosophy.
The Dynamic Systems Development Method incorporates best practices that are useful in many subsequent agile frameworks. They include total stakeholder buy-in, autonomous project teams, and ruthless task prioritization.
Key Highlights
Understanding the Dynamic Systems Development Method (DSDM): DSDM is an agile approach that evolved during the 1990s as a response to the unstructured nature of Rapid Application Development (RAD). DSDM aims to bring discipline and structure to software development while focusing on business goals, frequent delivery, and collaboration.
Eight Key Principles of DSDM:
Focus on the Business Model: Projects must align with the business case and MoSCoW prioritization helps clarify requirements.
Deliver on Time: Timeboxing is crucial, creating predictable schedules and boosting morale.
Collaborate: Collaboration among team members and stakeholders is essential for effective cultures.
Never Compromise Quality: Quality standards should be defined and maintained through continuous testing and review.
Build Incrementally from Firm Foundations: Adequate design upfront is vital to incremental progress.
Develop Iteratively: Encourage iterative development based on user feedback and target setting.
Communicate Continuously and Clearly: Facilitate face-to-face communication, defined roles, lean documentation.
Demonstrate Control: Project managers should demonstrate control and alignment with company objectives through tracking metrics.
DSDM Project Management Best Practices:
Secure senior management, employee, team leader, and stakeholder buy-in.
Empower teams with decision-making authority, necessary resources, and tools.
Prioritize project needs and be prepared to make tough decisions.
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Gennaro is the creator of FourWeekMBA, which reached about four million business people, comprising C-level executives, investors, analysts, product managers, and aspiring digital entrepreneurs in 2022 alone | He is also Director of Sales for a high-tech scaleup in the AI Industry | In 2012, Gennaro earned an International MBA with emphasis on Corporate Finance and Business Strategy.
