Adapting the Life Cycle Model
Lead Authors: David Endler Contributing Authors: Mike Yokell, Garry Roedler
Adapting a life cycle model to suit a specific project requires thoughtful consideration of both system scope, organizational context, and customer requirements. Modifying stages, criteria, or reviews can help tailor the model to unique needs, but such changes must be guided, documented, and often approved to maintain alignment with organizational standards. Adaptation must also account for multi-party collaborations, where responsibilities shift across different life cycle phases. Additionally, differing domains like hardware and software may call for distinct, but synchronized models. To ensure coherence and efficiency, customized approaches must be selected for each stage (i.e., development through retirement) based on the project's technical and operational demands.
Adaptation of the Model and Stages for Scope
Once an appropriate life cycle model has been selected, it can be adapted to meet the specific needs of the project and system. These specific needs can originate both inside (e.g., product line considerations, follow-on business) and outside (e.g., regulations, customer requirements or preferences) the organization. When adapting a life cycle model, it is important to consider the overall scope. If other projects carried out in the same organization are ignored, some of the value propositions listed in Article “Article – Selecting the Life Cycle Model” may no longer be fulfilled.
When adapting a life cycle model, stages can be added, deleted, combined, or modified as appropriate. Adaption guidelines are usually developed together with the life cycle models, which specify the extent to which life cycle models may be adapted. As soon as these limits are exceeded, it is necessary for these adaptations to be approved by the organization. In general, all adaptations must be documented. Adaption also includes any changes to entry or exit criteria of the reviews or audits to facilitate transitions between stages.
A case could be that organization X buys a concept from organization A, then establishes a project to develop the system, then outsources the production to organization B, then sells the system to organization C, which is responsible for operation and maintenance, and in the end is itself responsible for the disposal of the system. In this case, organization X is responsible for the life cycle stages for development and retirement. At the same time, the transitions to the other life cycle stages must be considered as well.
Adaptation for domains
A life cycle model appropriate for a software system might be different from the life cycle model appropriate for a system dominated by hardware. It is not necessary that the software uses a life cycle appropriate for the hardware, nor is it necessary for the hardware to use a life cycle appropriate for the software. A system that has both hardware and software elements could have a combination of life cycle models, synchronized at certain points. Life cycle models should be adapted based on the domains involved. Each domain’s perspective on the system element’s life cycle should be considered.
Selection and Adaptation of Approaches for all Stages of the Life Cycle
Regardless of the life cycle model, each of the life cycle stages needs to have an approach selected and adapted to the context of the system and project. Systems engineers will be familiar with the need to select and adapt a development approach for the system. Note that the development approach can be different for different elements of the system. In addition, approaches need to be selected and adapted for the other life cycle stages: production, utilization, support, and retirement. Planning for these should be documented.
References
Works Cited
ISO/IEC/IEEE 24748-1. 2024. ''Systems and software engineering — Life cycle management, Part 1: Guidelines for life cycle management.'' Geneva, Switzerland: International Organization for Standardization (ISO), International Electrotechnical Commission, and Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. Available at https://www.iso.org/standard/84709.html.
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