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05 Sep 2010

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	Project Lifecycle vs Product Lifecycle - Mini Exam, Framework, Question 5

Solution Student's Question: Mini Exam, Framework, Question 5

It is clear that B and D are incorrect. No problem there. That leaves A and C as the remaining options.I don't see how C is the best answer: There is a difference between "product lifecycle" and "project lifecycle" where according to the PMBOK, it is the product lifecycle that is usually industry specific.Also it is a fundamental tenet of PMI that projects should always have Initiation, Planning, Execution, CONTOL, and Closing phases. The question would make much more sense if it reads "A product lifecycle" rather than "A project lifecycle"

PMP expert's Answer:
It's good you are asking for clarification on these similar wording life cycles as they are completely different. Many students confuse these terms and/or think they are the same at the beginning of their studying. There are 3 fundamental dimensions of lifecycle concepts we need to understand as the exam will definitely test you on these concepts:

So let's start with defining each of the 3 lifecycle terms as follows:

1. The project MANAGEMENT life cycle is made up of the 44 unique processes grouped by the 5 process groups - initiate, plan, execute, monitor and control and close out. These 44 processes are not so much sequential in application but, integrative, iterative and simultaneous throughout each of the project lifecycle phases as required, based on the complexity and timeline etc of your project. In other words, for each of the phases of our projects, we will initiate, do planning, monitor and control and of course we close out each phase before we proceed to the next phase in the project.
2. Now the project lifecycle is a grouping of any number of sequential phases which make up the project from the beginning to end. They are usually industry specific, or can be based on company methodology. As mentioned in item 1, for each of the phases of our projects, we will initiate, do planning, monitor and control and of course we close out each phase before we proceed to the next phase in the project.
3. The product lifecycle is also industry specific and sequential of course - and there can be many different project lifecycles within a product lifecycle. i.e. let's take the almighty computer - project 1: manufacturing; project 2: deployment of 5,000 computors to a bank; project 3: h/w and/s/w upgrades to the computors; project 4: replacement of computors where the product is destroyed as it is no longer deployable/reusable.

As mentioned, a lot of students initially confuse these 3 terms/concepts as they are so similar in wording. These are very important concepts to understand so it might be a good idea to review again PMBOK Chapter 2 pages 19 - 23 for a detailed understanding of the Project lifecycle and Chapter 3 pages 37 - 41 for understanding of the process groups.

I trust this helps clarify the differences and why answer C is the correct answer in this case. If not, let me know what I can detail further for you

Thanks for bringing this clarification to the forum for other students to improve their understanding of these important terms.

Article Details

Article ID:

104

Created On:

23 Nov 2007 04:49 AM

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