Concept: Inception Phase
First of the four phases in the project lifecycle, it is about understanding the project scope and objectives and getting enough information to confirm that the project should proceed - or convince you that it should not.
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Main Description

The purpose in this phase is to achieve concurrence among all stakeholders on the lifecycle objectives for the project.

There are four objectives of the Inception phase that clarify the scope, project objectives, and feasibility of the intended solution [KRO03]:

  1. Understand what to build. Determine the Vision, the scope of the system, and its boundaries. Identify who is interested in this system and why (see Stakeholders).

  2. Identify key system functionality. Decide which requirements are most critical.

  3. Determine at least one possible solution. Identify at least one candidate architecture and its feasibility.

  4. Understand the cost, schedule, and risks associated with the project.


Key considerations

Projects may have one or more iterations in the Inception phase. Among reasons for multiple iterations in Inception, you find:

  • Project is large, and it is hard to define its scope.
  • Unprecedented system.
  • Too many stakeholders with competing needs and complex relationships.
  • Major technical risks demand the creation of a prototype or proof of concept.

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