DPMM® Processes: Phases, Gates and the Project Lifecycle
What this domain tests
This domain tests your command of the DPMM® process flow: how phases follow each other, what each phase delivers, and what happens at the decision points between them. Items ask you to place an activity in the right phase or to judge whether a phase may close.
Core rules
- The lifecycle is divided into phases, each ending in a decision point where the owner or steering group decides go, no-go or go-with-conditions. The decision is based on results achieved, risk status, business case validity and the plan for the next phase.
- Phases are result-bounded. A phase closes when its deliverables are accepted, not when its budget or calendar runs out.
- Typical sequence: initiation (mandate, objective, global plan, business case, organisation) → definition (detailed requirements, detailed plans, quality plan, risk analysis) → realisation (execution in cycles, with interim checks) → closure (acceptance, handover, evaluation, release of people and resources).
- Each phase produces or updates its plans; the next phase plan is prepared in detail just before the gate that authorises it.
- Process discipline: phase reports, logs (risk, issue, change), decisions recorded with date and owner. Closure is a process, not an announcement - it includes formal acceptance, handover to the line organisation, a final report and lessons learned.
Worked example
At the end of the definition phase the project manager reports: requirements approved by all users, plans drafted, risks identified. One deliverable - the interface specification with the external supplier - is still under review, and the supplier has not confirmed its planning. Reasoning: the gate cannot be a simple go. The correct output is go-with-conditions: start no realisation work dependent on the interface, set a hard date for supplier confirmation, and report back. A no-go is not warranted, because the core deliverables and the business case are sound; closing the phase as if complete would be the wrong answer.
Traps that cost marks
- Closing a phase because the calendar says so while deliverables remain unaccepted.
- Skipping the decision point and moving straight into the next phase.
- Preparing the next phase plan only after the gate, leaving nothing to decide on.
- Calling a project closed without handover, acceptance and evaluation.