---
reference_type: Performance Domain
reference_id: PD03
name: Development Approach and Life Cycle
version: "1.0.0"
status: Deprecated
edition: PMBOK7
pmbok8_source: "PMBOK8 Guide §2.3 — Development Approach and Life Cycle Performance Domain"
authority: PMI-derived
---

# PD03 — Development Approach and Life Cycle Performance Domain
**Type:** Performance Domain
**PMBOK8 Source:** PMBOK8 Guide §2.3 — Development Approach and Life Cycle Performance Domain
**Version:** 1.0.0

## Definition
The Development Approach and Life Cycle Performance Domain addresses the activities and functions associated with the development approach, delivery cadence, and project life cycle phases (PMBOK8 §2.3). Development approaches range along a spectrum from predictive (plan-driven, also known as waterfall) through hybrid to fully adaptive (agile, iterative, or incremental). Life cycle phases define how the project's work is organized and sequenced over time. Delivery cadence describes the rhythm at which value is produced and released — whether in a single final delivery, multiple releases, or continuous flow. This domain is fundamentally about deliberate, context-sensitive choice: selecting and tailoring the approach and life cycle structure that best serves the project's specific context, constraints, and uncertainty level — rather than defaulting to an organizational standard or a prescribed methodology without critical evaluation.

## Desired Outcomes
Per PMBOK8 §2.3, effective execution of the Development Approach and Life Cycle Performance Domain results in the following outcomes:

- **A development approach appropriate to the project context** — the chosen approach (predictive, hybrid, or adaptive) aligns with the project's complexity, uncertainty, stakeholder involvement needs, and delivery requirements.
- **A project life cycle that connects deliverables to value** — phases are structured so that each phase produces outputs that build toward overall project value and enable informed decision-making at phase transitions.
- **A delivery cadence aligned with stakeholder needs and organizational capacity** — the rhythm of delivery matches what stakeholders can absorb and what the team can sustainably produce.
- **Governance and review points established at appropriate intervals** — phase gates, retrospectives, and review checkpoints are built into the life cycle to enable timely course corrections.
- **Approach selection decisions are documented and justified** — the rationale for choosing a particular development approach or hybrid combination is recorded and communicated to stakeholders and governance bodies.

## Key Activities and Considerations
Grounded in PMBOK8 §2.3, practitioners operating in this domain carry out the following:

- **Assess the project context to inform approach selection** — Evaluate factors including requirements stability, technology risk, stakeholder availability, regulatory constraints, organizational culture, and team experience to determine the most appropriate development approach.
- **Select and define the development approach** — Choose between predictive, iterative, incremental, agile, or hybrid approaches with deliberate intent; document the selection rationale in the tailoring decision record.
- **Define the project life cycle** — Establish the phases, milestones, and transitions that structure the project's work over time; define what work occurs in each phase and what criteria must be met to proceed.
- **Determine delivery cadence** — Decide how frequently deliverables, increments, or releases will be produced; align cadence with stakeholder feedback loops and organizational change absorption capacity.
- **Tailor the approach to fit the project** — Even within a chosen approach, adjust tools, processes, artifacts, and governance mechanisms to remove unnecessary burden and add necessary rigor where the context demands it.
- **Review and adapt the approach as the project evolves** — The development approach is not permanently fixed at project initiation; as new information emerges, the approach may be adjusted — for example, shifting from predictive to more adaptive when requirements uncertainty increases.
- **Communicate the approach and life cycle to all stakeholders** — Ensure team members, sponsors, governance bodies, and affected stakeholders understand the development approach, what it means for their involvement, and what to expect at each life cycle stage.

## Relationship to Principles
| Principle | Connection |
|---|---|
| P07 — Tailoring | This principle is the conceptual foundation of this domain. Tailoring is the process of deliberately adapting the project management approach — including the development approach and life cycle — to the specific context rather than applying any methodology wholesale. Every approach selection decision is an act of tailoring. |
| P09 — Complexity | Complexity in a project's requirements, stakeholder landscape, or technology environment is a primary driver of approach selection. More complex and uncertain projects typically warrant more adaptive or iterative approaches to maintain the ability to respond to emergent conditions. |
| P11 — Adaptability and Resiliency | The domain embodies adaptability by requiring that the development approach itself remain open to revision. A resilient project does not persist with a mismatched approach when evidence suggests a change would better serve delivery outcomes. |
| P05 — Systems Thinking | Approach selection must account for the broader system in which the project operates — including organizational culture, governance structures, portfolio dependencies, and team capabilities. No approach exists in isolation from these system-level factors. |

## Artifact Connections
| Artifact | Connection |
|---|---|
| A06 — Tailoring Decision Record | The primary artifact for this domain. Documents the development approach selection, the rationale for that selection, which standard processes or practices were adapted or omitted, and who approved the tailoring decisions. |
| A14 — Integrated Project Management Plan | Embeds the development approach and life cycle structure as foundational elements. The plan's structure, level of detail, and update cadence are directly shaped by the chosen development approach. |
| A05 — Context Register | Captures the contextual factors — organizational environment, constraints, complexity indicators, risk profile — that inform approach selection. The context analysis precedes and drives the tailoring decision. |
| A15 — Schedule Baseline | Reflects the life cycle phase structure and delivery cadence selected in this domain. The schedule baseline's format (e.g., rolling wave, iteration backlog, traditional Gantt) mirrors the development approach. |

## Skill Connections
| Skill ID | Skill Name | Connection |
|---|---|---|
| SKL-03-17 | Tailor the Approach | The central skill for this domain — evaluates project context, selects the appropriate development approach and life cycle structure, documents tailoring decisions, and communicates them to stakeholders and governance. |
| SKL-07-01 to SKL-07-04 | Adaptive and Hybrid Delivery Skills | Enable practitioners to operate effectively within agile, iterative, incremental, and hybrid frameworks — including sprint planning, backlog management, retrospectives, and hybrid governance structures. |
| SKL-03-01 | Develop Integrated Management Plan | Integrates approach and life cycle decisions into the overall project management plan, ensuring coherence between the development approach and all other planning elements. |

## Interaction with Other Domains
| Domain | Interaction |
|---|---|
| PD04 — Planning | The development approach fundamentally determines planning intensity and method. A predictive approach requires upfront comprehensive planning; an adaptive approach distributes planning across iterations. The approach must be selected before meaningful planning can proceed. |
| PD06 — Delivery | The development approach determines how deliverables are packaged, sequenced, and released. A single-delivery life cycle produces one final output; an iterative approach produces incremental releases. Delivery domain execution is shaped by this domain's decisions. |
| PD08 — Uncertainty | Uncertainty level is a primary input to approach selection; high uncertainty typically favors adaptive approaches that can respond to new information. Conversely, the chosen approach shapes how uncertainty is managed — iterative approaches build in more frequent uncertainty reassessment. |

## Questions to Ask in Practice
1. Has the project's context — including requirements stability, complexity, stakeholder availability, and organizational culture — been systematically analyzed to justify the chosen development approach?
2. Is the selected life cycle structure creating clear, value-aligned phase transitions, or is it simply reproducing an inherited template without critical evaluation?
3. Is the delivery cadence actually aligned with stakeholders' ability to provide feedback and absorb change, or is it driven by internal convenience?
4. As the project has progressed and more is known, should the development approach be adjusted to better match the current reality?

*Authority: PMBOK8 Guide §2.3 — Development Approach and Life Cycle Performance Domain · Source type: PMI-derived*
*Repository: https://github.com/fakhruldeen/PMOSkills*
