DSDM^® Principles

DSDM projects follow these principles:

1. Focus on the business need
2. Deliver on time
3. Collaborate
4. Never compromise quality
5. Build incrementally from firm foundations
6. Develop iteratively
7. Communicate continuously and clearly
8. Demonstrate control

Other Agile principles

For comparison, the following are the principles behind the Agile Manifesto, which have been developed by a group of people, including those from DSDM:

1. Our highest priority is to satisfy the customer through early and continuous delivery of valuable software.
2. Welcome changing requirements, even late in development. Agile processes harness change for the customer’s competitive advantage.
3. Deliver working software frequently, from a couple of weeks to a couple of months, with a preference to the shorter timescale.
4. Business people and developers must work together daily throughout the project.
5. Build projects around motivated individuals. Give them the environment and support they need, and trust them to get the job done.
6. The most efficient and effective method of conveying information to and within a development team is face-to-face conversation.
7. Working software is the primary measure of progress.
8. Agile processes promote sustainable development. The sponsors, developers, and users should be able to maintain a constant pace indefinitely.
9. Continuous attention to technical excellence and good design enhances agility.
10. Simplicity –the art of maximizing the amount of work not done– is essential.
11. The best architectures, requirements, and designs emerge from self-organizing teams.
12. At regular intervals, the team reflects on how to become more effective, then tunes and adjusts its behavior accordingly.

PRINCE2^® Principles

PRINCE2 is more or less neutral to the development approach and can be used in predictive, as well as adaptive (Agile) projects; even though its nature may be relatively closer to predictive projects. Regardless of that, it’s a good idea to compare principles of PRINCE2 with those of DSDM:

1. Continued Business Justification
2. Defined Roles and Responsibilities
3. Focus on Products
4. Learn from Experience
5. Manage by Exception
6. Manage by Stages
7. Tailor to Suit the Project Environment

Universal Principles

Another alternative is NUPP, which is a set of Nearly Universal Principles of Projects. NUPP is an open-source guide, compatible with DSDM^®, PRINCE2^®, P3.express, the PMBOK^® Guide, XP, Scrum, and PM². The following are the NUPP principles:

• NUP1: prefer results and the truth to affiliations
• NUP2: preserve and optimize energy and resources
• NUP3: always be proactive
• NUP4: remember that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link
• NUP5: don’t do anything without a clear purpose
• NUP6: use repeatable elements

Written by Nader K. Rad

This is (and will be) a work in progress: More details will be added in the future, depending on the feedback.

This wiki is developed and managed by an accredited trainer, independent of Agile Business Consortium and APMG. While aligned with their guidelines, it’s not an official resource.