The Harbourline mobile banking programme has stable, well-understood requirements, a fixed regulatory deadline, and a client who wants the full scope defined and signed off before any build starts. The sponsor asks which development approach best fits these conditions. Which approach should the project manager recommend?
- AA predictive approach, planning scope, schedule, and cost in detail before execution begins Correct
- BAn adaptive approach, so the team can reprioritise the backlog every iteration as feedback arrives
- CAn incremental approach, so a usable subset of features is released at the end of each short cycle
- DA hybrid approach, combining predictive planning with adaptive delivery for the same requirements
Why A is correct: Predictive life cycles fit stable, clearly defined requirements planned in full before work starts, which matches the fixed scope, signed-off requirements, and fixed deadline described here.
Why B is wrong: Adaptive approaches suit volatile requirements and frequent change, but this programme has stable, well-understood scope defined up front, so the flexibility adds overhead without benefit.
Why C is wrong: Incremental delivery is tempting because of the fixed deadline, but it is chosen to get working functionality into users' hands early, not because requirements are fully known and fixed at the outset.
Why D is wrong: Hybrid is useful when parts of the work are uncertain and parts are stable, but nothing here is described as uncertain, so blending approaches introduces complexity the situation does not call for.