Methodologies come in many flavors, but there are really only Three Phases to a technology project lifecycle: Definition, Delivery and Deployment.

The first phase, Definition, involves scoping the issue or initiative to a point where it is clearly understood and a decision for further work can be approved. The logical progression in this phase may be to carry out a Proof-of-Concept, Prototype, Solution Architecture and Design so that the costs, benefits, risks and rewards have been refined and a firm go/no-go decision can be made.

In the second phase, Delivery, the architecture and design is further detailed to a point where individual components can be assigned to team members, constructed and integrated into an overall solution. Often, third party hardware and software components are needed for integration into the solution. The overall solution is tested against the business requirements for validity and successful execution.

In Deployment, the solution is rolled out to the business community for initial "tire kicking" and then for integration into their business processes. Tweaks and adjustments to the solution are expected as the business community adjusts to it. Often, a post-implementation review is carried out to determine the relative success of the project, identify lessons learned that can provide improvements in this process.

The real success comes from having a well understood methodology, one that is embraced by the entire organization, and a process that is consistently repeatable and refined over time.