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Analysis Paralysis

Also Known As: n/a

Summary

The project managers strive for completeness and perfection in the analysis phase. A team of (otherwise intelligent and well-meaning) analysts enter into a phase of analysis that only ends when the project is cancelled. The project is stalled in the analysis phase, unable to achieve meaningul deliverables or support for any of the potential plans of approach.

Symptoms

• time spent reported on analysis and design activities much higher than on development activities, late in the project
• analysis-related artefacts numerous and/or big
• analysis-related artefacts frequently updated and new ones created late in the project

Specific To

Especially waterfall projects

Related Anti-patterns

Anti-pattern	Relation
Big Design Up Front	general form
Death By Planning	similar in kind (primary activities rather than overhead)
Viewgraph Engineering	similar in kind (documents or viewgraphs produced by developers instead of analysis activities)

Sources

[CUN’13] – AnalysisParalysis, [BRO’98]

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