Introduction
The project starts with the assumption that the business case has been created, the Project
Manager has been identified, the team (at least for the first iteration) has been also defined, the development
environment (including tools and infrastructure) is in place and the process to be followed is the delivery process suggested by OpenUP/Basic (varying on number of iterations per
phase and iteration length).
Below you find the activities performed in a typical iteration during Inception phase.
Initiate Project
This activity takes place in the beginning of the first iteration, when the project starts. The multiple roles involved
at this time collaborate to perform this activity as follows:
Manage Requirements
As the project is initated, the Analyst
elicits requirements from Analyst and
Stakeholders and captures them in a Work Items List. As needed, requirements are outlined and detailed in separate
artifacts (for example, in Use-Case specifications) at the extent needed to provide information for the Architect to create a prototype of the architecture and for the Project Manager to scope and plan the next iteration.
Determine Architectural Feasibility
Based on requirements being captured and detailed in parallel with this activity, the Architect analyzes the architectural constraints and leverages the available assets
and technology in order to propose an Architectural Proof-of-Concept. This early architectural prototype is used to both
demonstrate the feasibility of the project using the selected candidate architecture and also to mitigate one or more
architecturally significant risks.
Manage Iteration
The ongoing work performed by the Project
Manager to initiate and conduct a given iteration happens in this activity. It consists of status reporting,
handling of exceptions and problems, risks identification and work reprioritization as needed.
Assess and Plan Next Iteration
This activity is performed towards the end of the iteration. The Project
Manager conducts an Status Assessment with the team and Analyst and
Stakeholders.
In the case the iteration end coincides with the phase end, the objectives for that phase should be used as success
criteria for leaving the iteration. The iteration assessment should verify that the objectives for
the Iteration phase have been achieved: agreement on the key functionalities and at least one possible
solution for the system to be, as well as a reasonable understanding of cost, schedule and risks associated with the
project.
Based on demonstration of key functionalities and architectural feasibility during the assessment, it becomes clear
that either the project can proceed at the given pace or reprioritization of work needs to happen. As a consequence, Project Manager may need to refine project scope and duration.
The next iteration is then planned, using the results from current iteration and prioritized work items as input. While
the assessment typically happens on the last few days of an iteration, the planning
for next iteration may start before, being finalized with the input of data gathered from the assessment of the
current iteration.
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