Activity 5 – Construction

Objective:

The objective of this phase is to transform approved  architecture and design into a working system that is consistent with functional and technical requirements identified during earlier phases of the software life cycle.

Entry Criteria

We know we are ready to commence the software construction work if:

  • Technical specifications (SDD) are available.
  • Architecture is proven and signed off by the stakeholders.
  • Unit testing components ( test requirements, scripts, results, time-lines, cases, reports) are completed in the Master Test Plan Document.

Roles & Responsibilities

Customer – Sponsor and signs off team effort; review progress with the developers and the PM.

Project Manager – Resolve resource, scheduling, budget issues; review and report progress.

Developer – Construct a working software from the approved design; produce  artifacts and put them under configuration control and perform change  control; employ tools, systems and conform to prescribed  standards (platforms, coding practices, programming languages, etc) that  are in line with the organization’s objectives.

Database Administration Group – Assist with implementing the solution design and data conversion strategy.

Implementation supervisor/manager – Assist with identifying the requirements for implementation of the software (which includes system readiness, resources, time-lines).

Integration supervisor/manager – Identify how integration of the solution in a new hardware/software  environment would be achieved; what tests are required to evaluate  integration.

Common Artifacts

Test plan results are often captured in test planning documents and contain useful information related to testing outcomes. Also mentioned as a summary is the perceived readiness for migration of the software.

Training manual materials and instructions created for training end users.

Implementation planning documents describe how the information system will be deployed and installed into an operational system. Plans typically include an overview of the system, a brief description of the major tasks involved  in the implementation, the overall resources needed to support the  implementation effort (such as hardware, software, facilities,  materials, and personnel), and any site-specific implementation  requirements.

Review (Revision)

  • The review should address: (1) construction Phase activities status, (2) planning status for all subsequent life cycle phases (with significant detail on the next phase, to include the status of pending contract actions), (3) resource availability status and (4) assessment of any other risk acquired during the progression of the life cycle.
  • Review of artifacts and deliverables may lead to their revision.
  • Code is reviewed after bug fix, Code re-factoring, etc.

Approval

  • The process step artifacts are reviewed by UITS (by stakeholders including the inheritors).
  • Upon meeting the exit criteria and subsequent sign-off/approval the project enters the next stage of SDLC – Integration and Testing.

Exit Criteria

  • Have working software that conforms to the approved design from prior step
  • Finalized the following artifacts :
    • Integration & test plan section of Master Test plan
    • Unit test section of testing analysis report is complete
    • Training plan

 

Next – Activity 6 Integration and Testing