Development Planning Realisation
What
A detailed planning showing activities, resources and interaction for each time box in the Realisation Phase.
How
The dish
Development Plan
Ingredients
- All artifacts produced in the Launch Phase
- The Development Plan from the Launch Phase
- Experiences and metrics from previously performed projects
- The Deployment Plan
Artifacts
Detailed Development Plan for each timebox.
Process
As we know, the Realisation Phase consists of six activities, namely Strategy & Planning, Analysis, Design, Implementation, Verification and Deployment. These activities must be prepared thoroughly in several timeboxes, where each timebox should be of two to six weeks in length. The first couple of timeboxes can be of a different length according to the overall strategy and planning of the project.
The Development Plan from the Launch Phase has to be refined and planned by the development team for each timebox. You should consider the following aspects:
- Activity plan � what has to be done (activities)?
- Resources � who has to do it and what tools are needed?
- Interaction � to what extent is it possible for the customer, other developers, sub-suppliers, the interface and other prerequisites to have an impact on the project?
- Correction � is there any deviation which could impact any parts of the project? If so, you should take action accordingly.
Remember to plan the time that the customer needs to interact with the project and see that you have his full attention and commitment. Also remember to make room for considerations and feedback after each deployment.
Why
The detailed Development Plan must be carried out by all members of the project team, including the customer. This is important in order to obtain full attention and commitment.
The activity plan lists all the aspects that each team member has to carry out for each timebox. This will ensure that each team member not only knows what to do, but also what has to be done by other team members. As a result, it is easier to maintain an overview and be able to take active part in the project.
Resources are always a problem. You never have the right resources at the right time, but you have to do the job anyway. So be careful planning your resources and use those you have with high attention and skills. Good knowledge of human behaviour is essential.
Lack of attention to customer interaction is the reason why projects end up in disaster. It is very difficult to plan, so here you really need to draw on your experience and metrics. Murphy's law ("if anything can go wrong � it will!") applies to interaction as well as correction; if you have not planned time for corrections, then you surely will end up behind schedule! Why carry out tests if you do not have time for corrections? Why ask the customer if you do not have time to listen? Again, experience and metrics are crucial factors.
As we know, the main idea of the EUDP method is to involve the customer. In order to do that the right way, you need to plan the time and resources that you want the customer to spend on the project. You must have the customer's commitment!
