Process Authoring allows a Process Engineer to incorporate Method Elements into process structures. For example, a Work Breakdown Structure format familiar to Project Managers. The processes can be included in a configuration to be published as part of the published web site.
In Method Authoring the Process Engineer defines roles, tasks, work products and guidance and defines the relationships between these elements.
In Process Authoring the process engineer defines additional lifecycle elements such as Activities (summary tasks), Phases , Iterations and Milestones , that can then be used to compose the core elements into processes. A complete process corresponding to a project plan or a phase we call a Delivery Process (corresponding to Small RUP, for example) . We can also create smaller more granular sections of process, termed Capability Patterns that can be used as building blocks to more easily compose delivery processes.
Each time a task is included in a process, a copy of that task is created in the context of the process. We call this a Task Descriptor. The same task can be included any number of times in the same process. This allows, for example, the same RUP task to be included in each Iteration in each RUP Phase. A Task Descriptor can also modify the base task without actually changing the task. For example, roles and work products can be added or suppressed, steps can be suppressed or re-sequenced.
oles and Work Products are also included in processes as Role Descriptors and Work Product Descriptors. So roles and work products can also be customized to fit with the context of the process in which they are used.