Task: Assess Results |  |
Demonstrate the value of the solution increment that was built during the iteration and apply the lessons learned to modify the project or improve the process.
Purpose
To adjust expectations at regular intervals of the project, brainstorming around product increments and adapting behavior to the acquired knowledge.
Relationships
Roles | Primary Performer: Project Manager | Additional Performers: Analyst Any Role Architect Developer Stakeholder Tester
Inputs | Mandatory: Iteration Plan Project Plan Work Items List | Optional: Test Log Vision
Outputs | Iteration Plan Project Plan Work Items List
Main Description
The Project Manager is responsible for coordinating the assessment. He or she discusses with the team how the iteration results with be best presented to stakeholders so they can learn as much about the solution as possible. The project manager also listens what the team has to say about what went wrong and what went right during the iteration. This knowledge will help everybody to make informed decisions for next iteration planning and determine the best course of action for the project. This task is performed at the end of every iteration until the end of the project.
Steps
Review iteration results
Towards the end of the iteration, the team should jointly assess whether the objectives and evaluation criteria established in the Iteration Plan were met, and whether the team adhered to the plan and completed all the work items committed to the iteration. It should use objective measures to the greatest extent possible. To assess that a given work item is completed, the team should ensure that the corresponding test cases were successfully run against it.
Demonstrate value and gather feedback
The team should demonstrate the product to customer, end-users, and other Stakeholders to collect their feedback, or better yet, have end users to use the product themselves. This should be done throughout the iteration, or at least in a separate session towards the end of the iteration (see Guideline: Iteration Assessment). Work that is not completed should not be demonstrated. Resulting knowledge, such as new functionality, requested changes and defects are recorded in the Work Items List, so project priorities, scope and duration can be refined in the next iteration planning.
Perform a retrospective
Review with the team the approach taken to development and collaboration, the effectiveness of the development environment, the suitability of the working environment, and other factors. Discuss what things went well, what could have gone better, and how things could be changed to deliver better results. Capture assessment results in the current Iteration Plan as well as stakeholder feedback and actions to be taken to improve the development approach for next iteration. Gather lessons learned and record those in the Project Plan to be used in the future. You may wish to leverage EPF composer to improve the process by incorporating the lessons that have been successfully piloted in the project and enhance templates, checklists, activities, steps, introduce new practices and guidance. See Supporting Material: Resources for Modifying Methods for more information. When the assessment period coincides with the end of a phase the corresponding milestone review takes place. These are informal reviews of the work accomplished where the team and stakeholders agree on moving the project on to the next phase, spanning a set of iterations with a new common goal, in accordance with the emphasis of the following phase. For more information, refer to Concept: Phase Milestones.
Close-out project
This step must be performed only when the iteration review coincides with the end of the project. Involve the team and stakeholders in a final assessment for project acceptance which, if successful, marks the point when the customer accepts ownership of the software product. Complete the close-out of the project by disposing of the remaining assets and reassigning the remaining staff.
More Information
Concepts | Phase Milestones Retrospective
Guidelines | Conduct Project Retrospective Deploying the Solution Iteration Assessment
This program and the accompanying materials are made available under the Eclipse Public License v1.0 which accompanies this distribution. OpenUP Copyright. OpenUP/DSDM Copyright.