Task: Assess Results |
Determine success or failure of the iteration. Apply the lessons learned to modify the project or improve the process.
Disciplines: Project Management
Purpose
Capture and communicate whether the project is on track, requires corrective actions, and whether there are opportunities for improvement.
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: Status Assessment Test Log Vision
Outputs | Project Plan Status Assessment Work Items List
Steps
Gather stakeholder feedback
The team should demonstrate the product to customer, end-users, and other Role: 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. Record requested changes to the product in the Artifact: Work Items List for later prioritization. Factor in feedback in overall iteration assessment.
Assess results
Towards the end of the iteration, the team should jointly assess whether the objectives and evaluation criteria established in the Artifact: Iteration Plan were met, and whether the team adhered to the iteration plan and completed all the planned work items. Below are some sample questions that the team can ask themselves as a part of the assessment: Were the defined goals and objectives met? Did the release meet its functionality and quality goals? Did the release meet performance and capacity goals? Were risks reduced or eliminated? Can we identify new risks? Were all planned work items addressed? What was the teams velocity relative to plan? Did the end users provide favorable feedback on what we built in this iteration? Are changes to the project plan required? What portion of the current release will be baselined? What portion will need to be reworked? Have there been external changes such as changes in the marketplace, in the user community, or in the requirements? The assessments should to the extent possible be based on objective measures. For example, to assess that a given requirement is developed, the team should ensure that the corresponding test cases were successfully run against it, rather than considering it done when the implementation is done.
Perform a retrospective
Review the approach taken to development and team collaboration, the effectiveness of the development environment, the suitability of the working environment, and other factors and discuss what things went well, what could have gone better, and how things could be changed to deliver better results. Capture actions to be taken to improve the development approach for next iteration in the Status Assessment.
Refine project scope and duration
Depending on the results of the assessment and the stakeholders' feedback, the Role: Project Manager could need to revise the Artifact: Project Plan to adapt to those changes. If a change affects defined project milestones, the project manager should consult with the stakeholders before committing to the changes. Necessary changes can also encompass the need to acquire new resources, to absorb an unplanned effort increase, or to implement a specific change request.
Close-out phase
This step is optional and must be performed only when the assessment period coincide with the end of a phase. The end of a phase represents a point of synchronization of technical and management expectations and closure for a project. In iterative development, it coincides with the end of an iteration. However, phase ends mark a point when it is possible to consider re-scoping and even re-contracting a project. For example, the inception phase is exploratory and may be appropriately performed under a time-and-materials contract or a cost-plus type of contract. The elaboration phase could be done as a fixed-price contract or a cost-plus contract, depending on the extent to which the development is unusual. By the construction and transition phases, enough is known about the system that fixed-price contracts are more appealing to the acquirer and vendor. The phase end is marked by a major milestone and a corresponding milestone review. The degree of formality of these reviews depends on the project. The important thing is to take advantage of this milestone review to achieve agreement among all stakeholders on the current state of the project. For more information, refer to Concept: Milestones.
Close-out project
This step is optional and must be performed only when the assessment period coincide 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. Gather and record the lessons learned to be used in future projects. Complete the close-out of the project by disposing of the remaining assets and reassigning the remaining staff.
More Information
Concepts | Milestones
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