Phases and subphases in the USoft Approach |
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The methodology advocated by the USoft Approach is structured by distinguishing three main phases of work, the PLAN, DEFINE, and DELIVER phases. Each phase has three subphases. In addition, the DEFINE phase has three task types (SPECIFY, IMPLEMENT, TEST):
Work phases and subphases in the USoft Approach Each of the nine subphases is an umbrella concept for a set of tasks that an organisation must complete to achieve successful business systems in a context of successful business conduct. For most subphases, the USoft Approach describes what are the deliverables of the subphase. The USoft Approach is neutral about the way in which you assign roles to people for task completion. The phases and subphases have a logical order which, for the sake of simplicity, you could think of also as an order in time. The PLAN phase occurs first, then the DEFINE phase, and then the DELIVER phase. Within each phase, subphases are also ordered: within the DEFINE phase, for example, Rule Definition comes after Structure Definition and is followed by Interface Definition. However, true to the "Deliver in short cycles" principle in the USoft Approach, all the phases and subphases are cycles. They are repeated in a circular order, as indicated by the arrows in the diagram. This means that in reality, you could have activity in the DEFINE phase while, concurrently, people are busy in the PLAN phase preparing the next DEFINE phase which is soon to have a new impact on the tasks in the DELIVER phase. Far from being a recipe for a linear process flow, the phases and subphases of the USoft Approach are a means to gain a high-level overview of what is potentially a complex situation involving multiple activities carried out in parallel. To work successfully with phases and subphases of the USoft Approach, you need an adequate infrastructure and a balanced way or working in which all three phases are equally important.
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See Also Introducing the USoft Approach |
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