Planning

The first goal of Planning Support is to assist the developers to more thoroughly understand the requirements, define the scope and clearly identify the work to be done. The main goal is to provide the executives with the documents to manage the project and the knowledge that the project will be done right the first time.

Project planning begins by posing many different questions. For example:

• What are the customer’s needs?
• What is the scope of this project?
• When does the project need to be finished?
• How will the project goals be evaluated?
• Who will be working on this project?
• How will the project be implemented?

Requirements

Requirements describe:

• The customer’s needs.
• How the customers will use the system.
• What platforms the system must work on. (Platform - A combination of operating system type Windows, Macintosh, UNIX, etc., language, Java, C++, etc. and Database manager Oracle, SQL Server, DB2, etc.)
• How big the system will need to scale. (Scale - This term refers to a system’s ability to work at the levels of users, database size and performance needed by the largest expected load the customer will have.)
• When the system needs to be delivered.

I can assist the executives, developers and customers in clearly defining the requirements.

Implementation Plan

An Implementation plan describes the tasks involved in creating the software. At the end of each task there is a clearly defined piece of the software puzzle to be delivered. Each task description (definition of tasks and a timeline) includes what is to be done, approximately how long it will take and what skills will be necessary to complete it. Each task builds upon the items from the previous tasks. Optimally, each task will take two weeks or less; a few highly complex tasks may take up to a month.

I can assist the executives to make informed decisions about resources and costs. I can work with the developers to create a thorough plan and to divide the application into manageable tasks.

Testing Plan

A testing plan describes how the software will be evaluated. The tests need to be thorough enough to ensure that the software will perform well for the customer and that it meets the customer’s needs.

I can work with the executives to recognize good test design, and coach the developers in turning the requirements into a functional test plan.

Next: Architecture