Activity 1. Selling the Idea
A project idea doesn't go anywhere unless it actually becomes a
project. This VBM activity examines various approaches to building a base of
support for a proposed effort, and then actually winning the necessary approval
and financing.
Activity 2. Creating the Plan
Before the project effort gets underway, the plan should be completely
thought through. As a part of this, staffing requirements should be determined,
high level goals and calendar milestones should be charted, and development
activities should be outlined. This VBM activity focuses on the planning process
and its use throughout the life of the project.
Activity 3. Building the Team
Determining who will be on the team is one thing, but keeping the team
together and performing at its maximum potential is another. This VBM activity
explores a multitude of team building and project management approaches, and
their effective use throughout the systems development effort.
Activity 4. Uncovering the Requirements
A critical step in the system development/enhancement process is the
definition of the project requirements in business client terminology. This VBM
activity examines an assortment of requirements gathering techniques, with a
strong emphasis on the utilization of a facilitated session approach for
collection and confirmation of the bulk of the major system functional
definition.
Activity 5. Modeling the Business
As the business requirements are being collected, a "picture" of the
important business information and the related processes begins to
emerge. Capturing this evolving image in a manner which serves as a
communication tool for both the technical as well as the business project
participants, is the centerpiece of this VBM activity. An overview is provided
of many of today's current major modeling techniques.
Activity 6. Conceptualizing the System
Turning business requirements into business solutions is the
act of defining how the requirements will be satisfied, which technological
platforms will be utilized, and what the system will look like. This VBM
activity reviews the transformation of logical requirements into
physical components. In addition, the discussion highlights current
software development standards and technological trends.
Activity 7. Creating the Vision
Designing the business components of the system, and then putting this vision
into a form which can be reviewed by the business clients, is the focus of this
VBM activity. Strong emphasis is placed on the use of an iterative prototyping
approach for the design of the various screen, form, window, and report
layouts.
Activity 8. Specifying the Vision
Each individual system component should be carefully defined, and its
internal workings should be clearly documented, in the form of a program
specification. This VBM activity outlines various specification approaches which
can be employed to capture the functional details based on the contemplated
construction methodology. Special attention is paid to traditional procedural
programming, automated code generation, and object-oriented programming.
Activity 9. Constructing the System
No matter which methodological route is taken, at some point someone will
have to either generate the program logic or bear down and write the actual
program code. This VBM activity takes an extensive look at all of the
considerations and techniques which surround this activity. A sharp focus is
aimed at the key process of turning specifications into fully integrated and
tested programs.
Activity 10. Reselling the Idea
Once the system has been completed, it must be introduced into the business
environment. This VBM activity examines the issues and approaches involved with
managing the organizational change process, guiding the system through
acceptance testing, and equipping the business clients with the training and
documentation they will require to gain their independence from the
system builders!
