http://seat58f.com outsourcing relationships: international, inter-economic, interpersonal Mon, 20 Jul 2009 00:44:34 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en the old-school view of production control and scheduling is based on mainframe architecture - the application was hosted essentially on a single platform. if the application had to be up to match data entry shifts or jobs needed to execute to deliver reports by a certain time, then "do not ... http://seat58f.com/2009/07/02/do-not-touch/ production support and maintenance is the stuff you do to manage software defects so that operations continue per the specifications. sounds good, but you would think that, with proper funding and assuming that software was functional in the first place, that the majority of defects would be resolved in short ... http://seat58f.com/2009/07/01/watch-the-users-carefully/ once the project metrics are recorded and client satisfaction details are collected, evaluate project success based on the service provider business objectives http://seat58f.com/2009/06/23/be-reflective/ - Release Note published - source code repository updated - KT per the project plan - production gate checklist completed per the project plan - deployment quality control checklist - client acknowledgement http://seat58f.com/2009/06/22/go-live-and-cleanup/ - user acceptance test and scenarios are pre-defined - scenarios are reviewed (and obtained from a library) and approved by the client - test findings are logged and tracked to closure - system testing executed per the project plan - test findings are evaluated by stakeholders http://seat58f.com/2009/06/21/get-the-user-involved/ Use one, and only one, code repository. Code should not be spread across multiple workstations. - coding standards are in use - Unit test cases are available (hopfully re-used, not re-invented) - test case findings are logged and tracked to closure - unit testing is occuring as planned - unit test defects are tracked ... http://seat58f.com/2009/06/20/pound-the-code/ - system test plan and scenarios are pre-defined - scenarios are reviewed (and obtained from a library) and approved by the client - test findings are logged and tracked to closure - system testing executed per the project plan - test findings are evaluated by stakeholders http://seat58f.com/2009/06/19/backing-out-of-the-garage-and-into-the-street/ The System Requirement Specification for an app maintenance activity is the link to the architectural realities of the infrastructure. Verify that it has been reviewed and approved. Review findings should be resolved prior to approval. http://seat58f.com/2009/06/18/solution-design/ the project plan needs to be continuously updated and reviewed on a weekly basis. look for: - re-planning triggers - client sign-off on revised estimates. - tracking sheet (Issues Log) maintenance and communication - Defect Logging is occurring ("major" and "fatal" defects are addressed before moving to the next phase) - Risk Analysis and ... http://seat58f.com/2009/06/17/pliable-not-frozen/ stuff that should be on the table: - complexity evaluation - ballpark effort estimate approved - High Level Solution (architecture) and schedule - client business unit and IT sign-offs obtained - project workspace provisioned - SOW updates as required - Security Plan updates - Operations training and SOP updates - SLO updates http://seat58f.com/2009/06/16/kickoff/