Typical Phase by Phase Activities

Inception Phase

• Participate in the project kick-off workshop (if one is run)
• Participate in workshops to create the Vision and the Project Plan
• Agree to participate at the level requested throughout the project

Elaboration Phase

• Participate in workshops to generate and prioritise requirements and the project plan.
• Review/accept the baselined requirements set from the user point of view
• Get agreement from the Visionary as to the level of empowerment that can be exercised during the subsequent phases (perhaps agree formal Terms of Reference)
• Work each week in a development team at the times agreed, reporting to the nominated Team Leader within the project (or on smaller projects to the Project Manager)
• Attend the designated planning meetings and reviews and agree to actions arising from these.
• Between these meetings and reviews:
• • Provide the Developer(s) in the team with detailed information about the business, e.g. how the business works and what information is needed when, where and by whom.
  • Define the business tasks and scenarios that the system will support (create them just in time rather than all in one go).
  • Use the task descriptions and scenarios as the basis of testing prototypes as they are built
  • Accept prototypes as satisfactory from the business point of view.
  • Get detailed business information from the relevant Advisor User(s).
  • Demonstrate prototypes to the Advisor User(s) to get their feedback.
  • Check that all comments are satisfactorily recorded.
  • Participate in workshops as necessary.
  • Negotiate with the Project Manager, Developer(s) and Tester(s) as to what must be done within an iteration and what can be left out.
  • Participate in modelling sessions with the Developers to provide the business view.
  • Review/accept the models as they are produced.
  • Keep the Visionary and the Advisor User(s) up to date with what is happening in the team
  • Attend team meetings if at all possible.
  • Assist the Project Manager in creating the user training strategy part of the project plan.
  • Review/accept the Supporting Requirements Specification from the user point of view, e.g. how quickly the system should respond to user input: time to create reports, display information on screens, etc.

Construction Phase

• Work each week in a development team at the times agreed.
• Attend the planning meetings and reviews.
• Between these meetings and reviews:
• • Provide the Developers in the team with detailed information about the business needs.
  • Use the business tasks and scenarios created earlier to test the system as it grows.
  • Arrange testing by Advisor Users, if necessary.
  • Accept parts of the system Build as they pass their tests from the user point of view (as opposed the technical tests that will also be run).
  • Negotiate with the Project Manager, Developers and Testers as to what must be done within an iteration and what can be left out.
  • Create the user documentation.
  • Ensure that appropriate training is being designed for delivery to all other users.
  • Keep the Visionary and the Advisor Users up to date with what is happening in the team.
  • Attend daily meetings if at all possible.

Transition Phase

• Monitor the initial user training and collect feedback from the trainees.
• Make any necessary changes to the user documentation that surface during user training.
• Participate in the post-live review.