Software Engineering PS (WS2000/2001)

© Copyright 2000, Schwaiger Roland

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Construction Phase

During the construction phase, all remaining components and application features are developed and integrated into the product, and all features are thoroughly tested. The construction phase is, in one sense, a manufacturing process where emphasis is placed on managing resources and controlling operations to optimize costs, schedules, and quality. In this sense, the management mindeset undergoes a transition from the development of intellectual property during inception and elaboration, to the development of deployable products during construction and transition.

Many projects are large enough that parallel construction increments can be spawned. These parallel activities can significantly accelerate the availability of deployable releases; they can also increase the complexity of resource management and workflow synchronization. A robust architecture and an understandable plan are highly correlated. In other words, one of the critical qualities of the architecture is its ease of construction. This is one reason why the balanced development of the architecture and the plan is stressed during elaboration phase.

The outcome of the construction phase is a product ready to put in hands of its end-users. At minimum, it consists of:

• The software product integrated on the adequate platforms.
• The user manual.
• A description of the current release.

At the end of the construction phase is the third major project milestone (Initial Operational Capability Milestone). At this point, you decide if the software, th sites, and the users are realy to go operational, without exposing the project to high risks. This release is often called a "beta" release.

The evaluation criteria for the construction phase involv answering these questions:

• Is this product release stable and mature enough to be deployed in the user community?
• Are all stakeholders ready for the transition into the user community?
• Are the actual resources expenditures versus planned expenditures still acceptable?