What is a Solution?

In everyday use, a solution is simply a strategy or method to solve a problem. However, when we talk about a solution in our CSDM, we give a specific meaning. It is the coordinated delivery of the elements needed (such as technologies, documentation, training, and support) to successfully respond to a unique customer’s business problem.

Establishing a Shared Vision

Fundamental to the success of any Development project is that you and DEVsource have a shared vision. This shared vision should establish a clear understanding as to what the goals and objectives are for the solution.

Stay Agile – Expect Change

Traditionally development management models assume that requirements can be clearly defined at the outset and that they will not change significantly throughout the project. In our CSDM we make the fundamental assumption that continual change should be expected and managed.

Focus on Delivering Business Value

A successful solution must deliver value or benefit to you the customer. And at DEVsource we understand that a solution does not provide value until it is fully deployed into live production. For this reason, our model includes both he development and deployment of a solution.

Envisioning Phase

The envisioning phase addresses one of the fundamental requirements for project success – defining the shared vision for the solution. Envisioning, by creating a high-level view of the project’s goals and constraints, can serve as an early form of planning, in fact it sets the stage for the more formal planning process. The vision/scope document and a risk assessment document are the primary deliverables from this phase.

Planning Phase

Upon approval of the Vision/Scope document, the planning phase will begin. This phase is when the bulk of the planning for the project is completed. During the phase the functional specification is developed, work plans are prepared, cost estimates and schedules are defined. A Firm Cost Estimate and Schedule is delivered to you at the end of this stage.

Developing Phase

During the developing phase most of the building of solution components is completed, except for some development that continues in the stabilization phase in response to testing. The development phase culminates in the scope complete milestone. At the end of this phase, all features are complete and solution is ready for external testing and stabilization.

Stabilizing Phase

The stabilizing phase conducts testing on a solution whose features are complete. The testing is performed emphasizing usage and operation under realistic conditions. The focus is on resolving and prioritizing bugs and preparing the solution for release.

Deploying Phase

During this phase, the team deploys the core technology and site components, stabilizes the deployment, transitions the project to operations and support, and obtains final customer approval of the project. After the deployment, the team conducts a project review and a customer satisfaction survey.

Change Control process

Once the Vision/Scope, all features and functionality of the solution are defined and approved at the end of the Planning Phase a change control process is put in place with the following elements:

• Features are not added or changed without review and approval by both team and customer.
• To facilitate review, requests to change features are submitted in writing using a Design Change Request document.
• Analyze each feature request for impact, feasibility and priority. Consider dependencies with other features, including user and operational documentation, training materials, and the operating environment.
• Estimate the impact to cost and schedule for each change
• Specify individuals (including the customer, program management, and some combination of stakeholders and other team members) to serve on a change control board to authorize changes. Such a group can take many forms, as long as it is authorized to approve changes to cost, schedule, and functionality.
• Track changes and make them easy to access. For example, it is a good practice to maintain a change log section in functional specifications and other important documents