Project Cycle

I. Requirements Analysis

A. Visioning

• Client Interviews
• Understand how the business operates (a broad picture)
• Define the goals to be achieved
• Outline expectations including the proposed platform, functionality, scalability, and cost

B. Specifications

• Collect data samples
• Gather spreadsheets and other management tools
• Assemble reporting requirements
• Process Review
• Possible Prototype
• Layout Technical Architecture
• Strategy
• Installation

C. Contract Agreement

• Evaluate deliverables, price structure, and time frames
• Client review
• Acceptance of documentation

II. Analysis and Design

A. Design Overview

• Define general requirements
• Document business process overview and functional unit definition
• Tables, forms, reports
• Outline an overview for each table, form and report

B. Identify Project Platform

• Establish the software platform (Access, Visual Basic, Active Server Pages)
• Outline future network requirements

C. Establish security requirements

• Establish a user table
• Identify user types and corresponding authority levels
• Identify table, field, form and report permissions by user type

D. Table Structures

• Establish table structures
• Define field types and logical links between tables

E. Report Design

• Prototype reports with valid sample data
• Send reports to client for approval of content and design
• Establish business rules and test cases for each report

F. Table Modification

• Establish business rules and test cases for each table

G. Form Design

• Prototype form designs
• Send forms to client for approval of content and design
• Establish business rules and test cases for each form

H. Security Settings

• Define user type permissions for all tables, fields, forms and reports

I. Client Review

• Acceptance of documentation

III. Development

A. Presentation

• Present the Functional Specifications to the programming team

B. Form Development

• Program development of form functionality using the business rules established in the Functional Specifications
• Simultaneous quality assurance testing of forms (see Phase IV for the testing process)

C. Report Development

• Program development of report functionality using the business rules established in the Functional Specifications.
• Simultaneous quality assurance testing of reports (see Phase IV for the testing process)

D. Security Implementation

• Security interface installation

E. Documentation

• Help file construction
• Creation of installation process
• Installation Instructions

IV. Testing

A. Form Quality Assurance

• Test developed forms
• Compare form functionality to the business rules established in the Functional Specifications for quality assurance
• Add client data subsets to respective tables via the developed form functionality

B. Report Quality Assurance

• Test developed reports
• Compare report functionality to the business rules established in the Functional Specifications for quality assurance

C. Program Quality Assurance

• Redesign and additional testing as needed
• Return items failing the initial quality assurance test to the programming team
• Upon resolution of identified errors, quality assurance checks and testing are repeated based on information from the Functional Specifications
• Process is repeated for all items that fail during quality assurance and test case checks

V. Deployment

A. Delivery

• Integration
• Configuration
• Data Conversion
• Train client on product usage.
• Go Live

B. Support

• Maintenance
• Enhancements
• Help Desk