Design
The design phase results in a series of documents, including:
- Functional Specification. Details what the application will do and, in general terms, how the user will interact with it.
- User Interface Specification. Describes what the application looks like to the user and the low level details of how the user will interact with it.
- Design Specification. Details the internal design of the application.
- Quality Assurance Test Plan. Describes the necessary resources and approach that will be taken to ensure a quality product.
- Project Schedule. Details the expected duration of the various tasks that make up the project, the order in which they must be completed and their expected start and end dates.
The Project Schedule also describes the milestones that will be delivered
to the client. These milestones are early releases of the project and should
be scheduled on a regular basis, about once a month, to keep the client
updated on the project's progress. By looking at the application as it
develops, the client can ensure that they are getting what they expect.
Development
The Development phase involves implementation of the application as it was
specified in the Design phase. This seems obvious, but many projects drift
from their specifications.
During development we are testing the application. Studies have revealed
that the sooner problems are caught, the less expensive they are to correct.
Why?
- The knowledge of that area of the code is still fresh in the developer's mind.
- Additional code has not been created that interacts with or depends upon the code to be changed.
Milestones are shipped to the client as per the Project Schedule specified
in the Design phase. Before shipping, each milestone receives a complete test
by Quality Assurance. Any known bugs are brought to the attention of the
client when the milestone is shipped.
Alpha Test
The intent of Alpha Testing is to exercise the nearly completed
application in real-world situations. The goal is not just to uncover bugs,
but to discover any deficiencies, unintended side-affects, clumsiness in the
UI, and misconceptions in how the application will be used.
The Alpha Test phase begins when all features have been implemented, but a
number of known bugs still exist in the code. Some companies begin Alpha
Testing before all features exist-we feel that is not really Alpha since the
testers can exercise only a portion of the features, not the entire product.
Beta Test
The intent of Beta Testing is to exercise the virtually completed
application in real-world situations. Beta Test has just one goal: to uncover
bugs. The Beta Test phase begins when all features have been implemented and
virtually no known bugs still exist in the code.
Results of Beta Testing determine the last series of "tweaks" to the code
before the product is declared Complete.
Completion
Completion includes archiving of the project, both for our on-site storage
and our offsite, secure storage, as well as for the client. Archiving
includes:
- all source code
- all assets and resources
- a listing of tools used
- all documents
- all email between us and the client and between members of the team
- description of the product
- all test logs
After making the first copy of the archive, we test the code again to make
sure the product can actually build on a clean PC, using the instructions
provided
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