There are various types of events:
Some events may be planned (the first on a list), while others cannot (the last on a list). Event registrations are input to change control. Life Cycle and ResponsibilityAn event must go through a defined life cycle. Typical event phases may be
The general responsibility for driving an event through its life cycle lies with the configuration control board. It may hand over the responsibility, for example, to the person responsible for development, the author, or the tester. This general responsibility is not included in the event registration, as it's a management decision on a higher level. No matter which phases are defined for an event, phase information must be registered successively as the event runs through each phase. It may be practical to save the registration history for an event registrationinformation on the phases the event has gone through and the time of those phasesand not just overwrite the earlier phase, date, and time when a new phase is started. It may also be practical to keep the possibility open for an iterative course, so that phases may be run through several times. For instance, the configuration control board may send an event back to evaluation by the producer. The phases mentioned above must be regarded as the minimum course. ContentThere are numerous ways to frame an event registration. No matter which way is chosen , it should contain the following data elements:
Configuration ItemThe configuration item in which the event is found must be indicated as precisely as possiblepreferably with the unique identification. If the item is a delivery, the delivery should be identified, if the person who has observed the event cannot immediately identify the precise single item to which the event is attached. IdentificationEach event registration must have a unique identification. This will typically be a number in a specified seriesone series per product, project, or event type (or some combination). Event TypeA company may choose to carry out event registrations in different ways and with different content, according to the type of event, such as paper-based review observations and error reports from tests in one database and communications with helpdesk in another. It is also possible to make type information part of the content. Event types may be review or inspection, test (which may be separated into module test, integration test, and accept test), internal use, and customers' use (production). TitleAn event registration must be given a short, informative title. This will give an easy general overview, such as in lists, over outstanding or corrected errors. Phase IndicationA phase indication or equivalent status code will show where in the life cycle a given event registration is or was at a given time. The phases or status codes that have been defined and that must be used should be expressed as unambiguously as possible. This may be as a section heading on a form or as an entry on a selection list in a database. Date and TimeThe meaning of this data element is the same for all phases: the point at which a phase is started or a certain status has been attained. This must be expressed as precisely as possiblein any case, at least as a date. It may be appropriate, for the sake of metrics concerning elapsed time, to express the status time with greater accuracy. CreatedIn this phase, the rest of the data elements may have the meanings shown in Table 8-1. Table 8-1. Data Elements for Event Registration in the Creation Phase
For EvaluationIn this phase, the rest of the data elements may have the meanings shown in Table 8-2. As for the estimated time required to solve any problems, a checklist for assessing the effects of any changes may be found in Chapter 1. Table 8-2. Data Elements for Event Registration in the Evaluation Phase
Under DecisionIn this phase, the rest of the data elements may have the meanings shown in Table 8-3. Table 8-3. Data Elements for Event Registration in the Decision Phase
Under ChangeIn this phase, the event is transferred to the change request(s) the configuration control board has created to make changes. The person responsible for this phase will typically be the project manager or a group manager. The rest of the data elements have no relevance for this phase. ClosedIn this phase, the event is closed. This may happen as a consequence of approval of all attached change requests or of rejection of the event. The configuration control board will be responsible. Further data elements have no relevance for this phase, unless one wishes to give a reason for the closing of the event here. It may, moreover, be appropriate to indicate when information has been given back to the person or people who once observed the event. ClassificationEvents may be classified according to these classes: omission, gold plating , fault (which may be divided into several categories or types as required), inappropriateness, enhancement request, not reproducible, and information (not a fault). Many examples of classification and taxonomy of errors are given in the literature. ExamplesThis section contains two examples of event registration formsone for a configuration management system with a low degree of formalism and one for a high degree of formalism. In systems of the lowest formality , e-mail may be used to communicate events. Low Degree of FormalismFigure 8-7 shows an Excel workbook used to register and follow events. All project members may access the workbook, and event entries may be sorted by any of the columns to produce various overviews of the information. The file e1.doc may contain a further explanation of the event, possibly including screen dumps. Figure 8-7. Excel Workbook Used for Event RegistrationsLow Degree of Formalism
High Degree of FormalismFigure 8-8 shows an event registration form. It may be used to follow each event during its life cycle and for signatures for documentation of progress. Since the life cycle of events can be complicated, a procedure describing the life cycle and how to register information is useful. Figure 8-8. Full Event Life Cycle Registration FormHigh Degree of Formalism
Event registration today will seldom be on paper. Many good tools, some even freeware, will handle event registration, and it's also fairly easy to make one's own system with modern office tools, such as Access. In some cases, such as with remote users, it may be necessary to first create event registration on paper and later transfer the information to a system. Figure 8-8 gives an idea of the information to collect for an event and may also serve as inspiration for the layout of a full event report. |