| This glossary captures key terms that may be especially important for those who read the book in nonsequential order. Terms in italics are defined elsewhere in the glossary. - actor (from RUP)
Someone or something, outside the system (or business), that interacts with the system (or business).
- agile modeling
An agile process, created by Scott Ambler, for modeling and documentation of software-based systems.
- architecture (from RUP)
The highest-level concept of a system in its environment, according to IEEE. The architecture of a software system (at a given point in time) is its organization or structure of significant components interacting through interfaces; these components comprise successively smaller components and interfaces.
- component (from RUP)
A nontrivial, nearly independent, and replaceable part of a system that fulfills a clear function in the context of a well-defined architecture. A component conforms to and provides the physical realization of a set of interfaces.
- construction
The third phase of the Unified Process lifecycle, where most of the software is developed, leading to the development of an operational system or a beta release.
- crystal
A family of agile processes developed by Alistair Cockburn. They scale from less disciplined to more disciplined: Crystal Clear, Crystal Yellow, Crystal Orange, Crystal Red, and so on.
- Eclipse Process Framework (EPF)
An open source process framework developed within the Eclipse open source organization.
- elaboration
The second phase of the Unified Process lifecycle, in which the product vision, its requirements, and its architecture are fully defined. Major risks are mitigated to update cost and schedule estimates.
- EPF
See Eclipse Process Framework.
- eXtreme Programming (XP)
An agile process created by Kent Beck. XP articulates five values to guide you in your project: Communication, Simplicity, Feedback, Courage, and Respect.
- IBM Rational Method Composer (RMC)
A commercial process product built on top of EPF. It includes RUP, other method content, and method tooling.
- inception
The first phase of the Unified Process lifecycle, in which the scope of the project and its motivations are defined, and all stake-holders either buy into the project or decide not to proceed with it.
- iteration
A time-box within a project with a plan and evaluation criteria, allowing for incremental delivery of code and supporting documentation that can be assessed by stakeholders at the end of each iteration.
- legacy system
A mature system that serves ongoing needs. Legacy systems are often old, monolithic systems, built using older design approaches and older technologies.
- Open Unified Process (OpenUP)
An open-source process framework based on the Unified Process lifecycle. OpenUP/Basic is a subset of OpenUP.
- OpenUP/Basic
A simplified version of the Unified Process, targeting smaller and collocated teams interested in agile and iterative development. OpenUP/Basic is a subset of OpenUP, and is a part of the Eclipse Process Framework.
- OpenUP
See Open Unified Process.
- pattern
A named strategy for solving a recurring problem.
- phase (from Kroll 2003)
The time between two major project milestones, during which a well-defined set of objectives is met, work products are completed, and decisions are made to move or not move into the next phase.
- plug-in
A container of any type of method and process content. It can add, remove, or modify content in a method framework.
- product backlog
A list of all to-do items for an application used in Scrum, corresponding to the OpenUP/Basic concept of a work item list.
- Rational Unified Process (RUP)
A customizable method framework providing guidance for a variety of project types and enterprise needs. RUP is an extension of OpenUP/Basic and is delivered through the IBM Rational Method Composer.
- risk (from Kroll 2003)
An ongoing or upcoming concern that has a significant probability of adversely affecting the success of major milestones.
- RMC
See IBM Rational Method Composer.
- role
A definition of the behavior and responsibilities of an individual or set of individuals working together as a team.
- RUP
See Rational Unified Process.
- scenario (from UML)
A specific sequence of actions that illustrates behaviors. A scenario may be used to illustrate an interaction or the execution of one or more use-case instances.
- scrum
An agile software project management process introduced by Ken Schwaber and Jeff Sutherland. Scrum is known for self-organized teams, thirty-day iterations called Sprints, daily team meetings called Scrum, and a to-do list called Product Backlog.
- service (in service-oriented architecture)
A published capability that can be discovered and used dynamically.
- sprint backlog
The subset of a product backlog targeted for implementation within a sprint, which is Scrum's term for iteration.
- task
Tasks define how to move the project forward by creating or updating one or more work products. The work is performed by one or more people in specific roles and involves creating or updating one or more work products.
- transition
The fourth and last phase of the Unified Process lifecycle, which results in a final product release.
- unified process
A family of processes and process frameworks, including OpenUP and RUP, sharing a common set of characteristics; adherence to the Unified Process lifecycle, iterative, architecture-centric, and use-case-driven development.
- unified process lifecycle
A management lifecycle common for processes in the Unified Process family. It divides a project into four phases: Inception, Elaboration, Construction, and Transition. Each phase is further divided into one or several iterations.
- use case (from Kroll 2003)
A sequence of actions a system performs that yields an observable result of value to a particular actor. A use-case class contains all main, alternate, and exception flows of events related to producing the "observable result of value."
- user story
A user-specified requirement used to plan and track a project. A user story comes from XP and should be able to be implemented within a single iteration by a pair of programmers.
- XP
See eXtreme Programming.
- waterfall development
An approach to software development in which the requirements, architecture, design, implementation, integration, and testing are sequentially defined.
- work item
A to-do item used to plan and assign work. Some examples are requirements to implement, defects to fix, tasks to perform, and work products to produce.
- work item list
A list of work items used in OpenUP/Basic, corresponding to Scrum's concept of product backlog.
- work product
Something that is produced, or a desired outcome. The most common type of work product is an artifact, which is a physical piece of information that is used or produced by a software development process, such as a document, model, or model element.
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