5.17 Data Certification Letter (DCL)

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This is a letter from the user representative (usually the Executive Sponsor) indicating that the data sources contained within the product have been validated, and approved and are ready for publication. This step is very important because corrupted data could cost the organization many, many dollars. The importance of having knowledgeable users validate the data in a new system cannot be overemphasized. It is the Project Manager's responsibility to ensure that this occurs, and the SPMO should verify this before any letters are presented for signature.

All of these certification letters are completed whenever product deliverables are moved forward in the life cycle process. This means they should be done for each phase of the development process. It starts with Alpha releases, Beta releases, Release to Test (RTT) candidates, or Release to Manufacturing (RTM) releases. Each iteration through the development process cycle should generate a new set of documents that are placed in the project binder. One of the subtle advantages of this approach is that over time, members of the organization will come to depend on the cyclic redundancy of the process. It will become an ingrained part of their understanding of how the SPMO works, further propagating understanding of the SEP and the advantages of using it. This maturity in process is exactly what CMMI is trying to achieve.

As we return to the SEP Phase IV roadmap, once the Alpha, Beta, and RTT phases are completed, the formal handoff to testing occurs. That is where the final versions of the certification and signoff letters are completed. It is good practice to have cyclical testing occur formally from the Alpha phase forward through Beta and in mock trials and smoke tests to ensure that the actual cutover process is ready when RTM or production delivery actually does occur. Next, in Chapter 6, we transition to the formal testing phase.

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