Using Practice Descriptions

Each key development principle is discussed in its own chapter and contains the practices that support that principle. For example, the principle Demonstrate Value Iteratively is supported by the practice Manage Risk, which gives concrete guidance on one of several practices that will help you to adhere to the principle effectively. Each practice description discusses the following:

• Problem: the problem that the practice addresses

• Background: background information

• Application: how to apply the practice

• Comparison with other practices: how the practice compares with practices found in major iterative and agile development processes, including XP and Scrum

• Adoption: how to implement the practice at different levels of adoption

• Related best practices: additional supporting practices

• Additional information: additional reference information available in OpenUP and RUP, and in books relevant to the practice

There may be practices that do not fit your project or organization at this time for technical, cultural, business, or other reasons. You may find that you are already following other practices. Most practices can be adopted at different levels, allowing you to adopt more practices over time as well as implement them at a higher level. We believe that gradually adopting a distinct set of practices at a level appropriate for your organization will enable you to start improving today, and to continue improving over subsequent projects, without requiring that you change everything at once. See the following section for more information on the different levels of adopting a practice.

Before we dive into the practices, let's discuss the process of adopting the practices: iterative development, levels of ceremony and agility, followed by the key development principles. We will then provide an overview of the Unified Process lifecycle, followed by an overview of OpenUP/Basic, RUP, XP, and Scrum in turn.