Staying on Track

Most of us have been on projects where we start with high hopes for doing things differently, then slowly revert back to the old way of working. There are a few techniques you can use to stay on track and use a process throughout a project.

One real benefit of iterative development is that you always have current data to assess how you're doing. Especially on a small project, we recommend that you schedule short, frequent iterations. RUP tells you that at the end of each iteration you need to do an assessment, even if it's very brief.

• Start with your vision. Are you still pursuing it?

• Assess what worked and what didn't.

• Ask if you have produced working software; if not, plan your next iteration to rectify the situation.

• Are there new risks or requirements, and if so, how do you mitigate or include them? What risks did you mitigate during the last iteration and what requirements did you satisfy ?

• Check your project plan. Are you still on schedule? Do you need to adjust the project plan or the process to ensure that you'll deliver on time?

• And, perhaps most important, if something's not working, stop doing it!

The main idea is to continuously verify quality, both of your project and of the process you're following.