Are We Done Yet?


We've packaged the software, developed documentation and training, and delivered the package to our customers. Can we declare victory and head off to the local pub for a celebration ? Or is there more to do?

There are some other topics we at least need to consider. RUP provides an extensive list of items that you may choose to deliver as part of the Transition phase. We believe that every project needs to consider at least these:

  • How will you provide support for your customers?

  • What will you deliver to the development organization so that work can begin on the next version?

Supporting Your Customers

For PSP Tools, we made a simplifying decision about ongoing support. We decided that anyone could report problems to the development team, using email. [9] We will determine an appropriate action. This solution may be appropriate for some projects, like open -source software projects, but it's not good enough for commercial software. You have to design the defect reporting process, determine who is involved, and select the tools to use. If your organization has a separate support group , you need to ensure that its members are trained and qualified to handle customer inquiries. Further discussion of this topic is both beyond the scope of this book and the expertise of the authors. For more information, we recommend that you search for books about "customer support" on www.amazon.com.

[9] You can send feedback or problem reports to us at psptools@yahoo.com.

Preparing for the Next Version

Many organizations begin to work on the next version before the current version is complete. Teams usually assume that the first version delivers a specific set of features that they can build on. Realistically, if you develop in this overlapped fashion, you need to synchronize code when the earlier version is finally complete.

Your approach to gathering the necessary project materials will vary depending on the individuals involved, the team, and the organization. On past projects, our most successful efforts have been to take time after the Transition phase to assemble the documents and artifacts that would help us move on to the next release of the project. We discuss this topic more in the next chapter on the project post-mortem.



Software Development for Small Teams. A RUP-Centric Approach
Software Development for Small Teams: A RUP-Centric Approach (The Addison-Wesley Object Technology Series)
ISBN: 0321199502
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2003
Pages: 112

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