Chapter 5: Phase 5 - Beta


˜ ˜A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.

”SirWinston Churchill

5.1 Beta Overview

Beta takes place after the Quality Assurance group agrees that the project is functional, that it meets the specifications of the Design Document, and that it meets user needs. Beta is conducted before the project is released to the general user. If the team has decided that the project will be tested in a closed beta, the project is sent to a select group of users. These users have agreed to test the project and confirm that its features meet their needs and work in their environment. If it has been decided that the project will be tested in a public beta, the project, if appropriate, may be placed on the company s Web site. The project is now available for anyone to download and test. If the project s users are outside the company and this is a public beta, the project will be launched during this phase. During beta, end users with questions call in to the Help Desk. Quality Assurance takes the lead in monitoring the user test process by logging and testing any bugs. IT continues to fix bugs , while Business Development and Communications focus on actualizing the Announcement Plan. The Project Manager is busy ensuring that the Release Plan is in place and ready.

During Phase 4 ”Quality Assurance, IT performed a TOI (Transfer of Information), Business Development and Communications created an Announcement Plan, Quality Assurance s comments were integrated into the documentation, QA assured the team there were no known severity 1 or 2 bugs in the project, and the Project Manager created a Release Plan. The team presented the project status to executive staff. Executive staff approved the project s release for beta.

Beta begins after users have agreed to test the project, and if appropriate, signed the Beta Contract. If the project includes hardware, the Project Manager should test the staging plan to ship the project and documentation to the beta site.

A beta review committee should be established by QA at the start of the beta period. This committee consists of IT and a Help Desk representative with QA. The beta review committee will meet as often as needed based on the needs of the project. QA will be the lead on the committee and be responsible for running the meeting. The purpose of this committee is to foster communication between these three organizations and provide them with a forum to review the beta site activities. The committee needs to know which users are beta sites and what these sites will be testing. A communications channel for the beta sites and a fast escalation path for receiving and fixing user bugs should also be created. The role of each project team is listed below.

IT

IT is the functional area responsible for programming, managing, and integrating the project s hardware and software. IT is also responsible for defining, designing, and developing a project as well as for conducting its initial testing and fixing any errors before it is released. IT is the key member on the project team and needs to be available to provide technical information both written and verbal to all the team s members .

Communications

Communications is the functional area responsible for all communications inside and outside of the company. Smaller companies do not need a separate communications person for internal projects; the Project Manager will handle all the internal corporate communication. Larger companies with offices scattered around the country or around the globe will need a corporate communications person to provide communications to end users. If the project being developed will be made available to people outside the company, the corporate communications person will need to interact with public relations, advertising, industry analysts, and other outside agencies.

Business Development

The Business Development person is responsible for directing and driving the project, for analyzing the industry and the competition, and for understanding the user. Business Development works with all areas of the company to make sure the project is focused on the user and is presented in the best possible light.

Project Manager

The Project Manager s responsibility is to make sure each member of the team understands his or her interdependencies. The Project Manager facilitates communications among departments as well as manages processes and confirms that the deliverables within each stage of the project life cycle have been met. When deliverables slip, it is the responsibility of the Project Manager to escalate this information and to facilitate resolution. In smaller companies the Project Manager s duties usually incorporate those of Business Development and Communications. A Release Plan is created for projects that will need hardware, software, and networking services to be installed or received.

Quality Assurance

Quality Assurance (QA) is responsible for defining, designing, developing, and implementing a test plan. QA tests the project to confirm that it meets the design specifications outlined in the Design Document and the PRD. QA uses the manuals and help files developed by Documentation to ensure that they correctly explain how to install and use the project and identify how errors are to be handled. QA is responsible for managing the user test procedures defined in the Beta Plan and for confirming that bugs have been fixed.

Help Desk

Help Desk is responsible for defining, designing, and developing a detailed plan that articulates how the company will support a project after it is released. The Support Plan defines how Help Desk personnel will be trained, how users will access help, how bugs will be tracked and fixed after release, what training will be available to end users, and how updates and fixes will be sent to users.

Documentation

Documentation is responsible for defining, designing, and developing all the documentation required to install, support, and answer any questions a user may have regarding a project. Documentation defines what publications will be produced in the Doc Plan; these may include online help, E-Learning courses, or manuals. Documentation works closely with IT to develop these documents and works closely with QA to ensure that the documents are appropriate for end users.

Training

Training is responsible for developing and providing training courses to employees , partners , and customers. These may be on-site classes or training over the Web.

5.1 in a Nutshell

  • Beta is to assure the project meets company standards for quality and to allow customers to test the project.

  • Business Development and Communications focus on actualizing the Announcement Plan.

  • The Project Manager confirms that the Release Plan is complete and ready for execution.

  • In Phase 4, the project was internally tested. Now the following groups are responsible for working with customers to ensure that the project works.

    • IT

    • Project Manager

    • Quality Assurance

    • Help Desk

    • Documentation

    • Communications and Business Development

  • If applicable , Training joins the team.




Effective IT Project Management
Effective IT Project Management: Using Teams to Get Projects Completed on Time and Under Budget
ISBN: B000VSMJSW
EAN: N/A
Year: 2004
Pages: 105
Authors: Anita Rosen

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