8.6.1 Planning

Planning should be driven by the outputs that must be created. Activities to create the required outputs can then be introduced. Outputs can be categorized as follows:

• types of information objects ( e.g. stakeholders, stakeholder requirements, system requirements, design or solution objects);

• attributes associated with an information object;

• links between information objects to establish traceability, testing strategy, etc.;

• review criteria to determine the required quality of information and associated attributes;

• achievement of a particular state possibly via progression through a series of states ( e.g. by reviews).

Before any work can be started, the work must be authorized by the organization in which it will be undertaken. A mechanism such as stage gates is appropriate for acquisition and product organizations to control the level of commitment and consequent financial and/or commercial exposure they are willing to tolerate. In supplier organizations there must be an authorization to prepare a proposal and this is usually accompanied by an allowed budget. Permission to progress to development will usually be embodied in the signing of a contract with the customer.

Evolutionary development should be considered to be the norm, especially for unprecedented systems. This leads naturally into the concepts of releases, versions and variants.

8.6.2 Monitoring

It is vital that progress is measured by investigating the current state of the required outputs. Progress measured...