As many who follow my blog entries and have read my articles know, I use the Unified Process as framework to manage projects and programs. While the phases of the UP (Inception, Elaboration, Construction and Transition) are powerful ways to manage the risk and narrow the ‘cone of uncertainty‘ of a project, I find the disciplines within the Unified Process as useful containers for ensuring roles are established and that artifacts are being developed that will support the project.
However, beyond the phases and disciplines I find most of the artifacts and activities as too abstract for effective application in most real world projects. Instead, I mix in a series of techniques that I have applied successfully and found round out the details of each of the disciplines with RUP. This first article focuses on the top of the “V” model, Requirements and Analysis.