| 1 Review & Assess Business Requirements |
| An on-site DC&M functional consultant meets with the appropriate company representative to review and discuss specific business requirements. Once the consultant has a clear understanding of the requirements, he/she can determine whether or not it can be met with standard functionality. |
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| 2 Write Functional Specification |
| The consultant now has a thorough understanding of requirements and software capabilities, and writes a functional specification using a template designed to capture all pertinent information. The functional specification clearly states what the report, interface, conversion, enhancement, or form will deliver and how it will operate. |
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| 3 Communicate Functional Specification |
| Once the functional specification has been written, it is distributed to the applicable business owners, technical specification writer and any other key players for review. It is the responsibility of these reviewers to thoroughly read and understand the document prior to the document review meeting. |
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| 4 Review Functional Specification |
| To ensure the functional specification meets the requirements of the business; the consultant meets with all key players to review the document. The business owners must agree that the functional specification meets their requirements and the technical specification writer must completely understand the intent and proposed solution. The meeting attendees should come to this meeting having closely reviewed the functional specification. They must be prepared to approve the specification or ask questions leading to approval. All parties must sign an approval in order for the technical specification work to begin. |
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| 5 Approve Functional Specification |
| This formal approval may take place at the end of the functional specification review meeting or after revisions have been made to the functional specification. It is important because it documents that all key players have reviewed the functional specification and are completely satisfied with it. Once formally approved, the technical specification phase may begin. |
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| 6 Write Technical Specification |
| During this phase, a DC&M technical consultant converts the functional specification into a technical specification by detailing the technical solution necessary to meet each business requirement. The technical specification must detail the technical solution such that a developer can generate an accurate solution. DC&M’s technical specification template ensures that all pertinent information is captured as it relates to the functional specification. |
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| 7 Communicate Technical Specification |
| Once the technical specification is complete, it is distributed to the appropriate project team members (such as on-site technical lead, off-site technical lead, off-site developer) for review. It is the responsibility of the reviewers to thoroughly read and understand the document prior to the document review meeting. |
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| 8 Review Technical Specification |
| This formal review, which takes the form of a teleconference of NetMeeting, ensures the technical specification is technically feasible and clearly documented. During this meeting, the technical specification writer reviews the technical specification with all key players including on-site technical lead, off-site technical lead, and off-site developer. All key players must agree that the technical specification is feasible and the developer must agree that it clearly documents the technical requirements and proposed solution. All parties must sign an approval in order for the development phase to begin. |
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| 9 Approve Technical Specification |
| This formal approval may take place at the end of the technical specification review meeting or after revisions have been made to the document. It is important because it documents that all key players have reviewed the technical specification and are completely satisfied with it. Once formally approved, the development phase may begin. |
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| 10 Develop Technical Solution |
| During this phase, the off-site DC&M consultant begins developing the technical solution detailed in the technical specification document. The off-site consultant maintains contact with the appropriate project team members throughout the development cycle to clarify requirements. Any change in functional or technical specification requirements must go through the change control process. Approved changes are documented in the appropriate specification(s). |
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| 11 Unit Test Technical Solution |
| The off-site DC&M consultant unit tests the development with the test conditions provided in the technical specification. Testing ensures the development meets the requirements as specified in the technical specification. |
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| 12 Perform Quality Review |
| Once the off-site DC&M consultant has developed and tested the solution, the code and applicable documents are forwarded to the off-site DC&M lead consultant. This person reviews the code for quality and efficiency, ensures it is properly documented, and tests the code again. If there are any problems with the code, the deliverable is sent back to the developer for corrections. Otherwise, the deliverable is delivered to the on-site DC&M functional consultant. This review step ensures that the development is complete and of high quality prior to final delivery. |
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| 13 Deliver Technical Solution to Project Team |
| After the development has been coded, tested, and reviewed, it is formally delivered to the functional specification writer. |
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| 14 Perform Functional Review |
| The DC&M consultant who wrote the functional specification thoroughly tests the development deliverable to ensure it works as outlined in the functional specification. Any errors or unexpected behaviors are documented and communicated to the developer. If there are no problems, the deliverable is handed off to the business for approval. |
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| 15 Perform Business Review |
| The business owner reviews and tests the deliverable to ensure it meets the business requirements as documented in the functional specification. The business owner works with the functional consultant to discuss any unexpected behaviors or issues prior to approving the deliverable. |
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| 16 Approve and Accept Deliverable |
| The business owner formally accepts the deliverable. The development cycle officially ends. |
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