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420.0 DESIGN PHASE
Up to now, the project team and the client have focused
on high-level questions regarding the project. These start with simple
questions like "why is this solution important?," "what is the business
value?" and "what are we going to deliver?" In the Design Phase, these
questions are taken to a lower level of detail, and you start to ask the
"how" questions. The big one is "how will we build this solution?"
At this point, the project team should have a complete set of
requirements to work from, a set of direction-setting strategies and a
Conceptual Systems Design. The design process comes next. Even if the project
was small and the requirements were simple, there is still a mental design
process that occurs in between understanding the requirements and starting to
construct. Design becomes more and more important as the project becomes larger
and more complex. Once you complete the requirements, you will typically see a
myriad of alternatives for construction. These alternatives include the tools
and technology you will you utilize, the scalability of the solution, and the
structure of the components you will build. The Design Phase is where you look
at the many potential solutions and narrow down the choices to determine the
most effective and efficient way to construct the solution. The Design Phase
answers the questions about "how" you will build the best solution.
At the end of the Design
Phase, you will have a logical solution defined. The solution is
"logical" because it exists on paper or in a design tool. This
logical solution is then passed to the Construct Phase, where the
logical solution is turned into a physical solution. However, the
people that specialize in constructing the solution will not have to
worry about the myriad possibilities. That guidance will be provided
to them through the work in the Design Phase. The people working to
construct the solution can use their talents to build the solution
based on the deliverables produced during the Design Phase.
Some background information may be helpful before
moving directly into the Design Phase.
First,
for more information on what you are trying to accomplish in the Design
Phase, see
420.1 Levels
of Design.
In the
Analysis Phase, you established a process to track requirements through
the lifecycle. If you want this process to be effective, you must
continue the tracking process in the Design Phase. Refer to
420.2 Tracing
Requirements for more information.
421.0 Ensure
Architectural Foundation
422.0 Validate
Standards and Guidelines
425.0 Build the
Technical Systems Design
427.0 Create
Direction-Setting Plans from High-Level Strategies
428.0 Re-plan for
the Remainder of the Project
429.0 Obtain Approval
to Proceed
Testing Plan
Training Plan
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