This chapter lays the groundwork for how to start a project by creating a project vision. It shouldn't be surprising that this is where most projects take their first wrong turn. The project vision sets the stage for the project's Inception phase. As the first artifact to be produced, its importance should not be underestimated.
A project vision is driven by the following six key inputs:
The features that the system must support
The stakeholders who will fund and/or oversee the system's use
The actors who will interface with the system
A framework to identify business rules
The events that the system must be aware of and respond to
The constraints and risks placed on the project
The project vision also must put into place the administrative plumbing necessary for managing the project. This, too, is key to the project's success. Change control, risk assessment, and training are just as meaningful as requirements. These types of activities are taken care of in the Project Management workflow in the Unified Process. Many project teams take these housekeeping chores too lightly and end up the victims of scope creep, risky choices, and a staff with skills inadequate for performing their assigned tasks. The project vision identifies the stepping-stones for successful use of the Unified Process introduced in Chapter 1. Following its activities and observing its dependencies will move us closer to our goal of building quality, object-oriented Java applications.
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