Catalog Manager - Inception Phase
This section describes the inception phase of the Catalog Manager case study.
Main Description

Table of Content

Introduction

The inception phase addresses business risks so we focus on mitigating the risks that the project may be either economically undesirable or technically infeasible. So during this phase it is crucial that we discuss with stakeholders their needs and the problems that our solution is attempting to solve. We scrutinize all aspects of the project as well as identify the major use cases.

One of the risks identified in building the catalog manager application is the software development's team unfamiliarity with web services architecture and technology, which may preclude them from delivering the web services component on time. To mitigate this, we decide to provide early training on web services to the team members in iteration one of the elaboration phase, prior to developing the web services component.

Identifying the major use cases for a catalog order system such as the Catalog Manager, entails getting everyone's agreement that a customer should be able to list the items in a catalog as well as order a certain quantity of a specific item. Moreover a customer service representative should be able to replenish (restock) depleted items in the catalog. Figure 4 shows the use case diagram for the Catalog Manager application.

Use Case Diagram for the Catalog Manager Application

Figure 4. Use Case Diagram for the Catalog Manager Application

The following sections outline the Catalog Manager inception phase iterations and milestone, work products deliverable and the different tools used during the phase. 

Iterations in Inception

The inception phase has only one iteration that can be summarized as follows:

Inception Iteration

Description

Risks Addressed

I1 Iteration

(Preliminary Iteration)

(weeks 1-3)

  • Define and approve Business Case
  • Define high-level product requirements
    The Vision document contains key features and constraints.
  • Define project scope
    A Use Case Diagram includes key Actors and Use Cases. Only a brief description is provided for each Actor and Use Case.
  • Plan the overall project and next iteration
    A high-level Software Development Plan, a Risk List, and an Iteration Plan for the first elaboration iteration are created.
  • Create the first draft of the Test Plan
  • Define application-specific terminology
    Important terms are defined in the Glossary.

Clarifies user requirements up front.

Develops realistic Software Development Plans and scope.

Determines feasibility of project from a business point of view.

Figure 5. Inception Iteration

Inception Phase Milestone

The inception phase for the Catalog Manager concludes with the Lifecycle Objective Milestone which indicates whether to proceed or abandon the project. At this stage we propose a single solution that:

  • Solves the right problem
  • Is technically feasible
  • Is economically viable

All stakeholders agree on these points prior to taking the project to the next step, i.e. developing the architecture approach in the elaboration phase. If all stakeholders do not agree on these points then a decision to cancel the project is made. This may in fact be a desirable outcome of the inception phase, since terminating a project at this stage is the least expensive option of all the phases.

Work Products Produced in Inception

The table in Figure 6 summarizes the work products produced during the inception phase and their state of completion. Once the decision is made to move on to the next phase, in our case the elaboration phase, then we must also create the plan for the first iteration of the elaboration phase (E1 Iteration Plan).

Figure 6. Inception Phase Work Products

Tools Used in Inception

The following tools are used to develop the work products in the inception phase: