A
activity

In the UMA , an activity is a breakdown element which supports the nesting and logical grouping of related process elements such as descriptor and sub-activities, thus forming breakdown structures.

activity detail diagram
Diagram depicting all the breakdown elements within the scope of the selected process element. This diagram also depicts input/output relationships between tasks, activities, and work products; as well as responsibility relationships between roles and tasks. Activity detail diagrams are used to provide a complete summary of an activity and thus improve their comprehensibility.
agile
A set of values and principles for software development that use lean production techniques to deliver value to stakeholders quickly and frequently. See the agile manifesto at: http://agilemanifesto.org/
architectural mechanism
Architectural mechanisms represent common concrete solutions to frequently encountered problems. They may be patterns of structure, patterns of behavior, or both.
architectural view
A view of the architecture from a given perspective.
architecture

Describes the blueprint for software development, frequently represented using a number of architectural views. It also contains the rationale, assumptions, explanations and implications of the decisions that were made in forming the architecture as well as the global mapping between views.

artifact
Artifacts are a specialized type of work product that represents tangible, non-trivial items that are consumed, produced, or modified by tasks. Artifacts may be composed of other artifacts and often serve as a basis for defining reusable assets.
assists
Describes roles that may be consulted on task but are not actually assigned to perform the work.
B
breakdown element
Any element modeled in UMA that is part of process structure.
breakdown structure

A UMA construct that specifies a process as the hierarchical composition of breakdown elements.

build
An operational version of a system or part of a system that demonstrates a subset of the capabilities to be provided in the final product
C
capability pattern

A special type of process used to define a stereotypical way of performing work related to a particular subject.  Capability Patterns are often used as course grained building blocks to assemble delivery processes.

Change Log
The list of all changes, and the owner, due date, and status of each. Typically, this is a report out of a change management system.
checklist
A specialized type of guidance that identifies a series of items that need to be completed or verified. Checklists are often used in reviews such as walkthroughs or inspections.
code instrumentation
 "Extra" statements added to source code for the purposes of testing, debugging, tuning, or tracing.
component

An encapsulated part of the system that is nontrivial, nearly independent, and replaceable and that fulfills a clear function in the context of well-defined architecture. A component conforms to and provides the realization of a set of interfaces.

composite role
A special role descriptor that relates to more than one role. It represents a grouping of roles with the main purpose of reducing the number of roles defined in method content for a process.
concept
A specialized type of guidance that outlines key ideas or basic principles that serve as foundation for additional information.
configuration
The performance, functional, and physical attributes of an existing or planned product, or a combination of products.
Construction
The third phase of the project lifecycle in which the software is brought from an executable architectural baseline to the point at which it is ready to be transitioned to the user community.
custom category
Used to categorize content based on the user's criteria. One important use is for constructing views for publishing.
D
Data Object

Data Objects are considered Artifacts because they do not have any direct effect on the Sequence Flow or Message Flow of the Process, but they do provide information about what activities require to be performed and/or what they produce.

This term can be found in the OMG  Business Process Modeling Notation, V1.2 (Beta 3)  specification http://www.omg.org/docs/dtc/08-02-07.pdf

Decision

Decisions are locations within a business process where the Sequence Flow can take two or more alternative paths. This is basically the "fork in the road" for a process. For a given performance (or instance) of the process, only one of the forks can be taken. A Decision is a type of Gateway.

This term can be found in the OMG  Business Process Modeling Notation, V1.2 (Beta 3)  specification http://www.omg.org/docs/dtc/08-02-07.pdf

defect
An anomaly, or flaw, in a delivered work product. Examples include such things as omissions and imperfections found during early lifecycle phases and symptoms of faults contained in software sufficiently mature for test or operation. A defect can be any kind of issue you want tracked and resolved.
deliverable

A specialized type of work prodcut used to define the primary outputs that represent value, material or otherwise, to the client, customer or other stakeholders.  These are typically the result of packaging other work products for sign-off and delivery.

delivery process
A delivery process is a special process describing a complete and integrated approach for performing a specific project type. It provides a complete end-to-end lifecycle (for it's scope) and can be used as a reference for running projects with similar characteristics.
descriptor
Defines how method content is represented in a process.  Descriptors are the key concept for realizing the separation of proces from metho content. A descriptor has its own relationships and properties which can be modified independent of the default relationships defined in the method content.
discipline

Primary categorization mechanism for organizing tasks that define a major 'area of concern' and/or cooperation of work effort.

discipline grouping
A collection of related disciplines defined for a specific usage or context.
domain

Primary catgorization mechanism for organizing work products that have an affinity to each other based on resources, timing, relationships or general subject area.

E
effort

The number of labor units required to complete an activity or other project element. Usually expressed as staff hours, staff days, or staff weeks. Should not be confused with duration.

Elaboration
Second of four phases in the project lifecycle, when architecturally significant risks are addressed.
End Event

As the name implies, the End Event indicates where a process will end. In terms of Sequence Flow, the End Event ends the flow of the Process, and thus, ill not have any outgoing Sequence Flow. An End Event can have a specific Result that will appear as a marker withing the center of the End Event shape. End Event Results are Message, Error, Compensation, Signal, Link, and Multiple.

The End Event shares the same basic shape of the Start Event and Intermediate Ecent, a circle, but is drawn with a thick single line. Event Context:An Event Context is the set of activities that can be interrupted by an exception (Intermediate Event). This can be one activity or a group of activities in an expeanded Sub-Process.

This term can be found in the OMG  Business Process Modeling Notation, V1.2 (Beta 3)  specification http://www.omg.org/docs/dtc/08-02-07.pdf

Enhancement Request
This is a request to improve the functionality or performance of an existing product.
equivalence class
A classification of equivalent values for which a object is expected to behave similarly. This technique can be applied to help analyze the most significant tests to conduct when there are too many potential tests to conduct in the available time.
estimation considerations
A specialized type of guidance that describes the amount of effort to produce a work product or perform a task including any influencing factors.
example

A specialized type of  guidance used to include typical samples of the items to be produced, may often only be a partial sample that is intended as further guidance rather than something to be reused.

Exclusive_Choice

A point in the workflow process where, based on a decision or workflow control data, one of several branches is chosen.

This term can be found in the OMG  Business Process Modeling Notation, V1.2 (Beta 3)  specification http://www.omg.org/docs/dtc/08-02-07.pdf

exploratory testing
A technique for testing computer software that requires minimal planning and tolerates limited documentation for the target-of-test in advance of test execution, relying on the skill and knowledge of the tester and feedback from test results to guide the ongoing test effort. Exploratory testing is often conducted in short sessions in which feedback gained from one session is used to dynamically plan subsequent sessions.
F
failure
The inability of a system or component to perform its required functions within specified performance requirements [IE610.12]. A failure is characterized by the observable symptoms of one or more defects that have a root cause in one or more faults.
fault
An accidental condition that causes the failure of a component in the implementation model to perform its required behavior. A fault is the root cause of one or more defects identified by observing one or more failures.
fault model
A model for testing computer software which uses the notion of a plausible fault as it's basis and provides a test method to uncover the fault. The good fault model provides a definition of the fault or root cause, discussion of the observable failures the fault can produce, a test technique for uncovering the fault and a profile of appropriate test data.
feature
An externally observable service provided by the system that directly fulfills a stakeholder need.
Fork

A fork is a pint in the Process where a single flow is divided into two or more Flow. It is a mechanism that will allow activities to be performed concurrently, rather than sequentially. BPMN uses mulitple outgoing Sequence Flow or an Parallel Gateway to perform a Fork.

This term can be found in the OMG  Business Process Modeling Notation, V1.2 (Beta 3)  specification http://www.omg.org/docs/dtc/08-02-07.pdf

FURPS+
Functional, usability, reliability, performance, supportability and others. This acronym represents categories that can be used in the definition of product requirements.
G
guidance

General term referring to all types of material that provide additional detail on other types of elements.

guideline
A specialized type of guidance that provides additional detail on how to handle a particular method element. Guidelines most commonly describe how to perform some set of actions related to tasks or provide additional rules or recommendations related to the representation of work products.
I
Inception
First of the four phases in the project lifecycle. It is about understanding the project scope and objectives and getting enough information to confirm whether the project should proceed or not.
Initial Operational Capability Milestone

Third major project milestone that occurs at the end of the Construction phase. At this point, the product is ready to be handed over to the Transition team. All functionality has been developed and all alpha testing (if any) has been completed. In addition to the software, a user manual has been developed, and there is a description of the current release. The product is ready for beta testing.

input
In the UMA, input defines the work products needed to perform a task.  These inputs are further categorized as being optional, mandatory or external.  Optional inputs may be excluded from the task in some cases without consequences, while without mandatory inputs it is typically not possible to complete the task.  External inputs are used to defined mandatory inputs that are the result of work outside the scope of the defined process.
interface
Intermediate Event

An Intermediate Event is an event that occurs after a Process has been started. It will affect the flow of the process, but will not start or (directly) end the process. An Intermediate Event will show where messages or delays are expected within the Process, disrupt the Normal Flow through exception handling, or show the extra flow required for compensating a transaction. The Intermediate Event shares the same basic shape of the Start Even and End Event, a circle, but is drawn with a thin double line.

This term can be found in the OMG  Business Process Modeling Notation, V1.2 (Beta 3)  specification http://www.omg.org/docs/dtc/08-02-07.pdf

iteration

A grouping of repeatable activities based on a set period of time that produces an expected set of results that has value.  These results may be further refined in successive iterations.

Iteration
Short and set duration division of a project. Iterations allow you to demonstrate incremental value and obtain early and continuous feedback.
Iteration Burndown
A primary report for understanding the status of an iteration. It shows the trend for how much work is left to do within that iteration.
J
Join

A join is a point in the process where two or more parallel Sequence Flow are combined into one Sequence Flow. BPMN uses an Parallel Gateway to performan a Join.

This term can be found in the OMG  Business Process Modeling Notation, V1.2 (Beta 3)  specification http://www.omg.org/docs/dtc/08-02-07.pdf

L
Lane

An Lane is a sub-partitiion within a Pool and will extend the entire length of the Pool, either vertically or horizontally. lanes are used to organize and categorize activities within in a Pool. The meaning of the lanes is up to the modeler.

This term can be found in the OMG  Business Process Modeling Notation, V1.2 (Beta 3)  specification http://www.omg.org/docs/dtc/08-02-07.pdf

Lifecycle Architecture Milestone

Second major project milestone that occurs at the end of Elaboration phase. At this point, a baseline of requirements is agreed to. Examine the detailed system objectives and scope, the choice of architecture, and the resolution of the major risks. The milestone is achieved when the architecture has been validated.

Lifecycle Objectives Milestone

First major project milestone, which occurs at the end of the Inception phase. At this point, compare the cost to the benefits of the project, and decide whether to proceed with the project or to cancel it.

M
Message

A Message is the object that is transmitted through a Message Flow. The Message will have an identify that can be used for alternative branching of a Process through the Event-Based Exclusive Gateway.

This term can be found in the OMG  Business Process Modeling Notation, V1.2 (Beta 3)  specification http://www.omg.org/docs/dtc/08-02-07.pdf

method architecture
A method architecture defines the concepts, their properties, and relationships for defining methods and processes. It is typically compromised of a meta-model, modeling language, or schema (synonyms) that is used for organizing large amounts of descriptions for management development methods and processes, such as software engineering, mechanical engineering, business transformation, sales cycles etc.
method configuration
A method configuration specifies the selection of a logical subset of a method library, defined in terms of selected packages within plug-ins and any necessary views.
method content

Defines the primary reusable building blocks or reference materials of the method framework that exist outside of any predefined lifecycle. The basic content elements are: roles, tasks, work products and guidance.

method element
There are two kinds of method element:  method content and process.
method library
A physical container for method plug-ins and method configuration definitions. All method elements are stored in a method library.
method plug-in
Represents a physical container for method elements.
milestone

A significant event in the project or sub-project, such as a major decision, completion of a deliverable, or meeting of a major dependency (like completion of a phase).

O
outcome

Specialized type of work products used to descibe intangible items such as the completion of some set of activities, a result or state. A key differentiator for outcomes against artifacts is that outcomes are not candidates for harvesting as reusable assets. Outcomes can not have associated templates or examples and are not possible to reuse as assets on other projects.

output
Defines the results of performing some task in terms of the work products produced or modifed.
P
pattern
Generalized solution that can be implemented and applied in a problem situation (a context)
performer
Describes the roles that will be executing a task.  There are two types of performs roles, a single primary performer responsible for the completion of the tasks and additional performers.  There may be any number of additional performers and both are consided as allocated resources for the purposed of project scheduling.
phase

A specialized type of activity that represents a significant period in a project normally ending with a decision checkpoint, major milestones, or a set of deliverables.  Phases typically have well defined objectives and provide the basis for how the project work will be structured.

Point
A relative measure of size that is typically used for Agile estimation.
Pool

A pool represents a Participant in a Process. It also acts as a "swimlane" and a graphical container for partitioning a set of activities from other Pools, usually in the context of B2B situations. It is a square-cornered rectangle that is drawn with a solid single line. A Pool acts as the container for the Sequence Flow between activities. the Sequence Flow can cross the boundaries between Lanes of a pool, but cannot cross the boundaries of a Pool. The interaction between Pools, for example, in a B2B context, is shown through Message Flow.

This term can be found in the OMG  Business Process Modeling Notation, V1.2 (Beta 3)  specification http://www.omg.org/docs/dtc/08-02-07.pdf

practice
A specialized type of guidance that describes a proven way of doing something or common approaches and strategies that represent best practices.  This is also used to represent standards and policies related to methods.
process

Describes the assembly of method content in a sequence or workflow that defines how the work will be executed. There are two types of processes:  capability patterns and delivery processes.

Process

A Process is any activity performed within a company or organization. In BPMN a Process is depicted as a network of Flow Objects, which are a set of other activities, and the controls that sequence them.

This term can be found in the OMG  Business Process Modeling Notation, V1.2 (Beta 3)  specification http://www.omg.org/docs/dtc/08-02-07.pdf

Product Release Milestone

Fourth major project milestone that occurs at the end of the Transition phase. At this point, decide whether the objectives were met and whether you should start another development cycle. This milestone is the result of the customer reviewing and accepting the project deliverables.

project burndown

A primary report for understanding the status of a project. It typically consists of a chart showing the iterations in the horizontal axis and the remaining points from the work items list in the vertical axis.

R
report
A specialized type of  guidance used to provide guidance on representing the output of an automated tool that may be a combination of information from one or more other work products. .
Requirements
  1. A capability needed by the user to solve a problem [in order to] to achieve an objective
  2. A capability that must be met or possessed by a system or system component to satisfy a contract, standard, specification, or other formally imposed documentation [THA00]
Result

A Result is consequence of reaching an End Event. Results can be different types, including: Message, Error, Compensation, Signal, Link and Multiple.

This term can be found in the OMG  Business Process Modeling Notation, V1.2 (Beta 3)  specification http://www.omg.org/docs/dtc/08-02-07.pdf

reusable asset
A specialized type of guidance linking to intellectual capital that can be utilized to perform some task or leveraged as a starting point for the creation of a solution.  This type of guidance is usually represented a link to some external source.  This may include assets such as source code, templates, patterns, architectural frameworks, domain models, and so on - that can be reused in a different contexts.
risk

A potential event or future situation that can potentially affect, prevent, or limit a project's success. Project risks may be seen as threats or opportunities.

roadmap
A specialized type of guidance that is specific to a process that represents a linear walkthrough of those items from a particular perspective.
role

Describes a standard set of responsibilities and corresponding skills necessary to perform a task or create a work product.  A Role is not a job description the same person may execute several roles simultaneously or during the course of a project and a role may likewise be defined to represent a group such as a review board.

role set
A specialized type of category used to organize roles by certain commonalities such as type of work, profession or area of knowledge.
role set grouping
A specialized category used to organize role sets.
runtime analysis

A practice aimed at understanding software component behavior by using data collected during the execution of the component. Runtime analysis provides understanding of the following aspects of application execution:

  • Execution path
  • Code coverage
  • Runtime tracing
  • Memory utilization
  • Memory errors and memory leaks
  • Execution performance
  • Performance bottlenecks
  • Threading problems
S
scope

The boundaries for inclusions and exclusions that define the depth and breadth of the project. Example of areas for consideration are included functionality, affected organizations, lifecycle phases performed, included and excluded deliverables, involved geographic areas, and so on.

service level

[* FROM SDS R3 - check for COO issues *]

Models at the specified level represent concepts in the domain being studied, and are independent of the physical aspects of the software or hardware.


smoke test
A phrase used to describe a subset of tests-typically limited in number-that can be run against each software build to determine whether the software has regressed in form or function since a previous build. Synonyms: build validation test, build verification test, build acceptance test, build regression test and sanity check.
stakeholder need
The business or operational problem (opportunity) that must be fulfilled to justify purchase or use of the system.
Start Event

A Start Event indicates where a particular Process will start. In terms of Sequence Flow, the Start Event starts the flow of the Process, and thus, will not have any incoming Sequence Flow. A Start Event can have a Trigger that indicates how the Process starts: Message, Time, Rule, Link, or Multiple. The Start Event shares the same basic shape of the Intermediate Event and End Event, a circle but is drawn with a single thin line.

This term can be found in the OMG  Business Process Modeling Notation, V1.2 (Beta 3)  specification http://www.omg.org/docs/dtc/08-02-07.pdf

step
Sub-section of a task used to organize the work to be performed to achieve the overall goal of the task. Not all Steps are necessarily performed each time a task is executed in a process.
stub
A component containing functionality for testing purposes. A stub is either a pure "dummy", just returning some predefined values, or it is "simulating" a more complex behavior.
Sub-Process

A Sub-Process is a Process tht is included within another Process. The Sub-Process can be in a collapsed view that hides its details. A Sub-Process can be in an expanded view that shows its details within the view of the Process within it is contained. A Sub-Process shares the same shape as the Task, which is a rectangle that has rounded corners.

This term can be found in the OMG  Business Process Modeling Notation, V1.2 (Beta 3)  specification http://www.omg.org/docs/dtc/08-02-07.pdf

supporting material
guidance that is a catch-all for other types of guidance not specifically defined elsewhere.
system-wide requirements
System-wide requirements are requirements that define necessary system quality attributes such as performance, usability and reliability, as well as global functional requirements that are not captured in behavioral requirements artifacts such as use-cases.
T
target test item
An aspect of the developed product-typically software or hardware-which has been identified as a target of the testing effort. A target test item might be scoped at the level of an operation, interface, feature, component, subsystem, or system; or it may be an external aspect of the system, such as an operating system or peripheral device (eg printer).
task

Defines a unit of work that needs to be done in order to transfrom inputs into outputs through a series of steps performed by one or more roles independent of a particular work breakdown structure (WBS).

Task

A Task is an atomic activity that is included within a Process. A Task is used when the work in the Process is not broken down to a finer level of Process detail. Generally, an end-user and/or an application are used to perform the Task when it is executed. A Task object shares the same shape as the Sub-Process, which is a rectangle that has rounded corners.

This term can be found in the OMG  Business Process Modeling Notation, V1.2 (Beta 3)  specification http://www.omg.org/docs/dtc/08-02-07.pdf

team profile
breakdown element that groups role descriptors or composite roles, thus defining a nested hierarchy of teams and team members.
template
A specialized type of guidance that specifies the structure of a work product by providing a pre-defined table of contents, sections, packages, and/or headings, a standardized format, as well as descriptions on how the sections and packages are supposed to be used and completed.  Often provided as a form or empty instanced of a work product that can be used as starting point for the creation of a new one.
term definition
A specialized form of guidance that provides definitions that are used to build up the glossary
test case
The specification (usually formal) of a set of test inputs, execution conditions, and expected results, identified for the purpose of making an evaluation of some particular aspect of a target test item. A test case differs from a test idea, in that the test case is a more fully-formed specification of the test, describing what the test(s) that result form the test case will be required to do.
test environment
A specific instance of a configuration of hardware and software established for the purpose of conducting tests under known and controlled conditions.
test idea
A brief statement identifying a test that is potentially useful to conduct. The test idea typically represents an aspect of a given test: an input, an execution condition or an expected result, but often only addresses a single aspect of a test. A test idea differs from a test case, in that the test idea is an incomplete definition containing no specification of the test workings, only the essence of the idea behind the test. Synonym: test requirement. See also: test case.
test oracle
A strategy for knowing whether a test passes or fails. The test oracle includes both the medium through which the output from the test can be observed, and the technique for interpreting what that medium exposes. It provides a means by which observed results can be evaluated against expected results.
test requirement
A requirement placed on the test effort that must be fulfilled the implementation and execution of one or more tests. This term has been superseded by the term test idea.
tool
A standard category used as a container for tool mentors. It can also provide general descriptions of the tool and its general capabilities.
tool mentor
A tool mentor is a type of guidance that explains how to appy a specific tool to accomplish a task, perform a set of steps or instantiate a particular work product.
Transition
The fourth and last phase of the project lifecycle, which results in a final product release.
U
UMA
Stands for Unified Method Architecture. UMA is a state-of-the-art architecture for the conceiving, specifying, and storing of method and process metadata.
use-case scenario
Represents specific instances of the use case that correspond to specific inputs from the Actor or to specific conditions in the environment. Each scenario describes alternate ways that the system provides a behavior, or it may describe failure or exception cases
V
Velocity
A key metric used for iteration planning. It indicates how many points are delivered upon within an iteration for a certain team and project.
version
A variant of some artifact; later versions of an artifact typically expand upon earlier versions.
view
Structured content collections designed to drive publication and facilitate browsing. They are specified using custom categories.
W
white paper

A specialized type of guidance for externally published papers that can be read and understood in isolation of other content elements.

work breakdown structure (WBS)

A hierarchical structured list of all the project activities, in which the work of the project is broken down into smaller work units to achieve an appropriate level of granularity that ensures that the full scope of work to be performed is understood.

Work Item
Scheduled work to be done within the project.
work product

Used to define and describe the items needed as input or created as output of one or more tasks that are the responsibility of a single role.  See: artifact, deliverable, outcome.

work product kind
A specialized type of category used to organized work products based on their intended usage or type.