Artifact: Experimentation Facility
This is an environment that is the implemented aggregate of an IT infrastructure such as hardware, software, and networks. It also includes facilities such as office space, furniture, and telephony necessary to support the evaluation and development team.
Domains: Environment
Purpose

The purpose of the Experimentation Facility is to implement an environment that will be used to evaluate the impact of candidate COTS packages and candidate solutions within the broader context of the organization's operational environment.

Using the Experimentation Facility, candidate COTS packages and candidate solutions are evaluated to verify vendor claims, to understand the embedded user business processes and architectural assumptions, and to explore functional and nonfunctional behaviors of the COTS packages and candidate solutions. The Experimentation Facility replicates, as closely as possible or practical, a high fidelity operational IT environment (including interfaces to any important external systems).

Therefore, the Experimentation Facilities is critical for the hands-on exploration of candidate COTS packages and candidate solutions and must be available from the inception phase and until the solution is retired or replaced.

Relationships
Tailoring
Representation OptionsUML Representation:

Not Applicable.