Step:
Develop the Application Engineering Environment Support Manual
-
- Action:
-
Create a manual that defines the information, resources, and steps required to
install the Application Engineering Environment for use by a project.
- Input:
-
Application Engineering Environment
- Result:
-
Application Engineering Environment Support Manual
- Heuristics:
-
Describe installation instructions for the automated mechanisms of the
environment. These instructions are specific to your organization. However,
consider, at a minimum:
-
Inventory.
This is a list of all materials (code, software utilities, documentation) to be
provided to the Project Support Activity.
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Distribution Media.
This describes the media and formats on which the automated mechanisms are
provided to Project Support (e.g., tape, disk). It should also describe how to
extract the contents from the medium.
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Build Procedures.
These are instructions on how to build the automated environment from supplied
source code.
-
Software Resources.
These describe software resources needed to build and execute the automated
mechanisms (e.g., operating system, compiler, supporting utility programs,
version numbers). These also identify the vendor and version of any
commercially supported off-the-shelf software that supports portions of the
environment.
-
Hardware Resources.
These describe the host platforms on which the environment can successfully
execute (e.g., CPU, operating system).
-
Limitations.
These describe known discrepancies or unimplemented features in the delivered
environment and any known workarounds.
Step: Develop Training Courses
-
- Action:
-
Develop courses to train managers and application engineers in the effective
use of the application engineering process and supporting mechanisms.
- Input:
-
-
Application Engineering Process Standard
-
Application Engineering User's Guide
-
Application Engineering Environment Support Manual
- Result:
-
Application Engineering Training Courses
- Heuristics:
-
The content of these courses will be determined by how much expertise your
organization believes application engineers need to practice Application
Engineering effectively and correctly. You should consider, at a minimum, the
following topics:
-
How to build systems in your domain using the Application Engineering process.
-
How to manage application engineering projects successfully.
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How to use the automated capabilities of the Application Engineering
Environment.
-
- Risk:
-
The Application Engineering process will be inconsistent with the Process
Requirements.
- Implication:
-
Application engineers may not be able to produce applications that satisfy
customer requirements.
- Mitigation:
-
Review the Process Standards with experienced managers and engineers to check
viability. Review the design and use of automated mechanisms with experienced
engineers to ensure that those mechanisms satisfy the Process Requirements and
Process Support documentation.
- Risk:
-
Automation will not address the major difficulties of engineering applications
in a domain.
- Implication:
-
The Application Engineering process will be too labor-intensive, error-prone,
or difficult, increasing the cost required to build an application.
- Mitigation:
-
-
Review other Application Engineering processes to see what areas were automated
and the rationale for doing so.
-
Review past Application Engineering process efforts from other, similar domains
to see what areas of difficulties were encountered and how they were resolved.
-
Measure and analyze the performance of the Application Engineering process to
help identify deficiencies.
- Risk:
-
The Application Engineering process
will be hard to follow (i.e., vague, incomplete).
- Implication:
-
Application engineers will have a difficult time developing applications.
This may cause excessive use of the project support staff. It may also cause
incorrect applications to be developed and increase the time required to
deliver an acceptable product to the customer.
- Mitigation:
-
Review the Process Support documentation with application engineers to see what
areas of the process are incomplete, inconsistent, or ambiguous. Have them
generate example work products, noting where they misinterpret or misuse the
documentation.
-
- Contingency:
-
The Process Requirements work product is incomplete, ambiguous, or
inconsistent.
- Source:
-
Process Requirements Activity
- Response:
-
Describe specifically where the Process Requirements work product is inadequate
and suggest improvements. Proceed with the implementation of Process Support
as far as possible while the Process Requirements are being updated.
- Contingency:
-
The Generation Procedure cannot be used in its current form in the Application
Engineering process.
- Source:
-
Generation Implementation Activity
- Response:
-
Describe how the Generation Procedure needs to be changed so that it will fit
within the Application Engineering process.
-
- Contingency:
-
The Application Engineering process is difficult to use or is too
labor-intensive.
- Source:
-
Project Support Activity
- Response:
-
Identify where the problems exist and discuss, with the application engineers,
ways of reducing (or eliminating) these problems (e.g., through the use of
automation).
- Contingency:
-
Suggestions are made to automate various aspects of the Application Engineering
process.
- Source:
-
Project Support Activity
- Response:
-
Consider the economic and human factors to help you decide whether to pursue
automating the suggested areas of the Application Engineering process.
- Contingency:
-
The Domain Specification is not satisfied.
- Source:
-
Domain Verification Activity
- Response:
-
-
Correct errors as part of the next iteration of Process Support Development.
-
Refer capabilities that cannot be supported to Domain Analysis for revision.