Effective Software Project Management

The Role of the RBS

The architecture of the RBS is the key to successful increment development and deployment for an Incremental SDPM strategy. The RBS is a deliverables-based structure of the requirements, functions, and features (see Figure 11-4). The focus will obviously be on the features that are defined by the RBS. The RBS is assumed to be a complete accounting of all features that define the solution. This is important because the balance of the systems development life cycle depends on that completeness. The requirements, the roots of the RBS, are seldom completely identified, and many would argue that they can never be completely defined because that would require a crystal ball (to predict market changes) and perfect solution knowledge on the part of the customer. Neither of those conditions exists. Still, in any case, you have to proceed on an assumption of completeness if you are to use an Incremental SDPM strategy.

Figure 11-4. The Requirements Breakdown Structure

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The RBS can be generated from a series of Use Cases that define the solution or from some other approach to generating requirements. In either case, to use the Incremental SDPM strategy you must complete the RBS.

In the Staged Delivery Waterfall Model

For the Staged Delivery Waterfall model, the RBS is used as input to making an initial pass at defining the contents of each increment ...