Collective Wisdom from the Experts 175
At the checkpoints, the KPIs and metrics should be evaluated against the
baseline and trend analysis in order to identify variances. This way, cor-
rective action can be done based on actual metrics, rather than hunches
or hearsay.
• Manage the deliverables. Once the anticipated work is delivered, the
code should be tested and deployed to a small group of users in order to
verify that it complies with requirements before it can be considered fin-
ished. This approach helps identify problems so that corrective action can
be taken before the software is deployed to the entire user group.
Throughout this approach, it is very important to remember that all mini-
deliverables will be ready in phases and they should be tested in an inte-
grated fashion (like a wave). If you wait until the full code set is delivered,
you could receive a body of code with a lot of unknown errors/defects or
unexpected behavior. Because the product/service/result was built with
these issues, their effect is both buried and multiplied. The cost and the
time spent in order to fix all nonworking code at this point can be very
high.
You can balance and examine the vendor’s experience in your company’s
environment, and in the system, against the complexity required by devel-
opment and decide whether this approach should be good for you or not.
In general, it is most useful for complex solutions or for new technology/
new solutions.