Requirements : A Primer for Technical Communicators

The IBM® Rational Unified Process® (RUP®) framework is a process framework that is adopted by many software development organizations to guide their endeavors in developing quality software. Information development and delivery has much in common with its software counterpart, so the software development process and best practices described in the RUP framework can be easily mapped to an information-development process. In software-development organizations that are using the RUP framework, introducing a RUP-based approach to information development is logical and can foster communication and understanding. Because both are using a similar process framework, deliverables between information-development teams and the software-development teams they support are more easily aligned and coordinated. In addition, information-development teams can reuse artifacts from other teams, such as product management and software development. Introduction to the Rational Unified Process The RUP framework is a flexible software-development process platform for guiding softwaredevelopment organizations in developing quality software. The RUP framework is configurable and adaptable, so implementers can select and deploy only the process components they need for each stage of a project. It is designed using an underlying object-oriented model, similar to how software is designed. The RUP framework has two dimensions: a dynamic horizontal dimension representing time and showing the lifecycle aspects of the process and a static vertical dimension representing the core process disciplines that group activities by their nature. The dynamic aspect of the process is expressed in terms of cycles, phases, iterations, and milestones. The static aspect of the process is described in terms of process components or as activities, disciplines, artifacts, and roles. There are nine core workflows in the RUP framework: business modeling, requirements, analysis and design, implementation, test, deployment, configuration and change management, project management, and environment. These workflows encompass activities that span and vary in effort throughout the RUP framework phases of inception, elaboration, construction, and transition. Figure 1 illustrates how the activities for the workflows map to the RUP framework phases. The RUP framework identifies roles, disciplines, activities, and artifacts. A role defines the behavior and responsibilities of an individual or a set of individuals working together as a team. It is not limited to a job title. Roles are also grouped into various disciplines, such as tester, manager, or implementer. An activity is the smallest group of work that is relevant. An artifact represents the modeling constructs and documents that activities evolve, maintain, or use as input. There are six best practices of software development in the RUP framework: develop iteratively, manage requirements, use component-based architectures, visually model, continuously verify quality, and control changes. Although these best practices are identified in the RUP framework for software development, they are transferable to a number of disciplines, including information development. “In softwaredevelopment organizations that are using the RUP framework, introducing a RUP-based approach to information development is logical and can foster communication and understanding. ”