The Planning Phase Planning, in Microsoft's definition, is when customers and team agree on what is to be delivered, and how it will be built. This is an important opportunity to reassess risk, establish priorities, and finalize estimates for schedule and resources. The functional specification provides the project team with enough detail to identify resource requirements and make commitments. An approved functional specification and associated project plan provide the baseline for focused development to begin. At this milestone, customers and team assess the product's functionality and verify that rollout and support plans are in place.
All new development is complete, and deferred functionality is documented for the next release.
The Stabilization Phase Stabilization requires a change in focus from the creativity of finding elegant development solutions to the rigid operational requirements of thorough and complete testing. Testing activities are performed concurrently with code development. During the stabilizing phase these activities take center stage as bug finding and fixing become the primary focus. At this milestone, the product is formally turned over to the operations and support groups. Typically, the project team either begins work on the next release or disperses to other development projects.