Environments Evaluation

Definition

Environments evaluation is the quality control task during which the environments work products are evaluated.

Objectives

The typical objectives of the environments evaluation task are to:

• Determine if the deliverable environments work products are:
  • Correct.
  • Complete.
  • Consistent (internally, externally with other work products, and externally with related conventions).
  • Understandable.
• Identify defects in the deliverable environments work products so that:
  • The defects can be fixed.
  • Defect trend analysis can be performed to improve the process and staff training.
• Determine if the environments engineering tasks are:
  • Completed.
  • Effective.
  • Efficient.

Preconditions

The environments evaluation task can typically begin when the following preconditions hold:

• The environments inspection team is adequately:
  • Staffed.
  • Trained in the environments evaluation task.
  • Trained in its associated techniques (e.g., inspection).
• At least one environments engineering work product is ready for evaluation.

Completion Criteria

The environments evaluation task is typically complete when the following postconditions hold:

• The following environments work products have passed their evaluations (e.g., inspection):
  • Documents:
    • Project Environments Description Document
    • Product Selection Report
  • Management Environment
  • Development Environments:
    • Reuse Environment
    • Engineering Environment
    • Multimedia Environment
    • Integration Environment
    • Test Environment
    • Staging Environment
  • Production Environments:
    • Client Environment
    • Contact Center Environment
    • Content Management Environment
    • Data Center Environment

Steps

The environments evaluation task typically involves the following teams performing the following steps:

• The environments team informally evaluates their work products in accordance with the associated technique(s) used.
• The environments inspection team formally evaluates these environments work products in accordance with the associated technique(s) used.

Techniques

The environments evaluation task can typically be performed using the following techniques:

• Quality Evaluation Techniques:
  • Desk Checking
  • Demonstration
  • Inspecting
  • Walkthroughs

Work Products

The environments evaluation task typically results in the production of the following work products:

• Quality Set:
  • Inspection Report
  • Inspection Summary Report

Guidelines

• Inspecting tends to be the most effective quality evaluation technique for identifying defects.
• Evaluations can be incremental and are typically iterative.