Achieving the Milestones

The methods and techniques used to achieve the milestones should be selected based on the goals and characteristics of each project. They should also be consistent with the standards and policies of the organization.

Note especially that the process model discussed here is not dependent on any particular methodology. Organizations can continue to use the data modeling notations, user interview techniques, and other analysis methods with which they are comfortable. Or, they may choose to adopt newer object-oriented analysis and design methods. These methods are receiving growing support in the way of automated tools and training courses.

It is important only that the techniques and methodologies are flexible enough to adapt to evolving client/server implementation technologies.

Clear Ownership and Accountability

This process model assigns clear planning responsibilities to each of the team members. Ownership of responsibility for achieving the critical milestones is associated explicitly with each project team role, as shown in the figure below. It is the responsibility of the milestone "owner" to plan, manage, and execute the tasks associated with that milestone. This encourages the focus and team coordination that is key to a successful delivery.

Project planning and management responsibility

This assignment of responsibility by team roles encourages a bottom-up approach rather than a top-down approach, and enables self-regulation. In a self-regulated process, the team members can be and are encouraged to modify the process when necessary or desirable.