Artifact: Iteration Assessment

Iteration Assessment	The iteration assessment captures the result of an iteration, the degree to which the evaluation criteria were met, and lessons learned and changes to be done.
Role:	Project Manager
Template:	Word Template HTML Template
Examples:	Iteration Assessment - from the Course Registration System Iteration Assessment - from the Collegiate Sports Paging System (e-Business)
Purpose Brief Outline Timing Responsibility Tailoring Annotated Outline (hyperlinks into HTML template in a new window) Additional Information

Input to Activities:

Prepare for Project Close-Out

Iteration Acceptance Review

Lifecycle Milestone Review

Project Acceptance Review

Prepare for Phase Close-Out

Output from Activities:

Assess Iteration

Prepare for Phase Close-Out

Purpose

Each iteration is concluded by an iteration assessment where the development organization makes a pause and reflects on what has happened, what was achieved or not, and why, and the lessons learned.

Brief Outline

1. Introduction

1.1 Purpose

1.2 Scope

1.3 Definitions, Acronyms and Abbreviations

1.4 References

1.5 Overview

2. Iteration Objectives Reached

3. Adherence to Plan

4. Use Cases and Scenarios Implemented

5. Results Relative to Evaluation Criteria

6. Test Results

7. External Changes Occurred

8. Rework Required

Timing

Iteration assessments are created at the end of each iteration. They are not updated.

Responsibility

Tailoring

The Iteration Assessment is an essential artifact of the iterative approach. Depending on the scope and risk of the project, and the nature of the iteration, it may range from a simple record of demonstration and outcomes to a complete formal test record.

Iteration assessments are created at the end of each iteration. They are not updated.

Additional Information

This assessment is a critical step in an iteration and should not be skipped. If iteration assessment is not done properly, many of the benefits of an iterative approach will be lost.

Note that sometimes the right thing to do in this step is to revise the evaluation criteria rather than reworking the system. Sometimes the benefit of the iteration is in revealing that a particular requirement is not important, or too expensive to implement, or creates an unmaintainable architecture. In these cases, a cost/benefit analysis must be done and a business decision must be made.