Software Development Project Plan Description

• Overview
• Project Organization
• Schedule
• Quality Plan
• Test Plan
• Documentation Plan
• Beta Test Plan
• Common Problems

Back to Software Development Project Plan - Background Material

Overview

This page describes the principal sections of the Software Development Project Plan.

The Software Development Project Plan (also known as the project plan or the development plan) defines the dates, milestones, and deliverables that will drive the project. It defines who is responsible for doing what, and by when. It also describes how important development tasks, such as reviews and testing, will be performed.

The activities, deliverables, and EPRI reviews in each step of the Development Process are a good starting point for key items to include in your project plan. Go to the Process Table via the left navigation bar to download a timeline form where dates may be entered for high-level planning.

Project Organization

This section lists the performing organizations in the project and describes their responsibilities. It includes how the project will be managed and controlled, what processes and software development practices or standards will be followed by the development team, and what procedures will be used for tracking and reporting progress.

Schedule

The schedule contains many more tasks than the preliminary timeline reviewed with the Statement of Work. It enables the EPRI project manager to monitor and control progress as the work proceeds. The software developer and the EPRI project manager develop and agree upon the plan.

The EPRI project manager conducts ongoing Project Plan Status Reviews to keep the project on track. EPRI Corporate Software Quality is able to provide free assistance to the EPRI project manager in conducting the meetings and in reviewing the results.

The project plan schedule needs to contain items that are directly connected to software quality, besides overall project tasks and milestones such as design tasks, status meetings, functional specification reviews, design reviews, and coding reviews.

Quality Plan

The Quality Plan section of the Software Development Project Plan contains an overview of the Quality Assurance and Test Plan, which verifies that the product performs in accordance with the requirements specification and meets all pertinent customer requirements.

More background on the Quality Plan, with a list of key items to include.

Test Plan

The Test Plan is a part of the Quality Plan section of the Software Development Project Plan. It describes the:

• Overall test policy and objectives
• Responsibility for test case generation
• Scope of the testing activity: operating systems, computers, features, functions
• Rules for software acceptance.

A more comprehensive Test Plan is prepared during the Implementation Step.

More Background on the Test Plan, with a list of key items to include.

Documentation Plan

The Documentation Plan section of the Software Development Project Plan sets forth a list of deliverables such as a user manual including installation instructions and solved examples, an administrator's manual, a programmer's manual, and on-line documentation.

For each document, the plan provides an outline or table of contents, which spells out the contents of each section and subsection in enough detail to support an accurate estimate of the effort required to produce the final document.

Finally, a schedule with milestones and the names of people and resources committed to achieving them should be part of this plan.

Beta Test Plan

The Beta Test Plan section of the Software Development Project Plan provides an overview of the objectives, scope, policies and rules, pass/fail criteria, responsibilities, and schedule for the beta test plan.

A more comprehensive plan for implementing beta testing is prepared during the implementation step.

More Background on the Beta Test Plan, with a list of key items to include.

Common Problems

• The Quality Plan tasks are not fully executed due to lack of time and resources.
• The Documentation is not included in the Quality Review tasks.
• The GUI is not included in the Quality Review tasks.
• Time and budget are not allowed for beta test review and final acceptance test review by EPRI Corporate Software Quality.
• Errors discovered are not fully resolved.
• Errors discovered do not lead to Process Improvements that will prevent future errors.