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− | The Digital Collaboration Division (DCD) continuously develops, tests and releases enhancements and fixes for its tools throughout their life cycle. There are four stages of development, testing and release for a new DCD tool: Pilot, Alpha, Beta and Official release.
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− | First a tool will be in Pilot to determine what open-source software the new tool will be using, or if it will be built from scratch. Once an open-source software is selected or a decision has been made to build from scratch, the new tool will enter the Alpha stage where the majority of the new development and design work for the new tool is completed. After all of the necessary features are developed and tested in Alpha, the new tool will enter the Beta stage for any final bug fixes and enhancements required before the Official release.
| + | The Digital Enablement Development (DED) Division continuously develops, tests and releases enhancements and fixes for its applications throughout their life cycle. There are four stages of development, testing and release for a new web application: Pilot, Alpha, Beta and Official release. |
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| + | Before entering the development process, DED will determine if an existing open source software exists that meet the business, technical and user requirements for the application. If none meet the requirements, DED will look into developing the new application, starting with an minimal viable product (MVP) where they will continue to iterate on the application to add additional features and functionalities. |
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| + | For the pilot phase, DED will either test the selected open source software to decide if it meets the initial requirements, or will test the newly developed MVP. The new tool will then enter the Alpha stage where the majority of the new development and design work for the new tool is completed. After all the initial necessary features are developed and tested in Alpha, the new tool will enter the Beta stage for any final bug fixes and enhancements required before the official release. |
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| + | {| class="wikitable" |
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| + | |'''What is a minimal viable product?''' |
| + | A minimum viable product (MVP) is a development technique in which a new product or website is developed with sufficient features to satisfy early adopters. The final, complete set of features is only designed and developed after considering feedback from the product's initial users. It is the the most pared down version of a product that can still be released. An MVP has three key characteristics: |
| + | * It has enough value that people are willing to use it or buy it initially. |
| + | * It demonstrates enough future benefit to retain early adopters. |
| + | * It provides a feedback loop to guide future development. |
| + | |} |
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| ==Pilot== | | ==Pilot== |
| DCD may test multiple open-source applications to develop a particular tool. When a tool is in Pilot it means that an open-source application is being tested to see if it can meet the user needs, and business and technical requirements, before the tool undergoes a more comprehensive development by the DCD team. It is a short-term, experimental phase to see how the large-scale service may work in practice.<ref>Rouse, Margaret''. “What Is Pilot Program (Pilot Study)? - Definition from WhatIs.com.”'' SearchCIO, June 2013, searchcio.techtarget.com/definition/pilot-program-pilot-study.</ref> Pilot is sometimes referred to as Pre-Alpha.<ref>“Software Release Life Cycle.” ''Wikipedia'', Wikimedia Foundation, 7 Oct. 2018, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_release_life_cycle#Pre-alpha.</ref> | | DCD may test multiple open-source applications to develop a particular tool. When a tool is in Pilot it means that an open-source application is being tested to see if it can meet the user needs, and business and technical requirements, before the tool undergoes a more comprehensive development by the DCD team. It is a short-term, experimental phase to see how the large-scale service may work in practice.<ref>Rouse, Margaret''. “What Is Pilot Program (Pilot Study)? - Definition from WhatIs.com.”'' SearchCIO, June 2013, searchcio.techtarget.com/definition/pilot-program-pilot-study.</ref> Pilot is sometimes referred to as Pre-Alpha.<ref>“Software Release Life Cycle.” ''Wikipedia'', Wikimedia Foundation, 7 Oct. 2018, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_release_life_cycle#Pre-alpha.</ref> |
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− | During this stage, the scope of the project is developed, including user needs, business and technical requirements. User requirements are determined through research, testing and analysis of our user base. From the project scope, the DCD team defines a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) to be developed for an Official release. The MVP will not have every feature planned for the tool, only the features required to make the tool valuable for the user and business. Further features and enhancements which add value to the tool will be developed after the Official release. | + | During this stage, the scope of the project is developed, including user needs, business and technical requirements. User requirements are determined through research, testing and analysis of our user base. From the project scope, the DED team defines a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) to be developed for an Official release. The MVP will not have every feature planned for the tool, only the features required to make the tool valuable for the user and business. Further features and enhancements which add value to the tool will be developed after the Official release. |
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| '''Open Pilot testing''' means that the potential open-source application is available for real users to test. '''Closed Pilot testing''' means that the potential application is only available internally to the team who will be developing the tool. The DCD team uses both of these Pilot testing methods depending on what makes the most sense for the tool being developed. When possible, open Pilot testing is preferred as it includes the user at the earliest stage of development and allows the users to provide feedback. | | '''Open Pilot testing''' means that the potential open-source application is available for real users to test. '''Closed Pilot testing''' means that the potential application is only available internally to the team who will be developing the tool. The DCD team uses both of these Pilot testing methods depending on what makes the most sense for the tool being developed. When possible, open Pilot testing is preferred as it includes the user at the earliest stage of development and allows the users to provide feedback. |