Enterprise Analysis in the Inception Phase

White paper prepared by Codel Services Ltd ©

Problem Statement

In the early planning (such as inception[1], planning, project definition or scoping) of major projects there are often cursory or no attempts to model the enterprise to be embarked upon.

This lack of structured modelling of system requirements is at a time where it is needed most. This leads to the following problems:

	Inappropriate requirements
	Architecture that will not support requirements
	This lack of clarity is often compensate by inappropriate early design

And ultimately to:

Planning and scope of the entire project that will not reflect needs of analysis or architecture.

This paper describes a pragmatic UML modelling approach to define the scope of the enterprise that will fit around most existing methodologies in place (such as RUP). By following the guidelines in this paper will bring the following benefits:

	Allow all parties to understand visually, a common view of the scope.
	Provides a common vocabulary to reduce the likelihood of scope-creep and other slippage problems in later phases.
	Allow the business to verify the system requirements meet their business requirements
	Allow testers to understand (and challenge) the complexity of requirements
	Allow managers to plan for subsequent phases.

[1] This paper by default uses terms from the Unified Process. Inception roughly describe planning and scoping, and elaboration describes a more detailed examination of these.

This paper has been prepared by Codel Services Ltd to illustrate how structured business modelling can help your organisation. Codel Services Ltd is an IT Consultancy specialising in business modelling. If you would like further information, please contact us at: Deryck Brailsford, Codel Services Ltd, Dale Hill Cottage, Kirby-Le-Soken, Essex CO13 0EN,United Kingdom. Telephone: +44 (0)1255 862354/Mobile: + 44 (0)7710 435227/e-mail: info@codel-services.com