Any ICT project involving IV&V engagement may have various stakeholders and is faced with project conditions/constraints that may have specific and unique requirements for the ICT project. Such requirements might require changes/variations to the IV&V process during the IV&V engagement and/or Post-Engagement phase. Introducing the changes/variations in a controlled manner is termed as ‘tailoring’.
Tailoring is defined as the adaptation of a software process (that is already established and institutionalised) through adding, modifying, and/or deleting process activities that are deemed inapplicable for the project.
To implement such changes/variations, “tailoring” of the IV&V process may be performed in a controlled fashion. Without tailoring, opportunities to improve the project execution and/or product quality may be lost.
Examples of such changes/variations during the Engagement phase include:
- introduction of additional test level, test type or test iteration to be performed by the IV&V Provider,
- introduction of additional, or reduction of Quality Gates and review criteria,
- modification of the PMO-TMO relationship model from the predefined Standard, Collaborative, or Integrated,
- modification of the ICT project lifecycle, other than the predefined Ground-Up, Legacy Disposed, Legacy Enhanced, or Production System.
Examples of such changes during the Post-Engagement phase include :
- modification of the metrics to be submitted to MyTCoE,
- modification of the reports to be submitted to MyTCoE.
Typical justifications for tailoring are as follows:
Project Management perspective
Implementing the best-for-project approach, as certain projects may require the change(s)/variation(s) or fine-tuning to the IV&V process. Without tailoring, the following opportunities cannot be maximised for that specific project (depending on scope, criticality and scale of the ICT to be acquired):
- Optimization of project timeline.
- Efficiency of project resource utilisation.
- Better control over project risks and resource wastage
- Streamlining of activities to avoid duplication or unnecessary/non-productive effort.
Product Quality perspective
Ensuring the delivery of software quality commitment to The Agency by both the Development Team and IV&V Provider. Without tailoring, the system/software quality assessment opportunities may not be achieved for that specific product (depending on user requirements, technology used, deployment environment etc.)
Figure 3.2 below summarizes the guidelines to implement tailoring in an IV&V engagement.
For the IV&V engagement process, Tailoring is allowed on a project-by-project basis and approved on a case-by-case basis, with one-time approval needed before the project Kick-Off begins. Process/Activities that can be tailored includes:
- process steps,
- scope of documentation deliverables,
- reports and metrics,
- roles and responsibilities.
To ensure the tailoring of the process is not abused to the detriment of the IV&V engagement and the ICT being acquired, a strict policy on tailoring is to be implemented, which must fulfil the following criteria:
Request for tailoring
Requests can only be submitted by the IV&V Provider and/or The Agency’s authorised personnel (at a minimum, an officially appointed Project Manager). The request must be complete with:
- the justifications for the tailoring,
- the proposed new or “tailored” process,
- technical impact analysis of the tailoring, where applicable.
- timeline and cost impacts
Period of tailoring
Requests (and approval) for tailoring must be performed and completed together with the Integrated Project Plan (IPP) before the start of the Project Kick-Off. The approved tailoring must be documented in the Project Plan and briefed to the IV&V Provider’ team and Development Team during the Project Kick-Off.
Approval for tailoring
As capturing of project metrics must be consistent across all projects, all tailoring requests shall be evaluated by MyTCoE, for approval. Without the official approval from MyTCoE, the tailoring must not be incorporated into the IV&V engagement.
Documentation and communication of approved tailoring
All approved tailoring must be documented in the Master Level Test Plan (MLTP) and/or Level Test Plan (LTP) as appropriate and communicated to all team members at least during the joint Kick-Off meeting.