This artifact is a comprehensive, composite artifact that gathers all information required to manage the project. It encloses a number of artifacts developed during the Inception phase and is maintained throughout the project.
Domains: Project Management Work Product Kinds: Plan
Purpose
The purpose of the Software Development Plan is to gather all of the information necessary to control the project. It
describes the approach to the development of the software, and is the top-level plan generated and used by the managers
to direct the development effort.
The following people use the Software Development Plan:
The project manager, to plan the project schedule and resource needs, and to track progress against the
schedule.
Project team members, to understand what they need to do, when they need to do it, and what other activities
they are dependent upon.
Relationships
RolesResponsible:
Project Manager
Modified By:
Project Manager
TasksInput To:
Acquire Staff
Develop Iteration Plan
Initiate Iteration
Iteration Evaluation Criteria Review
Project Planning Review
Schedule and Assign Work
Set Up Configuration Management (CM) Environment
Assess Iteration
Conduct Review
Iteration Plan Review
Organize Review
Output From:
Acquire Staff
Define Project Organization and Staffing
Initiate Project
Plan Phases and Iterations
Schedule and Assign Work
Process Usage
Configuration & Change Management > Create Project Configuration Management (CM) Environments > Software Development Plan
Configuration & Change Management > Plan Project Configuration & Change Control > Software Development Plan
Configuration & Change Management > Manage Baselines & Releases > Software Development Plan
Configuration & Change Management > Change and Deliver Configuration Items > Software Development Plan
Configuration & Change Management > Manage Change Requests > Software Development Plan
Environment > Prepare Environment for an Iteration > Software Development Plan
Environment > Prepare Environment for Project > Software Development Plan
Project Management > Close-Out Phase > Software Development Plan
Project Management > Close-Out Project > Software Development Plan
Project Management > Monitor & Control Project > Software Development Plan
Project Management > Manage Iteration > Software Development Plan
Project Management > Plan for Next Iteration > Software Development Plan
Project Management > Conceive New Project > Software Development Plan
Project Management > Plan the Project > Software Development Plan
Project Management > Plan Remainder of Initial Iteration > Software Development Plan
Project Management > Refine the Development Plan > Software Development Plan
Requirements > Analyze the Problem > Software Development Plan
Test > Verify Test Approach > Software Development Plan
Test > Improve Test Assets > Software Development Plan
Test > Define Evaluation Mission > Software Development Plan
Description
Main DescriptionThe Software Development Plan encloses a number of artifacts developed during the Inception phase and is maintained
throughout the project.
Illustrations
Templates
Software Development Plan (Informal)
Examples
CSPS Software Development Plan - Elaboration Phase
Tailoring
Representation Options
There are situations when a standard is called out in a contract that stipulates the outline and contents of a Software
Development Plan. In this case, you would use that instead of the proposed outline shown in the HTML template, but you
should form a clear mapping of the information requirements of that standard to the outline in the template provided.
Additional Information
Good software development plans evolve. A useful Software Development Plan is periodically updated (it is not stagnant
shelfware), and it is understood and embraced by managers and practitioners.
The Software Development Plan is the defining document for the project's process. Prepare a single Software Development
Plan that:
complies with organizational standards for content
complies with the contract (if any)
provides traceability to, or waivers from, contract and organization requirements
is updated at each major milestone
evolves along with the design and requirements
A standard format promotes:
reuse of processes, methods, experience, and people
accountability for organizational expectations
homogeneous process objectives
A key discriminator of a good Software Development Plan is its conciseness, lack of philosophy, and focus on meaningful
standards and procedures.