Albuquerque Software Process Improvement Network

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Albuquerque Software Process Improvement Network
Independent Verification Validation
(IVV)                 As Applied to Information
Technology                      Presented By 
Vinnie Gerecke Senior IVV Consultant and
Project Manager Bency and Associates, LLC
Quality is the Difference
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HOW DID I GET HERE?

• Required by Department of Defense
• 25 Years Experience
• Diverse Background In Information Technology
• Programming
• Analysis Design
• Operations
• Systems Management
• Project Management
• Understanding of Federal Funding, Budgeting and
  FARS (and Related Cost Allocation Practices)
• Contract Management
• Superior Writing Skills

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• What is IVV?
• An IT function distinct from project management
  
• An IT function distinct from systems
  development
• OBJECTIVELY
• Verify The quality of project practices and
  disciplines and certify that the product
  satisfies requirements. (the right system)
• Validate The products produced meet quality
  requirements, conform to established guidelines
  and assure that the end result satisfies
  business goals, project objectives and project
  requirements. (the system is right)

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• What is IVV?
• Provide subject matter expertise that may not
  otherwise be available to the client
• Provide professional and objective advice to
  executive sponsors and project management teams
  to improve project results
• Be Helpful, Share Knowledge Experience
• Identify Deficiencies, but provide sound advice
  and recommendations to mitigate or remediate
  Provide praise and credit for heros or
  extraordinary team cooperation

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• What is IVV?
• A software engineering discipline that helps
  the development organization build quality into
  the software during the software development
  lifecycle
• A review concept utilized for all things IT

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Most Importantly, IVV Is

• A set of VV tools, techniques and activities
  performed by an organization that is not under
  the control of the organization developing the
  software or providing products and deliverables
• Services must be provided, managed and
  financed by entities that are technically,
  managerially and financially independent of the
  development project

May 22, 2008
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• What IVV Is Not!
• A positive or negative matter simply a
  measure to ensure success.
• Project Management (PM).
• Not Responsible for Ensuring the PM results
  meet or exceed expectations.
• QA Testing

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• IVV REVIEW TYPES
• PROSPECTIVE
• Begin at the Beginning
• Stay Through Lessons Learned (Post-Imp. Review)
• RETROSPECTIVE
• Gather Materials from the Beginning through the
  End
• Generally Used for Contract-Based Work Orders
• Produce Justification for Fair Reasonable
  Billing
• Negotiate Price Post-Project

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Cafeteria Style

• Generally Used for Smaller Projects
• Geared for Projects Suffering Budget Constraints
• Recommended Critical Points
• Requirements Review
• Risk Analysis
• Conversion Planning
• Test Plan Comparison to Requirements Review
  /Witness Testing
• IVV can be easily tailored to meet specific
  goals and objectives throughout all industries
  and types of projects.

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• PROJECT TYPES
• Software Development thru PIR
• COTS Installation / Implementation /
  Customization
• Satellite Communications System Installation
• Network Design / Procurement / Wiring
• Wireless Systems
• Legacy Migrations
• System Conversions
• Software License Verification
• EBT / EFT Based Systems Verification

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• When is IVV Needed?
• Criteria for IVV consideration for projects are
  usually based on
• High cost for the project itself
• High cost of failure
• Potential for significant exposure or risk to
  the Organization
• High level of uncertainty
• High visibility (e.g., media, legislature,
  constituents, clients)
• High degree of subject matter expertise is
  required
• Critical business partnerships between the
  organization and vendor(s) (e.g., outsourcing of
  mission critical project or system functions)
• Aggressive timeframes with critical milestones
• Weak change control following remediation

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• KEY BENEFITS OF IVV
• Improve conditions for overall project success
• Provide benchmarks and practices to be passed
  on to future phases and or projects
• Provide increased visibility to the project at
  all levels of the organization
• Supplements client technical experience in
  specialized areas
• Assists with building internal PM skills
• Provides for best practices knowledge transfer
  and specialized SME

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• STANDARD IVV REPORTING
• BUSINESS DESIGN REQUIREMENTS REVIEW
• INITIAL RISK ASSESSMENT
• INITIAL PROJECT REVIEW
• PERIODIC REVIEW REPORTING - Monthly
• PM Monitoring
• Project Status Meetings
• Steering Committee Meetings
• Budget Monitoring
• Design Meetings w/Client or Vendor
• Conversion Concept Design Meetings
• System Test Planning Results
• Vendor Contract Monitoring (Deliverable QA)
• Risk Assessment
• Issues / Recommendations
• Atmosphere

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• STANDARD IVV REPORTING
• continued
• System Test Planning Results
• Witness Testing
• Hardware/Software Acquisition Verification
• Pilot Setup
• Survey Review
• Training Material/Presentation Review
• Implementation Practices Review
• Hardware/Network Configuration Review
• Cost/Benefit Analysis Review
• Post Implementation Review Lessons Learned

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• IVV TOOLBOX
• ISO-9000 STANDARDS (In Detail, Next slide)
• IEEE STANDARDS
• National Institute of Standards Technology
• CISA Techniques
• PMBOK
• Customized Requirements of the Client
• Industry Best Practices
• Information Systems Audit Control Assoc. IS
  Standards, Guidelines Procedures
• Empirical Experience

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• IVV Standards
• The following standards have been developed by
  credible professional organizations to guide IT
  quality assurance programs
• IEEE Std 1012-1986, Standard for Software
  Verification and Validation Plans, November 14,
  1986
• IEEE Std 1059-1993, Guide for Software
  Verification and Validation Plans, December 2,
  1993
• IEEE Std 1012-1998, Standard for Software
  Verification and Validation, March 9, 1998
• CMU/SEI-93-TR-25, CMM Practices
• ANSI-9000 Quality Assurance
• ISO-9000 and ISO 9000-2000

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• IVV BUDGET CONSIDERATIONS
• Generally 5 - 10 of Project Budget
• Example 1,000,000 Budget Total should set-aside
  50,000 - 100,000 for a Prospective Review Over
  the Entire Course of the Project
• Proven ROI by Identification Mitigation Early
  in the Project
• Early Detection of Risks/Deficiencies Leads
  to more efficient, less costly and accurately
  functional systems

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• Question and Answer Session

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A Bency Summary

• Bency Associates Provides a Broad Spectrum of
  IT Services
• Bency is a Fortunate 500 Company
• Our company motto is Quality is the Difference,
  and we have an extensive and proven track record
  of providing consistent delivery of quality
  products for ten years
• We have senior staff who average over twenty
  years in IT experience and hold numerous
  certifications relevant to Information
  Technology, in addition to employees with 8 -10
  years experience in emerging technologies. Each
  member of the Bency team is a mentor for others
  within their area of expertise and have access to
  constant training
• We engage our employees through personal and
  professional networking relationships and
  recommendations from trusted colleagues. Bency
  does not use advertising or web based Job Sites
  to find quality expertise and experience to
  complement the engagement.