EPIC Artifacts

Throughout an EPIC^SM project, the team develops and revises a set of artifacts. Many of these are identical to artifacts in other methodologies. The key difference in EPIC is that these artifacts are updated throughout each phase. Key revisions occur as greater understanding of the market possibilities and the corporate requirements emerge.

(Please note: By themselves artifacts are only valuable in proportion to the number of people who know what they say. The mere existence of an artifact is not enough to ensure that those who need to understand it actually do so. EPIC processes are designed to maximize opportunities for stakeholders to understand the contents of artifacts.)

Click on any to see its description in another window.

Management Planning

These artifacts are created as management plans the project and monitors each iteration and phase.

Plans for Processes

As part of planning for a project, plans must be made for the various processes to be undertaken.

Technical Process Plans
• Development Case
• Infrastructure Plan
• Solution Acceptance Plan
Supporting Process Plans
• Configuration Management Plan
• Evaluation Plan
• Documentation Plan
• Quality Assurance Plan
• Problem Resolution Plan

End-User Business Processes and Stakeholder Needs

A number of steps are necessary to determine what the organization wants to accomplish, especially within the constraints of available products. The artifacts in this area are revised in each iteration as further information is gathered about the components available in the marketplace.

Iteration Artifacts

The heart of an EPIC iteration is the activities above in understanding internal needs and the activites in this diagram aimed at understanding the marketplace and developing an architecture and design.

The hexagonal shapes at the left refer to the artifacts noted in the previous diagram. Detailed guidance is linked from the description of artifacts with a red border.

The Business Case includes business context, success criteria, and financial forecast. The Executable Representation includes the Implementation Model.

Downstream Artifacts

After it is built, a system must be tested and deployed. The artifacts in this diagram plan and record these activities. NOTE: Testing and deployment occur as part of many, even most, EPIC iterations. These artifacts will undergo continuous expansion and revision.

Detailed guidance is linked from the description of artifacts with a red border.

Deployment Artifacts

In early phases these are optional. The first is required in the Elaboration phase. All are required in the Transition phase.