Open Unified Process

Iterative Delivery as Risk Mitigation

Open Unified Process (OpenUP) is a streamlined version of the original Unified Process (UP) optimized for small to medium-scale projects, which is more aligned with the continuous delivery paradigm. It targets relatively small, collocated teams interested in iterative development and facing 3 to 6 months of delivery effort.

The process structures the project lifecycle into the four phases defined by the original UP framework:

• Inception — identify key system functions, and understand the cost, schedule and risks.
• Elaboration — define/validate architecture, prepare environment, and mitigate essential risks.
• Construction — iteratively develop a complete product that is ready for production deployment.
• Transition — test the product to validate that user expectations and system qualities are met.

OpenUP is driven by the four core principles creating the foundation for interpreting roles and work products:

• Aligned Interests — foster a healthy team environment and enable collaboration.
• Balanced Priorities — allow to develop a solution that maximizes stakeholder benefits.
• Architecture Focus — rely on architecture to minimize risks and organize development.
• Continuous Feedback — get early and continuous feedback from stakeholders and users.

This instance of UP contains minimal set of practices and tools that help teams to be more effective in developing software. It is complete in that it can be manifested as an entire process to build a system. It is also extensible in that it can be used as a foundation on which process content can be added or tailored as needed.

OpenUP disciplines are: requirements, architecture, development, testing, project control and change management. Other disciplines, such as business modeling and environment, are handled outside the project team.