Each Stage starts with Detailed Design. The entire team decides on Class Structure/File List/ Data access etc. for that Stage. It also identifies specific SQA role and points of hand-over.

Programming starts on the lines of design, according to coding discipline decisions already taken. Regular code reviews and walk-throughs will be conducted to ensure excellence in quality. Each Stage is required to have a minimum of 2 code reviews.

Programmers are required to unit-test their code. The team might decide to have an active SQA role (with parallel, live testing) or a post-development testing strategy (with intermittent releases). On principle, each Stage's bugs are removed as soon as they are found. Defect removal and defect occurrence statistics are maintained and circulated among all team members.

The SQA Lead declares Stage Closure when Acceptance for that Stage has been reached.

The Stage closes with a Post-Closure Meeting: This meeting is meant to identify issues, deviations, potential problems and study impact on subsequent stages. It also throws light on new aspects of the project, being unraveled as Stages progress.

4. Control and Reporting Processes
In a remote development software project, project control is vital. Aquametal Technologies' processes achieve control at multiple levels: requirements, programming, schedule and quality.

a) Requirements Control:
It would be pre-requisite for the clients to sign off on the Requirements prior to development. This process will be initiated by Aquametal. It is possible that only 80% of the requirements are frozen prior-to-start.

Aquametal Technologies' design will be flexible enough to suit new features throughout the project.

Even where the client has provided a formal Specifications document, the Project Lead will expand on the document, seek clarifications from the client and have the specifications as clearly defined as possible. Programming will start ONLY after the client has signed off on this document.

b) Programming control:
The programming team follows development styles and guidelines as required by the client. Where such have not been provided by the client, we will follow the Aquametal development styles and guidelines.

c) Schedule control:
The client is to be sent regular status updates. Each Stage will be defined and dated, each task within a stage will have milestones set.

d) Quality control:
Every Stage has to be signed off by the SQA before closure.

5. Project Closure:
Project closure is a critical point in the cycle, and defining end-point can be an exercise in itself.

Internal project closure is achieved when SQA signs off on the final integrated release. This is based on the client's Acceptance Criteria as listed in Requirements, and also SQA's internal criteria.

Client project closure might involve a little more. Hence, external (client) closure is considered as a separate step. No project is defined closed till the client signs off, and final implementation/deployment as required has been completed.

After final implementation, the process requires the team to do a post-implementation analysis. The Relationship Manager takes feedback from the client, making sure that final points have been cleared up. The team holds a meeting to discuss the good, bad and ugly as experienced in the project, and learns for the future.

This is where metrics gathered during the project are also analyzed, and the project is benchmarked against similar projects in the past.

6. Communication and Collaboration tools:

Smart and effective Communication is key for the success of remote development projects like email, telephone and Instant Messaging .