05 - Application Profiler

Question 1

Describe the Application Profile

Answer 1

• Tool for describing the scope of an application.
• Can be used to describe an application at the Program Level for budgetary planning or at a Project Level.
• Program Level AP has bigger Scope where as Project is a sliver of a Program)
• Program Level AP is very rarely if ever accelerated
• The Plus/Minus factor associated with the effort estimates should be larger for a Program given the level details known

Question 2

Where can the Application Profiler be run from?

Answer 2

• PRPC Designer Studio
• PRPC Business Architect Studio

Question 3

When does Direct Capture of Objectives Begin?

Answer 3

With creation of the Application Profile via the Application Profiler

Question 4

Who determines the profile options for the Application Profile (Framework? Implementation?)

Answer 4

The Lead Business Architetc or Lead System Architect

Question 5

What is a Framework?

Answer 5

An application that provides generic functionality to be accessed from other applications, i.e. Personal Lines Insurance

Question 6

What is an Implementation?

Answer 6

An application that provides specific functionality usually for just one purpose, i.e Auto Insurance

Question 7

What profile options exist when creating the Application Profile?

Answer 7

• New Framework & Implementation
• New Framework (only)
• New Implementation (only)

Question 8

What happens when you UPDATE an Existing Application for the Application Profile?

Answer 8

• A new Application Profile is created for the existing PRPC Application Rule
• Does not modify the existing Appliation Profile

Question 9

What happens when you MODIFY an existing Application Profile

Answer 9

• Updates are made to the exsting AP

Question 10

What happens if you switch from NEW to UPDATE Application?

Answer 10

You will lose all work. Consults with the LBA/LSA before doing this.

Question 11

What does “Built on Framework” do?

Answer 11

Allows you to select an existing (framework) application to serve as a starting point

Question 12

What High Level information is captured on the Application Profile?

Answer 12

• Business Objectives - A measurable Business reasoning for doing the project that brings significant value (business or technical)
• Project Description

Question 13

What does the Actions menu provide in the AP?

Answer 13

Access to other actions such as:

• Adding Actors
• Saving the AP
• Sizing the AP
• Documenting the AP
• etc.

Question 14

What are Actors and how is this information used?

Answer 14

• Actors are entities which take action on a work type at a specific business process point
• Information will be accessed when creating specifications in discovery maps

Question 15

What is a Work Type?

Answer 15

A case

Question 16

Describe the Discovery Map

Answer 16

• Facilitates capturing manual and/or automated steps in a process
• Business participates significantly in drafting out the Discovery Map processes
• Provides an at-a-glance view of all specifications in a process
• Uses color coded shapes to distinguish automated, manual, or system steps
• Sub process shapes used to handle complexity
• Not meant to replace flow modeling which encompasses decisions, looping, routing or other details that come out of subsequent process refinement sessions
• By capturing the main steps in a process, teams can get to a sufficient level of detail necessary for project sizing without overanalyzing the entire solution
• Should be high level depiction of the flows, don’t go too far. Organize & Design for reuse

Question 17

What types of Paths are defined in the Discovery Map?

Answer 17

Primary and Alternate Paths

Question 18

How is complexity handled in the Discovery Map?

Answer 18

Through the use of Sub-Processes

Question 19

What is the color legend for objects on the Discovery Map?

Answer 19

• Blue: Sub-Processes
• Green: Human based step
• Yellow: Automated Step
• Red: Integration Step

Question 20

What may each shape in the Discovery Map represent?

Answer 20

A specification

Question 21

Describe a Specification

Answer 21

A specification is defined as a “Set of steps that describe exactly “How” the requirements will be met by the application”.

Question 22

Describe the Levels in Specifications

Answer 22

• Level-1 is captured during the Inception phase of a project using Pega BPM and is a high level description of the process. It does not have all the details spelled out.
• Level-2 is captured during the DCO Elaboration Session process and is full detail of the specification

Question 23

Do all steps shapes need to be referenced in a specification?

Answer 23

No, however they should be accounted for in a specificaiton.

Question 24

How should attachments in specifiations be used

Answer 24

To capture artifacts that are requlated to the Requirements and Specifications

Helps with reuse avoid creating new artifacts

Question 25

What information is typically captured in the Specification with the Discovery map?

Answer 25

* Name * Shape Type (sub-process, human based, etc.) * Status * Actors * Trigger - access method used when an actor encounters this specification * Complexity - used in project sizing estimates * Related Business Objectives * Subject Matter Experts * Pre & Post Conditions * Description

Question 26

What is a Best Practice Related to creating Requirements?

Answer 26

Create them in advance as they may then be selected from a drop-down during creation of the Discovery Map

Question 27

Describe Specifications versus Requirements

Answer 27

Requirements: * Describe “What” the business need is * Always have clear descriptions * Have a strong naming convention * Be linked to Specifications Specifications: * Describe “How” the requirements will be met * Always have clear descriptions * Have strong naming convention * Be linked to Discovery Map Shapes * Should utilize a standard template to ensure consistency

Question 28

What information is gathered when defining Integrations in the Discovery Map?

Answer 28

* Name * Does the source currently exist * Protocol to be used to connect * Number of distinct calls made * Complexity used to drive estimates

Question 29

How is the "Level of Detail" used when defining reports and correspondance?

Answer 29

* Low Level of Detail - enter summary information about the objects and an estimated count * High Level of Detail - enter detailed (line item) information about each object

Question 30

How are assumptions used?

Answer 30

Provide a mechanism to capture project related information that pertains to many different areas (added to AP document only)

Question 31

How are Project Participants used in the AP?

Answer 31

Allow for resource planning (added to AP document only)

Question 32

Describe (High-Level) the process for Delegating work in the Application Profile

Answer 32

* Work can be divided and assigned to indviduals * Appears in their worklist * When delegated tasks are completed must be merged back with the primary profile * Operators responsible for merge must be in the Access List for the AP * Operator assigned clicks on MERGE

Question 33

Describe some Application Profile Best Practices

Answer 33

* Use the Save action (click Actions \> Save) to save work on individual steps of the AP. * If multiple resources will be collaborating on one Application Profile (AP), solidify your delegation strategy before starting to capture objectives * As you accomplish your operational walkthrough, model your AP processes * Create as many iterations of the AP as required before submitting it for approval * Document your AP and have it approved by the business * Consider the final AP as “locked” once the Application Accelerator has been run * If you no longer need a profile and want to remove it, use the Withdraw action (Actions \> Withdraw) to resolve and withdraw the profile. A withdrawn profile cannot be used to populate data in the Application Accelerator. * If updating an existing application that did not use DCO, you can use the “Discover Work Types” button on the application rule to enable DCO features

Question 34

What aspects of the Application Profile can be imported from Excel and what are the advantages?

Answer 34

Requirements and specifications may be imported from Excel. Allows you to enter them all at once.

Question 35

Can the Applicatio Profile be moved to another system?

Answer 35

Yes, it can be packaged into a Zip file from the Actions menu and then imported into the other system via PRPCs Import Wizard