Evaluation

The implementation stage is over: The system is up and running, Staff are fully trained and bugs have been ironed out.

This new stage is called the 'Evaluation phase'

It is at this point two key questions are considered:

Does the finished solution meet its requirements?

Does it solve the problem?

These questions are answered by considering details written down in the original Requirements Specification and comparing it to the performance of the new system.

For example:

Requirements specification states that the system should be able read the data file in less than 3 seconds.

Question: Does the system meet this specification?

Answer: Yes, the data file is read in 2.8 seconds.

In a complicated project, there may be hundreds of requirements specified. It could take many weeks to complete the evaluation phase.

The project manager and the client review whether or not the project has been completed successfully.