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| name="resources_for_customizing_methods,_omneEMX4EduywMSzPTUUwA" guid="-SqArASoV4hTpxAprrWhS1g" |
| changeDate="2008-08-01T15:33:32.109-0700" version="7.2.0"> |
| <mainDescription><p> There are several use scenarios for <a class="elementLink" href="./../../../core.default.uma_concept.base/guidances/termdefinitions/method_configuration_C2B8FA8A.html" guid="__V7pAMaEEduMlb2cQZNTYw">method configuration</a>s produced by using EPF Composer or Rational Method Composer 
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| (both referred to generically here as "Method Composer"). The simplest&nbsp;is 
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| to use the&nbsp;published content as-is (either using a prepublished Web site 
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| or by publishing one using the content that is included with Method Composer).&nbsp;However, 
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| you may be&nbsp;looking for&nbsp;how to add, remove, suppress, or modify <a class="elementLink" href="./../../../core.default.uma_concept.base/guidances/termdefinitions/method_content_6972AE81.html" guid="_Ts2joB_MEdq6CKKKq4D7YA">method content</a>&nbsp;or <a class="elementLink" href="./../../../core.default.uma_concept.base/guidances/termdefinitions/process_68E308B4.html" guid="_yQ5m2NnmEdmO6L4XMImrsA">process</a>&nbsp;elements, 
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| or both, to make an existing method configuration more&nbsp;suitable&nbsp;to 
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| your teams' needs, while keeping it consistent and understandable. </p>
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| This guidance page describes typical customization scenarios and&nbsp;then provides 
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| references to additional information on how to customize methods. 
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| <h3> Customization scenarios </h3>
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| <p> The following sections describe&nbsp;possible customization scenarios. For 
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| information on specific tool features, consult the Method Composer online Help. 
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| For&nbsp;additional information on customizing methods, see the Additional Resources 
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| section that follows here. </p>
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| <h4> Use existing plug-ins and packages to build your own process </h4>
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| <p> Some consider this the most straight-forward customization scenario. Based 
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| on the provided content, you can use Method Composer to pick and choose the 
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| packages with the content that you want to publish and make available to your 
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| team. Removing a method package removes all references to the content of that 
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| package from the published process. For example, you can simplify a process 
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| to have it contain a minimal subset of its content by removing packages that 
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| contain elements of work that you do not want to perform. You do this by creating 
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| a new method configuration (or copying an existing one) into your method library. 
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| You can select packages as appropriate without affecting the configuration provided. 
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| </p>
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| <h4> Add&nbsp;method content&nbsp;that your team needs </h4>
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| <p> Some teams may need to perform a different task that is not covered by the 
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| standard content. Maybe they need to perform an extra step in an existing task, 
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| or they may need to add a new guideline for a given technique that they are 
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| following. Eventually, they need a new template for a document (or they may 
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| need to add or remove sections in an existing template). </p>
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| <p> In such situations, the recommended approach is to create a separate plug-in 
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| in your library.&nbsp;It is not a good practice&nbsp;to make changes in the 
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| provided plug-in (meaning any plug-in for which you do not have control), because 
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| new versions of these plug-ins, when deployed, can override the changes that 
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| you have made. </p>
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| <p> Method Composer provides a series of mechanisms that allow you to indirectly 
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| modify the content in an existing plug-in by using <i>content variability</i>. 
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| In your plug-in, you can define an element that contributes, extends, or replaces 
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| an element in the existing plug-in. For example, in your plug-in, you can define 
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| a task that contributes a new step to an existing task. You can also define 
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| a new artifact that replaces an existing artifact, and this new artifact can 
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| have a different name, structure, and associated template, for example. Then 
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| all you need to do is make sure that the existing plug-in and your new plug-in 
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| are part of the configuration to be published. During publication, Method Composer 
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| will resolve the content variability that you defined by adding the new content 
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| into the existing content where appropriate, replacing existing content with 
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| the content you defined, and so on.&nbsp;&nbsp; </p>
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| <h4> Define a different development lifecycle </h4>
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| <p> Both method content and process are created independently from&nbsp;each other. 
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| For example, you create tasks in the method content (and define their&nbsp;inputs, 
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| outputs, and responsible roles), but you do not necessarily define the lifecycle 
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| of your process, meaning the sequence in which the various tasks will be performed. 
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| On the process side, you then define the lifecycle (such as phases, iterations, 
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| activities, and tasks), as well as the precedence among these elements. </p>
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| <p> Some teams may find the method content appropriate without any further customization, 
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| but they may want to work by following a different software development lifecycle. 
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| For example, some teams may like the four development phases and iterations 
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| from the unified process, but some may want to develop iteratively, without 
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| being tied to a specific phase structure. Again, you can add, remove and replace 
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| elements in the work breakdown structure of an existing process by applying 
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| process variability. </p>
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| <p> As an alternative to tailoring an existing process, you can write a completely 
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| new process that reuses activities from one or more existing processes. In cases 
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| where you cannot find any reusable material at all, you can also create a completely 
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| new process from scratch. In most cases, however, you will start developing 
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| your own process by assembling reusable building blocks from method content, 
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| as well as predefined process patterns&nbsp;called <a class="elementLinkWithUserText" href="./../../../core.default.uma_concept.base/guidances/termdefinitions/capability_pattern_F5DDC5F.html" guid="_2RUJACO4EdqaNq6Ptg8uyA">capability 
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| patterns</a>. The resulting assembled process is called a&nbsp;<a class="elementLinkWithUserText" href="./../../../core.default.uma_concept.base/guidances/termdefinitions/delivery_process_BCDF50B7.html" guid="_ZufeMCO3EdqaNq6Ptg8uyA">delivery 
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| process</a>. This newly created delivery process&nbsp;is part of a configuration 
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| that you publish and make available to members of your team. </p>
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| <h4> Publish the process Web site </h4>
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| <p> Every customization scenario is finalized by publishing content as HTML (on 
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| a Web site). Method Composer enables you to publish&nbsp;content based on a 
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| given configuration, which will publish all of the content available from the&nbsp;method 
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| and process packages selected in that configuration. Another option for publishing 
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| is to select only the capability patterns or delivery process of interest. This 
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| will make available only the content related to the process packages that you 
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| select. </p>
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| <p> For the published Web site look and feel, you can customize the views and 
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| nodes in the directory (tree) browser by defining <a class="elementLinkWithUserText" href="./../../../core.default.uma_concept.base/guidances/termdefinitions/custom_category_554AC4D6.html" guid="_eqw94MaFEduMlb2cQZNTYw">custom 
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| categories</a> that will be part of your configuration. </p>
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| <h3> Additional resources&nbsp; </h3>
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| <p> For more information on the fundamental concepts of method content and process, 
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| see <a class="elementLinkWithType" href="./../../../core.default.uma_concept.base/guidances/concepts/basic_process_concepts_C90EF089.html" guid="_FxJEkFUKEd2_rMtRMt_EMg">Concept: Basic Process Concepts</a>. </p>
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| <p> For information on EPF Composer, see <a class="elementLink" href="./../../../core.default.tool_def.base/guidances/supportingmaterials/epf_resources_446F3946.html" guid="_C2FS4F_lEd2zpKtX6B7lBg">EPF Resources</a>. </p>
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| <p> For information on Rational Method Composer, see <a class="elementLink" href="./../../../core.default.tool_def.base/guidances/supportingmaterials/rational_method_composer_resources_ADE2B192.html" guid="_dlGBQF_nEd2zpKtX6B7lBg">Rational Method Composer Resources</a>. </p>
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| <p> For detailed customization scenarios, consult the tutorials included in the 
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| Method Composer online Help, as well the general authoring topics. </p></mainDescription> |
| </org.eclipse.epf.uma:ContentDescription> |
