Microsoft Sure Step Methodology

Sure Step is often used by companies to create and implement projects, having the Sure Step Certification is very helpful for people aiming to be a Project Manager but it also helps developers to understand all the process.

In this post I will post the material that I made to study for MB5-858.

Sure Step tells you who shall do what in which order and who is responsible for what. Sure Step defines process phases, milestones roles, artifacts, cross-phase-processes and additional project management processes. Different Projects types: Full Implementation, Rapid Implementation, Optimization and Upgrade.

Products and project types can be combined. Microsoft provides the Sure Step Overview Diagram for sales and training situations.

Sure Step Methodology Overview Chart

Obs.: For a more detailed Sure Step Methodology Chart consult:
http://www.advantage.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Microsoft_Dynamics_Sure_Step_Methodology.pdf

Phases

Sure Step defines 6 Main Phases and 2 additional phases for optimization and upgrade:

• Diagnostic: The diagnostic phase contains analysis of the customer process at a very high level. Focus of the diagnostic phase is the project initialization; To setup a project plan, agree on an approach and scope definition.
• Analysis: In the analysis phase most of the business processes are identified and documented at a high level. If necessary an external specialist helps you to do so. Goal of the analysis phase is to understand the customers business and processes performed. Modeling and documenting the customers business is important.
• Design: Main purpose of the design phase is to find a way how the customers processes and needs can be implemented with Dynamics. At this point there may be more than one solution for a topic. You need to identify the best strategy for the implementation phase. Although prototyping is not covered in sure step, this is the point where to build prototypes and do load testing on the prototype implementation.
• Development: Most of the programming work is done in the development. Development covers the creation of new features and adaption of existing features as well as the data migration. All features and the data migration has to be tested. Beside feature and data migration testing it is necessary to do security testing. The phase ends when most of the specified features are developed and tested and the data migration is done.
• Deployment: Goal of the deployment phase is to setup the operational dynamics environment at the customer. Beside installation, configuration and feature deployment, the phase focuses on testing at system level. So you have to run the user acceptance tests, process tests, security tests and load tests as defined in the test plan. When the system runs and all tests pass the deployment phase is finished.
• Operations: The purpose of the Operations phase is to support the customer technically and functionally during the initial Go Live period for the new system. Additionally, you will perform tasks to close the project. At the end of the phase, you transition the project to the customer, and pursue the opportunity to provide on-going support and continued account management.

Phases

While a Phase is a view on the process between milestones, a cross phase process is a view on the process for a specific software engineering disciple. Like the name suggests Cross Phase Processes are performed in several phases. In general, most Cross Phase Processes are performed from project start to end. Without the Management Disciplines, Sure Step defines 8 Cross Phase Processes

The Cross Phase Processes section includes the following:

• Program management
• Training
• Business process analysis
• Requirements and configuration
• Custom coding
• Quality and testing
• Infrastructure
• Integration and interfaces
• Data migration

Roles

Sure Step defines 20 different roles and divides them in “Consulting” and “Customer” roles. Sure Step gives hint what skills are necessary to fulfill a role and typical tasks for the role. A role can be performed by more than one person, eg. there may be more than one Development Consultant. A person may perform more than one role, eg. a consultant may be both Application- and Development Consultant.

Consulting Team: Sales

• Executive Sponsor
• Account Manager
• Sales Representative
• Technical Sales Specialist

Consulting Team: Sales

• Engagement Manager: The Engagement Manager participates only in the starting phase of a project. He is responsible to transfer a sales project into a implementation project.
• Project Manager: The project manager is what the name suggests; The project manager. He keeps the project running, allocates resources, maintains the project plan, work break down structure and is the contact person for the Customers project manager. The Project manager has a representative function and coordinates meetings with several team members.
• Business Analyst: The BA is a specialist on a certain domain, like production, financial, etc. He supports the project team during the Diagnostic and Analysis Phase. He is responsible for outlining existing processes at the customers company. In the Analysis phase the process knowledge is transfered from the Business Analyst to the Application Consultant.
• Application Consultant: The Application Consultant has a deep knowledge of the Dynamics System and modules. He takes part in every project phase from diagnostic to deployment, optimization and upgrade. His main purpose is to bring the customer processes into a Dynamics like form. Optimizing existing processes to fit the Dynamics built in processes and defining new processes.
• Solution Architect: The Solution Architect in Sure Step is described somehow as the God of Dynamics. He knows everything! The Solution Architect has a deep knowledge of Dynamics as well as Development in Dynamics. He is familiar with .NET, Visual Studio, Biz Talk, Windows Server Systems and of course Database Systems. He knows about the technical aspects about Application Integration, Web services as well as the benefits of a service oriented architecture. By the way the Solution Architect has also skills in business modeling and software documentation.
• Development Consultant: The Development Consultant realizes the requirements in Dynamics. He is an expert in Dynamics Development and Development Tools. The Development Consultant has a broad knowledge about .NET and Development with other Microsoft Products. He is familiar with the Microsoft Software stack from Operations Systems and Servers, to Database Servers and Share point, Biz Talk, etc.
• Technology Consultant: The Technology Consultant can be described as a kind of Administrator. He has a deep knowledge on installing and configuring Microsoft Products and especially Dynamics Software. He is responsible for setting up a production, development and testing environment. The Technology consultant is also a networking specialist.

Project Management Processes

Project management processes provide prescriptive guidance for starting, executing, and closing an implementation project. These processes organize tasks from each project management discipline into the following groups:

• Project initiation and planning.
• Project execution and monitoring.
• Project closing.
• Project management processes also align with the phases in the implementation methodology.
• Project initiation and planning tasks occur primarily during the Diagnostic phase and the beginning of Analysis.
• Ongoing project execution and monitoring tasks occur during Analysis, Design, Development, and the early Deployment activities.
• Project closing tasks start during Deployment and continue through the Operations phase and the end of the project.

The primary advantage of this alignment is prescribing what project management tasks to perform at various stages in the implementation project. Because each
implementation project is different, the project manager, in collaboration with the project team, must determine which tasks from the project management process
to perform and the degree of detail to complete each task.

The figure shows how Microsoft Dynamics Sure Step organizes tasks from the project management disciplines within the three groups of project management processes.