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Date: Sun, 03 Dec 95 18:36:18 EST
From: wade@MIT.EDU (Steven Wade Neiterman)
To: orange@MIT.EDU
Subject: Orange Update Dec. 3, 1995



The Orange team has met 6 times since the last report on August 22.  
This message summarizes the team activities since that date via the 
following sections:

1.  Accomplishments
2.  Issues
3.  Next Steps

--------------------------------------------------------------------

ACCOMPLISHMENTS:

-  August 29:  Prepared questions and organization to interview
               the MIT Elciver Tulip project - BULB (see notes from 
               August 22 for more information).

-  Sep.    5:  Interview team members from the Elciver Tulip/BULB to
               compare procedures from their completed project against
               methodology requirements from previous Orange team.

               Highlights/lessons learned:

               -  Important to maintain a flexible methodology
               -  Keep agenda up front and focused through project
               -  Emphasis on communication
               -  Keep list of action items simple versus complex
               -  Need commitment and right resources throughout project
               -  Project keys include user involvement and adaptation
               -  Methodology checklist would be a "good thing"

- Sep.   12:  -  Alan Chaiken joined the team (he left a few weeks     
                 later, reducing the working team to three people).
              -  Reviewed results from the Sep. 5 Tulip/BULB focus group 
                 meeting.
              -  Reviewed status on closing current team milestone on
                 "Gathering Information" (see document from Aug. 15, 
                 1995).
              -  Findings from "Information Gathering" will be delivered
                 via a "Methodology Principles" document.  The purpose 
                 of this document is to assist teams when applying a 
                 methodology within the phases recommended.

- Sep.   26:  -  Completed "Methodology Principles", sent to the Orange
                 mailing list on September 29, 1995.

- Oct.    3:  -  Tom presented his idea on the Vault.  The Vault is both
                 a process and a repository.  It's a process to help
                 facilitate a team when picking a methodology.  The 
                 Vault is a repository of "methods", which may represent 
                 documents based on best-practices for various types of 
                 projects.

- Oct.   12:  -  Tom sent out a first draft on the Vault

- Nov.   14:  -  Discussion of Vault description continued, minor 
                 changes made to previous draft.
              -  Discussion on filling the Vault, if possible, would 
                 like to locate resources outside the "core" Orange team 
                 to help locate documents and "store" documents.  The 
                 Vault should be open and easily accessible, thus, the 
                 Web is the current choice for document access.
               
- Dec.    4:  -  Sent description of Vault to the Orange mailing list. 

ISSUES:

-  Team dynamics:  The three working members of the Orange team are not
   sufficient resources to make a significant contribution in a timely
   manor.  The team has been slowed by recent holiday's, vacations and 
   mostly dedicating time to this project.

-  The current team needs to bring this phase of the Orange process to
   a close.  The major contribution will be establishing the Vault.  The
   team will need additional resources to locate documents, make 
   decisions on these documents for contribution value and publish the 
   documents.

-  The team does not have an up to date project plan and could do better
   in communicating the status of this project.

-  How will the work accomplished by this team fit into interests that 
   may come from the delivery process/integration process leaders, as 
   well as coexist with electronic tools that foster methodology 
   deployment?

NEXT STEPS:

-  The next Orange Meeting is 10:00 am, December 5, 1995, 16-720.  

   Agenda:

   -  Evaluate issues outlined above,  (resources and project plan)
   -  Determine how to proceed with filling the Vault
   -  Determine how much work should be done on the process portion of
      the Vault, e.g. how to make the Vault self-managing and allow 
      teams to contribute.
   -  Determine how to solicit peer review of this teams work to date