Tasks
Introduction
Positioning of tasks
Outcomes are at the heart of HERMS. They are developed together with the tasks.
A task consists of several activities. Activities are used to develop one or more outcomes and to ensure the quality requirements are met.
Two types of tasks are distinguished:
- Decision-making tasks, which lead to a decision and end with the milestone outcome. They are further divided into
- Decision-making tasks of steering and
- Decision-making tasks of management.
- Other tasks that accompany the course of the project, serve to develop outcomes and solutions, and ensure or increase quality.
Task descriptions do not replace knowledge of the methods and practices to be applied or corresponding training.
Decision-making tasks
General
Decisions have to be made over the course of the project. Tasks that lead to a decision are defined as decision-making tasks. They end with a milestone.
HERMES distinguishes between decisions made by project steering and decisions made by project management. For example, the decision on launch of operation is made by the project sponsor (steering), while the decision on solution architecture is made by the project manager (management).
At the end of a phase (traditional) or a release (agile, if the decision on release approval is required in the project), steering checks whether the necessary specialist decisions have been made. If this is not the case, the next phase or the next release is not approved. In this way, steering can make decisions without having the necessary expertise itself.
Decision-making tasks are supported by checklists.
Steering decisions
At the steering hierarchy level, decisions are made by the project sponsor. The project sponsor decides on project initiation release, execution release, phase release, interim release approvals where applicable, project closure, project discontinuation where applicable, as well as other important decisions such as initiating a call for tenders, deciding on an award of contract, or approving launch of operation. As needed, the project sponsor is advised and supported by other roles, such as the project committee, the project manager, or the user representative.
Management decisions
Management decisions are decisions of the project manager on project outcomes.
Review and acceptance of technical outcomes is carried out on behalf of management by the execution level, i.e. by the specialists for the topic in question. Depending on the process model, the project manager or user representative plans the decision-making tasks, taking into account the specifications of the controlling and compliance bodies of the core organization.
Overview of tasks
Standard tasks
The table shows the assignment of all provided tasks to project phases, including the corresponding outcomes; decision-making tasks are highlighted in pink.
Customized tasks
Supplementing the standard tasks available, it is also possible to integrate new subject-, organization-, or project-specific tasks into own modules and then to expand them with outcomes.
This is supported by HERMES online and is especially relevant when new modules are developed. Examples of customized tasks can be extended, core organization-specific reporting or project-specific risk management.
Explanation regarding task description
For each task, a task description is provided that is always structured in the same way:
- Purpose
describes the intent and purpose of the task. - Basic idea
creates a fundamental understanding of the task. - HERMES-specific
describes how HERMES supports the task in concrete terms. - Basis/prerequisites
lists the outcomes necessary to perform the task, if relevant. For tasks during solution creation, the list varies depending on the scenario. Where applicable, the outcomes are marked with "A" for agile or "T" for traditional. - Activities
describe how the task is executed. If possible, the activities are listed in chronological order. Where applicable, the outcomes are marked with "A" for agile or "T" for traditional. - Relationships (online only)
show how the tasks relates to other module elements. - Outcomes
show which outcomes are generated by the task. Where applicable, the outcomes are marked with "A" for agile or "T" for traditional.
Descriptions of the tasks
Decision-making tasks of steering
- Decide on call for tenders
- Decide on closure phase release
- Decide on contract award
- Decide on execution release
- Decide on launch of operation
- Decide on phase release
- Decide on project closure
- Decide on project discontinuation
- Decide on project initiation release
- Decide on release
Decision-making tasks of management
- Decide on ISDP concept
- Decide on acceptance
- Decide on acceptance of migration
- Decide on next steps
- Decide on preliminary acceptance
- Decide on product concept
- Decide on solution architecture
Other tasks
- Activate operation
- Activate organization
- Activate product
- Activate system
- Advocate stakeholder interests
- Agree on and steer goods/services
- Analyze legal basis
- Analyze protection needs
- Carry out prototyping
- Conduct migration
- Conduct test
- Deal with problems and benefit from lessons learned
- Decommission the legacy system
- Design ISDP concept
- Design deployment concept
- Design integration concept
- Design migration concept
- Design operating concept
- Design product concept
- Design test concept
- Draw up agreement
- Draw up organization concept
- Draw up project execution order
- Draw up project management plan
- Establish organizational requirements
- Evaluate tenders
- Execute deployment measures
- Implement ISDP concept
- Implement organization
- Integrate the system into operation
- Issue call for tenders
- Manage and control project
- Manage and inform stakeholders
- Manage changes
- Manage risks
- Perform quality assurance
- Prepare call for tenders
- Prepare phase release
- Prepare procurement analysis
- Prepare project closure
- Prepare release closure
- Prepare solution architecture
- Prepare solution requirements
- Prepare study
- Prepare system integration
- Realize deployment measures
- Realize migration procedure
- Realize operation
- Realize product
- Realize system
- Realize test infrastructure
- Steer project
- Transfer ISDP concept
- Transfer test infrastructure