Process Definition Method - ETVX

Introduction

The primary purpose of this document is to provide a method for defining the activities of any Process Architecture. The method described in this doucment is called Entry-Task-Validation-Exit popularly known as ETVX [Radice 85]. ETVX method comes with ETVX diagrams to describe the Entry conditions, Tasks to be performed, Validation of the tasks and the Exit conditions.

Description

ETVX method is primarily for the description of activities, which are a set of tasks to be performed. This is not a method to depict the higher level or organizational level processes. ETVX uses a simple technique of identifying the four important phases of any activity at a sub process level. These four phases of any activity are Entry Criteria, Tasks to be performed, Exit Criteria and Validation, Verification Conditions for each task. The purpose of using a process definition method such as ETVX is to develop an operational definition of the activity under a process architecture. These operational definitions can then be adapted or tailored for use on all projects which uses the defined process architecture.

To be operational, the documented process must put communicable meaning into the concepts and express the activity of the process or process itself in operational terms to:

• identify and define entry criteria to begin activity, probably a "from" activity for traceability, state or condition of inputs, eg., work products or data used
• identify and define the individual atomic tasks, task descriptions of what is to be accomplished like enumerated procedures or steps, organizational roles, responsibilities, units or automation of performing the tasks,
• identify and define validation and verification procedures to verify quality of work items or work products produced by tasks,
• identify and define an exit criteria to complete the activity, in most cases with a state or condition of outputs, e.g., work products or information produced, probably a "to" activity for traceability.

A sample ETVX diagram is depicted below

References

Radice 85

Radice, R.A.; Roth, N.K.; O'Hara, A.C., Jr; Ciarfella, W.A. " A Programming Process Architecture" IBM Systems Journal Vol.24, No 2 (1985), pp.79-90.