Activities and model components

Str#1. "Four Major Activities, Four Major Components

Organize your work around four major activities, within four major components:

Str#1a. "Build an Initial Object Model, then Proceed Feature-by-Feature" Strategy

Here is a very helpful path for building object models.

Str#1b. "Use Feature Milestones" Strategy

Use your prioritized features list to plan, build, and measure.

Some notes:

Str#1c. "Take Multiple Paths" Strategy

For each outcome, consider multiple paths for reaching that goal. Travel down one of those paths. When your progress slows somewhat, move to another path, for awhile.

Str#1d. "Invest an Hour" Strategy

Rather than philosophize endlessly, invest an hour in each of several different ways of modeling a particularly challenging area. Compare your results -- and decide which way to go (based upon actual results, rather than the outcome of a multiweek debate).

Str#1e. "Consider the Domain First, Artifacts After That" Strategy

Build an object model with a domain expert first. Then add-in content that you can extract from artifacts (existing data models, source code, whatever).

Str#1f. "Extract Useful Content From An Existing Data Model" Strategy

Yes, it can be done.