Activities

An activity is something that one or more roles do. Activities support the nesting and logical grouping of related process elements, forming the hierarchical breakdown structures that organize project work.

What is an Activity?

In the Unified Method Architecture (UMA), an activity is a breakdown element that:

Groups related work together
Can contain sub-activities (nesting)
References tasks through descriptors
Forms the building blocks of processes

An activity is a breakdown element which supports the nesting and logical grouping of related process elements such as descriptors and sub-activities, thus forming breakdown structures.

Activity Hierarchy

Activities organize work in a hierarchical structure:

Activity Hierarchy

Example: Development Activity Structure

Develop Solution Increment Activity

Activities vs Tasks

Aspect	Activity	Task
Scope	Container for work	Unit of work
Granularity	Coarse-grained	Fine-grained
Nesting	Can contain sub-activities	Cannot be nested
Duration	Multiple hours to days	Hours
Performers	Multiple roles	Typically one role

NUP Activities by Phase

NUP defines specific activities for each of its seven phases. Each activity contains tasks that roles perform to produce artifacts.

1. Strategy Phase Activities

Define Project

Conduct Market Research
Initial Project Scoping

Define OKR

Identify and Document Objectives and Key Results (OKRs)
Align OKRs with Business Goals

Plan and Manage Iteration

Plan Iteration
Manage Iteration

2. Envision Phase Activities

Develop Intellectual Property Strategy

IP Assessment and Planning

Define and Establish Architecture Capability

Define and Establish Enterprise Architecture Team
Confirm Governance and Support Frameworks
Identify and Establish Architecture Principles
Implement Architecture Tools
Scope Enterprise Organizations Impacted
Tailor Architecture Framework

Develop Architecture Vision

Establish Architecture Project
Identify Stakeholders, Concerns, and Business Requirements
Confirm and Elaborate Business Goals, Drivers, and Constraints
Evaluate Business Capabilities
Assess Readiness for Business Transformation
Define Scope
Develop Architecture Vision
Identify Business Transformation Risks and Mitigation Activities

Develop Business Architecture

Select Reference Models, Viewpoints, and Tools
Develop Baseline Business Architecture Description
Develop Target Business Architecture Description
Perform Gap Analysis
Define Candidate Roadmap Components
Resolve Impacts Across Architecture Landscape
Conduct Formal Stakeholder Review
Finalize Business Architecture
Create Architecture Definition Document

Develop Data Architecture

Data Architecture Development Tasks

Develop Application Systems Architecture

Application Architecture Development Tasks

Develop Technology Architecture

Technology Architecture Development Tasks

Generate Architecture Roadmap

Roadmap Planning and Documentation

Develop Migration Plan

Migration Strategy Development

Manage Architecture Change

Architecture Change Management

Establish Implementation Governance

Governance Framework Implementation

3. Inception Phase Activities

Initiate Project

Plan Project
Initial Planning Activities

Plan and Manage Iteration

Plan Iteration
Manage Iteration

Understand User Experience

Understand Users and Their Needs
Identify User Personas
Use Customer Journey Maps

Identify and Detail Requirements

Find and Outline Requirements
Detail Requirements
Create Test Cases

Ensure DevOps Involvement

Involve DevOps Team Early
Initial Infrastructure Planning

4. Elaboration Phase Activities

Identify and Detail Requirements

Find and Outline Requirements (expanded)
Detail Requirements
Create Test Cases

Plan and Manage Iteration

Plan Iteration
Manage Iteration

Develop the Architecture

Outline the Architecture
Refine the Architecture

Develop Solution Increment

Design the Solution
Implement the Solution
Code Review
Implement Developer Tests
Run Developer Tests
Integrate and Create Build
Create Style Guide

Test Solution

Implement Test Scripts
Integrate
Run Tests

Ongoing Tasks

Request Change
Ensure Artifact Versioning

5. Construction Phase Activities

Identify and Detail Requirements

Find and Outline Requirements
Detail Requirements
Create Test Cases

Plan and Manage Iteration

Plan Iteration
Manage Iteration

Develop Solution Increment

Create a Style Guide
Design the Solution
Ensure DevOps Involvement
Implement the Solution
Code Review
Implement Developer Tests
Run Developer Tests
Integrate and Create Build

Test Solution

Implement Test Scripts
Integrate and Create Build
Run Tests

Ongoing Tasks

Request Change
Ensure Artifact Versioning

6. Transition Phase Activities

Plan and Manage Iteration

Plan Iteration
Manage Iteration

Develop Solution Increment

Design the Solution
Ensure DevOps Involvement
Implement Developer Tests
Implement the Solution
Code Review
Run Developer Tests
Integrate and Create Build

Test Solution

Implement Test Scripts
Integrate and Create Build
Run Tests
Software Validation

Set up the Demo Environment

Create and Update Demo Environment

Ongoing Tasks

Request Change
Ensure Artifact Versioning

Plan for Deployment and Release

Plan Project (deployment-focused)

7. Production Phase Activities

Handle the Move into Production

Ensure DevOps Involvement
Maintenance

Plan and Manage Iteration

Plan Iteration
Manage Iteration

Activity Categories

Iteration Activities

Activities that recur each iteration:

Plan Iteration
Manage Iteration
Development Work
Iteration Review
Retrospective
Assess Results

Cross-Phase Activities

Activities that span multiple phases:

Plan and Manage Iteration
Request Change
Ensure Artifact Versioning
Quality Planning

Milestone Activities

Activities focused on milestone achievement:

Milestone Preparation
Milestone Review
Milestone Assessment
Go/No-Go Decision

Activity Descriptors

Activities reference content elements through descriptors. A descriptor is an abstract generalization that references one concrete content element, enabling separation of process from method content.

Why Descriptors?

Reusability: Same task can be used in different activities
Customization: Process can modify how a task is performed
Flexibility: Different projects can use tasks differently

Descriptor Properties

Property	Description
Multiple Occurrences	Can occur more than once in the process
Optional	May be skipped based on project needs
Planned	Included in project planning

Breakdown Structures

Activities form breakdown structures - hierarchical decompositions of work:

Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)

Organizes work by deliverable:

Product
    └── Component A
        └── Feature 1
            └── Design Feature 1
            └── Implement Feature 1
            └── Test Feature 1

Team Allocation Structure

Organizes work by team:

Development Team
    ├── Backend Development
    │   └── API Development Activity
    └── Frontend Development
        └── UI Development Activity

Responsibility Assignment

Maps roles to activities:

Activity: "Design Solution"
    ├── Responsible: Software Architect
    ├── Accountable: Technical Lead
    ├── Consulted: Business Analyst
    └── Informed: Project Manager

Activity Patterns

Capability Pattern

A reusable activity structure that can be applied in different processes:

Example: "Develop Component"

Can be used in any phase
Includes standard tasks for development
Customizable per project

Delivery Process

A complete process with all activities defined:

Includes all phases
Defines activity sequence
Specifies milestones

Planning Activities

Iteration Planning Process

Review Backlog: Identify candidate work items
Estimate Effort: Size tasks within activities
Allocate Resources: Assign roles to activities
Define Acceptance: Specify done criteria
Commit to Plan: Team agreement on iteration scope

Activity Estimation

Activity Type	Typical Duration	Estimation Approach
Design	1-3 days	Expert judgment
Implementation	2-5 days	Story points
Testing	1-2 days	Test case count
Review	2-4 hours	Artifact size

Tracking Activity Progress

Activity States

State	Description
Not Started	Activity not yet begun
In Progress	Activity actively being worked
Blocked	Activity cannot proceed
Complete	Activity finished and verified

Progress Indicators

Task Completion: % of tasks done
Artifact Completion: % of artifacts produced
Test Passing: % of tests passing
Review Status: Approvals obtained

Best Practices

Activity Definition

Keep activities focused and cohesive
Define clear entry and exit criteria
Identify dependencies between activities
Estimate realistically

Activity Execution

Work on one activity at a time when possible
Complete activities before starting new ones
Track blockers immediately
Communicate progress daily

Activity Review

Review completed activities promptly
Document lessons learned
Update estimates based on actuals
Improve activity definitions

Compliance

This section fulfills ISO 13485 requirements for planning of product realization (7.1), control of production (7.5.1), and monitoring and measurement (8.2.4), and ISO 27001 requirements for documented procedures (A.5.37) and information security in project management (A.5.8).

View full compliance matrix

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