How do you manage and update project documentation and deliverables in maintenance phase?

1 Identify the scope and frequency of maintenance

The first step is to define the scope and frequency of the maintenance activities, based on the contract, the user feedback, and the performance metrics. You should specify what types of changes are included, such as bug fixes, security updates, feature additions, or design improvements. You should also determine how often you will perform the maintenance, such as weekly, monthly, quarterly, or on-demand. This will help you plan your resources, schedule your tasks, and communicate your expectations to the client and the stakeholders.

2 Establish a change control process

The second step is to establish a change control process, where you document, review, approve, and implement any changes to the project documentation and deliverables. You should use a change request form, where you describe the change, the reason, the impact, the priority, and the estimated effort and cost. You should also have a change control board, where you evaluate, prioritize, and authorize the change requests. You should also update the project plan, the scope statement, the budget, and the schedule accordingly.

4 Perform quality assurance and testing

The fourth step is to perform quality assurance and testing, where you verify that the project documentation and deliverables meet the quality standards and criteria. You should use a quality assurance plan, where you define the quality objectives, the quality measures, the quality roles, and the quality tools. You should also use a testing plan, where you specify the testing scope, the testing methods, the testing cases, and the testing results. You should also use a defect tracking system, where you identify, report, and resolve any issues or errors.

5 Deliver and deploy the changes

The fifth step is to deliver and deploy the changes, where you transfer the project documentation and deliverables to the client and the end-users. You should use a delivery plan, where you outline the delivery process, the delivery schedule, the delivery resources, and the delivery acceptance criteria. You should also use a deployment plan, where you describe the deployment environment, the deployment steps, the deployment risks, and the deployment verification.

6 Monitor and evaluate the maintenance

The sixth step is to monitor and evaluate the maintenance, where you measure and report the performance and satisfaction of the project documentation and deliverables. You should use a monitoring plan, where you define the monitoring objectives, the monitoring indicators, the monitoring methods, and the monitoring frequency. You should also use an evaluation plan, where you collect and analyze the feedback, the lessons learned, and the recommendations for improvement.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?