Technical Evolution Guide

Defining and managing the IT projects in an integrated plan that coordinates the evolution of the HS IT assets according to the HS IT Strategic Plan and the HS Agency's Technical Architecture.

This guide defines the key activities, artifacts, and roles that are necessary to create and maintain an IT Evolution Plan (IEP) for the HS Agency. The HS Agency's IT Evolution Plan guides the migration to the Agency's Technical Architecture (ATA), aligning individual IT projects with the HS IT Strategic Plan. It divides the IT evolution into a series of IT Plateaus. Each Plateau contains a collection of projects. Projects may implement new initiatives for the HS Agency, provide application upgrades for existing HS programs, or update the IT infrastructure - enabling the evolution of the HS IT.

The activities in this guide rely on two major work products: the HS IT Strategic Plan and the A-TARS as defined in the Strategic IT Planning and Management and the Develop and Maintain the Technical Architecture IT Planning and Management Guides. Once the HS IT organization has completed its Strategic Plan, the organization will develop the plan to evolve to the Technical Architecture. The initial IT Evolution Plan is developed in parallel with the initial Technical Architecture.

See the Organization of the IT Planning and Management Guides for the relationship of the processes described in this guide with those of the other guides. To customize guidance, check information contained in the Application of the IT Planning and Management Guides.

Processes This guide defines the key activities, artifacts, and roles for the HS Agency technology planning and management processes. Two top-level processes contain sets of activities as shown in the Figure and described below. 

• Plan the Technical Evolution - These activities develop the initial IT Evolution Plan. They are performed when there has been a significant change to either the HS IT Strategic Plan or the HS IT Architecture.
  • Define Context - These activities evaluate the current project situation and develop a shared understanding of the goals, alternatives, and constraints.
  • Analyze Risks - These activities identify and analyze the risk in evolving the IT, creating a plan to manage that risk.
  • Plan Development of the IT Evolution Plan - These activities plan the creation of the IT Evolution Plan.
  • Develop the IT Evolution Plan - These activities develop and detail the evolutionary plan.
    
    

• Manage the Technical Evolution - These activities iteratively mange the evolution according to the plan. As each Plateau (or increment) of the evolution is completed, the HS IT Evolution Plan is updated. Each update takes into consideration the results of the current Plateau and any adjustments that have been made to the HS IT Strategic Plan and the Technical Architecture. Changes may require updates to the plans (e.g., new mandates from State or Federal Agencies or changes in the State and Federal HS IT budgets.
  • Compile and Coordinate Plateau Plan(s) - These activities coordinate the detailed project plans to establish an integrated plan for the current and next Plateau.
  • Monitor Plateau Development - These activities monitor execution of the projects and refine the IT Evolution Plan.
  • Update IT Evolution Plan - These activities update the evolutionary plan based on results achieved and lessons-learned.
    

Technical Evolution Guide Resources - A consolidated set of items that can be used to implement the activities defined in this guide are listed in the consolidated resources.