Oracle’s Application Implementation Methodology (AIM)

A process in AIM represents a related set of objectives, resource skill requirements, inputs, and deliverable outputs. A task can belong to only one process. Project team members are usually assigned to a process according to their specialization and background. A brief description of the

AIM processes are given below:

1. Business Requirements Definition: Business Requirements Definition defines the business needs that must be met by the implementation project. You document business processes by identifying business events and describing the steps that respond to these events.

2. Business Requirements Mapping: Business Requirements Mapping compares the business requirements to standard application software functionality and identifies gaps that must be addressed to fully meet business needs. As gaps between requirements and functionality emerge, they are resolved by documenting workarounds, alternative solutions, application extensions, or by changing the underlying business process.

3. Application and Technical Architecture: During the Application and Technical Architecture you design an information systems architecture that reflects your business vision. Using the business and information systems requirements, this process facilitates development of a plan for deploying and configuring the hardware required for a successful implementation.

4. Module Design and Build: Module Design and Build produces custom software solutions to gaps in functionality identified during Business Requirements Mapping. Custom software solutions include program modules that must be designed, built, and tested before they can be incorporated into the system.

5. Data Conversion : Data Conversion defines the tasks and deliverables required to convert legacy data to the Oracle Applications tables. The first step of this process explicitly defines the business objects that are required for conversion and the legacy source systems that store these objects. The converted data may be needed for system testing, training, and acceptance testing as well as for production.

6. Documentation :Documentation begins with materials created early in the project. Using detailed documents from the project, the writing staff develops user and technical material that are tailored to the implementation.

7. Business System Testing: Business System Testing focuses on linking test requirements back to 

business requirements and securing project resources needed for testing. It supports utilizing common test information including data profiles to promote testing co-ordination and to minimize duplication of test preparation and execution effort.

8. Performance Testing: Performance Testing enables you to define, build, and execute a performance test. Use the results to make decisions on whether the performance is acceptable for the business and to help propose tactical or strategic changes to address the performance quality shortfall. Performance Testing is closely related to Application and Technical Architecture; they are interdependent.

9. User Training:Training prepares both users and administrators to assume on the tasks of running the new application system. It includes development of materials and methods as well as administration. Instructors and courseware developers orient their material toward roles and jobs, and not toward application modules.

10.Production Migration : Production Migration moves the company, system, and people to the new enterprise system. Following production cutover, it monitors and refines the production system and plans for the future. The Production Migration process encompasses transition to production readiness, production cutover, and post-production support

Phases

An AIM project is conducted in phases that provide quality and control checkpoints to co-ordinate project activities that have a common goal. During a project phase, your project team will be executing tasks from several processes. A brief description of the AIM processes are given below:

1. Definition: This consist of review the organization’s business objectives, evaluate the feasibility of meeting those objectives under time, resource, and budget constraints. Moreover this can be best consider as SOW(statement of work) preparation phase.

2. Operations Analysis:During Operations Analysis, the project team develops Business Requirements Scenarios based on deliverables from Definition that are used to assess the level of fit between the business requirements and standard application functionality. Gaps are identified and corresponding solutions developed. The analysis results in a proposal for conducting business operations under the envisioned application technical architecture. Solutions for gaps evolve into detailed designs during Solution Design.

3. Solution Design:The purpose of Solution Design is to develop the detailed designs for the optimal solutions to meet the future business requirements. During this phase, project team members create detailed narratives of process solutions developed during Operations Analysis. Supporting business requirements may require building application extensions to standard features; several alternative solutions may have been defined during Operations Analysis. The project team carefully scrutinizes these solutions and chooses the most cost effective alternatives.

4. Build:The coding and testing of all customizations and other custom software including enhancements, data conversions, and interfaces is done during Build. Policy and procedure changes relating to business process modifications are developed. Business system testing is performed to validate that the developed solutions meet business requirements. If customizations, extensions, or conversions are not required, Build is still important because it includes the business system test, which is commonly conducted as a formal conference room pilot. The business system test validates the solutions and is performed in an environment that closely resembles production.

5. Transition: During Transition, the project team deploys the finished solution into the organization. All the elements of the implementation must come together to transition successfully to actual production. The project team trains the end users while the technical team configures the production environment and converts data. Transition ends with the cutover to production, when end users start performing their job duties using the new system.

6.Production: Production begins immediately with the production cutover. It marks the last phase of the implementation, and the beginning of the system support cycle. Included in this final phase is a series of refinements and performance measurement steps. The inhoues MIS/IT Department personnel work quickly to stabilize the system and begin regular maintenance. They will provide the ongoing support to the organization for the remaining life of the system. During Production, you compare actual results to project objectives.

This is a depiction of the A.I.M. methodology life cycle:

Business Process Architecture (BP)BP.010 Define Business and Process Strategy
BP.020 Catalog and Analyze Potential Changes
BP.030 Determine Data Gathering Requirements
BP.040 Develop Current Process Model
BP.050 Review Leading Practices
BP.060 Develop High-Level Process Vision
BP.070 Develop High-Level Process Design
BP.080 Develop Future Process Model
BP.090 Document Business Procedure

Business Requirements Definition (RD)RD.010 Identify Current Financial and Operating Structure
RD.020 Conduct Current Business Baseline
RD.030 Establish Process and Mapping Summary
RD.040 Gather Business Volumes and Metrics
RD.050 Gather Business Requirements
RD.060 Determine Audit and Control Requirements
RD.070 Identify Business Availability Requirements
RD.080 Identify Reporting and Information Access Requirements

Business Requirements MappingBR.010 Analyze High-Level Gaps
BR.020 Prepare mapping environment
BR.030 Map Business requirements
BR.040 Map Business Data
BR.050 Conduct Integration Fit Analysis
BR.060 Create Information Model
BR.070 Create Reporting Fit Analysis
BR.080 Test Business Solutions
BR.090 Confirm Integrated Business Solutions
BR.100 Define Applications Setup
BR.110 Define security Profiles

Application and Technical Architecture (TA)TA.010 Define Architecture Requirements and Strategy
TA.020 Identify Current Technical Architecture
TA.030 Develop Preliminary Conceptual Architecture
TA.040 Define Application Architecture
TA.050 Define System Availability Strategy
TA.060 Define Reporting and Information Access Strategy
TA.070 Revise Conceptual Architecture
TA.080 Define Application Security Architecture
TA.090 Define Application and Database Server Architecture
TA.100 Define and Propose Architecture Subsystems
TA.110 Define System Capacity Plan
TA.120 Define Platform and Network Architecture
TA.130 Define Application Deployment Plan
TA.140 Assess Performance Risks
TA.150 Define System Management Procedures

Module Design and Build (MD)MD.010 Define Application Extension Strategy
MD.020 Define and estimate application extensions
MD.030 Define design standards
MD.040 Define Build Standards
MD.050 Create Application extensions functional design
MD.060 Design Database extensions
MD.070 Create Application extensions technical design
MD.080 Review functional and Technical designs
MD.090 Prepare Development environment
MD.100 Create Database extensions
MD.110 Create Application extension modules
MD.120 Create Installation routines

Data Conversion (CV)CV.010 Define data conversion requirements and strategy
CV.020 Define Conversion standards
CV.030 Prepare conversion environment
CV.040 Perform conversion data mapping
CV.050 Define manual conversion procedures
CV.060 Design conversion programs
CV.070 Prepare conversion test plans
CV.080 Develop conversion programs
CV.090 Perform conversion unit tests
CV.100 Perform conversion business objects
CV.110 Perform conversion validation tests
CV.120 Install conversion programs
CV.130 Convert and verify data

Documentation (DO)DO.010 Define documentation requirements and strategy
DO.020 Define Documentation standards and procedures
DO.030 Prepare glossary
DO.040 Prepare documentation environment
DO.050 Produce documentation prototypes and templates
DO.060 Publish user reference manual
DO.070 Publish user guide
DO.080 Publish technical reference manual
DO.090 Publish system management guide

Business System Testing (TE)TE.010 Define testing requirements and strategy
TE.020 Develop unit test script
TE.030 Develop link test script
TE.040 Develop system test script
TE.050 Develop systems integration test script
TE.060 Prepare testing environments
TE.070 Perform unit test
TE.080 Perform link test
TE.090 perform installation test
TE.100 Prepare key users for testing
TE.110 Perform system test
TE.120 Perform systems integration test
TE.130 Perform Acceptance test

PERFORMACE TESTING(PT)PT.010 – Define Performance Testing Strategy
PT.020 – Identify Performance Test Scenarios
PT.030 – Identify Performance Test Transaction
PT.040 – Create Performance Test Scripts
PT.050 – Design Performance Test Transaction Programs
PT.060 – Design Performance Test Data
PT.070 – Design Test Database Load Programs
PT.080 – Create Performance Test TransactionPrograms
PT.090 – Create Test Database Load Programs
PT.100 – Construct Performance Test Database
PT.110 – Prepare Performance Test Environment
PT.120 – Execute Performance Test

Adoption and Learning (AP)AP.010 – Define Executive Project Strategy
AP.020 – Conduct Initial Project Team Orientation
AP.030 – Develop Project Team Learning Plan
AP.040 – Prepare Project Team Learning Environment
AP.050 – Conduct Project Team Learning Events
AP.060 – Develop Business Unit Managers’Readiness Plan
AP.070 – Develop Project Readiness Roadmap
AP.080 – Develop and Execute CommunicationCampaign
AP.090 – Develop Managers’ Readiness Plan
AP.100 – Identify Business Process Impact onOrganization
AP.110 – Align Human Performance SupportSystems
AP.120 – Align Information Technology Groups
AP.130 – Conduct User Learning Needs Analysis
AP.140 – Develop User Learning Plan
AP.150 – Develop User Learningware
AP.160 – Prepare User Learning Environment
AP.170 – Conduct User Learning Events
AP.180 – Conduct Effectiveness Assessment

Production Migration (PM)PM.010 – Define Transition Strategy
PM.020 – Design Production Support Infrastructure
PM.030 – Develop Transition and Contingency Plan
PM.040 – Prepare Production Environment
PM.050 – Set Up Applications
PM.060 – Implement Production Support Infrastructure
PM.070 – Verify Production Readiness
PM.080 – Begin Production
PM.090 – Measure System Performance
PM.100 – Maintain System
PM.110 – Refine Production System
PM.120 – Decommission Former Systems
PM.130 – Propose Future Business Direction
PM.140 – Propose Future Technical Direction