The JReport Development Methodology is based on classic software development lifecycle models, but customized and refined to address the specific challenges inherent in developing enterprise level reporting solutions.

Our methodology involves interaction with various members of your team. Each stage in our lifecycle is driven by input and effort from resources covering a multitude of roles.

	Subject Matter Experts are those that perform the job function that the reporting project is meant to serve. They are responsible for making decisions and taking actions based on the reported information. These individuals are also known as end users.

	Business Analysts are domain experts that understand the bigger picture, interactions between groups, and provide insight into the goals of the project.

	Data Managers have intimate knowledge of the structure, relationships, constraints, and individual data elements for the organization. They are often DBAs.

	Report Designers construct the GUI, incorporate the data elements, and manage interaction with the reports. They have a firm technical understanding of the development tools, products, and a solid understanding of the business context. They convert the requirements into results.

	Developers are responsible for integration of reports into corporate systems and websites.

	Project Managers monitor resources, progress against planned tasks, and take action to drive the project to completion on time and within budget.

	Testers are responsible for validating that report output meets the technical and business requirements.

	System Administrators manage the deployment of reports and maintenance of operational systems.

	Architects are responsible for coordinating and managing technologies and subsystems within the corporate environment.

Methodology Tracks
Our methodology breaks down into two tracks. One track focuses on system architecture and addresses the concerns of Architects and System Administrators. The second track focuses on satisfying business requirements by designing and developing reports that access enterprise databases and deliver critical operational information.

Track 1: System Architecture Methodology
Our System Architecture Methodology focuses on system interaction and deployment choices. We assess your current environment, scalability and availability requirements, and recommend and implement an approach that will satisfy your requirements.

Analyze
	Entry Criteria: Current System Architecture and Specs, User Groups, Data Volumes, Usage Patterns, Availability requirements, etc.
	Tools: JReport Enterprise Server™ Deployment Scenarios
	Actors: Architects, Business Analysts, System Administrators
	Action: Integrate JReport into System
	Exit Criteria: Documented approach to integrating JReport into System Architecture
Configure & Deploy
	Entry Criteria: Systems in place
	Tools: JReport Enterprise Server
	Actors: Architects, Business Analysts, System Administrators
	Action: Install and configure JReport Enterprise Server in customer environment
	Exit Criteria: JReport Enterprise Server deployed

Track 2: Report Design Methodology
Our Report Design Methodology is designed to lead a team down a structured path that results in reports that meet the requirements of your businesses users. We work with your team to systematically work through the steps that result in fully functioning reports that are ready for deployment in your production environment.

The cornerstone of our Report Design Methodology is the JReport Requirements Template. The template helps capture all the details needed to create reports that meet your needs. The template captures information on report ownership, report usage, look and feel, formats, data sources, grouping, sorting, filtering, selection criteria, formulas, security and more. It's an integral tool that is used throughout the development process.

Analyze
	Entry Criteria: Business goals, Data Schema, Data Dictionary
	Tools: JReport Requirements Template
	Actors: Subject Matter Experts, Business Analysts, Data Experts, Report Designers
	Action: complete JReport Requirements templates including data definitions, search criteria, filtering requirements, security requirements, and look and feel. Identify commonality across user requirements. Optimize reusable components
	Exit Criteria: Completed requirements. Signoff from customer

Design
	Entry Criteria: Data source connection, Completed requirements, Customer GUI standards
	Tools: JReport Requirements Template, JReport Designer™
	Actors: Business Analysts, Report Designers, Data Experts
	Action: Identify data sources and elements, report template creation, style selection, mock up, iterative prototyping
	Exit Criteria: Completed JReport Requirements Template

Develop
	Entry Criteria: Data sets, Data Queries, Report Templates
	Tools: JReport Designer, JReport Enterprise Server
	Actors: Report Designers, Developers, Data Experts
	Action: Data source integration, Implement conversions and calculations
	Exit Criteria: Completed reports

Test
	Entry Criteria: Baseline Data sets, Completed Reports
	Tools: JReport Designer, JReport Enterprise Server
	Actors: Testers, Business Analysts
	Action: Execute against baseline data sets
	Exit Criteria: Customer verifies results. Signoff from customer

Integrate with Website: (optional)
	Entry Criteria: Test cycle complete
	Tools: JReport Enterprise Server, Java IDE
	Action: Integrate JReport reports with customer website
	Exit Criteria: JReport objects embedded in customer website. Integration tests complete

Release
	Entry Criteria: Deployment environment complete. Test cycle complete
	Tools: JReport Enterprise Server
	Action: Deploy in customer environment
	Exit Criteria: System operational

Engagement Review - outside of scope of project
	Entry Criteria: Project complete
	Tools: Methodology and current tools
	Actors: Report designers, Project Managers
	Action: Review project in detail and incorporate improvements
	Exit Criteria: Feedback into JReport methodology. Generate new tools and documentation