Rational Unified Process (RUP)

RUP Definition

According to Rational's webpage describing it, the "Rational Unified Process� is a software engineering process, delivered through a Web-enabled, searchable knowledge base. The process enhances team productivity and delivers software best practices via guidelines, templates and tool mentors for all critical software life cycle activities." Note that RUP is a tailorable process rather than an extensible and tailorable process framework like OPF. RUP is largely restricted to software development, and is therefore weak when it comes to systems development and business reengineering topics such as digital branding and content management. In general, RUP is less flexible and less complete the the OPF.

RUP Strengths

RUP is widely recognizing as having the following strengths relative to other development processes. Where practical, these strengths have been reused and incorporated into OPF:

• RUP is supported by a large powerful corporation with large development and maintenance staffs and impressive sales and marketing budgets.
• RUP is supported by a large webbased tool that is integrated into a set of related development tools.
• RUP is the de facto industry standard based on:
  • Sales of the RUP tool,
  • Numerous popular RUP books and articles,
  • Heavy direction setting and content input by the famous methodologists, the Three Amigos consisting of Grady Booch, Ivar Jacobson, and Jim Rumbaugh.
  • Significant partnerships with important consultants and methodologists, and
  • Strong relationships and pull with the Object Management Group (OMG).
• RUP helps standardize process terminology, a process metamodel, and associated notation (e.g., UML).
• RUP has a clear philosophical organization build around major process decisions:
  • RUP is use case driven.
  • RUP is architecture based.
• Roles (a.k.a., workers) are a major process components because the create artifacts

RUP Weaknesses Addressed by OPF

RUP is widely contraversial and seen as having the following weaknesses relative to the OPEN Process Framework (OPF):

• Based on a static foundation of techniques and/or methodologies.
• Originally designed for software product development, not adapting to change fast enough
• Not easily tailored to suit e-market development
• Insufficient support for teams and organizational structure
• Insufficient component integration and reuse
• Overemphasis of use cases
• Too strongly oriented towards Rational tool set

Major Differences

The following subsections and their associated tables summarize the major differences between RUP and OPF:

Work Products - Major Differences

The following tables summarize the major differences between RUP and OPF work products:

Management Work Products - Major Differences

The following table summarize the major differences between RUP and OPF:

Phases

Work Products

Terminology