The Methodology Used in Amex

The Methodology

Methodology Used

American Express follows a standard development methodology called Method/1. This methodology was originally developed by Andersen Consulting (now Accenture) to address the needs of their own consulting practice. After several internal versions, Andersen decided to make their systems development methodology available to clients. American Express Technologies has licensed and adopted Method/1 as its standard methodology for all Technologies software development projects.

This project followed the "Small Project Path" development route - this is the most common route for projects within Amex.

Fig. 3 - Small Project Stage Level View.

Benefits and Disadvantages

Benefits

* Well-defined and documented work units with clear deliverables help ensure quality.

* Predictability and repeatability in the development process.

* Provides a standard "language" across all AET projects. More standard communication within Technologies and with business partners.

* Flexible methodology that can be customised according to the needs of each project.

* Helps ensure projects are complaint with company and regulatory requirements.

Disadvantages

* Not uniformly understood across all of Technologies.

The Method in Use

Activities Undertaken

The Small Project Path of Method/1 was used in this project - the following work-units were used:

Project Definition and Planning

* Initiate Project and Organise

* Review Present Status

* Survey Information Needs

* Identify Hardware and Software Environment

* Develop Conceptual Design

* Evaluate Development Alternatives

* Finalise Work Plan

* Obtain Management Advisory

Analyse

* Identify User Requirements

* Establish Metrics and Goals

* Prototype Business Process

* Create Event Model

* Create