Application Ownership & Project Responsibilities

Unqork Application Ownership

This guide is intended for organizations developing an Unqork Application. Its goal is to identify and define the responsibilities for stakeholder ownership within the application development process. During the process Unqork champions the platform, managing all infrastructure and environment setup. Meanwhile you, the Customer, act as the Project Owner and Champion and drive the development of the application itself, owning everything from requirements gathering and design to the actual configuration, rigorous testing, and documentation required to successfully launch and sustain the application in production. Even if you are using a SI partner in some capacity to deliver the application, you must still own the application to ensure it meets the needs of the business.

I. Project Lifecycle

Throughout the Software Development Lifecycle there are different phases, Discovery & Requirements Gathering, Build & Maturation, Testing, Go-Live, and Ongoing Maintenance. During each phase, your responsibilities and focus should shift. Below we’ve listed out your main focus area in each of these phases.

Phase	Focus
Discovery & Requirements Gathering	Plan the project. Collect Application Specifications: Functional/Business/User Requirements, User information, Brand Style Guide, Data Dictionary, API/Integrations Specifications, Process Flows. Translate business requirements to applications and begin planning.
Build & Maturation	Design and Configure.The assigned team builds software with Unqork and promotes for business approval.
Test	Execute your test strategy. Which tests, in which environments indicate quality software?
Go Live	After acceptance and sign-off, your application is live and in production. Transition to post-production support
Maintenance	Post-production - application is in use, and build team has moved on to expand software development.

II. Stakeholders

The business and contributors may have different interests at different phases of the project. Stakeholders are the different parties involved in software development.

Stakeholder	Role Description
Unqork	Host Company, managing infrastructure and the platform.
Customer	Project Owner and Champion, responsible for driving the application's requirements, configuration, testing, and sustainment.
Partner	Contracted to build an Unqork Application, often in partnership with the Customer. Optional, and/or not involved in the ownership of the application long-term.

III. Responsibility by Delivery Phase

The responsibilities of each Stakeholder (Unqork, Customer, Partner) across the different phases of application delivery, are clearly defined.

Unqork is solely responsible for core platform and environment setup, and for Platform Production Support during Maintenance after application go-live.
You, the Customer, hold the primary responsibility for all application-specific tasks, including requirements gathering, design, architecture, configuration, review, documentation, and all testing (functional, nonfunctional, security, and compliance). This also includes environment preparation and configuration support after launch.
The Partner, if present, is only involved with the phases and responsibilities listed in your contract. This may or may not include discovery due diligence, post go-live support, and general ongoing maintenance of your application. They’ve been listed below as "Maybe", but for specifics please refer to your contract.

Phase	Responsibility	Unqork	Customer	Partner
Discovery	Requirements gathering		Yes	Maybe
Discovery	Design		Yes	Maybe
Discovery	Architecture, RBAC, Data, Specifications		Yes	Maybe
Discovery	Environment Setup	Yes
Build	Configuration		Yes	Maybe
Build	Architecture & Configuration Review		Yes	Maybe
Build	Documentation		Yes	Maybe
Build	Promotion for Testing		Yes	Maybe
Test	Functional & Nonfunctional		Yes	Maybe
Test	Security & Compliance		Yes	Maybe
Go Live	Environment Preparation		Yes
Go Live	Production Support - Configuration		Yes
Maintenance	Platform Security & Support	Yes
Maintenance	Platform Documentation & Release Notes	Yes
Maintenance	Application Support		Yes	Maybe
Maintenance	Application Enhancements		Yes	Maybe
Maintenance	Application Documentation		Yes	Maybe

Unqork is responsible for the Platform functionality and Environment setup, while the build team is responsible for Designing, Building, and Testing the application according to business specifications prior to promotion to production. The build team is also responsible for any documentation and walkthroughs that may be necessary for product owner success in maintenance and growth.