Rational Unified Process and RUP Methodology

The Unified Process consists of cycles that may repeat over the long-term life of a system. A cycle consists of four phases: Inception, Elaboration, Construction and Transition. Each cycle is concluded with a release, there are also releases within a cycle. The four phases of a iteration

Inception Phase:
During the inception phase the core idea is developed into a product vision. In this phase, we review, discuss, and understand the business case of the project. The inception phase establishes the product feasibility and delimits the project scope.

Elaboration Phase:
During the elaboration phase the majority of the Use Cases are specified in detail and the system architecture is designed. This phase focuses on the "Do-Ability" of the project. We identify significant risks and prepare a schedule, staff and cost profile for the entire project.

Construction Phase:
During the construction phase the product is moved from the architectural baseline to a system complete enough to transition to the user community. The architectural baseline grows to become the completed system as the design is refined into code.

Transition Phase:
In the transition phase the goal is to ensure that the requirements have been met to the satisfaction of the stakeholders. This phase is often initiated with a beta release of the application. Other activities include site preparation, manual completion, and defect identification and correction. The transition phase ends with a postmortem devoted to learning and recording lessons for future cycles.