As computers have become increasingly powerful, user expectations have risen exponentially. Consequently software engineers are moving towards large and complex object-oriented software systems. These systems must be capable of spanning distributed components and disparate infrastructure systems over multiple geographic locations.

These projects require a process that guides activities, directs individual and team tasks, specifies what needs to be developed, and monitors products and activities. The success of such an undertaking depends on a strong and well-proven process that drives and integrates its development, testing, deployment, and maintenance.

PTI strives to use development methods that control and coordinate these large-scale projects. PTI's approach to project management embodies the Unified Software Development Process. The Unified Process (UP) is a comprehensive set of techniques and procedures that supports the entire application development life cycle and transforms user requirements into a software system.

This model does not target any particular kind of programming activity, and it can be applied to various development projects. UP is a framework that can be modified to different application areas, organizations, competence levels, and project sizes. The UP has a strong orientation toward component-based development. UP is also a process that is built around use cases (scenarios that describe how users will interact with the system under construction). Finally, the process encourages developers to be architecture-centric, iterative and incremental in their approach to building software.

Benefits of PTI's Unified Software Development Process: