The Enterprise Unified Process is considered to be the succession of the more recent RUP concepts. It places emphasis on practices and concepts that can be implemented to minimize the shortcomings of the RUP, which ignores lack of system support and the obvious retirement of a system. The EUP considers software development as an independent process and, at the same time, states that creation, making enhancements, and making replacements are parts of the life cycle. The entire EUP consists of 6 phases:

1. Inception
2. Elaboration
3. Construction
4. Transition
5. Production
6. Retirement

The last two phases, production and retirement, are additions to the four-phase RUP process.