Process Management

Process Management process areas contain the cross-project activities related to defining, planning, deploying, implementing, monitoring, controlling, appraising, measuring, and improving processes.

The Process Management process areas of CMMI are as follows:

• Organizational Process Focus

• Organizational Process Definition

• Organizational Training

• Organizational Process Performance

• Organizational Innovation and Deployment

Fundamental Process Management Process Areas

The Fundamental Process Management process areas provide the organization with a capability to document and share best practices, organizational process assets, and learning across the organization.

Figure 4.1 provides a bird's-eye view of the interactions among the Fundamental Process Management process areas and with other process area categories. As illustrated in Figure 4.1, the Organizational Process Focus process area helps the organization plan and implement organizational process improvement based on an understanding of the current strengths and weaknesses of the organization's processes and process assets.

Figure 4.1. Fundamental Process Management Process Areas

Candidate improvements to the organization's processes are obtained through various means. These include process-improvement proposals, measurement of the processes, lessons learned in implementing the processes, and results of process appraisal and product-evaluation activities.

The Organizational Process Definition process area establishes and maintains the organization's set of standard processes and other assets based on the process needs and objectives of the organization. These other assets include descriptions of life-cycle models, process tailoring guidelines, and process-related documentation and data. Projects tailor the organization's set of standard processes to create their defined processes. The other assets support tailoring as well as implementation of the defined processes. Experiences and work products from performing these defined processes, including measurement data, process descriptions, process artifacts, and lessons learned, are incorporated as appropriate into the organization's set of standard processes and other assets.

The Organizational Training process area identifies the strategic training needs of the organization as well as the tactical training needs that are common across projects and support groups. In particular, training is developed or obtained to develop the skills required to perform the organization's set of standard processes. The main components of training include a managed training-development program, documented plans, personnel with appropriate knowledge, and mechanisms for measuring the effectiveness of the training program.

Progressive Process Management Process Areas

The Progressive Process Management process areas provide the organization with an improved capability to achieve its quantitative objectives for quality and process performance.

Figure 4.2 provides a bird's-eye view of the interactions among the Progressive Process Management process areas and with other process area categories. Each of the Progressive Process Management process areas depends on the ability to develop and deploy processes and supporting assets. The Fundamental Process Management process areas provide this ability.

Figure 4.2. Progressive Process Management Process Areas

As illustrated in Figure 4.2, the Organizational Process Performance process area derives quantitative objectives for quality and process performance from the organization's business objectives. The organization provides projects and support groups with common measures, process performance baselines, and process-performance models. These additional organizational assets support quantitative project management and statistical management of critical subprocesses for both projects and support groups. The organization analyzes the process performance data collected from these defined processes to develop a quantitative understanding of product quality, service quality, and process performance of the organization's set of standard processes.

The Organizational Innovation and Deployment process area selects and deploys proposed incremental and innovative improvements that improve the organization's ability to meet its quality and process-performance objectives. The identification of promising incremental and innovative improvements should involve the participation of an empowered workforce aligned with the business values and objectives of the organization. The selection of improvements to deploy is based on a quantitative understanding of the likely benefits and predictable costs from deploying candidate improvements, and the funding available for such deployment.