The main process planning issue in a project is designing the development process to be used for building the software to satisfy the customer. This process is supported with a change management process to accommodate requirement changes.
Following are the key process planning lessons learned from the Infosys approach:
When you plan the project's process, start with a standard process. The waterfall model, broken into smaller phases, can serve as a suitable base.
To define the optimum process for a project, tailor the standard process to suit the project constraints. First, set the context for tailoring using key project characteristics. Then do detailed tailoring of activities. Tailoring guidelines can help.
Have a separate requirement change management process that assesses the impact of each change request and also keeps track of the cumulative impact. With respect to CMM, the process planning methods described here satisfy some requirements of the Software Project Planning KPA of level 2. The tailoring approach satisfies some requirements of the Integrated Project Management KPA at level 3. The requirements change management method satisfies some requirements of the Requirement Management KPA of level 2.