SG 1 Establish Organizational Process Assets A set of organizational process assets is established and maintained. For Integrated Product and Process Development Integrated processes that emphasize parallel rather than serial development are a cornerstone of IPPD implementation. Product development processes and product-related life-cycle processes, such as the manufacturing process development and the support process development processes, are conducted concurrently. Such integrated processes should accommodate the information provided by stakeholders representing all phases of the product life cycle from both business and technical functions. Processes for effective teamwork are also needed. |
SP 1.1-1 Establish Standard Processes Establish and maintain the organization's set of standard processes. For Integrated Product and Process Development In an IPPD environment, the organization's shared vision is included in the organizational process assets. |
Standard processes may be defined at multiple levels in an enterprise and they may be related in a hierarchical manner. For example, an enterprise may have a set of standard processes that is tailored by individual organizations (e.g., a division or site) in the enterprise to establish their set of standard processes. The set of standard processes may also be tailored for each of the organization's business areas or product lines. Thus "the organization's set of standard processes" can refer to the standard processes established at the organization level and standard processes that may be established at lower levels, although some organizations may only have a single level of standard processes. (See the definitions of "standard process" and "organization's set of standard processes" in the glossary.) Table . Practice-to-Goal Relationship Table | Continuous Representation | Staged Representation | | SG 1 Establish Organizational Process Assets | SG 1 Establish Organizational Process Assets | SP 1.1-1 Establish Standard Processes | SP 1.1-1 Establish Standard Processes | SP 1.2-1 Establish Life-Cycle Model Descriptions | SP 1.2-1 Establish Life-Cycle Model Descriptions | SP 1.3-1 Establish Tailoring Criteria and Guidelines | SP 1.3-1 Establish Tailoring Criteria and Guidelines | SP 1.4-1 Establish the Organization's Measurement Repository | SP 1.4-1 Establish the Organization's Measurement Repository | SP 1.5-1 Establish the Organization's Process Asset Library | SP 1.5-1 Establish the Organization's Process Asset Library | | GG 1 Achieve Specific Goals | | GP 1.1 Perform Base Practices | | | GG 2 Institutionalize a Managed Process | GG 3 Institutionalize a Defined Process | GP 2.1 Establish an Organizational Policy | GP 2.1 Establish an Organizational Policy | GP 2.2 Plan the Process | GP 2.2 Plan the Process | GP 2.3 Provide Resources | GP 2.3 Provide Resources | GP 2.4 Assign Responsibility | GP 2.4 Assign Responsibility | GP 2.5 Train People | GP 2.5 Train People | GP 2.6 Manage Configurations | GP 2.6 Manage Configurations | GP 2.7 Identify and Involve Relevant Stakeholders | GP 2.7 Identify and Involve Relevant Stakeholders | GP 2.8 Monitor and Control the Process | GP 2.8 Monitor and Control the Process | GP 2.9 Objectively Evaluate Adherence | GP 2.9 Objectively Evaluate Adherence | GP 2.10 Review Status with Higher Level Management | GP 2.10 Review Status with Higher Level Management | | GG 3 Institutionalize a Defined Process | | GP 3.1 Establish a Defined Process | GP 3.1 Establish a Defined Process | GP 3.2 Collect Improvement Information | GP 3.2 Collect Improvement Information | | GG 4 Institutionalize a Quantitatively Managed Process | | GP 4.1 Establish Quantitative Objectives for the Process | | GP 4.2 Stabilize Subprocess Performance | | | GG 5 Institutionalize an Optimizing Process | | GP 5.1 Ensure Continuous Process Improvement | | GP 5.2 Correct Root Causes of Problems | | Multiple standard processes may be needed to address the needs of different application domains, life-cycle models, methodologies, and tools. The organization's set of standard processes contains process elements (e.g., a work product size-estimating element) that may be interconnected according to one or more process architectures that describe the relationships among these process elements. Processes may be composed of other processes or process elements. The organization's set of standard processes typically includes technical, management, administrative, support, and organizational processes. The organization's set of standard processes should collectively cover all processes needed by the organization and projects, including those processes addressed by the process areas at Maturity Level 2. Typical Work Products Organization's set of standard processes Subpractices Decompose each standard process into constituent process elements to the detail needed to understand and describe the process. Each process element covers a bounded and closely related set of activities. The descriptions of the process elements may be templates to be filled in, fragments to be completed, abstractions to be refined, or complete descriptions to be tailored or used unmodified. These elements are described in sufficient detail such that the process, when fully defined, can be consistently performed by appropriately trained and skilled people. Examples of process elements include the following: Template for generating work product size estimates Description of work product design methodology Tailorable peer review methodology Template for conduct of management reviews |
Specify the critical attributes of each process element. Examples of critical attributes include the following: Process roles Applicable process and product standards Applicable procedures, methods, tools, and resources Process performance objectives Entry criteria Inputs Product and process measures to be collected and used Verification points (e.g., peer reviews) Outputs Interfaces Exit criteria |
Specify the relationships of the process elements. Examples of relationships include the following: Ordering of the process elements Interfaces among the process elements Interfaces with external processes Interdependencies among the process elements |
The rules for describing the relationships among process elements are referred to as "process architecture." The process architecture covers the essential requirements and guidelines. The detailed specifications of these relationships are covered in the descriptions of the defined processes that are tailored from the organization's set of standard processes. Ensure that the organization's set of standard processes adheres to applicable policies, process standards and models, and product standards. Adherence to applicable process standards and models is typically demonstrated by developing a mapping from the organization's set of standard processes to the relevant process standards and models. In addition, this mapping will be a useful input to future appraisals. Ensure that the organization's set of standard processes satisfies the process needs and objectives of the organization. Refer to the Organizational Process Focus process area for more information about establishing and maintaining the organization's process needs and objectives. Ensure that there is appropriate integration among the processes that are included in the organization's set of standard processes. Document the organization's set of standard processes. Conduct peer reviews on the organization's set of standard processes. Refer to the Verification process area for more information about peer review. Revise the organization's set of standard processes as necessary. SP 1.2-1 Establish Life-Cycle Model Descriptions Establish and maintain descriptions of the life-cycle models approved for use in the organization. Life-cycle models may be developed for a variety of customers or in a variety of situations, since one life-cycle model may not be appropriate for all situations. The organization may identify more than one life-cycle model for use. Typically, the organization needs both product and project life-cycle models for the types of products that it produces and for defining the phases of the project. Product life-cycle models partition the product life cycle into phases for which activities and requirements can be defined to promote a complete solution, from initiating development of the product to its ultimate disposal. Typical Work Products Descriptions of life-cycle models Subpractices Select life-cycle models based on the needs of projects and the organization. For example, in the case of a development project, project life-cycle models include the following: Waterfall Spiral Evolutionary Incremental Iterative |
Examples of project characteristics that could affect project life-cycle models include the following: |
Document the descriptions of the life-cycle models. The life-cycle models may be documented as part of the organization's standard process descriptions or they may be documented separately. Conduct peer reviews on the life-cycle models. Refer to the Verification process area for more information about conducting peer reviews. Revise the descriptions of the life-cycle models as necessary. SP 1.3-1 Establish Tailoring Criteria and Guidelines Establish and maintain the tailoring criteria and guidelines for the organization's set of standard processes. For Integrated Product and Process Development In creating the tailoring criteria and guidelines, include considerations for concurrent development and operating with integrated teams. For example, how one tailors the manufacturing process will be different depending on whether it is done serially after the product has been developed or in parallel with the development of the product, as in IPPD. Processes, such as resource allocation, will also be tailored differently if the project is operating with integrated teams. |
The tailoring criteria and guidelines describe the following: How the organization's set of standard processes and organizational process assets are used to create the defined processes Mandatory requirements that must be satisfied by the defined processes (e.g., the subset of the organizational process assets that are essential for any defined process) Options that can be exercised and criteria for selecting among the options Procedures that must be followed in performing and documenting process tailoring | Examples of reasons for tailoring include the following: Adapting the process for a new product line or host environment Customizing the process for a specific application or class of applications (e.g., initial development, maintenance, or creation of prototypes) Elaborating the process description so that the resulting defined process can be performed |
Flexibility in tailoring and defining processes is balanced with ensuring appropriate consistency in the processes across the organization. Flexibility is needed to address contextual variables such as the domain; nature of the customer; cost, schedule, and quality tradeoffs; technical difficulty of the work; and experience of the people implementing the process. Consistency across the organization is needed so that organizational standards, objectives, and strategies are appropriately addressed, and process data and lessons learned can be shared. Tailoring criteria and guidelines may allow for using a standard process "as is," with no tailoring. Typical Work Products Tailoring guidelines for the organization's set of standard processes Subpractices Specify the selection criteria and procedures for tailoring the organization's set of standard processes. Examples of criteria and procedures include the following: Criteria for selecting life-cycle models from those approved by the organization Criteria for selecting process elements from the organization's set of standard processes Procedures for tailoring the selected life-cycle models and process elements to accommodate specific process characteristics and needs |
Examples of tailoring actions include the following: Modifying a life-cycle model Combining elements of different life-cycle models Modifying process elements Replacing process elements Reordering process elements |
Specify the standards for documenting the defined processes. Specify the procedures for submitting and obtaining approval of waivers from the requirements of the organization's set of standard processes. Document the tailoring guidelines for the organization's set of standard processes. Conduct peer reviews on the tailoring guidelines. Refer to the Verification process area for more information about conducting peer reviews. Revise the tailoring guidelines as necessary. SP 1.4-1 Establish the Organization's Measurement Repository Establish and maintain the organization's measurement repository. Refer to the Use Organizational Process Assets for Planning Project Activities specific practice of the Integrated Project Management process area for more information about the use of the organization's measurement repository in planning project activities. The repository contains both product and process measures that are related to the organization's set of standard processes. It also contains or refers to the information needed to understand and interpret the measures and assess them for reasonableness and applicability. For example, the definitions of the measures are used to compare similar measures from different processes. Typical Work Products Definition of the common set of product and process measures for the organization's set of standard processes Design of the organization's measurement repository Organization's measurement repository (that is, the repository structure and support environment) Organization's measurement data Subpractices Determine the organization's needs for storing, retrieving, and analyzing measurements. Define a common set of process and product measures for the organization's set of standard processes. The measures in the common set are selected based on the organization's set of standard processes. The common set of measures may vary for different standard processes. Operational definitions for the measures specify the procedures for collecting valid data and the point in the process where the data will be collected. Examples of classes of commonly used measures include the following: Estimates of work product size (e.g., pages) Estimates of effort and cost (e.g., person hours) Actual measures of size, effort, and cost Quality measures (e.g., number of defects found, severity of defects) Peer review coverage Test coverage Reliability measures (e.g., mean time to failure) |
Refer to the Measurement and Analysis process area for more information about defining measures. Design and implement the measurement repository. Specify the procedures for storing, updating, and retrieving measures. Conduct peer reviews on the definitions of the common set of measures and the procedures for storing and retrieving measures. Refer to the Verification process area for more information about conducting peer reviews. Enter the specified measures into the repository. Refer to the Measurement and Analysis process area for more information about collecting and analyzing data. Make the contents of the measurement repository available for use by the organization and projects as appropriate. Revise the measurement repository, common set of measures, and procedures as the organization's needs change. Examples of when the common set of measures may need to be revised include the following: New processes are added Processes are revised and new product or process measures are needed Finer granularity of data is required Greater visibility into the process is required Measures are retired |
SP 1.5-1 Establish the Organization's Process Asset Library Establish and maintain the organization's process asset library. | Examples of items to be stored in the organization's process asset library include the following: Organizational policies Defined process descriptions Procedures (e.g., estimating procedure) Development plans Quality assurance plans Training materials Process aids (e.g., checklists) Lessons-learned reports |
Typical Work Products Design of the organization's process asset library Organization's process asset library Selected items to be included in the organization's process asset library Catalog of items in the organization's process asset library Subpractices Design and implement the organization's process asset library, including the library structure and support environment. Specify the criteria for including items in the library. The items are selected based primarily on their relationship to the organization's set of standard processes. Specify the procedures for storing and retrieving items. Enter the selected items into the library and catalog them for easy reference and retrieval. Make the items available for use by the projects. Periodically review the use of each item and use the results to maintain the library contents. Revise the organization's process asset library as necessary. Examples of when the library may need to be revised include the following: |
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