Generic Goals and Generic Practices | CMMI (c) Guidelines for Process Integration and Product Improvement

This section describes all of the generic goals and generic practices, as well as their associated subpractices, notes, examples, and references. The generic goals are organized in numerical order, GG 1 through GG 5. The generic practices are also organized in numerical order under the generic goal they support.

As mentioned earlier in this chapter, the subpractices, notes, examples, and references are not repeated in Part Two; the details of each generic goal and generic practice are found only here.

GG 1 Achieve Specific Goals

The process supports and enables achievement of the specific goals of the process area by transforming identifiable input work products to produce identifiable output work products.

GP 1.1 Perform Base Practices

Perform the base practices of the process area to develop work products and provide services to achieve the specific goals of the process area.

The purpose of this generic practice is to produce the work products and deliver the services that are expected by performing the process. These practices may be done informally, without following a documented process description or plan. The rigor with which these practices are performed depends on the individuals managing and performing the work and may vary considerably.

GG 2 Institutionalize a Managed Process

The process is institutionalized as a managed process.

GP 2.1 Establish an Organizational Policy

Establish and maintain an organizational policy for planning and performing the process.

The purpose of this generic practice is to define the organizational expectations for the process and make these expectations visible to those in the organization who are affected. In general, senior management is responsible for establishing and communicating guiding principles, direction, and expectations for the organization.

Not all direction from senior management will bear the label "policy." The existence of appropriate organizational direction is the expectation of this generic practice, regardless of what it is called or how it is imparted.

GP 2.2 Plan the Process

Establish and maintain the plan for performing the process.

The purpose of this generic practice is to determine what is needed to perform the process and to achieve the established objectives, to prepare a plan for performing the process, to prepare a process description, and to get agreement on the plan from relevant stakeholders.

Requirements for the process's specified work products and for performing the work may be derived from other requirements. In the case of a project's processes, they may come from that project's requirements-management process; in the case of an organization's process, they may come from organizational sources.

The objectives for the process may be derived from other plans (e.g., the project plans). Included are objectives for the specific situation, including quality, cost, and schedule objectives. For example, an objective might be to reduce the cost of performing a process for this implementation over the previous implementation.

Although a generic practice, by definition, applies to all process areas, the practical implications of applying a generic practice vary for each process area. Consider two examples that illustrate these differences as they relate to planning the process.

First, the planning described by this generic practice as applied to the Project Monitoring and Control process area may be carried out in full by the processes associated with the Project Planning process area. In such a situation, the generic practice imposes no additional expectations for planning. Second, the planning described by this generic practice as applied to the Project Planning process area typically would not be addressed by the processes associated with other process areas. Therefore, the generic practice sets an expectation that the project planning process itself be planned. It is important to be aware of the extent to which this generic practice may either reinforce expectations set elsewhere in CMMI or set new expectations that should be addressed.

Establishing a plan includes documenting the plan and providing a process description. Maintaining the plan includes changing it, as necessary, in response to either corrective actions or to changes in requirements and objectives for the process.

The plan for performing the process typically includes the following:

Process description
Standards for the work products and services of the process
Requirements for the work products and services of the process
Specific objectives for the performance of the process (e.g., quality, time scale, cycle time, and resource usage)
Dependencies among the activities, work products, and services of the process
Resources (including funding, people, and tools) needed to perform the process
Assignment of responsibility and authority
Training needed for performing and supporting the process
Work products to be placed under configuration management and the level of configuration management for each work product
Measurement requirements to provide insight into the performance of the process, its work products, and its services
Involvement of identified stakeholders
Activities for monitoring and controlling the process
Objective evaluation activities of the process
Management review activities for the process and the work products

Subpractices

Obtain management sponsorship for performing the process.
Define and document the process description.

The process description, which includes relevant standards and procedures, may be included as part of the plan for performing the process or may be included in the plan by reference.
Define and document the plan for performing the process.

This plan may be a stand-alone document, embedded in a more comprehensive document, or distributed across multiple documents. In the case of the plan being distributed across multiple documents, ensure that a coherent picture of who does what is preserved. Documents may be hardcopy or softcopy.
Review the plan with relevant stakeholders and get their agreement.

This includes reviewing that the planned process satisfies the applicable policies, plans, requirements, and standards to provide assurance to relevant stakeholders.
Revise the plan as necessary.

GP 2.3 Provide Resources

Provide adequate resources for performing the process, developing the work products, and providing the services of the process.

The purpose of this generic practice is to ensure that the resources necessary to perform the process as defined by the plan are available when they are needed. Resources include adequate funding, appropriate physical facilities, skilled people, and appropriate tools.

The interpretation of the term adequate depends on many factors and can change over time. Inadequate resources may be addressed by increasing resources or by removing requirements, constraints, and commitments.

GP 2.4 Assign Responsibility

Assign responsibility and authority for performing the process, developing the work products, and providing the services of the process.

The purpose of this generic practice is to ensure that there is accountability for performing the process and achieving the specified results throughout the life of the process. The people assigned must have the appropriate authority to perform the assigned responsibilities.

Responsibility can be assigned using detailed job descriptions or in living documents, such as the plan for performing the process. Dynamic assignment of responsibility is another legitimate way to perform this generic practice, as long as the assignment and acceptance of responsibility are ensured throughout the life of the process.

Subpractices

Assign overall responsibility and authority for performing the process.
Assign responsibility for performing the specific tasks of the process.
Confirm that the people assigned to the responsibilities and authorities understand and accept them.

GP 2.5 Train People

Train the people performing or supporting the process as needed.

The purpose of this generic practice is to ensure that the people have the necessary skills and expertise to perform or support the process.

Appropriate training is provided to the people who will be performing the work. Overview training is provided to orient people who interact with those performing the work.

Examples of methods for providing training include self-study; self-directed training; self-paced, programmed instruction; formalized on-the-job training; mentoring; and formal and classroom training.

Training supports the successful performance of the process by establishing a common understanding of the process and by imparting the skills and knowledge needed to perform the process.

GP 2.6 Manage Configurations

Place designated work products of the process under appropriate levels of configuration management.

The purpose of this generic practice is to establish and maintain the in tegrity of the designated work products of the process (or their descriptions) throughout their useful life.

Refer to the Configuration Management process area for more information on placing work products under configuration management.

The designated work products are specifically identified in the plan for performing the process, along with a specification of the level of configuration management.

Different levels of configuration management are appropriate for different work products and for different points in time. For some work products, it may be sufficient to maintain version control (i.e., the version of the work product in use at a given time, past or present, is known and changes are incorporated in a controlled manner). Version control is usually under the sole control of the work product owner (which may be an individual, a group, or a team).

Sometimes, it may be critical that work products be placed under formal or "baseline" configuration management. This type of configuration management includes defining and establishing baselines at predetermined points. These baselines are formally reviewed and agreed on, and serve as the basis for further development of the designated work products.

Additional levels of configuration management between version control and formal configuration management are possible. An identified work product may be under various levels of configuration management at different points in time.

GP 2.7 Identify and Involve Relevant Stakeholders

Identify and involve the relevant stakeholders as planned.

The purpose of this generic practice is to establish and maintain the expected involvement of stakeholders during the execution of the process.

Involve relevant stakeholders as described in an appropriate plan for stakeholder involvement. Involve them appropriately in activities such as the following:

Planning
Decisions
Commitments
Communications
Coordination
Reviews
Appraisals
Requirements definitions
Resolution of problems/issues

Refer to the Project Planning process area for information on the project planning for stakeholder involvement.

The objective of planning the stakeholder involvement is to ensure that interactions necessary to the process are accomplished, while not allowing excessive numbers of affected groups and individuals to impede process execution.

Subpractices

Identify stakeholders relevant to this process and decide what type of involvement should be practiced.

Relevant stakeholders are identified among the suppliers of inputs to, the users of outputs from, and the performers of the activities within the process. Once the relevant stakeholders are identified, the appropriate level of their involvement in process activities is planned.
Share these identifications with project planners or other planners as appropriate.
Involve relevant stakeholders as planned.

GP 2.8 Monitor and Control the Process

Monitor and control the process against the plan for performing the process and take appropriate corrective action.

The purpose of this generic practice is to perform the direct day-to-day monitoring and controlling of the process. Appropriate visibility into the process is maintained so that appropriate corrective action can be taken when necessary. Monitoring and controlling the process involves measuring appropriate attributes of the process or work products produced by the process.

Refer to the Project Monitoring and Control process area for more information about monitoring and controlling the project and taking corrective action.

Refer to the Measurement and Analysis process area for more information about measurement.

Subpractices

Measure actual performance against the plan for performing the process.
The measures are of the process, its work products, and its services.
Review accomplishments and results of the process against the plan for performing the process.
Review activities, status, and results of the process with the immediate level of management responsible for the process and identify issues. The reviews are intended to provide the immediate level of management with appropriate visibility into the process. The reviews can be both periodic and event driven.
Identify and evaluate the effects of significant deviations from the plan for performing the process.
Identify problems in the plan for performing the process and in the execution of the process.
Take corrective action when requirements and objectives are not being satisfied, when issues are identified, or when progress differs significantly from the plan for performing the process.
There are inherent risks that should be considered before any corrective action is taken.
Corrective action may include the following:
- Taking remedial action to repair defective work products or services
- Changing the plan for performing the process
- Adjusting resources, including people, tools, and other resources
- Negotiating changes to the established commitments
- Securing change to the requirements and objectives that have to be satisfied
- Terminating the effort
Track corrective action to closure.

GP 2.9 Objectively Evaluate Adherence

Objectively evaluate adherence of the process against its process description, standards, and procedures, and address noncompliance.

The purpose of this generic practice is to provide credible assurance that the process is implemented as planned and adheres to its process description, standards, and procedures. (See the definition of objectively evaluate in the glossary.)

People not directly responsible for managing or performing the activities of the process typically evaluate adherence. In many cases, adherence is evaluated by people within the organization, but external to the process or project, or by people external to the organization. As a result, credible assurance of adherence can be provided even during times when the process is under stress (e.g., when the effort is behind schedule or over budget).

Refer to the Process and Product Quality Assurance process area for more information about objectively evaluating adherence.

GP 2.10 Review Status with Higher Level Management

Review the activities, status, and results of the process with higher level management and resolve issues.

The purpose of this generic practice is to provide higher level management with the appropriate visibility into the process.

Higher level management includes those levels of management in the organization above the immediate level of management responsible for the process. In particular, higher level management includes senior management. These reviews are for managers who provide the policy and overall guidance for the process, not for those who perform the direct day-to-day monitoring and controlling of the process.

Different managers have different needs for information about the process. These reviews help ensure that informed decisions on the planning and performing of the process can be made. Therefore, these reviews are expected to be both periodic and event driven.

GG 3 Institutionalize a Defined Process

The process is institutionalized as a defined process.

GP 3.1 Establish a Defined Process

Establish and maintain the description of a defined process.

The purpose of this generic practice is to establish and maintain a description of the process that is tailored from the organization's set of standard processes to address the needs of a specific instantiation. The organization should have standard processes that cover the process area, as well as have guidelines for tailoring these standard processes to meet the needs of a project or organizational function. With a defined process, variability in how the processes are performed across the organization is reduced and process assets, data, and learning can be effectively shared.

Refer to the Organizational Process Definition process area for more information about the organization's set of standard processes and tailoring guidelines.

The descriptions of the defined processes provide the basis for planning, performing, and managing the activities, work products, and services associated with the process.

Subpractices

Select from the organization's set of standard processes those processes that cover the process area and best meet the needs of the project or organizational function.
Establish the defined process by tailoring the selected processes according to the organization's tailoring guidelines.
Ensure that the organization's process objectives are appropriately addressed in the defined process.
Document the defined process and the records of the tailoring.
Revise the description of the defined process as necessary.

GP 3.2 Collect Improvement Information

Collect work products, measures, measurement results, and improvement information derived from planning and performing the process to support the future use and improvement of the organization's processes and process assets.

The purpose of this generic practice is to collect information and artifacts derived from planning and performing the process. This generic practice is performed so that the information and artifacts can be included in the organizational process assets and made available to those who are (or who will be) planning and performing the same or similar processes. The information and artifacts are stored in the organization's measurement repository and the organization's process asset library.

Examples of relevant information include the effort expended for the various activities, defects injected or removed in a particular activity, and lessons learned.

Refer to the Organizational Process Definition process area for more information about the organization's measurement repository and process asset library and for more information about the work products, measures, and improvement information that are incorporated into these organizational process assets.

Subpractices

Store process and product measures in the organization's measurement repository.

The process and product measures are primarily those that are defined in the common set of measures for the organization's set of standard processes.
Submit documentation for inclusion in the organization's process asset library.
Document lessons learned from the process for inclusion in the organization's process asset library.
Propose improvements to the organizational process assets.

GG 4 Institutionalize a Quantitatively Managed Process

The process is institutionalized as a quantitatively managed process.

GP 4.1 Establish Quantitative Objectives for the Process

Establish and maintain quantitative objectives for the process that address quality and process performance based on customer needs and business objectives.

The purpose of this generic practice is to determine and obtain agreement from relevant stakeholders about specific quantitative objectives for the process. These quantitative objectives can be expressed in terms of product quality, service quality, and process performance.

Refer to the Quantitative Project Management process area for information on how quantitative objectives are set for subprocesses of the project's defined process.

The quantitative objectives may be specific to the process or they may be defined for a broader scope (e.g., for a set of processes). In the latter case, these quantitative objectives may be allocated to some of the included processes.

These quantitative objectives are criteria used to judge whether the products, services, and process performance will satisfy the customers, end users, organization management, and process implementers. These quantitative objectives go beyond the traditional end-product objectives. They also cover intermediate objectives that are used to manage the achievement of the objectives over time. They reflect, in part, the demonstrated performance of the organization's set of standard processes. These quantitative objectives should be set to values that are likely to be achieved when the processes involved are stable and within their natural bounds.

Subpractices

Establish the quantitative objectives that pertain to the process.
Allocate the quantitative objectives to the process or its subprocesses.

GP 4.2 Stabilize Subprocess Performance

Stabilize the performance of one or more subprocesses to determine the ability of the process to achieve the established quantitative quality and process-performance objectives.

The purpose of this generic practice is to stabilize the performance of one or more subprocesses of the defined process that are critical contributors to the overall performance using appropriate statistical and other quantitative techniques. Stabilizing selected subprocesses supports predicting the ability of the process to achieve the established quantitative quality and process-performance objectives.

A stable subprocess shows no significant indication of special causes of process variation. Stable subprocesses are predictable within the limits established by the natural bounds of the subprocess. Variations in the stable subprocess are due to a constant system of chance causes, and the magnitude of the variations can be small or large.

Predicting the ability of the process to achieve the established quantitative objectives requires a quantitative understanding of the contributions of the subprocesses that are critical to achieving these objectives and establishing and managing against interim quantitative objectives over time.

Selected process and product measures are incorporated into the organization's measurement repository to support process performance analysis and future fact-based decision making.

Subpractices

Statistically manage the performance of one or more subprocesses that are critical contributors to the overall performance of the process.
Predict the ability of the process to achieve its established quantitative objectives considering the performance of the statistically managed subprocesses.
Incorporate selected process performance measurements into the organization's process performance baselines.

GG 5 Institutionalize an Optimizing Process

The process is institutionalized as an optimizing process.

GP 5.1 Ensure Continuous Process Improvement

Ensure continuous improvement of the process in fulfilling the relevant business objectives of the organization.

The purpose of this generic practice is to select and systematically deploy process and technology improvements that contribute to meeting established quality and process-performance objectives.

Optimizing processes that are agile and innovative depends on the participation of an empowered workforce aligned with the business values and objectives of the organization. The organization's ability to rapidly respond to changes and opportunities is enhanced by finding ways to accelerate and share learning. Improvement of the processes is inherently part of everybody's role, resulting in a cycle of continual improvement.

Subpractices

Establish and maintain quantitative process-improvement objectives that support the organization's business objectives.
The quantitative process-improvement objectives may be specific to the individual process or they may be defined for a broader scope (i.e., for a set of processes), with the individual processes contributing to achieving these objectives. Objectives that are specific to the individual process are typically allocated from quantitative objectives established for a broader scope.

These process-improvement objectives are primarily derived from the organization's business objectives and from a detailed understanding of process capability. These objectives are the criteria used to judge whether the process performance is quantitatively improving the organization's ability to meet its business objectives. These process-improvement objectives are often set to values beyond the current process performance, and both incremental and innovative technological improvements may be needed to achieve these objectives. These objectives may also be revised frequently to continue to drive the improvement of the process (i.e., when an objective is achieved, it may be set to a new value that is again beyond the new process performance).

These process-improvement objectives may be the same as, or a refinement of, the objectives established in the Establish Quantitative Objectives for the Process generic practice, as long as they can serve as both drivers and criteria for successful process improvement.
Identify process improvements that would result in measurable improvements to process performance.

Process improvements include both incremental changes and innovative technological improvements. The innovative technological improvements are typically pursued as efforts that are separately planned, performed, and managed. Piloting is often performed. These efforts often address specific areas of the processes that are determined by analyzing process performance and identifying specific opportunities for significant measurable improvement.
Define strategies and manage deployment of selected process improvements based on the quantified expected benefits, the estimated costs and impacts, and the measured change to process performance.

The costs and benefits of these improvements are estimated quantitatively, and the actual costs and benefits are measured. Benefits are primarily considered relative to the organization's quantitative process-improvement objectives. Improvements are made to both the organization's set of standard processes and the defined processes.
Managing deployment of the process improvements includes piloting of changes and implementing adjustments where appropriate, addressing potential and real barriers to deployment, minimizing disruption to ongoing efforts, and managing risks.

GP 5.2 Correct Root Causes of Problems

Identify and correct the root causes of defects and other problems in the process.

The purpose of this generic practice is to analyze defects and other problems that were encountered, to correct the root causes of these types of defects and problems, and to prevent these defects and problems from occurring in the future.

Refer to the Causal Analysis and Resolution process area for more information on identifying and correcting root causes of selected defects. Even though the Causal Analysis and Resolution process area has a project context, it can be applied to processes in other contexts as well.