Process Change Management
a key process area for level 5: Optimizing
The purpose of Process Change Management is to continually
improve the software processes used in the organization with the intent of
improving software quality, increasing productivity, and decreasing the cycle
time for product development.
Process Change Management involves defining process improvement goals and, with
senior management sponsorship, proactively and systematically identifying,
evaluating, and implementing improvements to the organization's standard
software process and the projects' defined software processes on a continuous
basis.
Training and incentive programs are established to enable and encourage
everyone in the organization to participate in process improvement activities.
Improvement opportunities are identified and evaluated for potential payback to
the organization. Pilot efforts are performed to assess process changes before
they are incorporated into normal practice.
When software process improvements are approved for normal practice, the
organization's standard software process and the projects' defined software
processes are revised as appropriate. The practices for revising the
organization's standard software process are found in the Organization Process
Definition key process area, and the practices for revising the projects'
defined software processes are found in the Integrated Software Management key
process area.
Goals
Goal 1
Continuous process improvement is planned.
Goal 2
Participation in the organization's software process improvement activities
is organization wide.
Goal 3
The organization's standard software process and the projects' defined
software processes are improved continuously.
Commitment to perform
Commitment 1 -- The organization follows a written policy for implementing
software process improvements.
This policy typically specifies that:
- The organization has quantitative, measurable goals for software process
improvement and tracks performance against these goals.
- The organization's process improvements are directed toward improving
product quality, increasing productivity, and decreasing the cycle time for
product development.
- All of the organization's staff and managers are expected to participate
in improving the software processes.
Skilled and motivated people are recognized as the principal process
improvement resource.
Commitment 2 -- Senior management sponsors the organization's activities
for software process improvement.
Senior management:
- Establishes the organization's long-term goals and plans for process
improvement.
- Allocates resources for process improvement activities.
- Coordinates with the software managers to ensure they have reasonable, yet
aggressive, process improvement goals and effective process improvement plans
to meet these goals.
- Monitors process improvement performance against goals.
- Maintains a consistent priority focus on process improvement in the face
of product crises.
- Ensures that process improvement issues are promptly resolved.
- Rewards employee participation in the process improvement
activities.
Ability to perform
Ability 1 -- Adequate resources and funding are provided for software
process improvement activities.
- Resources are allocated to:
- lead, guide, and support the process improvement activities;
- maintain the process improvement records;
- develop, control, and disseminate process changes; and
- establish and operate the administrative and human resources functions to
conduct the communications, motivation, and recognition activities needed to
maintain a high level of employee participation.
- Experienced individuals who have expertise in defining and analyzing software
processes are available to help the organization in its process improvement
activities.
- Tools to support process improvement are made available.
Examples of support tools include:
- statistical analysis tools,
- database systems,
- process automation tools, and
- process modeling tools.
Ability 2 -- Software managers receive required training in software
process improvement.
Examples of training include:
- managing technological and organizational change,
- team building, and
- teamwork skills as applied to continuous process improvement.
Refer to the Training Program key process area.
Ability 3 -- The managers and technical staff of the software engineering
group and other software-related groups receive required training in software
process improvement.
Examples of software-related groups include:
- software quality assurance,
- software configuration management, and
- documentation support.
Examples of training include:
- the principles of quality and process improvement, and
- the procedures for proposing process improvements.
Refer to the Training Program key process area.
Ability 4 -- Senior management receives required training in software
process improvement.
Examples of training include:
- benchmarking and comparative evaluation,
- principles of process improvement,
- setting and tracking goals for process improvement, and
- motivation and team building in an environment of continuous process
improvement.
Activities performed
Activity 1 -- A software process improvement program is established which
empowers the members of the organization to improve the processes of the
organization.
Activity 2 -- The group responsible for the organization's software
process activities (e.g., software engineering process group) coordinates
the software process improvement activities.
Refer to the Organization Process Focus key process area for practices covering
the group responsible for the organization's software process improvement
activities.
This group:
- Defines organizational goals and measurement plans for software process
performance.
- Reviews the organizational goals for process performance with senior
management for their endorsement.
- Participates in the effort to define the organization's training needs for
process improvement and supports the development and presentation of training
course materials.
Refer to the Training Program key process area.
- Defines and maintains the procedures for handling process improvement
proposals.
- Reviews software process improvement proposals and coordinates the actions
for these proposals.
- Tracks status, accomplishments, and participation in the process
improvement activities and periodically reports the results to senior
management.
- Coordinates and tracks changes to the organization's standard software
process.
- Defines, establishes, and maintains the process improvement
records.
Activity 3 -- The organization develops and maintains a plan for software
process improvement according to a documented procedure.
Refer to Activity 2 of the Organization Process Focus key process area for
other practices covering the organization's software process improvement
plan.
This procedure typically specifies that:
- The software process improvement plan is based on:
- the organization's business and strategic operating plans, and
- customer satisfaction indicators.
- The software process improvement plan undergoes peer review.
Refer to the Peer Reviews key process area.
- The software process improvement plan is reviewed by the affected managers.
- The software process improvement plan is managed and controlled.
"Managed and controlled" implies that the version of the work product in use at
a given time (past or present) is known (i.e., version control), and changes
are incorporated in a controlled manner (i.e., change control).
If a greater degree of control than is implied by "managed and controlled" is
desired, the work product can be placed under the full discipline of
configuration management, as is described in the Software Configuration
Management key process area.
Activity 4 -- The software process improvement activities are performed
in accordance with the software process improvement plan.
The plan covers:
- The resources required, including staff and tools.
- The highest priority process areas for improvement.
- Measurable short-term and long-term goals for software process performance
and improvement.
- Teams and their assignments for addressing improvements for specific
process areas.
Examples of teams include:
- working groups,
- process action teams, and
- technical committees.
- The procedures for:
- the senior managers overseeing the software process improvement activities;
- the software managers planning and coordinating the software process
improvement activities;
- individuals and teams identifying, evaluating, and introducing appropriate
software process improvements; and
- the teams developing software process improvements for assigned process
areas.
- The administrative and support plans required to maintain continuous
process improvement.
- Appropriate administrative procedures are included to encourage
participation in and facilitate the software process improvement activities.
- Administrative personnel are included in oversight and review of the
software process improvement activities.
- The roles and contributions of employees to continuous process improvement are recognized.
Activity 5 -- Software process improvement proposals are handled according
to a documented procedure.
This procedure typically specifies that:
- Software process improvement proposals are submitted.
The software process improvement proposals can be submitted at any time and can
address any area of the software processes.
Examples of sources for software process improvement proposals include:
- the findings and recommendations of software process assessments,
- the organization's software process improvement goals,
- analysis of data on customer problems and customer satisfaction,
- analysis of data on project performance compared to software quality and
productivity goals,
- the results of process benchmarks,
- the potential for process/task automation,
- analysis of data on defect causes,
- the measured effectiveness of the software process activities,
- examples of software process improvement proposals that were successfully
adopted, and
- feedback on previously submitted software process improvement proposals,
as appropriate.
- Each software process improvement proposal is evaluated; a decision is
made whether to implement the proposal, and the decision rationale is
documented.
- The expected benefits of each software process improvement proposal
are determined.
Examples of expected benefit areas include:
- productivity,
- quality,
- cycle time,
- other indicators of customer or end user satisfaction, and
- any other internal factors.
- The priority of software process improvement proposals selected for
implementation is determined.
- Focus on high-priority software process improvement proposals is
maintained.
- Implementation of the software process improvement actions resulting from
the proposals is assigned and planned.
- Software process improvement actions that require a substantial effort are
assigned to a team responsible for implementation.
Examples of substantial efforts include improvements requiring piloting of new
technologies and other large changes.
Teams to focus on specific software process areas are established.
Actions that are appropriate for piloting are coordinated.
Examples of teams include:
- working groups,
- process action teams, and
- technical committees.
- The status of each software process improvement proposal
is tracked.
- Software process improvement proposals for which the response has been
unusually long are identified and acted upon.
- Software process changes that are judged to have a major impact on product
quality or productivity or that will significantly alter satisfaction of the
customer and end users are reviewed and approved by appropriate management
before they are implemented.
- Completed software process improvement actions are reviewed, verified, and
approved before they are closed.
- Submitters of the software process improvement proposals receive:
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