Standard CMMI Appraisal Method for Process Improvement (SCAMPI)

1.5.3 Replan Data Collection (continued)
Optional
Practices
Implementation
Guidance
Risk analysis can be conducted during early planning activities to establish
thresholds and limits for the amount of missing objective evidence that will
trigger this activity. This enables the appraisal team leader to state, in
advance, the conditions under which the team and the sponsor must
renegotiate the appraisal plan.
Contingency planning done in advance to identify ways of overcoming issues
associated with missing objective evidence could include
• an alternate (fall-back) schedule for the appraisal
• staffing to conduct a “crash data collection” activity
• reducing the scope of the appraisal (e.g., appraising fewer PAs, limiting
the extent of the organizational unit appraised)
This activity serves as a “pressure valve” of sorts for the appraisal. The
pressure to perform the appraisal under unrealistic conditions can lead to a
severe degradation in the quality of the appraisal outputs. Carefully planning
for contingencies and communicating them to the sponsor help to protect the
standards that must be met in the performance of an appraisal. Clearly
documenting the data collection plan, and regularly monitoring the
availability of data compared to that plan, support effective risk mitigation.
When this activity must be employed to recover from an unrealistic
expectation, the documentation reflecting the assumptions made during
planning, as well as concrete facts about what is or is not available, are used
to renegotiate with the appraisal sponsor. This is one of the reasons why a
detailed appraisal plan, with the sponsor’s signature, is a required artifact for
the conduct of a SCAMPI appraisal.
CMU/SEI-2001-HB-001
Page II-69