Standard CMMI Appraisal Method for Process Improvement (SCAMPI)

2.3 Document Objective Evidence (continued)
Key Points
Tools and
Techniques
Metrics
Verification and
Validation
Records
Tailoring
This process has traditionally been the most difficult one to manage during an
appraisal. Members of the team will tend to vary a great deal in their
productivity and style of work. The team leader must be very attentive to the
progress of each team member, and take effective corrective actions to ensure
team progress.
Because of the challenging nature of this activity, Lead Appraisers tend to
have strong preferences for tools and techniques they have found to be
successful. Only a high-level list of tools and techniques is provided here.
• Work aids like wall charts, spreadsheet programs, and automated database
tools are frequently used to help track the status of data collection.
• Using mini-teams, where pairs (or triplets) of team members are assigned
specific PAs, is a very common practice.
• Time management is a critical skill for this activity. Explicitly reviewing
the effort spent, in real time, is a useful way to focus the team.
• A variety of techniques for structuring team notebooks and formats for
recording notes has been used.
• Team norms regarding techniques for managing debates and divergent
views are important, and should be made explicit well in advance.
As mentioned above, tracking the effort expended during this activity (in real
time) is a valuable technique to manage the team’s time. The ability to
quickly learn the rate at which each team member works is a skill that
experienced Lead Appraisers develop using effort and duration metrics.
The method rules for recording traceability and validating data provide a lot
in the way of verification and validation of the appraisal data. The role of the
appraisal team leader in monitoring progress and the consensus decisionmaking
process also serve as important verification and validation activities.
All appraisal data are recorded with full traceability to information sources as
well as the model components to which they pertain. The full detail in this
traceability contains sensitive information that should not be provided to
people outside of the appraisal team. The attribution of data to individuals or
groups must never be divulged even if some of the detailed data are provided
to the Engineering Process Group at a site for use in process improvement.
The use of a specialized appraisal data management tool is a common
tailoring applied to this activity.
Continued on next page
Page II-100
CMU/SEI-2001-HB-001