Standard CMMI Appraisal Method for Process Improvement (SCAMPI)

Forms of Objective Evidence
An appraisal team bases its decisions about practice implementation on the existence of objective
evidence available to it. This objective evidence can take on one or more of the following
forms:
• artifacts
− work products, which are the explicit intended consequences of practice implementation
− artifacts that are incidental to, but indicative of, practice implementation
• affirmations
− written or oral statements indicative of practice implementation from practitioners
who carry out the activities relevant to the practice or from suppliers, customers, or
other stakeholders in the practice
− demonstrations or presentations (e.g., the demonstration of capability of a tool or
other mechanism as it relates to the implementation of a practice, or a presentation
explaining some aspect of the organization or project)
Note that there is not a strong distinction made in the model between artifacts and work
products (see Chapter 3 in the model for an explanation of how “work product” is used). As
used in the context of PIIs, work product refers to an artifact that is either explicitly mentioned
in the statement of a CMMI practice or whose absence would be a strong indictor of
incomplete or inadequate practice implementation. The weaker term “artifact” is used in the
context of PIIs to refer to an artifact whose existence is incidental to (i.e., a side-effect of) the
accomplishment of the main intent of the practice.
Types of PIIs
Using the above discussion as the framework, it is now possible to itemize the types of PIIs
that might be present as a consequence of practice implementation. Table III-1 shows PII
types, which collectively provide coverage for any CMMI practice. Each type is described in
more detail below.
Table III-1: PII Types
PII
Type
Direct
Objective
Evidence Form
Artifact (work
product)
Generic Description
Work product(s) that reflect (document the information content of)
the establishment of {insert text from practice statement that describes
object of practice enactment}.
Indirect Artifact Artifact(s) that are an indirect consequence (or side-effect) of the
effort required to {insert text from practice statement that describes
object of practice enactment}.
Direct Affirmation Affirmations from individuals who participated in or contributed to
{insert text from practice statement that describes object of practice
enactment} OR affirmations from individuals who are users of (or
who can substantiate use of) {insert text from practice statement
that describes object of practice enactment}.
III-8
CMU/SEI-2001-HB-001