Standard CMMI Appraisal Method for Process Improvement (SCAMPI)

Direct Artifact
This PII type is relevant when establishment of a work product is an integral part of practice
implementation. Sometimes this is explicit, as in “Establish and maintain process action plans
to address improvements to the organization’s processes and related process assets” (OPF SP
2.1-1). In other instances, it is not explicit, although it would be difficult to imagine practice
implementation without the presence of one or more work products being produced. In most
cases, the model document already identifies these work products.
Indirect Artifact
This PII type applies to artifacts that are produced as a natural consequence of practice enactment.
The difference between this and a direct artifact PII is that this type applies to artifacts
that are an indirect consequence or side-effect of practice enactment. For this reason,
artifacts that are relevant to this PII will vary widely and will tend to be implementationspecific.
This indicator type is especially useful when there may be doubts about whether the
intent of the practice has been met (e.g., a work product exists but there is no indication of
where it came from or who developed it).
Direct Affirmation
This PII type refers to either information obtained via interviews of individuals involved in
the enactment of a practice or of individuals who are stakeholders (e.g., customers, suppliers)
in the enactment of a practice. This type can also apply to information provided in other
ways, such as demonstrations or presentations.
PII Descriptions
A PII Description (PIID) is a structure or schema defined to provide a repository for the PII
information. Table III-2 shows an example of such a structure. Note that this is a notional
description of the content, not a physical definition of the format.
CMU/SEI-2001-HB-001
III-9