Select, monitor, and analyze supplier processes.

When there must be tight alignment between supplier and acquirer processes, the acquirer should monitor these processes to help prevent interface problems.

Selecting processes for monitoring involves considering the impact of the supplier’s processes on the project. On larger projects with significant subcontracts for development of critical components, monitoring key processes is expected. For less critical components, the selection process may determine that monitoring is not appropriate. Between these extremes, the overall risk should be considered when selecting processes to be monitored.

Monitoring, if not performed with adequate care, can at one extreme be invasive and burdensome, or at the other extreme be uninformative and ineffective. The acquirer decides on the necessary level of monitoring depending on the level of risk if the supplier’s process is not performed correctly. Monitoring activities can range from reviewing supplier-supplied process data to on-site appraisals of the supplier’s processes [SEI 2007].

Analyzing selected processes involves taking the data obtained from monitoring the processes and analyzing them to determine whether there are serious issues.

Typical Work Products

1.    List of processes selected for monitoring or rationale for non-selection

2.    Activity reports

3.    Performance reports

4.    Performance curves

5.    Discrepancy reports

Typical Supplier Deliverables

1.    Supplier process quality assurance reports

Subpractices

1.    Identify supplier processes critical to the success of the project.

2.    Monitor selected supplier processes for compliance with requirements of the agreement.

3.    Analyze results of monitoring selected processes to detect issues as early as possible that may affect the supplier’s ability to satisfy requirements of the agreement.

Trend analysis can rely on internal and external data.