A Process Management Process Area at Maturity Level 3
The purpose of Organizational Process Definition (OPD) is to establish and maintain a usable set of organizational process assets and work environment standards.
Organizational process assets enable consistent process performance across the organization and provide a basis for cumulative, long-term benefits to the organization. (See the definition of
“organizational process assets” in the glossary.)
The organization’s process asset library is a collection of items maintained by the organization for use by the organization’s people and projects. This collection of items includes
descriptions of processes and process elements, descriptions of lifecycle models, process tailoring guidelines, process-related documentation, and data. The organization’s process asset library supports organizational learning and process
improvement by allowing the sharing of best practices and lessons learned across the organization.
The acquirer’s organizational process assets also include acquisition guidance and practices established for use across acquisition projects and which refer to applicable statutes and
regulations.
The organization’s set of standard processes also describes standard interactions with suppliers. Supplier interactions are characterized by the following typical items: deliverables expected
from suppliers, acceptance criteria applicable to those deliverables, standards (e.g., architecture and technology standards), and standard milestone and progress reviews.
The organization’s set of standard processes is tailored by projects to create their defined processes. Other organizational process assets are used to support tailoring and implementing
defined processes. Work environment standards are used to guide the creation of project work environments.
A standard process is composed of other processes (i.e., subprocesses) or process elements. A process element is the fundamental (i.e., atomic) unit of process definition that describes activities and tasks to consistently perform work. The process architecture provides rules for
connecting the process elements of a standard process. The organization’s set of standard processes may include multiple process architectures.
(See the definitions of “standard process,” “process architecture,” “subprocess,” and “process element” in the glossary.)
Organizational process assets may be organized in many ways, depending on the implementation of the Organizational Process Definition process area. Examples include the
following:
· Descriptions of lifecycle models may be part of the organization’s set of standard processes, or they may be documented separately.
· The organization’s set of standard processes may be stored in the organization’s process asset library, or it may be stored separately.
· A single repository may contain both measurements and process-related documentation, or they may be stored separately.
Refer to the Organizational Process Focus process area for more information about organizational process-related matters.
Specific Goal and Practice Summary
SG 1 Establish Organizational Process Assets
SP 1.1 Establish Standard Processes
SP 1.2 Establish Lifecycle Model Descriptions
SP 1.3 Establish Tailoring Criteria and Guidelines
SP 1.4 Establish the Organization’s Measurement Repository
SP 1.5 Establish the Organization’s Process Asset Library
SP 1.6 Establish Work Environment Standards
SP 1.7 Establish Rules and Guidelines for Integrated Teams
Specific Practices by Goal