Process
Areas
(staged)

Level 2
 
RM
 PP
 PMC
 SAM
 MA
 PPQA
 CM
Level 3
 
RD
 TS
 PI
 VE
 VA
 OPF
 OPD
 OT
 IPM
 RSKM
 DAR
Level 4
 
OPP
 QPM
Level 5
 
OID
 CAR

 SP 1.1 Collect and Analyze Improvement Proposals
Process AreaOID
Level5
GoalSG 1
PracticeSP 1.1

Collect and analyze process- and technology-improvement proposals.

Each process- and technology-improvement proposal must be analyzed.

Simple process and technology improvements, with well-understood benefits and effects, will not usually undergo detailed evaluations.

Examples of simple process and technology improvements include the following:

·   Add an item to a peer review checklist.

·   Combine the technical review and management review for suppliers into a single technical/management review.

  

Typical Work Products

1.    Analyzed process- and technology-improvement proposals

Subpractices

1.    Collect process- and technology-improvement proposals.

A process- and technology-improvement proposal documents proposed incremental and innovative improvements to specific processes and technologies. Managers and staff in the organization, as well as customers, end users, and suppliers can submit process- and technology-improvement proposals. Process and technology improvements may be implemented at the local level before being proposed for the organization.

Examples of sources for process- and technology-improvement proposals include the following:

·   Findings and recommendations from process appraisals

·   The organization’s quality and process-performance objectives

·   Analysis of data about customer and end-user problems as well as customer and end-user satisfaction

·   Analysis of data about project performance compared to quality and productivity objectives

·   Analysis of technical performance measures

·   Results of process and product benchmarking efforts

·   Analysis of data on defect causes

·   Measured effectiveness of process activities

·   Measured effectiveness of project work environments

·   Examples of process- and technology-improvement proposals that were successfully adopted elsewhere

·   Feedback on previously submitted process- and technology-improvement proposals

·   Spontaneous ideas from managers and staff

  

Refer to the Organizational Process Focus process area for more information about process- and technology-improvement proposals.

2.    Analyze the costs and benefits of process- and technology-improvement proposals as appropriate.

Process- and technology-improvement proposals that have a large cost-to-benefit ratio are rejected.

Criteria for evaluating costs and benefits include the following:

·   Contribution toward meeting the organization’s quality and process-performance objectives

·   Effect on mitigating identified project and organizational risks

·   Ability to respond quickly to changes in project requirements, market situations, and the business environment

·   Effect on related processes and associated assets

·   Cost of defining and collecting data that supports the measurement and analysis of the process- and technology-improvement proposal

·   Expected life span of the proposal

Process- and technology-improvement proposals that would not improve the organization's processes are rejected.

Process-performance models provide insight into the effect of process changes on process capability and performance.

Refer to the Organizational Process Performance process area for more information about process-performance models.

3.    Identify the process- and technology-improvement proposals that are innovative.

Innovative improvements are also identified and analyzed in the Identify and Analyze Innovations specific practice.

Whereas this specific practice analyzes proposals that have been passively collected, the purpose of the Identify and Analyze Innovations specific practice is to actively search for and locate innovative improvements. The search primarily involves looking outside the organization.

Innovative improvements are typically identified by reviewing process- and technology-improvement proposals or by actively investigating and monitoring innovations that are in use in other organizations or are documented in research literature. Innovation may be inspired by internal improvement objectives or by the external business environment.

Innovative improvements are typically major changes to the process that represent a break from the old way of doing things (e.g., changing the lifecycle model). Innovative improvements may also include changes in the products that support, enhance, or automate the process (e.g., using off-the-shelf products to support the process).

Examples of innovative improvements include the following:

·   Advances in computer and related hardware products

·   New support tools

·   New techniques, methodologies, processes, or lifecycle models

·   New interface standards

·   New reusable components

·   New management techniques

·   New quality-improvement techniques

·   New process development and deployment support tools

  

4.    Identify potential barriers and risks to deploying each process- and technology-improvement proposal.

Examples of barriers to deploying process and technology improvements include the following:

·   Turf guarding and parochial perspectives

·   Unclear or weak business rationale

·   Lack of short-term benefits and visible successes

·   Unclear picture of what is expected from everyone

·   Too many changes at the same time

·   Lack of involvement and support of relevant stakeholders

  

Examples of risk factors that affect the deployment of process and technology improvements include the following:

·   Compatibility of the improvement with existing processes, values, and skills of potential end users

·   Complexity of the improvement

·   Difficulty implementing the improvement

·   Ability to demonstrate the value of the improvement before widespread deployment

·   Justification for large, up-front investments in areas such as tools and training

·   Inability to overcome “technology drag” where the current implementation is used successfully by a large and mature installed base of end users

  

5.    Estimate the cost, effort, and schedule required for deploying each process- and technology-improvement proposal.

6.    Select the process- and technology-improvement proposals to be piloted before broadscale deployment.

Since innovations, by definition, usually represent a major change, most innovative improvements will be piloted.

7.    Document the results of the evaluation of each process- and technology-improvement proposal.

8.    Monitor the status of each process- and technology-improvement proposal.

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Process
Areas
(continuous)


Process
management  
 
OPF
 OPD
 OT  
 
OPP 
 
OID
Project
management
 
PP
 PMC
 SAM 
 
IPM
 RSKM
 
QPM
Engineering
 
RD
 RM
 TS
 PI
 VE
 VA
Support
 
CM
 PPQA
 MA
 
DAR
 CAR