Chapter 16. Conducting Software Project Assessments

-Spoorthi Sham-1PI14SSE12

Introduction

The scope of a project assessment includes the end to end methodologies for the development and management of the project.

Software assessments, which originated from the need for improvement in the software industry, started in the 1960s and 1970s as informal assessments.

“How do I improve my project or how do I perform my next project better?”

Audit

“An independent examination of a work product or set of work products to assess compliance with specifications, standards, contractual agreements, or other criteria.” – IEEE

“Certification, or third-party assessment (referred to as registration in some countries), is carried out by an independent organization against a particular standard.” - ISO

Assessment

“A software process assessment is a disciplined examination of the software processes used by an organization, based on a process model. The objective is to determine the maturity level of those processes, as measured against a process improvement road map. The result should identify and characterize current practices, identifying areas of strengths and weaknesses, and the ability of current practices to control or avoid significant causes of poor (software) quality, cost, and schedule. The assessment findings can also be used as indicators of the capability of those processes to achieve the quality, cost, and schedule goals of software development with a high degree of predictability.”

Types of assessment Self assessment or first party assessment –

performed internally by an organization's own personnel.

Second party assessment – e.g., a company hires an external assessment team or company is being assessed by a customer

Third party assessment - e.g., a supplier is being assessed by a third party to verify its ability to enter contracts with a customer

Software Process Assessment Cycle – CMM based assessment

Step 1 : Select a team. The members of the team should be professionals knowledgeable in software engineering and management.

Step 2 : The representatives of the site to be appraised complete the standard process maturity questionnaire

Step 3 : The assessment team performs an analysis of the questionnaire responses and identifies areas that warrant further exploration according to the CMM key process areas.

Step 4: Assessment team to conduct a site visit to gain an understanding of the software process followed by the site.

Step 5 : The assessment team produces a list of findings that identifies the strengths and weakness of the organization's software process

Step 6 : The assessment team prepares a key process area (KPA) profile analysis and presents the results to the appropriate audience.

CMM-Based Appraisal for Internal Process Improvement (CBA IPI)

Minimum requirements the assessment team, the assessment plan, data collection, data validation, the rating, the reporting of assessment results.

The Standard CMMI Assessment Method for Process Improvement (SCAMPI)

Phase Activities

Plan and preparation

Identify assessment scope

Develop the assessment plan

Prepare and train the assessment team.

Make a brief assessment of participants

Administer the CMMI Appraisal Questionnaire

Examine Questionnaire responses

Conduct initial document review.

Onsite assessment

Conduct an opening meeting

Conduct interviews

Consolidate information

Prepare presentation of draft findings

Present draft findings

Consolidate, rate, and prepare final findings

Reporting results

Present final findings

Conduct executive session

Wrap up the assessment

SPR Assessment Step 1 : Assessment kickoff session

Step 2 : Project data collection

Step 3 : Individual project analysis

Step 4 : A parallel track is to conduct management interviews

Step 5 : The two tracks then merge for benchmark comparison, aggregate analysis, and interpretation

Step 6 : The final phase is measurement report and improvement opportunities

Step 7 : Data collection and interviews are based on the structured SPR assessment questionnaire

Zahran's Generic Phases and Main Activities of Software Process Assessment

Questions What is software assessment? Define audit. Define assessment. Differentiate between audit and assessment. Differentiate between software process assessment and

software project assessment. Explain CMM based assessment approach. What are the minimum requirements that CMM Based

Appraisal for Internal Process Improvement(CBA IPI) should meet?

Explain the phases of SCAMPI. Explain generic cycle of process assessment developed

by Zahran.

Thank You