What is the process of monitoring actual performance and taking corrective measures?

Summary

Monitor and control the process against the plan for performing the process and take appropriate corrective action.

Description

The purpose of this generic practice is to perform the direct day-to-day monitoring and controlling of the process. Appropriate visibility into the process is maintained so that appropriate corrective action can be taken when necessary. Monitoring and controlling the process can involve measuring appropriate attributes of the process or work products produced by the process.

Refer to the Measurement and Analysis (MA) (CMMI-DEV) process area for more information about developing and sustaining a measurement capability used to support management information needs.

Refer to the Project Monitoring and Control (PMC) (CMMI-DEV) process area for more information about providing an understanding of the project’s progress so that appropriate corrective actions can be taken when the project’s performance deviates significantly from the plan.

Subpractices

1. Evaluate actual progress and performance against the plan for performing the process.

The evaluations are of the process, its work products, and its services.

2. Review accomplishments and results of the process against the plan for performing the process.

3. Review activities, status, and results of the process with the immediate level of management responsible for the process and identify issues.

These reviews are intended to provide the immediate level of management with appropriate visibility into the process based on the day-to-day monitoring and controlling of the process, and are supplemented by periodic and event-driven reviews with higher level management as described in GP 2.10.

4. Identify and evaluate the effects of significant deviations from the plan for performing the process.

5. Identify problems in the plan for performing the process and in the execution of the process.

6. Take corrective action when requirements and objectives are not being satisfied, when issues are identified, or when progress differs significantly from the plan for performing the process.

Inherent risks should be considered before any corrective action is taken. Corrective action can include the following:

• Taking remedial action to repair defective work products or services
• Changing the plan for performing the process
• Adjusting resources, including people, tools, and other resources
• Negotiating changes to the established commitments
• Securing change to the requirements and objectives that must be satisfied
• Terminating the effort

7. Track corrective action to closure.

CAR Elaboration

Examples of measures and work products used in monitoring and controlling include the following:

• Number of outcomes analyzed
• Change in quality or process performance per instance of the causal analysis and resolution process
• Schedule of activities for implementing a selected action proposal

CM Elaboration

Examples of measures and work products used in monitoring and controlling include the following:

• Number of changes to configuration items
• Number of configuration audits conducted
• Schedule of CCB or audit activities

DAR Elaboration

Examples of measures and work products used in monitoring and controlling include the following:

• Cost-to-benefit ratio of using formal evaluation processes
• Schedule for the execution of a trade study

IPM Elaboration

Examples of measures and work products used in monitoring and controlling include the following:

• Number of changes to the project’s defined process
• Schedule and effort to tailor the organization’s set of standard processes
• Interface coordination issue trends (i.e., number identified and number closed)
• Schedule for project tailoring activities
• Project's shared vision usage and effectiveness
• Team structure usage and effectiveness
• Team charters usage and effectiveness

MA Elaboration

Examples of measures and work products used in monitoring and controlling include the following:

• Percentage of projects using progress and performance measures
• Percentage of measurement objectives addressed
• Schedule for collection and review of measurement data

OPD Elaboration

Examples of measures and work products used in monitoring and controlling include the following:

• Percentage of projects using the process architectures and process elements of the organization’s set of standard processes
• Defect density of each process element of the organization’s set of standard processes
• Schedule for development of a process or process change

OPF Elaboration

Examples of measures and work products used in monitoring and controlling include the following:

• Number of process improvement proposals submitted, accepted, or implemented
• CMMI maturity level or capability level earned
• Schedule for deployment of an organizational process asset
• Percentage of projects using the current organization’s set of standard processes (or tailored version of the current set)
• Issue trends associated with implementing the organization’s set of standard processes (i.e., number of issues identified, number closed)
• Progress toward achievement of process needs and objectives

OPM Elaboration

Examples of measures and work products used in monitoring and controlling include the following:

• Change in quality and process performance related to business objectives
• Schedule for implementing and validating an improvement
• Schedule for activities to deploy a selected improvement

OPP Elaboration

Examples of measures and work products used in monitoring and controlling include the following:

• Trends in the organization’s process performance with respect to changes in work products and task attributes (e.g., size growth, effort, schedule, quality)
• Schedule for collecting and reviewing measures to be used for establishing a process performance basellne

OT Elaboration

Examples of measures and work products used in monitoring and controlling include the following:

• Number of training courses delivered (e.g., planned versus actual)
• Post-training evaluation ratings
• Training program quality survey ratings
• Schedule for delivery of training
• Schedule for development of a course

PI Elaboration

Examples of measures and work products used in monitoring and controlling include the following:

• Product component integration profile (e.g., product component assemblies planned and performed, number of exceptions found)
• Integration evaluation problem report trends (e.g., number written and number closed)
• Integration evaluation problem report aging (i.e., how long each problem report has been open)
• Schedule for conduct of specific integration activities

PMC Elaboration

Examples of measures and work products used in monitoring and controlling include the following:

• Number of open and closed corrective actions
• Schedule with status for monthly financial data collection, analysis, and reporting
• Number and types of reviews performed
• Review schedule (planned versus actual and slipped target dates)
• Schedule for collection and analysis of monitoring data

PP Elaboration

Examples of measures and work products used in monitoring and controlling include the following:

• Number of revisions to the plan
• Cost, schedule, and effort variance per plan revision
• Schedule for development and maintenance of program plans

PPQA Elaboration

Examples of measures and work products used in monitoring and controlling include the following:

• Variance of objective process evaluations planned and performed
• Variance of objective work product evaluations planned and performed
• Schedule for objective evaluations

QPM Elaboration

Examples of measures and work products used in monitoring and controlling include the following:

• Profile of subprocess attributes whose process performance provide insight about the risk to, or are key contributors to, achieving project objectives (e.g., number selected for monitoring through statistical techniques, number currently being monitored, number whose process performance is stable)
• Number of special causes of variation identified
• Schedule of data collection, analysis, and reporting activities in a measurement and analysis cycle as it relates to quantitative management activities

RD Elaboration

Examples of measures and work products used in monitoring and controlling include the following:

• Cost, schedule, and effort expended for rework
• Defect density of requirements specifications
• Schedule for activities to develop a set of requirements

REQM Elaboration

Examples of measures and work products used in monitoring and controlling include the following:

• Requirements volatility (percentage of requirements changed)
• Schedule for coordination of requirements
• Schedule for analysis of a proposed requirements change

RSKM Elaboration

Examples of measures and work products used in monitoring and controlling include the following:

• Number of risks identified, managed, tracked, and controlled
• Risk exposure and changes to the risk exposure for each assessed risk, and as a summary percentage of management reserve
• Change activity for risk mitigation plans (e.g., processes, schedule, funding)
• Occurrence of unanticipated risks
• Risk categorization volatility
• Comparison of estimated versus actual risk mitigation effort and impact
• Schedule for risk analysis activities
• Schedule of actions for a specific mitigation

SAM Elaboration

Examples of measures and work products used in monitoring and controlling include the following:

• Number of changes made to the requirements for the supplier
• Cost and schedule variance in accordance with the supplier agreement
• Schedule for selecting a supplier and establishing an agreement

TS Elaboration

Examples of measures and work products used in monitoring and controlling include the following:

• Cost, schedule, and effort expended for rework
• Percentage of requirements addressed in the product or product component design
• Size and complexity of the product, product components, interfaces, and documentation
• Defect density of technical solutions work products
• Schedule for design activities

VAL Elaboration

Examples of measures and work products used in monitoring and controlling include the following:

• Number of validation activities completed (planned versus actual)
• Validation problem report trends (e.g., number written, number closed)
• Validation problem report aging (i.e., how long each problem report has been open)
• Schedule for a specific validation activity

VER Elaboration

Examples of measures and work products used in monitoring and controlling include the following:

• Verification profile (e.g., the number of verifications planned and performed, and the defects found; or defects categorized by verification method or type)
• Number of defects detected by defect category
• Verification problem report trends (e.g., number written, number closed)
• Verification problem report status (i.e., how long each problem report has been open)
• Schedule for a specific verification activity
• Peer review effectiveness