Organizational Innovation and Deployment
A Process Management Process Area at Maturity Level 5
Purpose
The purpose of Organizational Innovation and Deployment (OID) is to select and deploy incremental and innovative improvements that measurably improve the organization’s processes and technologies. These improvements support the organization’s quality and process-performance objectives as derived from the organization’s business objectives.
Introductory Notes
The Organizational Innovation and Deployment process area enables the selection and deployment of improvements that can enhance the organization’s ability to meet its quality and process-performance objectives. (See the definition of “quality and process-performance objectives” in the glossary.)
The term “improvement,” as used in this process area, refers to all ideas (proven and unproven) that would change the organization’s processes and technologies to better meet the organization’s quality and process-performance objectives.
Processes and technologies, as they apply to a service system, refer to that which is put into place to satisfy service requirements and successfully deliver the service. Therefore, as defined in this process area, processes and technologies make up the components of a service system.
Quality and process-performance objectives that this process area might address include the following:
• Improved product quality (e.g., functionality, performance)
• Increased productivity
• Decreased cycle time
• Greater customer and end-user satisfaction
• Shorter development or production time to change functionality, add new features, or adapt to new technologies
• Reduced delivery time
• Reduced time to adapt to new technologies and business needs
Achievement of these objectives depends on the successful establishment of an infrastructure that enables and encourages all people in the organization to propose potential improvements to the organization’s processes and technologies. Achievement of these objectives also depends on being able to effectively evaluate and deploy proposed improvements to the organization’s processes and technologies. All members of the organization can participate in the organization’s process- and technology-improvement activities. Their proposals are systematically gathered and addressed.
Pilots are conducted to evaluate significant changes involving untried, high-risk, or innovative improvements before they are broadly deployed.
Process and technology improvements to be deployed across the organization are selected from process- and technology-improvement proposals based on the following criteria:
• A quantitative understanding of the organization’s current quality and process performance
• The organization’s quality and process-performance objectives
• Estimates of the improvement in quality and process performance resulting from deploying the process and technology improvements
• Estimated costs of deploying process and technology improvements, and resources and funding available for such deployment
Expected benefits added by the process and technology improvements are weighed against the cost and impact to the organization. Change and stability must be balanced carefully. Change that is too great or too rapid can overwhelm the organization, destroying its investment in organizational learning represented by organizational process assets. Rigid stability can result in stagnation, allowing the changing business environment to erode the organization’s business position.
Improvements are deployed as appropriate to new and ongoing projects.
In this process area, the term “process and technology improvements” refers to incremental and innovative improvements to processes and to process or product technologies (including project work environments).
The informative material in this process area is written assuming the specific practices are applied in an organization that has a quantitative understanding of its standard processes and their expected quality and performance in predictable situations. Specific practices of this process area may be applicable, but with reduced value, if this assumption is not met.
The specific practices in this process area complement and extend those found in the Organizational Process Focus process area. The focus of this process area is process improvement based on a quantitative understanding of the organization’s set of standard processes and technologies and their expected quality and performance in predictable situations. In the Organizational Process Focus process area, no assumptions are made about the quantitative basis of improvement.
Related Process Areas
Refer to the Decision Analysis and Resolution process area for more information about analyzing possible decisions using a formal evaluation process that evaluates identified alternatives against established criteria.
Refer to the Measurement and Analysis process area for more information about aligning measurement and analysis activities and providing measurement results.
Refer to the Organizational Process Focus process area for more information about planning, implementing, and deploying organizational process improvements based on a thorough understanding of current strengths and weaknesses of the organization’s processes and process assets.
Refer to the Organizational Process Performance process area for more information about establishing quality and process-performance objectives, establishing process-performance baselines, and establishing process-performance models.
Refer to the Organizational Training process area for more information about providing necessary training.
Specific Practices by Goal
SG 1 Select Improvements
Process and technology improvements, which contribute to meeting quality and process-performance objectives, are selected.
SP 1.1 Collect and Analyze Improvement Proposals
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 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 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 service system and service delivery performance measures
• Results of process and product benchmarking efforts
• Analysis of data on acceptable quality
• 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 incorporating experiences into organizational process assets and managing process 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 support 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 establishing 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 products that support, enhance, or automate the process (e.g., using off-the-shelf products to support the process).
Examples of innovative improvements include additions or major updates to the following:
• Support tools
• Processes or lifecycle models
• Interface standards
• Reusable components
• Management techniques and methodologies
• Quality-improvement techniques and methodologies
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 from 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 results of the evaluation of each process- and technology-improvement proposal.
8. Monitor the status of each process- and technology-improvement proposal.
SP 1.2 Identify and Analyze Innovations
Identify and analyze innovative improvements that could increase the organization’s quality and process performance.
The specific practice, Collect and Analyze Improvement Proposals, analyzes proposals that are passively collected. The purpose of this specific practice is to actively search for, locate, and analyze innovative improvements. This search primarily involves looking outside the organization.
Typical Work Products
1. Candidate innovative improvements
2. Analysis of proposed innovative improvements
Subpractices
1. Analyze the organization’s set of standard processes to determine areas in which innovative improvements would be most helpful.
These analyses are performed to determine which subprocesses are critical to achieving the organization’s quality and process-performance objectives and which ones are good candidates to be improved.
2. Investigate innovative improvements that may improve the organization’s set of standard processes.
Investigating innovative improvements involves the following activities:
• Systematically maintaining awareness of leading relevant technical work and technology trends
• Periodically searching for commercially available innovative improvements
• Collecting proposals for innovative improvements from projects and the organization
• Systematically reviewing processes and technologies used externally and comparing them to those used in the organization
• Identifying areas in which innovative improvements have been used successfully, and reviewing data and documentation of experience using these improvements
• Identifying improvements that integrate new technology into products and project work environments
3. Analyze potential innovative improvements to understand their effects on process elements and predict their influence on the process.
Process-performance models can provide a basis for analyzing possible effects of changes to process elements.
Refer to the Organizational Process Performance process area for more information about establishing process-performance models.
4. Analyze the costs and benefits of potential innovative improvements.
Innovative improvements that have a large cost-to-benefit ratio are rejected.
5. Create process- and technology-improvement proposals for those innovative improvements that would result in improving the organization’s processes or technologies.
6. Select innovative improvements to be piloted before broadscale deployment.
Since innovations, by definition, usually represent a major change, most innovative improvements will be piloted.
7. Document results of evaluations of innovative improvements.
SP 1.3 Pilot Improvements
Pilot process and technology improvements to select which ones to implement.
Pilots are performed to assess new and unproven major changes before they are broadly deployed as appropriate.
The implementation of this specific practice may overlap with the implementation of the Implement Action Proposals specific practice in the Causal Analysis and Resolution process area (e.g., when causal analysis and resolution is implemented organizationally or across multiple projects).
Typical Work Products
1. Pilot evaluation reports
2. Documented lessons learned from pilots
Subpractices
1. Plan the pilots.
When planning pilots, define quantitative criteria to be used for evaluating pilot results.
2. Review and get relevant stakeholder agreement on plans for pilots.
3. Consult with and assist those performing the pilots.
4. Perform each pilot in an environment that is characteristic of the environment present in a broadscale deployment.
5. Track pilots against their plans.
6. Review and document results of pilots.
Pilot results are evaluated using the quantitative criteria defined during pilot planning. Reviewing and documenting results of pilots usually involves the following activities:
• Deciding whether to terminate the pilot, replan, and continue the pilot, or proceed with deploying the process and technology improvement
• Updating the disposition of process- and technology-improvement proposals associated with the pilot
• Identifying and documenting new process- and technology-improvement proposals as appropriate
• Identifying and documenting lessons learned and problems encountered during the pilot
SP 1.4 Select Improvements for Deployment
Select process and technology improvements for deployment across the organization.
Selection of process and technology improvements for deployment across the organization is based on quantifiable criteria derived from the organization’s quality and process-performance objectives.
Typical Work Products
1. Process and technology improvements selected for deployment
Subpractices
1. Prioritize candidate process and technology improvements for deployment.
Priority is based on an evaluation of the estimated cost-to-benefit ratio with regard to the quality and process-performance objectives.
Refer to the Organizational Process Performance process area for more information about establishing quality and process-performance objectives.
2. Select the process and technology improvements to be deployed.
The selection of process improvements is based on their priorities and available resources.
3. Determine how each process and technology improvement will be deployed.
Examples of where the process and technology improvements may be deployed include the following:
• Organizational process assets
• Project-specific or common work environments
• Organization’s service lines
• Organization’s capabilities
• Organization’s projects
• Organizational groups
4. Document results of the selection process.
Results of the selection process usually include the following:
• The selection criteria for candidate improvements
• The disposition of each improvement proposal
• The rationale for the disposition of each improvement proposal
• The assets to be changed for each selected improvement
SG 2 Deploy Improvements
Measurable improvements to the organization’s processes and technologies are continually and systematically deployed.
SP 2.1 Plan the Deployment
Establish and maintain plans for deploying selected process and technology improvements.
The plans for deploying selected process and technology improvements may be included in the organization’s plan for organizational innovation and deployment, or they may be documented separately.
The implementation of this specific practice complements the Deploy Organizational Process Assets specific practice in the Organizational Process Focus process area and adds the use of quantitative data to guide the deployment and to determine the value of improvements with respect to quality and process-performance objectives.
Refer to the Organizational Process Focus process area for more information about deploying organizational process assets.
This specific practice plans the deployment of selected process and technology improvements. The Plan the Process generic practice addresses comprehensive planning that covers the specific practices in this process area.
Typical Work Products
1. Deployment plans for selected process and technology improvements
Subpractices
1. Determine how each process and technology improvement must be adjusted for organization-wide deployment.
Process and technology improvements proposed in a limited context (e.g., for a single project) might need to be modified to work across the organization.
2. Determine the changes needed to deploy each process and technology improvement.
Examples of changes needed to deploy a process and technology improvement include the following:
• Process descriptions, standards, and procedures
• Work environments
• Education and training
• Skills
• Existing commitments
• Existing activities
• Continuing support to those performing or receiving the service
• Organizational culture and characteristics
3. Identify strategies that address potential barriers to deploying each process and technology improvement.
4. Establish measures and objectives for determining the value of each process and technology improvement with respect to the organization’s quality and process-performance objectives.
Examples of measures for determining the value of a process and technology improvement include the following:
• Return on investment
• Time to recover the cost of the process or technology improvement
• Measured improvement in the project’s or organization’s process performance
• Number and types of project and organizational risks mitigated by the process or technology improvement
• Average time required to respond to changes in project requirements, market situations, and the business environment
Refer to the Measurement and Analysis process area for more information about aligning measurement and analysis activities and providing measurement results.
5. Document the plans for deploying selected process and technology improvements.
6. Review and get agreement with relevant stakeholders on the plans for deploying selected process and technology improvements.
7. Revise the plans for deploying selected process and technology improvements as necessary.
SP 2.2 Manage the Deployment
Manage the deployment of selected process and technology improvements.
The implementation of this specific practice may overlap with the implementation of the Implement Action Proposals specific practice in the Causal Analysis and Resolution process area (e.g., when causal analysis and resolution is implemented organizationally or across multiple projects). The primary difference is that in the Causal Analysis and Resolution process area, planning is done to manage the removal of root causes of defects or problems from the project’s defined process. In the Organizational Innovation and Deployment process area, planning is done to manage the deployment of improvements to the organization’s processes and technologies that can be quantified against the organization’s business objectives.
Typical Work Products
1. Updated training materials (to reflect deployed process and technology improvements)
2. Documented results of process- and technology-improvement deployment activities
3. Revised process- and technology-improvement measures, objectives, priorities, and deployment plans
Subpractices
1. Monitor the deployment of process and technology improvements using the deployment plans.
2. Coordinate the deployment of process and technology improvements across the organization.
Coordinating deployment includes the following activities:
• Coordinating activities of projects, support groups, and organizational groups for each process and technology improvement
• Coordinating activities for deploying related process and technology improvements
3. Quickly deploy process and technology improvements in a controlled and disciplined manner as appropriate.
Examples of methods for quickly deploying process and technology improvements include the following:
• Using redlines, process change notices, or other controlled process documentation as interim process descriptions
• Deploying process and technology improvements incrementally rather than as a single deployment
• Providing comprehensive consulting to early adopters of the process and technology improvement in lieu of revised formal training
4. Incorporate process and technology improvements into organizational process assets as appropriate.
Refer to the Organizational Process Definition process area for more information about organizational process assets.
5. Coordinate the deployment of process and technology improvements into the projects’ defined processes as appropriate.
Refer to the Organizational Process Focus process area for more information about deploying organizational process assets and incorporating experiences.
6. Provide consulting as appropriate to support deployment of process and technology improvements.
7. Provide updated training materials to reflect improvements to organizational process assets.
Refer to the Organizational Training process area for more information about training materials.
8. Confirm that the deployment of all process and technology improvements is completed.
9. Determine whether the ability of the defined process to meet quality and process-performance objectives is adversely affected by the process and technology improvement, and take corrective action as necessary.
Refer to the Quantitative Project Management process area for more information about quantitatively managing the project’s defined process to achieve the project’s established quality and process-performance objectives.
10. Document and review results of process- and technology-improvement deployment.
Documenting and reviewing results includes the following:
• Identifying and documenting lessons learned
• Identifying and documenting new process- and technology-improvement proposals
• Revising process- and technology-improvement measures, objectives, priorities, and deployment plans
SP 2.3 Measure Improvement Effects
Measure effects of deployed process and technology improvements.
Refer to the Measurement and Analysis process area for more information about aligning measurement and analysis activities and providing measurement results.
The implementation of this specific practice may overlap with the implementation of the Evaluate the Effect of Changes specific practice in the Causal Analysis and Resolution process area (e.g., when causal analysis and resolution is implemented organizationally or across multiple projects).
Typical Work Products
1. Documented measures of the effects resulting from deployed process and technology improvements
Subpractices
1. Measure the actual cost, effort, and schedule for deploying each process and technology improvement.
2. Measure the value of each process and technology improvement.
3. Measure progress toward achieving the organization’s quality and process-performance objectives.
4. Analyze progress toward achieving the organization’s quality and process-performance objectives, and take corrective action as needed.
Refer to the Organizational Process Performance process area for more information about establishing quality and process-performance objectives, establishing process-performance baselines, and establishing process-performance models.
5. Store measures in the organization’s measurement repository.