Organizational Process Performance

A Process Management Process Area at Maturity Level 4

Purpose

The purpose of Organizational Process Performance (OPP) is to establish and maintain a quantitative understanding of the performance of the organization’s set of standard processes in support of achieving quality and process-performance objectives, and to provide process-performance data, baselines, and models to quantitatively manage the organization’s projects.

Introductory Notes

Process performance is a measure of actual results achieved by following a process. Process performance is characterized by process measures (e.g., effort, cycle time, defect removal effectiveness) and product measures (e.g., reliability, defect density, capacity, response time, cost).

The common measures for the organization consist of process and product measures that can be used to characterize the actual performance of processes in the organization’s individual projects. By analyzing the resulting measurements, a distribution or range of results can be established that characterize the expected performance of the process when used on any individual project.

In this process area, the phrase “quality and process-performance objectives” covers objectives and requirements for product quality, service quality, and process performance. As indicated above, the term “process performance” includes quality; however, to emphasize the importance of quality, the phrase “quality and process-performance objectives” is used rather than just “process-performance objectives.”

The expected process performance can be used in establishing the project’s quality and process-performance objectives and can be used as a baseline against which actual project performance can be compared. This information is used to quantitatively manage the project. Each quantitatively managed project, in turn, provides actual performance results that become a part of baseline data for organizational process assets.

Process-performance models are used to represent past and current process performance and to predict future results of the process. For example, the latent defects in the delivered product can be predicted using measurements of defects identified during product verification activities.

When the organization has measures, data, and analytical techniques for critical process, product, and service characteristics, it is able to do the following:

• Determine whether processes are behaving consistently or have stable trends (i.e., are predictable)

• Identify processes in which performance is within natural bounds that are consistent across process implementation teams

• Establish criteria for identifying whether a process or subprocess should be statistically managed, and determine pertinent measures and analytical techniques to be used in such management

• Identify processes that show unusual (e.g., sporadic, unpredictable) behavior

• Identify aspects of processes that can be improved in the organization’s set of standard processes

• Identify the implementation of a process that performs best

Related Process Areas

Refer to the Capacity and Availability Management process area for more information about selecting the measures and analytic techniques to be used in managing the capacity and availability of the service system.

Refer to the Strategic Service Management process area for more information about gathering and analyzing data about the capabilities of the organization and the needs of its customers.

Refer to the Measurement and Analysis process area for more information about specifying measures, obtaining measurement data, and analyzing measurement data.

Refer to the Quantitative Project Management process area for more information about quantitatively managing the project, using process-performance models, and establishing trial natural bounds for subprocesses.

Specific Practices by Goal

SG 1 Establish Performance Baselines and Models

Baselines and models, which characterize the expected process performance of the organization’s set of standard processes, are established and maintained.

Prior to establishing process-performance baselines and models, it is necessary to determine which processes are suitable to be measured (the Select Processes specific practice), which measures are useful for determining process performance (the Establish Process-Performance Measures specific practice), and the quality and process-performance objectives for those processes (the Establish Quality and Process-Performance Objectives specific practice).

These specific practices are often interrelated and may need to be performed concurrently to select appropriate processes, measures, and quality and process-performance objectives. Often, the selection of one process, measure, or objective will constrain the selection of the others. For example, if a certain process is selected, the measures and objectives for that process may be constrained by the process itself.

SP 1.1 Select Processes

Select processes or subprocesses in the organization’s set of standard processes to be included in the organization’s process-performance analyses.

Refer to the Organizational Process Definition process area for more information about establishing organizational process assets.

The organization’s set of standard processes consists of a set of standard processes that, in turn, are composed of subprocesses.

Typically, it will not be possible, useful, or economically justifiable to apply statistical management techniques to all processes or subprocesses of the organization’s set of standard processes. Selection of processes or subprocesses is based on the needs and objectives of both the organization and its projects.

The existence of project data that indicate that the process or subprocess has been or can be stabilized is a useful criterion that can be used for selecting a process or subprocess.

Typical Work Products

1. List of processes or subprocesses identified for process-performance analyses

SP 1.2 Establish Process-Performance Measures

Establish and maintain definitions of measures to be included in the organization’s process-performance analyses.

Refer to the Measurement and Analysis process area for more information about specifying measures.

Typical Work Products

1. Definitions of selected measures of process performance

Subpractices

1. Determine which of the organization’s business objectives for quality and process performance should be addressed by the measures.

2. Select measures that provide appropriate insight into the organization’s quality and process performance.

The Goal Question Metric paradigm is an approach that can be used to select measures that provide insight into the organization’s business objectives.

3. Incorporate selected measures into the organization’s set of common measures.

Refer to the Organizational Process Definition process area for more information about establishing organizational process assets.

4. Revise the set of measures as necessary.

SP 1.3 Establish Quality and Process-Performance Objectives

Establish and maintain the organization’s quantitative objectives for quality and process performance.

The organization’s quality and process-performance objectives should have the following attributes:

• Based on the organization’s business objectives

• Based on the past performance of projects

• Gauge process performance in areas such as product quality, productivity, cycle time, or response time

• Account for the inherent variability or natural bounds of the selected process or subprocess

Typical Work Products

1. Organization’s quality and process-performance objectives

Subpractices

1. Review the organization’s business objectives related to quality and process performance.

2. Define the organization’s quantitative objectives for quality and process performance.

Objectives may be established for process or subprocess measurements (e.g., effort, cycle time, defect removal effectiveness) as well as for product measurements (e.g., reliability, defect density) and service measurements (e.g., capacity, response times) as appropriate.

3. Define the priorities of the organization’s objectives for quality and process performance.

4. Review, negotiate, and obtain commitment to the organization’s quality and process-performance objectives and their priorities from relevant stakeholders.

5. Revise the organization’s quantitative objectives for quality and process performance as necessary.

SP 1.4 Establish Process-Performance Baselines

Establish and maintain the organization’s process-performance baselines.

The organization’s process-performance baselines are a measurement of performance for the organization’s set of standard processes at various levels of detail as appropriate. The processes include the following:

• Sequence of connected processes

• Processes that cover the entire life of the project

• Processes for developing individual work products

There may be several process-performance baselines to characterize performance for subgroups of the organization.

Tailoring of the organization’s set of standard processes may significantly affect the comparability of data for inclusion in process-performance baselines. Effects of tailoring should be considered in establishing baselines. Depending on the tailoring allowed, separate performance baselines may exist for each type of tailoring.

Refer to the Quantitative Project Management process area for more information about quantitatively managing the project, using process-performance models, and establishing trial natural bounds for subprocesses.

Typical Work Products

1. Baseline data on the organization’s process performance

Subpractices

1. Collect measurements from the organization’s projects.

The process or subprocess in use when the measurement was taken is recorded to enable appropriate use later.

Refer to the Measurement and Analysis process area for more information about specifying how measurement data is obtained and stored.

2. Establish and maintain the organization’s process-performance baselines from collected measurements and analyses.

Refer to the Measurement and Analysis process area for more information about aligning measurement and analysis activities and providing measurement results.

Process-performance baselines are derived by analyzing collected measures to establish a distribution or range of results that characterize the expected performance for selected processes or subprocesses when used on a project in the organization.

The measurements from stable subprocesses in projects should be used when possible; other data may not be reliable.

3. Review and get agreement with relevant stakeholders about the organization’s process-performance baselines.

4. Make the organization’s process-performance information available across the organization in the organization’s measurement repository.

The organization’s process-performance baselines are used by projects to estimate the natural bounds for process performance.

Refer to the Organizational Process Definition process area for more information about establishing the organization’s measurement repository.

5. Compare the organization’s process-performance baselines to associated objectives.

6. Revise the organization’s process-performance baselines as necessary.

SP 1.5 Establish Process-Performance Models

Establish and maintain process-performance models for the organization’s set of standard processes.

Process-performance models are used to estimate or predict the value of a process-performance measure from the values of other process, product, and service measurements. These process-performance models typically use process and product measurements collected throughout the life of the project to estimate progress toward achieving objectives that cannot be measured until later in the project’s life.

Process-performance models are used as follows:

• The organization uses them for estimating, analyzing, and predicting the process performance associated with processes in and changes to the organization’s set of standard processes.

• The organization uses them to assess the (potential) return on investment for process improvement activities.

• Projects use them for estimating, analyzing, and predicting the process performance of their defined processes.

• Projects use them for selecting processes or subprocesses for use.

These measures and models are defined to provide insight into and to provide the ability to predict critical process and product characteristics that are relevant to business value.

Refer to the Quantitative Project Management process area for more information about quantitatively managing the project, using process-performance models, and establishing trial natural bounds for subprocesses.

Typical Work Products

1. Process-performance models

Subpractices

1. Establish process-performance models based on the organization’s set of standard processes and the organization’s process-performance baselines.

2. Calibrate process-performance models based on the organization’s past results and current needs.

3. Review process-performance models and get agreement with relevant stakeholders.

4. Support the projects’ use of process-performance models.

5. Revise process-performance models as necessary.