ARCHIVED - An Enhanced Framework for the Management of Information Technology Projects - Part II Solutions: Putting the Principles to Work

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APPENDIX 4

IDEAL^SM MODEL: AN OVERVIEW

The following paragraphs provide a general definition of each of the model's phases and are an adaptation from the SEI Handbook IDEAL^SM: A User's Guide for Software Process Improvement (CMU/SEI-96-HB-001).

It should be noted that, to keep the document to a manageable size, details of the SEI IDEAL^SM Model have not been repeated. A summary is provided below, but readers may want to obtain the documentation found on the WWW by SEI at their site http://www.sei.cmu.edu or through the PMO.

Initiating Phase:

The Initiating phase of the IDEAL^SM model is the starting point. Here is where the initial improvement infrastructure is established, the roles and responsibilities for the infrastructure are initially defined, and initial resources are assigned. In this phase, the Enhanced Framework Implementation Plan is created to guide the organization through the completion of the Initiating, Diagnosing and Establishing phases. Approval for the initiative is obtained along with a commitment of future resources for the job ahead. The general goals of the program are defined during the Initiating phase. They are established from the business needs of the organization and will be refined and made specific during the Establishing phase of IDEAL^SM.

Two key components are typically established: a management steering group and a process group. Also during the Initiating phase, plans are made for communicating the start of the initiative, and it is suggested that organizational assessments be performed to determine the readiness of the organization for an improvement initiative.

Diagnosing Phase:

The Diagnosing phase of the IDEAL^SM model starts the organization on the path of implementation. This phase lays the groundwork for the later phases. In this phase, the action plan is initiated in accordance with the organization's vision, strategic business plan, lessons learned from past improvement efforts, key business issues faced by the organization, and long-range goals. Appraisal activities are performed to establish a baseline of the organization's current state. The results and recommendations from appraisals and any other baseline activities will be reconciled with existing and/or planned improvement efforts for inclusion in the action plan.

Establishing Phase:

During the Establishing phase, the issues that the organization has decided to address with its improvement activities are prioritized. Strategies for pursuing the solutions are also developed. The draft action plan is completed in accordance with the organization's vision, strategic business plan, lessons learned from past improvement efforts, key business issues facing the organization, and long-range goals.

During the Establishing phase, measurable goals are developed from the general goals that were defined in the Initiating phase; these measurable goals will be included in the final version of the action plan. Metrics necessary to monitor progress are also defined, resources are committed and training provided for the technical working groups or process action teams. The action plan developed will guide the improvement activities as it addresses the prioritized findings and recommendations from the Diagnosing phase. Also during this phase, tactical action plan templates are created and made available for the process action teams to complete and follow.

Acting Phase:

In the Acting phase of the IDEAL^SM model, solutions to address the areas for improvement discovered during the Diagnosing phase are created, piloted and deployed throughout the organization. Plans are developed to test and evaluate the new or improved processes. After the successful piloting of the new processes, and determining their readiness for organization-wide adoption, deployment and Institutionalization, plans to accomplish the rollout are then developed and executed.

Leveraging Phase:

The objective of the Leveraging phase is to make the next pass through the IDEAL^SM model more effective. By this time, solutions have been developed, lessons have been learned, and metrics on performance and goal achievement have been collected. These artifacts are added to the process database that will become a source of information for personnel involved in the next pass through the model. Using this collected information, an evaluation of the strategy, methods and infrastructure used in the improvement program can be performed and corrections or adjustments can be made prior to the start of another process improvement cycle. Some questions that should be asked include:

• Has the infrastructure (management steering group, process group, process action teams, etc.) performance been appropriate?
• Have the methods employed by the process action teams in their solution development activities been satisfactory?
• Have the program communications activities been sufficient?
• Does the sponsorship need to be reaffirmed?
• Does another baseline activity need to be performed?

The re-entry point into the IDEAL^SM model for the next cycle is highly dependent upon the answers to questions such as these.

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Footnotes:

1. Charting the Seas of Information Technology, Chaos, Standish Group International, Inc., 1994.

2. The Project Sponsor is responsible for realizing the benefits predicted for the project and is typically a senior official responsible for the business function that the project will support.

3.. The Project Leader has overall responsibility for the project, is accountable for all internal and external aspects of the project and is typically a senior departmental official.

4. The Project Manager performs the day-to-day management of the project.

5. 'Return on Investment from Software Process Improvement as Measured by U.S. Industry,' Brodman, Judith and Johnson, Donna, Software Process, Improvement and Practices, 1995.

6. Charting the Seas of Information Technology, Chaos, Standish Group International, Inc., 1994.

7. Report of the Independent Review Panel on Modernization of Comptrollership in the Government of Canada.

8. Moving on Up: Data and Experience Doing CMM-Based Process Improvement, Hayes, Will and Zubrow, Dave, Software Engineering Institute, Carnegie Mellon University.

9. IDEAL^SM: A User's Guide for Software Process Improvement, CMU/SEI, 1996.

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