Summary

Establish and maintain the defined process from startup and throughout the work.

Description

Refer to the Organizational Process Definition (OPD) (CMMI-SVC) process area for more information about establishing organizational process assets and establishing the organization’s measurement repository.


Refer to the Organizational Process Focus (OPF) (CMMI-SVC) process area for more information about deploying organizational process assets and deploying standard processes.


The defined process for the work consists of defined processes that form an integrated, coherent lifecycle.

The defined process for the work should satisfy contractual requirements, operational needs, opportunities, and constraints. It is designed to provide a best fit for work needs.

A defined process for the work is based on the following factors:
  • Stakeholder requirements
  • Commitments
  • Organizational process needs and objectives
  • The organization’s set of standard processes and tailoring guidelines
  • The operational environment
  • The business environment
  • The service delivery environment


In addition, the description of the defined process should be based on the services that the work group will deliver, including both standard services that have been tailored and services that are unique.

Establishing the defined process at work startup helps to ensure that staff and relevant stakeholders implement a set of activities needed to efficiently establish an initial set of requirements and plans for the work. As the work progresses, the description of the defined process is elaborated and revised to better meet service requirements and the organization’s process needs and objectives. Also, as the organization’s set of standard processes changes, the defined process may need to be revised.

Example Work Products



  1. The defined process for the work


Subpractices



1. Select a lifecycle model from the ones available in organizational process assets.

 

Examples of work characteristics that could affect the selection of lifecycle models include the following:
  • Size or complexity of the work
  • Work strategy
  • Experience and familiarity of staff with implementing the process
  • Constraints such as service level and cycle time
  • Clarity of requirements
  • Customer expectations



2. Select standard processes from the organization’s set of standard processes that best fit the needs of the work.

Organizations that define standard services will normally have standard service systems that enable the delivery of those services. Any processes that are components of an organization’s relevant standard service system(s) are good candidates to consider when selecting standard processes for delivering services.



3. Tailor the organization’s set of standard processes and other organizational process assets according to tailoring guidelines to produce the defined process for the work.

Sometimes the available lifecycle models and standard processes are inadequate for a particular work activity. In such circumstances, the work group should seek approval to deviate from what is required by the organization. Waivers are provided for this purpose.

Tailoring can include adapting the organization’s common measures and specifying additional measures to meet the information needs of the workgroup.



4. Use other artifacts from the organization’s process asset library as appropriate.

 

Other artifacts can include the following:
  • Lessons learned documents
  • Templates
  • Example documents
  • Estimating models



5. Document the defined process for the work.

The defined process covers all of the service establishment and delivery activities for the work and its interfaces to relevant stakeholders.

 

Examples of work activities include the following:
  • Planning
  • Monitoring
  • Supplier management
  • Quality assurance
  • Risk management
  • Decision analysis and resolution
  • Requirements management
  • Incident management
  • Service system development and support



6. Conduct peer reviews of the defined process for the work.

 

SSD Addition
Refer to the Service System Development (SSD) (CMMI-SVC) process area for more information about performing peer reviews.



7. Revise the defined process for the work as necessary.