Summary

Establish and maintain the project’s work environment based on the organization’s work environment standards.

Description

An appropriate work environment for a project comprises an infrastructure of facilities, tools, and equipment that people need to perform their jobs effectively in support of business and project objectives. The work environment and its components are maintained at a level of work environment performance and reliability indicated by organizational work environment standards. As required, the project’s work environment or some of its components can be developed internally or acquired from external sources.

The supplier’s work environment should be compatible with the acquirer’s work environment to enable efficient and effective transfer of work products.

The work environment might encompass environments for both verification and validation or these environments might be separate.

Refer to the Establish Work Environment Standards specific practice in the Organizational Process Definition (OPD) (CMMI-ACQ) process area for more information about work environment standards.


Example Work Products



  1. Equipment and tools for the project
  2. Installation, operation, and maintenance manuals for the project work environment
  3. User surveys and results
  4. Use, performance, and maintenance records
  5. Support services for the project’s work environment


Subpractices



1. Plan, design, and install a work environment for the project.

The critical aspects of the project work environment are, like any other product, requirements driven. Functionality and quality attributes of the work environment are explored with the same rigor as is done for any other product development project.

 

It may be necessary to make tradeoffs among quality attributes, costs, and risks. The following are examples of each:
  • Quality attribute considerations can include timely communication, safety, security, and maintainability.
  • Costs can include capital outlays, training, a support structure; disassembly and disposal of existing environments; and the operation and maintenance of the environment.
  • Risks can include workflow and project disruptions.


 

Examples of equipment and tools include the following:
  • Office software
  • Decision support software
  • Project management tools
  • Test and evaluation equipment
  • Requirements management tools and design tools
  • Configuration management tools



2. Provide ongoing maintenance and operational support for the project’s work environment.

Maintenance and support of the work environment can be accomplished either with capabilities found inside the organization or hired from outside the organization.

 

Examples of maintenance and support approaches include the following:
  • Hiring people to perform maintenance and support
  • Training people to perform maintenance and support
  • Contracting maintenance and support
  • Developing expert users for selected tools



3. Maintain the qualification of components of the project’s work environment.

Components include software, databases, hardware, tools, test equipment, and appropriate documentation. Qualification of software includes appropriate certifications. Hardware and test equipment qualification includes calibration and adjustment records and traceability to calibration standards.



4. Periodically review how well the work environment is meeting project needs and supporting collaboration, and take action as appropriate.