Summary

Validate selected improvements.

Description

Selected improvements are validated in accordance with their improvement proposals.

 

Examples of validation methods include the following:
  • Discussions with stakeholders, perhaps in the context of a formal review
  • Prototype demonstrations
  • Pilots of suggested improvements
  • Modeling and simulation


Pilots can be conducted to evaluate significant changes involving untried, high-risk, or innovative improvements before they are broadly deployed. Not all improvements need the rigor of a pilot. Criteria for selecting improvements for piloting are defined and used. Factors such as risk, transformational nature of change, or number of functional areas affected will determine the need for a pilot of the improvement. Red-lined or rough-draft process documentation can be made available for use in piloting.

Example Work Products



  1. Validation plans
  2. Validation evaluation reports
  3. Documented lessons learned from validation


Subpractices



1. Plan the validation.

Quantitative success criteria documented in the improvement proposal can be useful when planning validation.

Validation plans for selected improvements to be piloted should include target projects, project characteristics, a schedule for reporting results, and measurement activities.



2. Review and get relevant stakeholder agreement on validation plans.

3. Consult with and assist those who perform the validation.

4. Create a trial implementation, in accordance with the validation plan, for selected improvements to be piloted.

5. Perform each validation in an environment that is similar to the environment present in a broad scale deployment.

6. Track validation against validation plans.

7. Review and document the results of validation.

Validation results are evaluated using the quantitative criteria defined in the improvement proposal.

 

Reviewing and documenting results of pilots typically involves the following activities:
  • Reviewing pilot results with stakeholders
  • Deciding whether to terminate the pilot, rework implementation of the improvement, replan and continue the pilot, or proceed with deployment
  • Updating the disposition of improvement proposals associated with the pilot
  • Identifying and documenting new improvement proposals as appropriate
  • Identifying and documenting lessons learned and problems encountered during the pilot including feedback to the improvement team and changes to the improvement