PI.SP 1.3 Establish Product Integration Procedures and Criteria

Procedures for the integration of the product components can include such things as the number of incremental iterations to be performed and details of the expected tests and other evaluations to be carried out at each stage. Criteria can indicate the readiness of a product component for integration or its acceptability.

Procedures and criteria for product integration address the following:

• Level of testing for build components
• Verification of interfaces
• Thresholds of performance deviation
• Derived requirements for the assembly and its external interfaces
• Allowable substitutions of components
• Testing environment parameters
• Limits on cost of testing
• Quality/cost tradeoffs for integration operations
• Probability of proper functioning
• Delivery rate and its variation
• Lead time from order to delivery
• Staff member availability
• Availability of the integration facility/line/environment

Criteria can be defined for how the product components are to be verified and the behaviors (functionality and quality attributes) they are expected to have. Criteria can be defined for how the assembled product components and final integrated product are to be validated and delivered.

Criteria can also constrain the degree of simulation permitted for a product component to pass a test, or can constrain the environment to be used for the integration test.

Pertinent parts of the schedule and criteria for assembly should be shared with suppliers of work products to reduce the occurrence of delays and component failure.

Example Work Products

1. Product integration procedures
2. Product integration criteria

Subpractices

1. Establish and maintain product integration procedures for the product components.

2. Establish and maintain criteria for product component integration and evaluation.

3. Establish and maintain criteria for validation and delivery of the integrated product.