Technical Solution (TS) (CMMI-DEV)

Introductory Notes

The Technical Solution process area is applicable at any level of the product architecture and to every product, product component, and product related lifecycle process. Throughout the process areas, where the terms “product” and “product component” are used, their intended meanings also encompass services, service systems, and their components.

This process area focuses on the following:

• Evaluating and selecting solutions (sometimes referred to as “design approaches,” “design concepts,” or “preliminary designs”) that potentially satisfy an appropriate set of allocated functional and quality attribute requirements
• Developing detailed designs for the selected solutions (detailed in the context of containing all the information needed to manufacture, code, or otherwise implement the design as a product or product component)
• Implementing the designs as a product or product component

Typically, these activities interactively support each other. Some level of design, at times fairly detailed, can be needed to select solutions. Prototypes or pilots can be used as a means of gaining sufficient knowledge to develop a technical data package or a complete set of requirements. Quality attribute models, simulations, prototypes or pilots can be used to provide additional information about the properties of the potential design solutions to aid in the selection of solutions. Simulations can be particularly useful for projects developing systems-of-systems.

Technical Solution specific practices apply not only to the product and product components but also to product related lifecycle processes. The product related lifecycle processes are developed in concert with the product or product component. Such development can include selecting and adapting existing processes (including standard processes) for use as well as developing new processes.

Processes associated with the Technical Solution process area receive the product and product component requirements from the requirements management processes. The requirements management processes place the requirements, which originate in requirements development processes, under appropriate configuration management and maintain their traceability to previous requirements.

For a maintenance or sustainment project, the requirements in need of maintenance actions or redesign can be driven by user needs, technology maturation and obsolescence, or latent defects in the product components. New requirements can arise from changes in the operating environment. Such requirements can be uncovered during verification of the product(s) where its actual performance can be compared against its specified performance and unacceptable degradation can be identified. Processes associated with the Technical Solution process area should be used to perform the maintenance or sustainment design efforts.

For product lines, these practices apply to both core asset development (i.e., building for reuse) and product development (i.e., building with reuse). Core asset development additionally requires product line variation management (the selection and implementation of product line variation mechanisms) and product line production planning (the development of processes and other work products that define how products will be built to make best use of these core assets).