software assessment and audit
TRANSCRIPT
Chapter 16. Conducting Software Project Assessments
-Spoorthi Sham-1PI14SSE12
Introduction
The scope of a project assessment includes the end to end methodologies for the development and management of the project.
Software assessments, which originated from the need for improvement in the software industry, started in the 1960s and 1970s as informal assessments.
“How do I improve my project or how do I perform my next project better?”
Audit
“An independent examination of a work product or set of work products to assess compliance with specifications, standards, contractual agreements, or other criteria.” – IEEE
“Certification, or third-party assessment (referred to as registration in some countries), is carried out by an independent organization against a particular standard.” - ISO
Assessment
“A software process assessment is a disciplined examination of the software processes used by an organization, based on a process model. The objective is to determine the maturity level of those processes, as measured against a process improvement road map. The result should identify and characterize current practices, identifying areas of strengths and weaknesses, and the ability of current practices to control or avoid significant causes of poor (software) quality, cost, and schedule. The assessment findings can also be used as indicators of the capability of those processes to achieve the quality, cost, and schedule goals of software development with a high degree of predictability.”
Types of assessment Self assessment or first party assessment –
performed internally by an organization's own personnel.
Second party assessment – e.g., a company hires an external assessment team or company is being assessed by a customer
Third party assessment - e.g., a supplier is being assessed by a third party to verify its ability to enter contracts with a customer
Software Process Assessment Cycle – CMM based assessment
Step 1 : Select a team. The members of the team should be professionals knowledgeable in software engineering and management.
Step 2 : The representatives of the site to be appraised complete the standard process maturity questionnaire
Step 3 : The assessment team performs an analysis of the questionnaire responses and identifies areas that warrant further exploration according to the CMM key process areas.
Step 4: Assessment team to conduct a site visit to gain an understanding of the software process followed by the site.
Step 5 : The assessment team produces a list of findings that identifies the strengths and weakness of the organization's software process
Step 6 : The assessment team prepares a key process area (KPA) profile analysis and presents the results to the appropriate audience.
CMM-Based Appraisal for Internal Process Improvement (CBA IPI)
Minimum requirements the assessment team, the assessment plan, data collection, data validation, the rating, the reporting of assessment results.
The Standard CMMI Assessment Method for Process Improvement (SCAMPI)
Phase Activities
Plan and preparation
Identify assessment scope
Develop the assessment plan
Prepare and train the assessment team.
Make a brief assessment of participants
Administer the CMMI Appraisal Questionnaire
Examine Questionnaire responses
Conduct initial document review.
Onsite assessment
Conduct an opening meeting
Conduct interviews
Consolidate information
Prepare presentation of draft findings
Present draft findings
Consolidate, rate, and prepare final findings
Reporting results
Present final findings
Conduct executive session
Wrap up the assessment
SPR Assessment Step 1 : Assessment kickoff session
Step 2 : Project data collection
Step 3 : Individual project analysis
Step 4 : A parallel track is to conduct management interviews
Step 5 : The two tracks then merge for benchmark comparison, aggregate analysis, and interpretation
Step 6 : The final phase is measurement report and improvement opportunities
Step 7 : Data collection and interviews are based on the structured SPR assessment questionnaire
Zahran's Generic Phases and Main Activities of Software Process Assessment
Questions What is software assessment? Define audit. Define assessment. Differentiate between audit and assessment. Differentiate between software process assessment and
software project assessment. Explain CMM based assessment approach. What are the minimum requirements that CMM Based
Appraisal for Internal Process Improvement(CBA IPI) should meet?
Explain the phases of SCAMPI. Explain generic cycle of process assessment developed
by Zahran.
Thank You