Identify Improvement Opportunities

(Activity) for Tier: Governance

PURPOSE

A sign of a mature organization is one that can evolve and continuously improve to meet its business objectives. For us to continuously improve, we must first understand what is working and what is not. By gathering and analyzing data from our many systems, we better understand areas in which we should focus our improvement efforts. When performed successfully, this activity will help to surface areas for improvement and determine a desired order in which to address these opportunities.

WHEN

On-going, as improvement feedback becomes available.

PARTICIPATING ROLES

ENTRY CRITERIA

None.

SUB-ACTIVITIES

  1. Gather Improvement Data.

    • Using data from available sources determine areas for potential improvement. Consider the following:

      • Trending audit findings
      • Appraisal findings
      • Project tailoring requests
      • Escalated opportunity work items
      • New organizational requirements
      • Innovative idea coming out of a conference

  2. Record Improvement Opportunities.

    • Document the improvement opportunities deemed worth pursuing, within a User Story. Include the following:

      • Description of change
      • Rationale for the proposed change
      • Value it will offer
      • Areas impacted by the proposed change (e.g., other processes, templates, etc.)

    • Link the User Story to the appropriate Feature work item. Add any applicable tags (CMMI, Project, PQA, Pilot).

  3. Prioritize Improvement Opportunities.

    • Use the below criterion to order improvement opportunities. Be sure to consider any appraisal plan or schedules that have been created. Most important items must reside at the top of the backlog.

      • items that significantly contribute to appraisal readiness
      • items that support organizational business objectives
      • items that trend as a significant issue across projects
      • items that significantly affect overall team throughput
      • items that eliminate waste
      • items that require piloting

  4. Groom Backlog

    • Review the backlog periodically and determine any User Stories that are no longer in scope.

      • Close User Story, Feature and Epics as needed.

EXIT CRITERIA

Improvement Opportunities have been prioritized based on improvement goals.

SEE ALSO

Process Guidance Version: 10.4