Previously known as Key Process Area
(KPA)
A
process area (PA) contains the goals that must be reached in order to improve a
software process. A PA is said to be satisfied when procedures are in place to
reach the corresponding goals. A software organization has achieved a specific
maturity level once all the corresponding PAs are satisfied. The process areas
(PA’s) have the following features:
1. Identify a cluster of related activities that, when performed
collectively, achieve a set of goals considered important for enhancing process
capability.
2. Defined to reside at a single maturity level.
3. Identify the issues that must be addressed to achieve
a maturity level.
The
different maturity levels have different process areas pre-defined as
shown in the figure above. The SEI CMMI Level 5 has 3 PA’s defined:
·
Process
change management: To identify the causes of defects and prevent them from
recurring.
·
Technology
change management: To identify beneficial new technology and transfer them in
an orderly manner
·
Defect
prevention: To continually improve the process to improve quality, increase
productivity, and decrease development time.
The
purpose of Process Change Management is to continually improve the software
processes used in the organization with the intent of improving software
quality, increasing productivity, and decreasing the cycle time for product
development. When software process improvements are approved for normal
practice, the organization’s standard software process and the projects’
defined software processes are revised as suited.
The
goals sought to achieve are as follows:
·
Continuous
process improvement is planned.
·
Participation
in the organization’s software process improvement activities is organization
wide.
·
The
organization’s standard software process and the projects defined software
processes are improved continuously.
These
defined standards give the organization a commitment to perform because:
·
The
organization follows a written policy for implementing software process
improvements.
·
Senior
management sponsors the organization’s activities for software process
improvement.
The
ability of the organization to perform transpires because:
·
Adequate
resources and funding are provided for software process improvement activities.
·
Software
managers receive required training in software process improvement.
·
The
managers and technical staff of the software engineering gro
