How much process is enough? Too little process increases
endeavor risk because inadequate process can lead to inadequate
quality and the inability to handle the inherent complexity of
a modern endeavor. Too much process can unnecessarily increase
endeavor cost and schedule. Selecting the correct amount of
process including the appropriate amount of rigor and formality
can often be a difficult decision that is made even more
difficult because of the subjective preferences of individual
members of the development staff.
Please answer
all of the following questions, which will
enable our automated process consultant to help you objectively
determine the appropriate size (completeness) and discipline
(rigor) that your specific process will need based on the
characteristics of your application, endeavor, and organization
as well as any business constraints involving your
endeavor’s process.
Disclaimer
The goal of this process consultant is only to give very
rough advice as to the general level of recommended discipline
and size of a project-specific process based on answers
provided to a set of questions. There is no warranty, neither
expressed nor implied, that the resulting recommendation will
be appropriate for any specific project. The recommendation is
not proscriptive but informational. Users of this process
consultant use its recommendations at their own risk.
Based on your characterization of your application, endeavor, organization, and constraints,
the recommended level of discipline for your endeavor-specific process is:
Associated Rationale
A discipline quotient between 0 and 100 was calculated from your choices. The higher the discipline quotient, the more discipline your process needs, and the more discipline your endeavor can support.
Discipline quotient = out of 100,
which implied an initial discipline level of .
Based on your characterization of your application, endeavor, organization, and constraints, the recommended size for your endeavor-specific process is:
Associated Rationale
A size quotient between 0 and 100 was calculated from your choices. The higher the size quotient, the more process components you will need to develop your process.
Size quotient = out of 100,
which implies an initial size level of .
The primary purpose of this process consultant is to provide basic rough advice; not detailed
direction. Thus, the recommended amount of discipline (i.e., rigor) your process needs is only
categorized as high, medium, and low. Similarly, the recommended size of your process in terms of
the optimum number of process components is only categorized as large, medium, and small.
Tailoring
Because the process consultant is only providing rough advice, it only needs to ask a small
number of basic questions. The results need to be taken with a not so small grain of salt and be
considered in the context of the actual endeavor. Further analysis may result in different
recommendations.
The following techniques were used to generate the recommendations.
Characteristics and Values
Characteristics seem to naturally be decomposable into four major categories:
(1) characteristics of the application being developed, used, or retired,
(2) characteristics of the endeavor developing, maintaining, or retiring
the application, (3) characteristics of the organization doing the work, and
(4) any constraints on the process.
For each characteristic that has been observed to influence the process, a set of values that are
typically mutually exclusive values are given as choices. These values are typically ordered from
those that require the most discipline to those that require the least. These selections are
given numerical values and associated discipline and size weightings so that the resulting sum
(discipline and size quotients) vary from 100 (highest discipline and largest size) to 0
(lowest discipline and smallest size).
Weightings
The recommended discipline and size levels were calculated using the following weights:
Characteristic
Discipline Weighting
Size Weighting
Application Size
8
12
Application Complexity
8
12
Requirements Stability
4
0
Business Criticality
7
2
Safety Criticality
9
2
Contracting
8
1
Endeavor Schedule
3
5
Endeavor Type
6
10
Process Scope
6
10
Developer Culture
6
6
Management Culture
7
6
Organizational Separation
7
7
Staff Skill Level
6
7
Staff Localization
7
5
Required Cycle
2
10
Process Constraint
6
5
Totals:
100
100
Discipline and Size Levels
The values of the discipline and size quotients are used to generate discipline and size levels.
Value Range
Discipline
Size
71-100
High
Large
31-70
Medium
Medium
0-30
Low
Small
Exceptions
Certain values of certain characteristics can override the discipline and size quotients.
For example, a safety critical application will require high discipline, regardless of the
values of other characteristics.
Scope Limitations
Although the process consultant gives a single overall discipline recommendation,
that recommendation may only apply to only a limited part of the endeavor. For example,
a safety critical application typically contains components that are not safety critical,
and the high discipline recommendation may only apply to the safety critical components.
Similarly, a high discipline endeavor may well contain parts of applications that are best
produced by low discipline methods such as certain Agile methods.