Summary

Establish and maintain the plan for performing the process.

Description

The purpose of this generic practice is to determine what is needed to perform the process and to achieve the established objectives, to prepare a plan for performing the process, to prepare a process description, and to get agreement on the plan from relevant stakeholders.

The practical implications of applying a generic practice vary for each process area.

 

For example, the planning described by this generic practice as applied to the Project Monitoring and Control process area can be carried out in full by the processes associated with the Project Planning process area. However, this generic practice, when applied to the Project Planning process area, sets an expectation that the project planning process itself be planned.


Therefore, this generic practice can either reinforce expectations set elsewhere in CMMI or set new expectations that should be addressed.

Refer to the Project Planning (PP) (CMMI-DEV) process area for more information about establishing and maintaining plans that define project activities.


Establishing a plan includes documenting the plan and a process description. Maintaining the plan includes updating it to reflect corrective actions or changes in requirements or objectives.

 

The plan for performing the process typically includes the following:
  • Process description
  • Standards and requirements for the work products and services of the process
  • Specific objectives for the execution of the process and its results (e.g., quality, time scale, cycle time, use of resources)
  • Dependencies among the activities, work products, and services of the process
  • Resources (e.g., funding, people, tools) needed to perform the process
  • Assignment of responsibility and authority
  • Training needed for performing and supporting the process
  • Work products to be controlled and the level of control to be applied
  • Measurement requirements to provide insight into the execution of the process, its work products, and its services
  • Involvement of relevant stakeholders
  • Activities for monitoring and controlling the process
  • Objective evaluation activities of the process
  • Management review activities for the process and the work products


Subpractices



1. Define and document the plan for performing the process.

This plan can be a stand-alone document, embedded in a more comprehensive document, or distributed among multiple documents. In the case of the plan being distributed among multiple documents, ensure that a coherent picture of who does what is preserved. Documents can be hardcopy or softcopy.



2. Define and document the process description.

The process description, which includes relevant standards and procedures, can be included as part of the plan for performing the process or can be included in the plan by reference.



3. Review the plan with relevant stakeholders and get their agreement.

This review of the plan includes reviewing that the planned process satisfies the applicable policies, plans, requirements, and standards to provide assurance to relevant stakeholders.



4. Revise the plan as necessary.



CAR Elaboration

This plan for performing the causal analysis and resolution process can be included in (or referenced by) the project plan, which is described in the Project Planning process area. This plan differs from the action proposals and associated action plans described in several specific practices in this process area. The plan called for in this generic practice would address the project’s overall causal analysis and resolution process (perhaps tailored from a standard process maintained by the organization). In contrast, the process action proposals and associated action items address the activities needed to address a specific root cause under study.


CM Elaboration

This plan for performing the configuration management process can be included in (or referenced by) the project plan, which is described in the Project Planning process area.


DAR Elaboration

This plan for performing the decision analysis and resolution process can be included in (or referenced by) the project plan, which is described in the Project Planning process area.


IPM Elaboration

This plan for the integrated project management process unites the planning for the project planning and monitor and control processes. The planning for performing the planning related practices in Integrated Project Management is addressed as part of planning the project planning process. This plan for performing the monitor-and-control related practices in Integrated Project Management can be included in (or referenced by) the project plan, which is described in the Project Planning process area.


MA Elaboration

This plan for performing the measurement and analysis process can be included in (or referenced by) the project plan, which is described in the Project Planning process area.


OPD Elaboration

This plan for performing the organizational process definition process can be part of (or referenced by) the organization’s process improvement plan.


OPF Elaboration

This plan for performing the organizational process focus process, which is often called “the process improvement plan,” differs from the process action plans described in specific practices in this process area. The plan called for in this generic practice addresses the comprehensive planning for all of the specific practices in this process area, from establishing organizational process needs through incorporating process related experiences into organizational process assets.


OPM Elaboration

This plan for performing the organizational performance management process differs from the deployment plans described in a specific practice in this process area. The plan called for in this generic practice addresses the comprehensive planning for all of the specific practices in this process area, from maintaining business objectives to evaluating improvement effects. In contrast, the deployment plans called for in the specific practice would address the planning needed for the deployment of selected improvements.


OPP Elaboration

This plan for performing the organizational process performance process can be included in (or referenced by) the organization’s process improvement plan, which is described in the Organizational Process Focus process area. Or it may be documented in a separate plan that describes only the plan for the organizational process performance process.


OT Elaboration

This plan for performing the organizational training process differs from the tactical plan for organizational training described in a specific practice in this process area. The plan called for in this generic practice addresses the comprehensive planning for all of the specific practices in this process area, from establishing strategic training needs through assessing the effectiveness of organizational training. In contrast, the organizational training tactical plan called for in the specific practice of this process area addresses the periodic planning for the delivery of training offerings.


PI Elaboration

This plan for performing the product integration process addresses the comprehensive planning for all of the specific practices in this process area, from the preparation for product integration all the way through to the delivery of the final product.

This plan for performing the product integration process can be part of (or referenced by) the project plan as described in the Project Planning process area.


PMC Elaboration

This plan for performing the project monitoring and control process can be part of (or referenced by) the project plan, as described in the Project Planning process area.


PP Elaboration

Refer to Table 6.2 in Generic Goals and Generic Practices for more information about the relationship between generic practice 2.2 and the Project Planning process area.


PPQA Elaboration

This plan for performing the process and product quality assurance process can be included in (or referenced by) the project plan, which is described in the Project Planning process area.


QPM Elaboration

This plan for performing the quantitative project management process can be included in (or referenced by) the project plan, which is described in the Project Planning process area.


RD Elaboration

This plan for performing the requirements development process can be part of (or referenced by) the project plan as described in the Project Planning process area.


REQM Elaboration

This plan for performing the requirements management process can be part of (or referenced by) the project plan as described in the Project Planning process area.


RSKM Elaboration

This plan for performing the risk management process can be included in (or referenced by) the project plan, which is described in the Project Planning process area. The plan called for in this generic practice addresses the comprehensive planning for all of the specific practices in this process area. In particular, this plan provides the overall approach for risk mitigation, but is distinct from mitigation plans (including contingency plans) for specific risks. In contrast, the risk mitigation plans called for in the specific practices of this process area addresses more focused items such as the levels that trigger risk handling activities.


SAM Elaboration

Portions of this plan for performing the supplier agreement management process can be part of (or referenced by) the project plan as described in the Project Planning process area. Often, however, some portions of the plan reside outside of the project with a group such as contract management.


TS Elaboration

This plan for performing the technical solution process can be part of (or referenced by) the project plan as described in the Project Planning process area.


VAL Elaboration

This plan for performing the validation process can be included in (or referenced by) the project plan, which is described in the Project Planning process area.


VER Elaboration

This plan for performing the verification process can be included in (or referenced by) the project plan, which is described in the Project Planning process area.