Mastering Process Improvement

This three-day course introduces participants to a series of effective practices for process improvement. These practices address the intertwined challenges faced by change agents in conducting a process improvement effort. This course is appropriate for members of a process group (e.g., PG, EPG, SEPG), for those leading and facilitating process improvement activities, and for those preparing to adopt a CMMI or CMM model to guide process improvement in their organization.

The SEI's IDEAL model, which is a high-level description of the phases of process improvement, serves as the framework for the approach taught in this class. The course provides a brief overview of the first two IDEAL model phases (initiating and diagnosing), then introduces the Process Change Methodology (PCM), which identifies activities needed to apply the last three IDEAL model phases (establishing, acting and learning). The eight stages of the PCM include: organizing and preparing for process improvement; conducting an organization scan; establishing technical working groups; understanding projects' current states; redesigning processes; developing whole product solutions; conducting pilots and evaluations; and facilitating organizational learning. The course discussion of each stage consists of activities and skill sets that a process group employs to accelerate broad adoption of new processes and technologies that support model goals.