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The Rapid Process Improvement Toolset |
O X F O R D S O F T W A R
E E N G I N E E R I N G |
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The Rapid Process Improvement toolset is a selection of tools
and techniques developed by and for software process engineers. They are a teachable set of tools that equip process engineers
to improve understanding, and to change intrinsically complex, subtle and
often highly coupled software development and support activities in a
controlled and measurable way. They have been acquired and developed over a
number of years and will continue to be developed and added to. Tools are
classified in three main categories; visibility, construction and
infrastructure. A fourth ‘catch all’ category, ‘other’, is used for tools
that do not fall readily into one of these categories. We are keen to develop
this classification as a tool in its own right to enable process engineers to
more readily select the right tool for the job. Any suggestions or pointers
to better classification systems would be very welcome. The RPI toolset is
reasonably stable now but continues to be developed and refined. If you would
like to know more, receive a copy of .ppt RPI slides, or trial some of the
tools then email us at info@osel.co.uk. …and if you have tools or assets you are willing to share we
are keen to hear from you too. SPI
and RPI discusses
SPI and why RPI is different. Why
have process improvement tools? Tools for Visibility: These tools are designed to show
how software development and support is performed. They answer the questions:
“what is happening?”, “what effect have our process improvement activities or
technology introductions had?”. These tools give process engineers data to
work with. V - 1 Post
Implementation Reviews and Retrospectives: fundamental tools for
understanding and improving development and test practice V - 2 Assessments, Appraisals and
Audits: potentially powerful diagnostic tools - often misused or abused V - 3 Focussed Quality Assurance (FQA): A low risk, low cost
method for introducing and ramping up a quality assurance capability for non
engineering software organizations V - 4 Records: the team, project
and organization’s memory V - 5 Formal
Technical Reviews (FTRs): A fundamental software engineering practice.
(Actually a set of practices of variable formality and rigour, from
walkthroughs to inspections, to pairing. V - 6 Defect
Models and Defect Tracking: Provide insights into product qualities,
process efficiency, and project performance – defects are software
engineering’s lab rats. V - 7
Measurement: needs and deserves to be treated as a tool in its own right,
but is integrated into many of the other tools too, to the extent that RPI
could also be called MPI (Measurable
Process Improvement) V - 8 Using Performance Targets: a double edged tool V - 9 Cost of Quality (CoQ) V - 10 Visualization: of patterns, processes, products and
projects V - 11 External Consultants: getting
best value from them V - 12 New Hires: for an
objective but informed perspective of process performance, development and
test capability, and organizational culture. Tools for Construction and Change: Software development is dependent
on both technology and the people using it. These tools are designed to aid
the change of technology, processes, expectations and behaviour. C - 1 Developing a Process
Improvement Plan (DevPIP) C - 2 Process
Definition C - 3 Tactical Change Management (TCM) C - 4 PIR Led Process Improvement
(PIRL): Start with this (aka retrospectives) C - 5 Process Improvement
Templates: characterize the types of process improvement, and equips them
with the appropriate tools C - 6 Joint Application Development
(JAD): It works for software – and
software practices and processes too C - 7 Making Checklists C - 8 Knowledge Transfer: C - 9 Process Workshop (PW): a method
for tactical process improvement C - 10 Prefabricated Software
Process Components: an approach for the rapid installation of software
development capability C - 11 Strategy: Development,
validation and maintenance Infrastructure Tools: These tools are models or templates
for robust process infrastructures. They eliminate ambiguity redundancy and
contention, and enable effective communications and collaboration. F - 1 Software Process
Infrastructure F - 2 Process Improvement
Infrastructure F - 3 Software Process
Architecture F - 4 Tools Group The difficult to classify tools: A selection of difficult to
classify tools and techniques. T - 1 ‘Upstreaming’ T - 2 Resource Models T - 3 Leverage and ‘Reverse Leverage’ T - 4 Visible Migration (or
development) of process and practice assets T - 5 Skills Recognition T - 6 Process Sponsor and Process
Champion T - 7 Other Tools (mostly from
other disciplines) T - 8 Process Action Teams (PATs) |
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For data sheets
for these tools or further information email: info@osel.co.uk |
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