Method Maintenance

Definition

Method Maintenance

the process engineering task during which a method is adapted, corrected, and perfected

Classification

As illustrated in the preceding figure, Method Maintenance is part of the following inheritance hierarchy:

• Type: Concrete
• Superclass: Tasks
• Subclasses: None

Responsibilities

The typical objectives of Method Maintenance are to:

• Determine changes to improve the constructed endeavor-specific method.
• Ensure that the process components are optimized to meet the needs of the endeavor.
• Ensure that the process components are consist with:
  • The development or customer organization’s standard approach.
  • Any required industry or governmental process standards.
• Tailor the process components by:
  • Deleting unnecessary existing parts of the process components.
  • Modifying improvable existing parts of the process components.
  • Adding missing parts to the process components.

Preconditions

Process tailoring typically can begin when the following preconditions hold:

• The endeavor is started.
• The process team is adequately:
  • Staffed.
  • Trained or experienced in process tailoring.
• The process construction task has been started.

Completion Criteria

Process tailoring is typically complete when the following postconditions hold:

• The components of the endeavor-specific process have been tailored.

Steps

Process tailoring typically involves the process team performing the following steps in an iterative, incremental, and parallel manner:

• Establish Tailoring Conventions
  Establish and maintain the tailoring criteria and guidelines for the organization’s set of standard process components.
• TailorWork Products.
  Tailor the work products to be produced by the process including descriptions, and conventions:
  • Delete Unnecessary Parts.
    Delete unnecessary contents of the work products (e.g., document sections).
  • Modify Necessary Parts.
    Modify improvable existing parts of the work products (e.g., document sections).
  • Add Missing Parts.
    Add missing parts to the work products (e.g., additional documentation requirements).
  • Tailor Descriptions.
    Update the contents (e.g., definition, objectives, benefits, contents, stakeholders, phases, preconditions, inputs, and guidelines) of the associated work product descriptions.
  • Tailor Conventions.
    Update the contents of the associated conventions (e.g., content and format standards, templates, and inspection checklists).
• DocumentLanguages.
  Tailor the appropriate languages with which to construct or document the work products:
  • Delete Unnecessary Parts.
    Delete unnecessary or inappropriate features of the the languages (e.g., error-prone language features).
  • Modify Necessary Parts.
    Modify improvable existing parts of the languages (e.g., changes to commenting standards).
  • Add Missing Parts.
    Add missing parts to the languages (e.g., additional features, language idioms).
  • Tailor Descriptions.
    Update the contents (e.g., definition, objectives, and guidelines) of the associated language descriptions.
  • Tailor Conventions.
    Update the contents of the associated conventions (e.g., coding standards).
• TailorWork Units.
  Tailor the activities, tasks, and techniques that will be used to produce the work products:
  • Delete Unnecessary Parts.
    Delete unnecessary or inappropriate parts of the work units (e.g., assertions and tasks of activities, assertions and steps of tasks).
  • Modify Necessary Parts.
    Modify improvable existing parts of the work units (e.g., assertions and steps).
  • Add Missing Parts.
    Add missing parts to the work units (e.g., additional assertions and steps).
  • Tailor Descriptions.
    Update the contents (e.g., definition, goals, objectives, examples, preconditions, completion criteria, tasks, steps, techniques, environments, work products, phases, techniques, limitations, and guidelines) of the associated work unit descriptions in the process description document.
  • Tailor Conventions.
    Update the contents of the associated conventions (e.g., procedures, guidelines).
• TailorProducers.
  Tailor the organizations, teams, roles, and tools that perform the work units:
  • Delete Unnecessary Parts.
    Delete unnecessary or inappropriate parts of the producers (e.g., responsibilities, required expertise, tasks, work products).
  • Modify Necessary Parts.
    Modify improvable existing parts of the producers (e.g., responsibilities, required expertise).
  • Add Missing Parts.
    Add missing parts to the producers (e.g., additional responsibilities, tasks).
  • Tailor Descriptions.
    Update the contents (e.g., definition, responsibilities, tasks, required expertise, teams, work products, and guidelines) of the associated producer descriptions in the process description document.
  • Tailor Conventions.
    Update the contents of the associated conventions (e.g., role descriptions).
• TailorStages.
  Based on the work products to be produced, the tasks to be performed, the availability Tailor the appropriate selected stages:
  • Delete Unnecessary Parts.
    Delete unnecessary or inappropriate parts of the stages (e.g., work products due at a milestone, a milestone of a phase, a phase of a cycle).
  • Modify Necessary Parts.
    Modify improvable existing parts of the stages (e.g., goals and objectives of a phase).
  • Add Missing Parts.
    Add missing parts to the stages (e.g., additional work products to a phase or milestone, additional guidelines).
  • Tailor Descriptions.
    Update the contents of the stage descriptions in the process description document.
  • Tailor Conventions.
    Update the contents of the associated conventions (e.g., role descriptions).

Techniques

Process tailoring can typically be performed using the following techniques:

• Deletion
• Modification
• Addition
• Documentation

Work Products

Process tailoring typically results in the production of the following work products:

• Tailored process description document.

Guidelines

• Because they are designed to be generically reusable, even relevant process components typically require some iteration to optimize them for the current endeavor.
• Because the repository of process components is intended to be relatively complete, deletion of unnecessary parts is more probable than the addition of missing parts.
• A work product may be relevant without all of its contents being relevant.