The ideal model
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The document summarizes the five phases of the IDEAL model for software process improvement: Initiating, Diagnosing, Establishing, Acting, and Learning. It provides details on the key activities in each phase. The Initiating phase involves understanding the need for improvement and developing an initial plan. The Diagnosing phase involves understanding the current processes through baselining. The Establishing phase involves creating a strategic action plan. The Acting phase involves developing, piloting, and deploying improvements. The Learning phase involves reviewing the cycle and preparing for the next cycle.
The ideal model
- 1. - Software process improvement program model – Mirea Adrian
- 2. The IDEAL (Initiating, Diagnosing, Establishing, Acting and Learning) model is an organizational improvement model that serves as a roadmap for initiating, planning, and implementing improvement actions. The IDEAL model is named for the five phases it describes: initiating, diagnosing, establishing, acting, and learning.
- 3. Phase 1: Initiating. • This is the initial step in the IDEAL model. In this phase, the organization’s senior management first understands the need software process improvement (SPI), commits to a SPI program, and defines the context for SPI. • This step is similar to the definition of a new system. An initial high level SPI plan and schedule for initial SPI tasks are developed, major functional elements defined, and key interfaces and requirements are also defined and agreed upon. • The organization needs to decide how it will organize its improvement efforts, who will be involved, both at the practitioner and management levels, and how much of those people’s time will be allocated to the effort. Based on these initial decisions, the charter and staffing for the management steering group (MSG), software engineering process group (SEPG), and other organizational entities can be completed.
- 4. Phase 2: Diagnosing. • The management steering group (MSG) must understand the organization’s current software process baseline so that it can develop a plan that will achieve the business changes specified in the organization’s software process improvement (SPI) goals. The baselining activities performed in the Diagnosing phase will provide this information into the SPI planning and prioritization process. • The SPI strategic action plan, which will be developed after the baselining activities are complete, is critical: it is needed to provide clear guidance for the various process improvement actions that will be taken over the next few years. It should provide clear business reasons for conducting the SPI program and should be clearly and measurably linked to the organization’s business plan and vision.
- 5. Phase 3: Establishing. • Creating the strategic action plan for software process improvement (SPI) is one of the most critical in the SPI initiative— and most often neglected. This is where the management team develops or updates a SPI strategic action plan, based on the organization’s vision, business plan, and past improvement efforts, along with the findings from the baselining efforts. • This is a step that is repeated as needed. Usually it is triggered by a lack of an action plan for an organization on its first cycle through the IDEAL model. For those organizations on a subsequent cycle, this step can be triggered by a need to update the previous plan, goals, or directions.
- 6. Phase 4: Acting. • The Acting phase is where the improvements are developed, put into practice, and deployed across the organization. The various improvements that the working groups have developed are complete and their value will be “proven” to the organization by piloting them. The management steering group (MSG) and the software engineering process group (SEPG) will be managing and supporting the development, piloting, and deployment of the improvements. • The Acting phase links the mission of the SPI program to improve processes and the mission of the development organization to produce products. It is the culmination of the SPI efforts to this point.
- 7. Phase 5: Leveraging. • Now that the organization has completed one cycle through IDEAL it is necessary to review what happened during that cycle and prepare for the next cycle through the model. • Rather than re-enter IDEAL at the Initiating phase on subsequent cycles through the model, by performing the activities of this Leveraging phase you will reenter IDEAL at the Diagnosing phase. The Leveraging phase, in addition to preparing for the next cycle through IDEAL, gives you the opportunity to “tune-up” the software process improvement (SPI) process before starting again.