Action Focused Assessment for Software Process Improvement [Hardcover]

Tim Kasse (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 2001 | ISBN-10: 1580532861 | ISBN-13: 978-1580532860 | Edition: 1st

Designed for those involved with the development of software or systems, this book is designed to help manage process improvement initiatives within a company, by explaining the history, method and psychology behind Action Focused Assessment (AFA). The book shows how to align an organization's business objectives with process improvement initiatives; use the Capability Maturity Model (CMM) to help the organization achieve its goals; and conduct internal assessments with expert guidance and tool support, without the direct involvement of a process improvement consulting firm. The book provides a detailed description of the pre-onsite activities that must be accomplished before an actual assessment takes place. The AFA V-Model, which describes the interviews and feedback sessions that lead to an action plan, provides a mechanism for involving and engaging all levels of management and practitioners. This resource includes actual questions used in interviews with managers, leaders and practitioners, and offers psychological insight into the value of feedback sessions. Moreover, the book provides a distinct link between process assessment and process improvement.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Tim Kasse is manager and principle consultant for Kasse Initiatives LLC. He has over 30 years of software engineering experience, and holds a B.S. in systems engineering from the University of Arizona, Tucson and an M.A.S. in computer science from Southern Methodist University.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 415 pages
• Publisher: Artech House; 1st edition (December 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1580532861
• ISBN-13: 978-1580532860
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,319,931 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An exceptionally effective and flexible approach to SPI, July 20, 2002

By 

Mike Tarrani "www.tarrani.com" (Deltona, FL USA) - See all my reviews
(COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Action Focused Assessment for Software Process Improvement (Hardcover)

This book both took me by surprise and delighted me. I was surprised because I've been a frequent visitor on the author's website, which is filled with information about process improvement, software quality and related material and wasn't aware of this book. I was delighted because this book synthesizes and expands upon much of the material I'd downloaded, plus it goes deep into specifics of software process improvement to which I had not been exposed.

The book's principal theme is measuring process maturity using a framework called "Action Focused Assessment" (AFA), and using the findings from the assessment to develop a process improvement strategy. The AFA framework is a V-model. It's based on the same paradigm as the German Federal Ministry of Defense software life cycle model, but the elements are different. What makes this model type powerful and practical is the way each milestone in the early stages are directly related to milestones in the later stages of the cycle. In the AFA the model has seven layers (vision/mission objectives, policies and procedures, project management, requirements, design, coding, test), and roles (senior and middle management, project leaders and practitioners. The left side of the V, moving top to bottom represents the assessment, and the right side moving bottom to top represents the actions based on assessment findings. This ensures that each key process area defined by layers has defined roles and responsibilities for both assessment and process improvement initiatives.

While the AFA is the centerpiece of the book's theme, each chapter covers all of the key elements necessary to put the AFA framework into practice: executive sponsorship and commitment, assessment training, assessment activities, interviewing, developing findings and recommendations, making presentations and action planning for process improvement.

While the ostensible purpose of this book is to provide an assessment framework for organizations intent on pursuing CMM level 2 or above, the framework and detailed approach provided will work exceptionally well for organizations that have opted for SPICE, Bootstrap or other improvement-based goals.

Process improvement consultants will benefit the most from this book because it will give a ready-made framework for conducting assessments and developing findings and recommendations. However, this book is also an excellent roadmap for internal company initiatives to find their capability baseline from which to develop an action plan for either stepped or continuous improvement.