If you're involved with development of software or systems, this informative book is designed to help you manage process improvement initiatives, within your company, by explaining the history, method and psychology behind Action Focused Assessment (AFA). The book shows you how to: align your organizations business objectives with process improvement initiatives; use the Capability Maturity Model (CMM) to help your organization achieve its goals; and conduct internal assessments with expert guidance and tool support, without the direct involvement of a process improvement consulting firm. You get 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. It bridges the gap between recommendations and implementation, helping you understand how an organization can progress from the completion of an assessment to a detailed action plan.
Forward.Preface. Acknowledgements. History. Process Improvement. Action Focused Assessment Framework. Assessment Components and Terminology. Action Focused Assessment Flow. Commitment to Process Improvement and Assessment. Action Focused Assessment Training. Preliminary Action Focused Assessment Activities. Interviews. Preliminary Findings. Revised Findings - Generating Recommendations - Draft Senior Management Presentation and Feedback. Senior Management Presentation. Guidance for Action Planning. Epilogue. Appendices.
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Tim Kasse
Tim Kasse is CEO and Principal Consultant for Kasse Initiatives, LLC. He has over 30 years of systems/software engineering experience and has conducted over 80 assessments worldwide based on the Capability Maturity Model and CMMI. Mr. Kasse is also the author of Action Focus Assessment for Software Process Improvement (Artech House, 2002). He 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.