Standardizing the reuse of software processes

Abstract

m We describe a model to define a set of standard reusable processes. To standardize and reuse a software process, we first need to describe it. We adopt Ivar Jacobson’s use cases as a starting point and then generate scenarios and identify people and their roles. The data collected are significant enough to start mapping the enterprise—we use an OMT-like technique. By adopting activity-based management, it is possible to validate the “off-line” model directly “on-line.” After the necessary corrections, the model is a good representation of the firm’s real production process. This forms the basis for the reengineering process. process is a set of activities organized to reach a goal [Feiler and Humphrey 1992]. A process may follow predefined prescriptions, and it usually has one or more descriptions. We can reuse the prescriptions of an old process for a new one. We can define a new process that fits the descriptions of an old one. In all these cases, we speak of process reuse. We define process reuse as the replica of a set of actions of an already performed process in a new environment. Process reuse is useful in almost any field: All of industrialization has been viewed as the result of defining, standardizing, and replicating processes [Rullani 1988]. It is especially useful where there is a lack of consolidated practice, as in the software industry. The CMM and the ISO 9000 share this view: They require some reuse of predefined software processes. ISO 9000 is almost entirely about defining a process schema to ensure that a company satisfies its own goals and monitoring how effectively the company follows the schema. CMM level 2 elicits a firm’s underlying and hidden practices; further levels try to define them (level 3), handle and evaluate them properly (level 4), and make them work efficiently (level 5). The CMM-derived PSP focuses on teaching programmers how to describe, to improve, and to reuse their processes. Process reuse enables firms to create a set of corporate processes. Corporate processes may define the “essence” of a firm, the know-how that remains regardless of employee turnover. Well-structured corporate processes help new employees to get acquainted with the firm. Business process reengineering is applicable only when the process is defined, i.e., only if a set of corporate processes is in place. Corporate processes need standardization: It is possible to define a corporate process only through a systematic definition of the key processes that are already in place. Therefore, process reuse and process standardization are two faces of the same coin. We explore this issue by describing Gertrude, a model to define a set of standard reusable processes. Standardizing the Reuse of Software Processes S U P P O R T I N G A R T I C L E ★