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A Dynamic Integrated Framework for Software Process Improvement

Abstract

Current software process models (CMM, SPICE, etc.) strongly recommend the application of statistical control and measure guides to define, implement, and evaluate the effects of different process improvements. However, whilst quantitative modeling has been widely used in other fields, it has not been considered enough in the field of software process improvement. During the last decade software process simulation has been used to address a wide diversity of management problems. Some of these problems are related to strategic management, technology adoption, understanding, training and learning, and risk management, among others. In this work a dynamic integrated framework for software processimprovement ispres ented. Thisframework combinestraditional estimation models with an intensive utilization of dynamic simulation models of the software process. The aim of this framework is to support a qualitative and quantitative assessment for software process improvement and decision making to achieve a higher software development process capability according to the Capability Maturity Model. The conceptsunderlying thisframework have been implemented in a software process improvement tool that has been used in a local software organization. The results obtained and the lessons learned are also presented in this paper

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A Dynamic Integrated Framework for Software Process Improvement

Author: Ruiz Carreira, Mercedes; Ramos Román, Isabel; Toro Bonilla, Miguel
Publisher: Springer
Year: 2002
DOI: 10.1023/A:1020580008694
Source: https://idus.us.es/bitstreams/4d40ad2e-3192-4fdc-88cb-012d39eeba81/download
A Dynamic In eg a ed F amewo k o So wa e
P ocess Imp o emen
MERCEDES RUIZ [email p o ec ed]
Depa men o Compu e Languages and Sys ems, Escuela Supe io de Ingenie ía,
Uni e si y o Cádiz, Spain
ISABEL RAMOS AND MIGUEL TORO {isabel. amos, m o o}@lsi.us.es
Depa men o Compu e Languages and Sys ems, Escuela Técnica Supe io de Ingenie ía In o má ica
Uni e si y o Se ille, Spain
Abs ac . Cu en so wa e p ocess models (CMM, SPICE, e c.) s ongly ecommend he applica ion
o s a is ical con ol and measu e guides o define, implemen , and e alua e he e ec s o di e en
p ocess imp o emen s. Howe e , whils quan i a i e modeling has been widely used in o he fields, i
has no been conside ed enough in he field o so wa e p ocess imp o emen . Du ing he las decade
so wa e p ocess simula ion has been used o add ess a wide di e si y o managemen p oblems. Some
o hese p oblems a e ela ed o s a egic managemen , echnology adop ion, unde s anding, aining
and lea ning, and isk managemen , among o he s. In his wo k a dynamic in eg a ed amewo k o
so wa e p ocess imp o emen is p esen ed. This amewo k combines adi ional es ima ion models
wi h an in ensi e u iliza ion o dynamic simula ion models o he so wa e p ocess. The aim o his
amewo k is o suppo a quali a i e and quan i a i e assessmen o so wa e p ocess imp o emen and
decision making o achie e a highe so wa e de elopmen p ocess capabili y acco ding o he Capabili y
Ma u i y Model. The concep s unde lying his amewo k ha e been implemen ed in a so wa e p ocess
imp o emen ool ha has been used in a local so wa e o ganiza ion. The esul s ob ained and he
lessons lea ned a e also p esen ed in his pape .
Keywo ds: so wa e p ocess modelling and simula ion, p ocess imp o emen , p ocess ma u i y, dynamic
models
1. In oduc ion
O e he pas ew decades so wa e complexi y has significan ly inc eased in such
a way ha so wa e has eplaced ha dwa e as ha ing he p incipal esponsibili y
o much o he unc ionali y p o ided by cu en sys ems. This inc easing ole o
so wa e, he p oblems ela ed o cos and schedule o e uns, and he cus ome
pe cep ion o low p oduc quali y ha e changed he ocus o a en ion owa ds
he ma u i y o so wa e de elopmen p ac ices. Al hough he so wa e indus y
has ecei ed significan help by means o Compu e Aided So wa e Enginee ing
(CASE) ools, new p og amming languages and app oaches, and mo e ad anced
and complex machines, he e is a lack o p ocess analysis ools o o ganiza ions
in e es ed in imp o ing hei p ocess pe o mance.
Dynamic modeling and simula ion as p ocess imp o emen ools ha e been in en-
si ely used in he manu ac u ing a ea. Cu en ly, so wa e p ocess modeling and
simula ion a e gaining an inc easing in e es among esea che s and p ac i ione s
as an app oach o analyze complex business and sol e policy ques ions.
In p e ious wo k (Ruiz, Ramos, and To o, 2001) we a emp ed o apply a complex
dynamic model o suppo p ocess imp o emen in a local so wa e de elopmen
o ganiza ion. The non-exis ence o a his o ical da abase and o measu emen p ac-
ices inside his o ganiza ion made i impossible, as he e we e no nume ical d i e s
o supply he model pa ame e s and unc ions. Then, we decided o apply Ebe lein’s
wo k (Ebe lein, 1989) abou unde s anding and simplifica ion o models o ob ain
a educed dynamic model capable o ep oducing he so wa e p ocess dynamics,
ye wi h less ini ial in o ma ion equi ed. Bu simula ion is only e ec i e i bo h
he model and he da a used o d i e i accu a ely eflec he eal wo ld. Thus, he
cons uc ion o he model i sel poin s o wha me ic da a mus be collec ed and
helps as a clea guideline on wha o collec .
In his pape an app oach is p oposed ha combines adi ional es ima ion ech-
niques wi h Sys em Dynamics modeling. The aim o his combina ion is o build a
amewo k o suppo a quali a i e and quan i a i e assessmen o so wa e p o-
cess imp o emen and decision making. The pu pose o his dynamic amewo k
is o help o ganiza ions o achie e a highe so wa e de elopmen p ocess capabil-
i y acco ding o he Capabili y Ma u i y Model (Paulk e al., 1993). The dynamic
models buil inside his amewo k p o ide he capabili y o gaining insigh o e he
whole li e cycle a di e en le els o abs ac ion. The le el o abs ac ion used in a
ce ain o ganiza ion will depend on i s ma u i y le el. Fo ins ance, in a le el 1 o ga-
niza ion he simula o can es ablish a baseline acco ding o adi ional es ima ion
models om an ini ial es ima e o he size o he p ojec . Wi h his baseline, he
so wa e manage can analyze he esul s ob ained wi h he simula ion o di e en
p ocess imp o emen s and s udy he ou comes o o e o unde es ima ing cos o
schedule. Du ing he simula ion me ic da a a e sa ed. These da a con o m o he
SEI co e measu es (Ca le on e al., 1992) ecommenda ion, and a e mainly ela ed
o cos , schedule and quali y.
The s uc u e o he pape is as ollows. Sec ion 2 p o ides a b ie o e iew o he
wo k conduc ed in he field o so wa e p ocess simula ion. In Sec ion 3, he jus ifi-
ca ion ound o de elop he in eg a ed amewo k is p esen ed. Sec ion 4 desc ibes
in de ail, he undamen al basis and s uc u e o his amewo k. The implemen a-
ion and esul s ob ained when applying i inside a local o ganiza ion a e discussed
in Sec ion 5. Finally, Sec ion 6 summa izes he pape and d aws he conclusions
and lessons lea n .
2. So wa e p ocess simula ion
Simula ion can be applied in many c i ical a eas in suppo o so wa e enginee ing.
I enables one o add ess issues be o e hese issues become p oblems. Simula ion is
mo e han jus a echnology, as i o ces one o hink in global e ms abou sys em
beha io , and abou he ac ha sys ems a e mo e han he sum o hei compo-
nen s (Ch is ie, 1999). A simula ion model is a compu a ional model ha ep esen s
an abs ac ion o a simplified ep esen a ion o a complex dynamic sys em. Simula-
ion models o e , as a main ad an age, he possibili y o expe imen ing wi h di e -
en managemen decisions. Thus, i becomes possible o analyze he e ec o hose
decisions in sys ems whe e he cos o isks o expe imen a ion make i un easible.
Ano he impo an ac o is ha simula ion p o ides insigh s in o complex p ocess
beha io which is no possible o analyze by means o s ochas ic models. Like many
p ocesses, so wa e p ocesses can con ain mul iple eedback loops, such as hose
associa ed wi h he co ec ion o de ec s. Delays esul ing om hese de ec s may
ange om minu es o yea s. The esul ing complexi y makes i almos impossi-
ble o men al analysis o p edic he consequences. The mos equen sou ces o
complexi y in eal so wa e p ocesses a e:
—Unce ain y. Some eal p ocesses a e cha ac e ized by a high deg ee o unce -
ain y. Simula ion models make i possible o deal wi h his unce ain y as hey
can ep esen i flexibly by means o pa ame e s and unc ions.
—Dynamic beha io . Some p ocesses may ha e a ime dependen beha io . The e
is no doub ha some so wa e p ocess a iables a y hei beha io as he ime
cycle p og esses. Wi h a simula ion model i is possible o ep esen and o mal-
ize he s uc u es and causal ela ionships ha dic a e he dynamic beha io o
he sys em.
—Feedback. In some sys ems he esul o a decision made in a ce ain momen
can a ec hei u u e beha io . Fo example, in so wa e p ojec s he decision
o educing he e o assigned o quali y assu ance ac i i ies has di e en e ec s
o e he whole p og ess o hese p ojec s.
Thus, he common objec i es o simula ion models consis o supplying mecha-
nisms o expe imen , p edic , lea n, and answe ques ions such as: Wha i ?
A so wa e p ocess simula ion model can be ocussed on ce ain aspec s o he
so wa e p ocess o he o ganiza ion. I is impo an o bea in mind ha a simula-
ion model cons i u es an abs ac ion o he eal sys em, and so i ep esen s only
he pa s o he sys em ha ha e been in ended o be modeled. Fu he mo e, cu -
en ly a ailable modeling ools such as i hink(High Pe o mance Sys ems, 2001),
POWER-SIM(Powe Sim Co po a ion, 2001), and Vensim(Ven ana Sys ems,
2002) help o ep esen he so wa e de elopmen p ocess as a sys em o di e en-
ial equa ions. This is a ema kable cha ac e is ic, as i makes i possible o o mal-
ize and de elop a scien ific basis o so wa e p ocess modeling and imp o emen .
Some no iceable applica ions o his dynamic app oach o model so wa e p ocess
can be ound in (Kellne , Madachy, and Ra o, 1999).
3. Jus ifica ion
Al hough adi ional me hods o so wa e p ojec managemen ha e e ealed hei
weaknesses du ing he las decades, he e is common ag eemen ha hey a e s ill
use ul. We hink ha i is impo an o in eg a e adi ional me hods and p ocess
simula ion unde a common app oach, in o de o ob ain a aluable ool o design
p ocess imp o emen s and e alua e hei e ec s. Rod igues and Bowe s (1996),
d aw he conclusions ob ained a e ha ing compa ed bo h app oaches, and poin
ou he necessi y o in eg a ion. T adi ional and dynamic app oaches ha e simila
objec i es, ye he pe spec i e unde which hey wo k is comple ely di e en . T a-
di ional me hods a e no mally based on a Top-down decomposi ion o he so wa e
p ojec , while he dynamic me hod can be cha ac e ized by he agg ega ion p ocess
i is ocussed on, acco ding o which, some ea u es o a p ojec a e joined oge he
unde a simula ion model. In acco dance wi h wha has been said, i can be deduced
ha dynamic models a e sui able o deal wi h p oblems placed a he s a egic le el,
while adi ional me hods a e use ul a he ope a ional le el o so wa e p ojec s.
Wi h he de elopmen o a Dynamic In eg a ed F amewo k o So wa e P o-
cess Imp o emen (DIFSPI) we o e a me hodology and wo king en i onmen o
join bo h app oaches and o allow p ojec manage s and membe s o he So -
wa e Enginee ing Imp o emen G oup (SEIG) o design and e alua e new p ocess
imp o emen s. One o he main objec i es o DIFSPI is o suppo he e olu ion o
he ma u i y le el o an o ganiza ion acco ding o he Capabili y Ma u i y Model
(Paulk e al., 1993). The p ocess o design and de elopmen o bo h he amewo k
and he dynamic models ha in eg a e i , allows one o define a me ics collec ion
p og am. These me ics a e necessa y o bo h ini ialize and alida e he dynamic
models. This me ics collec ion is no only use ul o he dynamic models; i also
se es as an in aluable oppo uni y o ob ain a eal knowledge o he s a e o he
so wa e p ocesses inside an o ganiza ion. This knowledge is essen ial be o e ack-
ling any p ocess imp o emen .
4. DIFSPI de elopmen
4.1. Concep ual app oach
Using simula ion o p ocess imp o emen in conjunc ion wi h CMM is no a new
idea. As a ma e o ac , (Ch is ie, 1999) sugges s ha CMM is an excellen inc e-
men al amewo k o gain expe ience h ough p ocess simula ion. Ne e heless,
he e is a lack o a dynamic amewo k capable o assessmen in he achie emen o
highe p ocess ma u i y. One o he main ea u es o DIFSPI is ha his assessmen
is p o ided no only by using he associa ed final ool, bu du ing he de elopmen
o he whole dynamic amewo k. The eason o his is ha he benefi s ha can be
ob ained wi h he u iliza ion o dynamic models inside an o ganiza ion, a e di ec ly
ela ed o he knowledge and he empi ical in o ma ion he o ganiza ion has abou
i s p ocesses. Figu e 1 illus a es his idea. I shows he exis ing causal ela ionships
among he ma u i y le el o he o ganiza ion, he u iliza ion o dynamic models and
he benefi s ob ained.
The posi i e eedback loop comes o illus a e he causal ela ionship ha ein-
o ces he me ics collec ion inside he o ganiza ion. The me ics collec ed will be
used o calib a e and ini ialize he dynamic models. Lowe ma u i y o ganiza ions
a e cha ac e ized by he absence o me ic p og ams and his o ical da abases. In
his case, i is necessa y o begin by iden i ying he gene al p ocesses and he in o -
ma ion ha has o be collec ed abou hem. The ques ions o wha o collec , a
(+)
Ma u i y Le el
Cos Es ima e
P ocess Imp o emen P edic ion
Dynamic Model
Me ics Collec ion
Da a
+
+
+
+
+
+
Figu e 1. Causal ela ionships de i ed om he de elopmen and u iliza ion o dynamic models.
wha equency, and wi h wha accu acy ha e o be answe ed a his momen . The
design p ocess o dynamic models helps o come o a solu ion o hese ques ions.
When de eloping a dynamic model i is equi ed o know: a) wha is in ended o
be modeled, b) he scope o he model, and c) wha beha io s need o be ana-
lyzed. Once he model is de eloped, i needs o be ini ialized wi h a se o ini ial
condi ions in o de o execu e he uns and ob ain he simula ed beha io s. These
ini ial condi ions cus omize he model o he p ojec and o he o ganiza ion o
be simula ed and hey a e e ec i ely implemen ed by a se o ini ial pa ame e s.
These pa ame e s ha ule he e olu ion o he model uns answe p ecisely he
o me ques ion o wha da a collec : hose da a equi ed o ini ialize and alida e
he model will be he main componen s o he me ics collec ion p og am.
Once he componen s o he me ics collec ion p og am ha e been defined i can
be implemen ed inside he o ganiza ion. This p ocess will lead o he achie emen
o a his o ical da abase. The da a ga he ed can hen be used o simula e and empi -
ically alida e he dynamic model. When he dynamic model has been alida ed, he
esul s o i s uns can be used o gene a e a simula ed da abase; wi h his da abase i
is possible o pe o m p ocess imp o emen analyses. An inc ease in he complexi y
o he ac ions in ended o be analyzed will di ec ly lead o an inc ease in he com-
plexi y o he dynamic model equi ed and, he e o e, o a new me ics collec ion
p og am o he new simula ion modules.
The bo om hal o Figu e 1 illus a es he e ec s de i ed om he u iliza ion
o dynamic models in he con ex o p ocess imp o emen . Using dynamic mod-
els which ha e been designed and calib a ed acco ding o an o ganiza ion’s da a
p o ides h ee impo an benefi s. Fi s ly, he da a o he simula ion uns can be
used o p edic he u u e e olu ion o he p ojec . The g aphical ep esen a ions
o hese da a show he e olu ion o he p ojec om a se o ini ial condi ions
(which ha e been es ablished by he ini ializa ion pa ame e s). By analyzing hese
g aphics, o ganiza ions wi h a low le el o ma u i y can ob ain a use ul quali a-
i e knowledge abou he e olu ion o he p ojec . As he ma u i y le el o he
o ganiza ion inc eases, he knowledge abou i s p ocesses is also highe and he

simula ion uns can be used as eal quan i a i e es ima es. These es ima es help
o p edic he u u e e olu ion o he p ojec wi h an accu acy ha is in ima ely
ela ed o he unce ain y o he ini ial pa ame e s. Secondly, i becomes possible
o define and expe imen wi h di e en p ocess imp o emen s by analyzing he di -
e en simula ion uns. This capabili y helps in he decision-making p ocess, as only
he imp o emen s which ga e he bes esul s will be implemen ed. Mo eo e , one
o he mos ema kable hings he e is ha hese expe imen s a e pe o med wi h
no cos and isk o he o ganiza ion as hey use he simula ion o scena ios. Thi dly,
he simula ion model can also be used o p edic he cos o he p ojec ; his cos
can be e e ed o as he o e all cos , o o a hie a chical decomposi ion o he o al
cos , as o ins ance, he cos o quali y o e ision ac i i ies. These h ee benefi s
a e he main ac o s ha lead o he achie emen o a highe ma u i y le el inside
an o ganiza ion acco ding o CMM.
4.2. DIFSPI s uc u e
P ojec managemen is composed o ac i i ies which a e in ima ely in e ela ed in
he sense ha a ce ain ac ion pe o med o e a de e mined a ea will possibly a ec
o he a eas. Fo ins ance, a ime delay will always a ec he cos o he p ojec bu
i may o may no a ec he mo ale o he de elopmen eam, o he quali y o
he p oduc . The in e ac ions among he di e en a eas o p ojec managemen
a e so s ong ha on some occasions he h oughpu o one o hem can only be
achie ed by educing he h oughpu o ano he . A clea example o his beha io
can be ound in he equen p ac ice o educing he quali y, o he numbe o
equi emen s o be implemen ed in a ce ain e sion o he p oduc wi h he aim
o mee ing he ime o cos es ima es.
Dynamic models help o unde s and he in eg a ed na u e o p ojec managemen ,
as hey desc ibe i h ough di e en p ocesses, s uc u es, and main in e ela ion-
ships. In he amewo k p oposed he e, p ojec managemen is conside ed as a se
o dynamic in e ela ed p ocesses. P ojec s a e composed o p ocesses. Each p ocess
is composed o a se ies o ac i i ies designed o he achie emen o an objec i e
(Paulk e al., 1993). F om a gene al poin o iew, i could be said ha p ojec s a e
composed o p ocesses which all in o one o he ollowing ca ego ies:
—Managemen p ocess. This ca ego y collec s all hose p ocesses ela ed o he
desc ip ion, o ganiza ion, and con ol o he p ojec .
—Enginee ing p ocess. All hose p ocesses ela ed o he specifica ion and de el-
opmen ac i i ies o he so wa e p oduc a e collec ed in his ca ego y.
Bo h ca ego ies in e ac du ing he ime cycle o he p ojec as Figu e 2 shows.
F om an ini ial plan pe o med by he p ojec managemen p ocesses, enginee ing
p ocesses begin o be execu ed. Using he in o ma ion ga he ed abou he p og ess
o his second g oup o p ocesses, p ojec managemen p ocesses de e mine he
modifica ions ha need o be made o he plan in o de o achie e he p ojec
objec i es. The DIFSPI p oposed ollows his same classifica ion and is s uc u ed
P
L
A
N
P
R
O
G
R
E
S
S
Managemen p ocesses
Managemen p ocesses
Enginee ing p ocesses
Enginee ing p ocesses
Figu e 2. Classifica ion o p ocesses o so wa e de elopmen .
o a end o p ojec managemen and enginee ing p ocesses. In bo h le els, he
u iliza ion o dynamic models o simula e eal p ocesses and o define and de elop
a his o ical da abase, will be he main ea u e.
4.2.1. Enginee ing p ocesses in he DIFSPI. On his le el he dynamic models sim-
ula e he li e cycle o he so wa e p oduc . The benefi s ha simula ion p o ides a
his le el a e he ollowing:
— To build a model i is necessa y o imp o e he knowledge one has abou he
so wa e de elopmen p ocess, as i is equi ed o es ablish he limi s and scope
o hose eal beha io s o be modeled and simula ed.
— The pa ame e s equi ed by he model and he ables which de e mine i s ime
beha io will cons i u e he main elemen s o a me ics collec ion p og am o
define a his o ical da abase.
— The e ec i e applica ion o his me ics p og am will eed he da abase. The
his o ical da a ga he ed will help assess in he alida ion and calib a ion o he
model.
— The dynamic model will finally simula e he so wa e p ocesses wi h he knowl-
edge and he ma u i y ha he o ganiza ion has a he momen .
— The u iliza ion o he dynamic model allows he es ablishmen o a baseline o
he p ojec , he in es iga ion o possible imp o emen s, and he de elopmen o
a his o ical da abase which can be ed ei he by eal o simula ed da a.
The dynamic models o his le el a DIFSPI should ollow he le els o isibili y
and knowledge o he enginee ing p ocesses ha o ganiza ions ha e a each ma u-
i y le el. I is ob ious ha he complexi y o he dynamic model used in le el 1
o ganiza ions canno be he same as ha o he models capable o simula ing he
enginee ing p ocesses o , o ins ance, le el 4 o ganiza ions.
4.2.2. P ojec managemen p ocesses in he DIFSPI. Managemen p ocesses a e
di ided in o wo main ca ego ies:
—Plan. This g oups he p ocesses de o ed o he design o he ini ial plan and
he equi ed modifica ions when he p og ess epo s indica e he appea ance o
p oblems. The models o his g oup in eg a e adi ional es ima ion and planning
echniques oge he wi h dynamic ones.
—Con ol. In his g oup all he models designed o he moni o ing and acking
ac i i ies a e ga he ed. These models will also ha e he esponsibili y o de e -
mining he co ec i e ac ions o he p ojec plan. The e o e, he simula ion o
p ocess imp o emen s will be o eno mous impo ance.
4.3. Elabo a ion o he dynamic models
The app oach ollowed in he cons uc ion o he dynamic models is based on wo
undamen al p inciples:
— The p inciple o ex ensibili y o dynamic models. Acco ding o his p inciple,
di e en dynamic modules a e joined o an ini ial and basic dynamic model.
This ini ial model models he undamen al beha io o a so wa e p ojec . Each
one o he dynamic modules models each one o he key p ocess a eas which
con o m he s ep o e ol e o he nex le el o ma u i y. These modules can
be ei he “enabled” o “disabled” acco ding o he objec i es o he p ojec
manage o he membe s o he SEIG.
— The p inciple o agg ega ion/decomposi ion o asks acco ding o he le el o
abs ac ion equi ed o he model. Two le els o agg ega ion/decomposi ion
a e used:
•Ho izon al agg ega ion/decomposi ion acco ding o which di e en sequen ial
asks a e agg ega ed in o a unique ask wi h a unique schedule.
•Ve ical agg ega ion/decomposi ion acco ding o which di e en and indi id-
ual, bu in e ela ed and pa allel asks a e conside ed as a unique ask wi h a
unique schedule.
The defini ion o he igh le el o agg ega ion and/o decomposi ion o he asks
mainly a ec s he modeling o he enginee ing ac i i ies and p incipally depends on
he ma u i y le el o he p ocess in ended o be simula ed.
To define he ini ial dynamic model he common eedback loops among he so -
wa e p ojec s we e aken in o accoun . The objec i e o his app oach was ying o
achie e a gene ic model and a oid modeling ce ain beha io s o conc e e o ganiza-
ions which migh limi he flexibili y o he DIFSPI. To ini ialize he unc ions and
pa ame e s o he ini ial model, da a o igina ing om his o ical da abases collec ed
in he a ailable li e a u e we e used (Pu nam, 1992). By eplica ing some o he
equa ions o he ini ial model i is possible o model he p og ess o highe ma u i y
le els.
Figu es 3 and 4 illus a e he o me idea o basic modeling and s uc u e epli-
ca ion. The ini ial model can be used o simula e so wa e p ojec s de eloped in
o ganiza ions p og essing o le el 2. Figu e 3 uses Sys em Dynamics no a ion o
illus a e he componen s de eloped o model he so wa e de elopmen ac i i y.
The numbe o asks o be de eloped is de e mined om an ini ial es ima e o
e ision a e
INITIAL SIZE
de elopmen a e
quali y
QUALITY
Pendin
g
asks
Accomplished
asks
Re ision
pending
asks
Figu e 3. Basic dynamic module o so wa e de elopmen modeling.
he size o he p ojec . These pending asks become accomplished asks acco ding
o he de elopmen a e. Du ing his p ocess, e o s can be commi ed. Thus, in
acco dance o he desi ed quali y objec i e o he p ojec , he quali y a e and he
e ision a e a e de e mined. These wo a es go e n he numbe o asks ha a e
e ised. To model he p og ess o le el 3, he model will make use o a ho izon al
decomposi ion, c ea ing as many subs uc u es as phases o ac i i ies a e p esen in
he ask b eakdown s uc u e o he p ojec (analysis, design, code and es , in ou
case). Acco ding o his app oach, each ime a comple e model o some pa o i is
eplica ed, i will be necessa y o define he new fixing mechanisms (dynamic mod-
ules) o he new s uc u es. These mechanisms e ec i ely implemen he p inciple
o agg ega ion/decomposi ion p e iously men ioned. The eplica ion o s uc u es
also p o ides he possibili y o eplica ing he modules ela ed o he p ojec man-
agemen p ocesses. This eplica ion is especially use ul o high ma u i y le el o ga-
niza ions, which will be able o es ablish p ocess imp o emen p ac ices o each
ce ain ac i i y o he li e cycle.
In Figu e 4, he componen s o he dynamic model o le el 3 o ganiza ions a e
shown. Each one o he ou boxes labelled wi h he name o one phase o he
p ojec is, in ac , a comple e dynamic module iden ical o ha shown in Figu e 3.
The new ea u es added o he eplica ed s uc u e define he coupling s uc u e
Figu e 4. Replica ion o he basic dynamic module o model highe ma u i y p ocesses.