Even for a project of a particular type, the degree of rigor with which the software process is applied may vary significantly. The degree of rigor is a function of many project characteristics. As an example, small, non-business-critical projects can generally be addressed with somewhat less rigor than large, complex business-critical applications. It should be noted, however, that all projects must be conducted in a manner that results in timely, high-quality deliverables. Four different degrees of rigor can be defined:

Casual. All process framework activities are applied, but only a minimum task set is required. In general, umbrella tasks will be minimized and documentation requirements will be reduced. All basic principles of software engineering are still applicable.

Structured. The process framework will be applied for this project. Framework activities and related tasks appropriate to the project type will be applied and umbrella activities necessary to ensure high quality will be applied. SQA, SCM, documentation, and measurement tasks will be conducted in a streamlined manner.

Strict. The full process will be applied for this project with a degree of discipline that will ensure high quality. All umbrella activities will be applied and robust work products will be produced.

Quick reaction. The process framework will be applied for this project, but because of an emergency situation only those tasks essential to maintaining good quality will be applied. “Back-filling” (i.e., developing a complete set of documentation, conducting additional reviews) will be accomplished after the application/product is delivered to the customer.

The project manager must develop a systematic approach for selecting the degree of rigor that is appropriate for a particular project. To accomplish this, project adaptation criteria are defined and a task set selector value is computed.

Defining Adaptation Criteria

Adaptation criteria are used to determine the recommended degree of rigor with which the software process should be applied on a project. Eleven adaptation criteria are defined for software projects:

• Size of the project

• Number of potential users

• Mission criticality

• Application longevity

• Stability of requirements

• Ease of customer/developer communication

• Maturity of applicable technology

• Performance constraints

• Embedded and non embedded characteristics

• Project staff

• Reengineering factors

Each of the adaptation criteria is assigned a grade that ranges between 1 and 5, where 1 represents a project in which a small subset of process tasks are required and overall methodological and documentation requirements are minimal, and 5 represents a project in which a complete set of process tasks should be applied and overall methodological and documentation requirements are substantial.

Computing a Task Set Selector Value