Contents
Introduction xi
1 Introduction to the Process Improvement Life Cycle 1
1.1 The Importance of Process Improvement 2
1.1.1 Stand Still and Go Backwards 2
1.1.2 Standish Group Chaos Report 2
1.1.3 Balancing People, Project Management Processes,
and Technology 8
1.1.4 Process Improvement Versus Practice Improvement 9
1.2 Typical Project Improvement Practices 11
1.2.1 Project Reviews 11
1.2.2 Best Practices 12
1.2.3 Lessons Learned 12
1.3 Definition of the Process Improvement Life Cycle 12
1.3.1 Where Are You? 13
1.3.2 Where Do YouWant To Be? 14
1.3.3 HowWill You Get There? 14
1.3.4 HowWell Did You Do? 14
1.4 Who Is Responsible for Process Improvement? 15
1.4.1 Establishing a Standard Process 15
1.4.2 Managing Best Practices and Lessons Learned

1.1 The Importance of Process Improvement
The amount of effort put into the design and implementation of a process does
not really matter; there is always room for improvement. Nowhere is this more
obvious than in the technical professions. As new technologies emerge, new
ways of doing things arise and we must change or die. In other words, an organi-
zation simply cannot stand still and expect project management to continue to
function at expected levels of effectiveness. It must continuously improve
processes or they will fall into misuse or no use at all.
You would..
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