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Pittsburgh, PA 15213-3890
Copyright 2004, Carnegie Mellon University. All rights reserved.
Concepts for Writing Effective Process Guidance
Suzanne Garcia
Agenda
Background/Typical Problems
Information Mapping™ principles
Exercise in Recognizing Different Process Guidance Information Types
Typical User Problems in Process Guidance InformationToo many different types of guidance all in one document
Inconsistency in the types/level of guidance provided
Difficulty finding the information you need
Lack of “shared mental model” on how information should be organized
Remember the purpose of Process Documentation
Capture intentions for future reference• in case details/agreements are forgotten
Capture expectations for what will happen when activities are performed• shortens training time
Capture expectations to support developing time estimates for activities
Capture expectations for communication documents• so people know what to expect from one another• so actual resuts can be compared to expected results
Adapted from K. Caputo, CMM Implementation Guide: Choreographing SW Process Improvement, 1998
Different Types of Guidance
“Information types” provides a way of looking at different types of guidance information and segregating it according to the tasks it supports
Pittsburgh, PA 15213-3890
Copyright 2004, Carnegie Mellon University. All rights reserved.
Understanding “Types” of Process Assets
Objective: Understand different ways to structure process asset information
Information Types Related to Guidance Documentation
PrinciplesProceduresProcessesStructuresConceptsFactsClassification
From Information Mapping™ courseson designing information -- a techniquebased on 30+ years of research on learning and information representation
Principle
Typical contents:
• Policy, rules, constraints, guidelines
Guidance:
• use strong, active language
• use a label that clearly indicates the use of the information in the document/section
• often includes “why” information to motivate acceptance of the principles
Process
Typical contents:• description of “what needs to happen”• focused on characterizing the vision for getting to a goal• characterizes relationships and controls/measures• roles help people “find themselves” in the process
Guidance:• use third person language, active voice• make cause/effect relationships clear• “flow” should move forward over time• stay away from “how to”--> not too detailed• diagrams provide good “overview”• tables useful for grouping information related to the
process
Procedure
Typical contents:• “how to” complete steps in a task or process element• action-focused• defines different decision points
Guidance:• begin each step with an “action” verb• make sure steps are distinct• make decision points/resolution clear• tables and flowcharts are typical “forms”• “lists” of steps less effective expression, but most
commonly seen!
Concept
Typical contents:
• definitions
• examples/non-examples
• critical attributes of a subject
Guidance:
• illustrate the critical attributes in a definition with an example and, where feasible, a “non-example”
• identify relationship of concept to a larger subject
Fact
Typical contents:
• facts, data, relevant to understanding the concepts, constructs, and structure of the subject
Guidance:
• clearly label the information as to its relationship to the relevant aspects of the subject that are covered in other areas of the document
Structure
Typical contents:
• elements of a subject and their relationships
• architectural information
• reference information
Guidance:
• diagrams are a good way to communicate high level and detailed relationships
• “parts/function” tables provide links between definitional and structural information
Classification
Typical contents:
• lists, hierarchies
Guidance:
• introduce lists
• place most important sorting factor on the left
• use “parallel language” -- same type of language for each level in the hierarchy
Other Important IM ConceptsChunking:
• visually distinguish related “chunks” of material so readers can find what they’re interested in
Relevance:
• keep things together that are needed to meet the purpose of the document/section
• use the right representation for the right information type
Hierarchy:
• break the information down into “chunks” in a way readers can move from general to specifics
Labeling:
• label the information in a way that tells the user what to expect
Important IM Concepts-2
A defined writing PROCESS:
• analyze audience and their use of the information
• define the types of information needed to meet the audience’s needs
• define the organization of the information to optimize user navigation based on their defined needs
• plan the elicitation of the information for the document from relevant subject matter experts
• execute the plan
• test the document design with pilots
• complete the document/publish
Suggestions: Policy DocumentsDon’t forget Policy documents are not just documents, they’re also a way to group things together• Primarily composed of Principle types of information
Policies are statements of commitment to a way of conducting business…don’t need very many of them, per se• DON’T write a policy for every Process Area you’re
implementing!- Look at your existing policies structure and see where
principles related to the PAs (often found in the Purpose/Introductor Notes section) can be incorporated
Suggestions: Process DocumentsUse diagrams to help focus your readers
Highlight interactions among multiple roles
A simple set of things to know about elements of a process:
• Who does it? (role)
• What do they do? (tasks)
• What is the outcome when they do it? (deliverables)
Lots of other questions can be asked/answered, but if you can’t answer these, you can’t see basic relationships that will be important to understanding the process and how to improve it
Suggestions: Procedure/ Guidelines Documents
Stay “single role-focused” for Procedures
Guidelines help fill in the blanks wherever information is needed to support • processes, procedures, or templates
Procedures focus on “how”—typically focused on the person new to performing the task vs an expert• But procedures usually assume the individual has
competence in the general area being addressed – procedures are NOT meant to be a substitute for training!
Use active voice, active verbs to emphasize procedural content
Mapping These Process Guidance Types to a Typical ISO 9001 Structure
Work Instructions Procedures/Guidelines
Operating Manual mix of Processes and Procedures/Guidelines
Common Operating Processes mostly Processes, sometimes high level Procedures also appear
PolicyPolicy
The above are all “auditable” from an ISO 9001 point of view; you may also want to consider adding guidelines that are not auditable: “informative” aspect of your ISO documentation. These would map typically to Procedures/Guidelines
Summary
Information types provide clear criteria for distinguishing different types of process guidance and suggestions for how to represent different types of process guidance.
ISO 9001 documentation doesn’t typically map one to one to process guidance information types, but can be organized to reflect this approach
• We’re not suggesting you reorganize everything this way – we are suggesting you use your current organization, but clearly identify the different information types you are using to help guide readers on what to expect
EXERCISE: Recognizing Different Information Types
Read the handout and mark phrases/sentences that indicate
• Principles (Policy)• Procedures• Processes• Structures• Concepts• Facts• Classification
Think about if/how you would reorganize this document to make its appropriate use easier/clearer
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