SSC SAN DIEGO POLICY FOR INTERGROUP COORDINATION

Version 1.1 - 10/9/97

The purpose of Intergroup Coordination is to establish a means for the software engineering group to participate actively with the other engineering groups so the project is better able to satisfy the customer's needs effectively and efficiently.

Intergroup Coordination involves the software engineering group's participation with other project engineering groups to address system-level requirements, objectives, and issues. Representatives of the project's engineering groups participate in establishing the system-level requirements, objectives, and plans by working with the customer and end users, as appropriate. These requirements, objectives, and plans become the basis for all engineering activities.

SSC San Diego shall:

1. Ensure that all managers in the organization receive required training in teamwork.

SSC San Diego projects shall:

1. Obtain agreement on the customer's requirements by all affected groups.

2. Obtain agreement on the commitments between the engineering groups by the affected groups.

3. Have the engineering groups identify, track, and resolve intergroup issues.

4. Provide adequate resources and funding for coordinating the software engineering activities with other engineering groups.

5. Ensure that the support tools used by the different engineering groups are compatible to enable effective communication and coordination.

6. Orient all task leaders in each engineering group in the processes, methods, and standards used by the other engineering groups.

7. Orient the members of the engineering groups in working as a team.

8. Ensure that the software engineering group and the other engineering groups participate with the customer and end users, as appropriate, to establish the system requirements.

9. Ensure that representatives of the project's software engineering group work with representatives of the other engineering groups to monitor and coordinate technical activities and resolve technical issues.

10. Use a documented plan to communicate intergroup commitments and to coordinate and track the work performed.

11. Have critical dependencies between engineering groups identified, negotiated, and tracked according to a documented procedure.

12. Have work products produced as input to other engineering groups reviewed by representatives of the receiving groups to ensure that the work products meet their needs.

13. Handle intergroup issues not resolvable by the individual representatives of the project engineering groups according to a documented procedure.

14. Have representatives of the project engineering groups conduct periodic technical reviews and interchanges.

15. Make and use measurements to determine the status of the intergroup coordination activities.

16. Review the activities for intergroup coordination with senior management on a periodic basis.

17. Review the activities for intergroup coordination with the project manager on both a periodic and even-driven basis.

18. Have the software quality assurance group conduct reviews or audits of the activities and work products for intergroup coordination and report the results.

The Software Project Manager is responsible for implementing this policy.

The Software Engineering Process Office (SEPO) is responsible for maintaining this policy.