Overview of assessment methods

TAMAR states that that there are a number of activities which should take place in an assessment over four main phases:

1. Planning and Preparation

The planning and preparation phase is where all the activities which are required to be carried out prior to the main assessment activity are performed.

These include:

• Agreeing the objectives of the assessment
• Agreeing the plan of activities
• Agreeing the assessment deliverables
• Arranging interviews
• Preparing the assessment team
• Preparing the tools to be used.

2. Data Collection

The data collection stage is where the assessment team carries out interviews and gathers information to support the interviews by means of artefacts, questionnaires or surveys.

3. Data Analysis

The data analysis stage is where the information obtained is analysed to determine:

• Process strengths
• Process Weaknesses
• TMMi Maturity Rating
• Any other agreed objectives (for example, a process improvement plan)

4. Assessment Reporting

In this phase the results of the assessment are presented back to the stakeholders

Typical assessment structure

The diagram below illustrates a typical high-level structure of an assessment process. The main documentary outputs are shown on the right of the related processes.