Process Structure
GSFC’s PAL is a repository of approved process assets for software engineering. It contains process and procedure descriptions, policies, standards, guidelines, document templates, checklists, training courses, and tools. These assets have been collected in the PAL so they can be readily accessed by anyone who develops, tests, or maintains software; assures software products and processes; or manages software projects.
Assets are continually being added to the PAL. Although the initial set of assets was developed by and for the Information Systems Division (ISD)-- now reorganized as the Software Engineering Division (SED)-- this asset set has been augmented and currently serves all GSFC software projects.
There are four categories of assets within the PAL:
1. Project Management
2. Product Development
3. Organizational Support
4. Acquisition
Within each of these four categories, PAL assets are organized by the processes they support, as shown below.
| Category |
Definition |
| Project Management |
The application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities in order to meet or exceed stakeholder needs and expectations from a project. (IEEE Std. 1490-1998) |
| Product Development |
The translation of user needs into a product, which may include software, hardware, and/or services. The process involves translating user needs into requirements; transforming the requirements into a design; implementing the design; integrating product components; verifying and validating the product, and sometimes, installing and checking out the product for operational use. Note: These activities may overlap or be performed iteratively. (Adapted from IEEE Std 610.12-1990) |
| Organizational Support |
Processes that are used throughout the life cycle in support of project management, product development, and/or acquisition. Organizational support consists of cross-cutting project activities such as configuration management and software assurance, and organization-level activities such as training and process improvement. (Adapted from "Capability Maturity Model Integration [CMMI]", Version 1.1) |
| Acquisition |
The process of obtaining through contract; any discrete action or proposed action by the acquisition entity that would commit to invest (appropriated funds) for obtaining products and services. (Capability Maturity Model Integration [CMMI], Version 1.1) |
Within
each of these four categories, PAL assets are
organized by the processes they support, as shown
below. The boxes are links to the various PAL
areas and their associated assets.
Each asset within the PAL has a unique Asset Number. In the diagrams above, the numbers within each of the process boxes correspond to the asset numbers for the descriptions of these processes. For example, the Software Configuration Management process is asset number 3.1. A more detailed sub-process that examines one aspect of Configuration Management would have an asset number with an extra decimal, i.e., 3.1.X. A procedure, template, checklist, or guideline for that sub-process would have another decimal, i.e., 3.1.X.X. Lastly, any asset for this process that has been specifically tailored for a software project or domain, e.g., for the Flight Software Branch (FSB), would have asset numbers of the format 3.1.X.X.X.
So asset numbers alone can tell you what category, process, and sub-process an asset belongs to, and whether or not it has been tailored. But you don't need to know an asset's number to find it in the PAL. The PAL provides many ways to search for the assets you need. For tips and techniques on using the PAL, click here PAL Help. |
