Project Specific Findings

While reading the SCAMPI A Method Definition Document (MDD), I discovered that providing project specific findings is an option that can be requested by the project sponsor. I always believed that the Findings Presentation could only include findings at organizational unit level. So if the sponsor requests project specific findigs as part of the appraisal output, how are they communicated? Included in the final findings? If this is the case, what about the non-attribution of findings? Or via a separate document?

The SCAMPI Method does indeed allow for project specific findings if the Appraisal Sponsor requests them. If requested, then project specific findings could be communicated in the Final Findings Presentation along with the other information, or they could be communicated separately. Reporting will be negotiated and documented in the Appraisal Plan. Keep in mind that even if the Appraisal Sponsor doesn’t request project specific findings, the PIIDs will contain project specific observations, so if someone were interested in finding out about project specific information, all they would have to do would be to read the PIIDs. The organization is required to retain the PIIDs used for the appraisal for three years, the same length of time that the appraisal results are valid.

The non-attribution issue concerns identifying any individual, project, or group as the SOURCE of the information. So by reporting project specific findings, the Lead Appraiser and Appraisal Team are not violating the non-attribution rules unless they reveal the source of the finding(s). When I conduct an appraisal, the final Appraisal Team activity is to scrub the PIIDs of all attribution information (names, interview sessions, etc.) and deleting all previous versions so the organization only retains the scrubbed PIIDs.