# Presentation: 528093

## DSMD’s Long and Winding Road to Change Control

- Craig Johnson, Adele Cerrelli, Dave Treasure
- DSMD

- 2005 Census Software Engineering
- Process Group Conference
- November 8, 2005

## Overview

- Why and How We Approached Change Control - Craig Johnson
- Refining and Implementing Change Control - Adele Cerrelli
- The Change Control Process in Action -  Dave Treasure

## Why and How We Approached Change Control

## Are We There Yet?

**Planning – 7 months**

**Manual Process – 15 months**

**Automated Process – now in use for **
**7 months**

## DSMD’s World and Welcome to it

- Select and control the sample for the demographic surveys
- Redesign demographic surveys’ sample every ten years
- Maintain programs for controlling the sample throughout the decade
- Referenced the 1990 Sample Redesign documentation to define the 2000 Sample Redesign requirements

## Our Motivation to Control and Document Changes 

- Understand Impact
- Modifying one product may impact other products or modules
- Changes for one survey may impact other surveys
- Improve documentation
- The original 1990 Sample Redesign specifications had not been updated to reflect changes
- We had limited documentation on the history and reason for change

## Our Motivation (cont’d)

- Improve Software Development Process
- 	-	No evaluation or risk assessment of changes
- 	-	No process controls to implement changes

## Formulating the Change Control Process

- Brainstormed establishing a change control process for DSMD’s processing systems
- Established buy-in with division management and stakeholders
- Reviewed CSPI templates and other change control processes within the Census Bureau

## Formulating the Change Control Process (cont’d)

- Drafted DSMD’s change control process
- Defined the change control board’s authority,  responsibilities, and membership
- Identified the in-scope processing systems
- Formed the official Processing and Outputs Change Control Board (POCCB)

## Refining and Implementing the Change Control Process

## POCCB Gets Started...

- Held an orientation meeting for the new POCCB
- Communicated the need for formal change control
- Reviewed POCCB’s roles and responsibilities
- Walked through a high-level change control process

## ...POCCB Gets Organized...

- Finalized the change control process by defining:
- Procedures to submit, update, and withdraw change requests (CRs)
- Voting rules and procedures
- Meeting content and frequency
- Member and user responsibilities

## ...and POCCB Rolls Out the Process

- Gets the word out
- Sent division-wide announcements
- Trained staff on change control concepts and procedures
- Accepts the first CR two months after start-up

## DSMD Improves the Process

- The DSMD Software Process Improvement team (SPI) worked with POCCB to:
- Strengthen the POCCB charter
- Strengthen the change control procedure
- Simplify the CR Form
- Develop Awareness Training
- Plan for an Automated Change Control system

## The Process

**A person submits (or resubmits) a CR.**

**The Submitter updates the progress items as each item is completed.**

**Staff works on implementing the CR:**
** ****Update spec**
** ****Update and test software**
** ****Verify test results**
** ****Rerun systems**

**The POCCB Chair logs the Final POCCB Decision for the CR.**

**POCCB:**
** ****Reviews all pending CRs at their weekly meeting**
** ****Emails questions to the submitters**
**- Agrees on the final POCCB decision for each CR**

**The Submitter may update the CR based on questions or new information.**

**POCCB members :**
**- Review the CR **
**- Email questions to the submitter**
**-  Log their Member Decision for the CR if they’re satisfied the CR is complete..**

## Benefits                  Challenges

- Centralized documentation of changes
- Improved communication  before a change is made
- Enhanced analysis of the impact of changes across systems

- Submitting CRs in a timely manner
- Updating specifications to reflect CRs
- Recording CR implementation status

## The Change Control Process in Action

## The Change Control Process in Action

- Our Automated Change Control System
- Submitting a CR
- Notifying POCCB of a CR
- Voting on a CR
- Tracking a CR

## Our Automated Change Control System

- Users access the automated change control system via a web browser
- Users can create, update, withdraw, or browse CRs
- POCCB members can view, approve, or disapprove CRs

## Slide 20

## Submitting a Change Request

- Users complete a CR Form in the system
- Users can submit the CR to POCCB or save it for later completion

## Slide 22

## Slide 23

## Slide 24

## Notifying POCCB of a Change Request

- The system sends an email to POCCB when users submit or resubmit CRs

## Slide 26

## Voting on a Change Request

- POCCB members record their individual decisions in the system
- Chair or Sub-chair records the final POCCB decision in the system
- Once a final POCCB decision is made, the CR is “locked” and cannot be modified

## Slide 28

## Tracking a Change Request

- All users can view the implementation status of a CR
- Users can query CRs based on selected criteria

## Slide 30

## Questions

- ?

## Contact Information

- Craig Johnson
- DSMD
- x34299

- craig.johnson@census.gov

- Adele Cerrelli
- DSMD
- x34119

- adele.c.cerrelli@census.gov

- Dave Treasure
- DSMD
- x34259

- david.w.treasure@census.gov