The IDEAL Model
Initiating, Diagnosing, Establishing, Acting & Learning
The IDEALSM model is an organizational improvement model that serves as a roadmap for initiating, planning, and implementing improvement actions. The IDEAL model is named for the five phases it describes: initiating, diagnosing, establishing, acting, and learning.
The IDEAL model forms an infrastructure to guide organizations in planning and implementing an effective software process improvement program, and is the founding strategy employed in delivering many Software Engineering Institute (SEI) services. Organizations that follow the IDEAL approach to software process improvement (SPI) can effectively integrate SEI technologies, courses, workshops, and services into a comprehensive method for managing and improving their overall capacity.
INTRo Builds From IDEAL
IDEAL offers a high-level approach to software process improvement (SPI). IDEAL-Based New Technology Rollout (INTRo) takes advantage of the lessons learned from using IDEAL in SPI, and extends and applies those lessons to the domain of information technology (IT) package selection and deployment. INTRo goes further than IDEAL by providing a greater level of detail, content, and support for users. For more information, visit the INTRo on the Web.
Related Information
- Article, The IDEAL Model: A Practical Guide for Improvement
- Presentation, The IDEAL Transition Framework, Speeding Managed Change
- Case Study, The IDEAL Transition Framework: Speeding Managed Change, Book `Em
- Paper, Painting a Building: A Conceptual Reconstruction Based upon the IDEALSM Model
- Capability Maturity Model® Integration (CMMI®)
- Handbook, A User's Guide for Software Process Improvement
- Course, CMMI-Based Process Improvement Overview
- Graphics, IDEAL Model
For More Information
To learn more about the IDEAL model, contact customer-relations@sei.cmu.edu.