Questions asked at the interviews addressed issues such as how standards aid in the development of CM plans, the benefits of separating CM procedures from the plan, and how CM plans are used (both by the CM organization and other organizations on the project). The information derived about the use of CM plans, based on the answers to the questions, is summarized as follows:

• Standards prove invaluable in assisting a person in writing a CM plan. They provide the basic framework within which to write the plan, and act as a guideline for writing the plan.
• CM procedures should be separated from the CM plan. The procedures should describe, step by step, how to do something, whereas the plan should describe what is to be done. Two key reasons the procedures should be separated are maintainability and audience focus.
• CM plans are generally updated and used throughout the entire software development life cycle. However, the heaviest use is at the beginning of the life cycle when the CM process is being defined. The CM plan is primarily used by the CM organization, however, it is also used on a limited basis by other project organizations, such as QA, project management, and contractors.
• A CM plan or standard, and preferably a standard, should exist at the company or division level. This standard should be applied to each project, and the project CM plan generated based upon the processes and methodologies endorsed in this standard.
• No significant differences were noted between a CM plan for a development project versus a maintenance project, a CM plan written for hardware versus software, or a CM plan written for a large project versus a small project. In general, the same CM plan structure can be used for all of these types of projects, with minor adjustments. It was also noted that the majority of differences between the various types of projects will exist at the procedure level.
• The CM plan is needed and provides value to a project. The primary value of the CM plan is that it documents the CM process and as such acts as the tool used to gain project and management support for the process.

Three well-established standards were evaluated. This evaluation was done since so many people rely heavily on the use of standards in developing their CM plans. The standards were evaluated using the following six criteria: ease of use, completeness, tailorability, consistency, correctness, and life cycle connection. A rating of 0 to 3 was given to each standard for each criterion. Summary information on the evaluation of each standard, and a recommendation to use the IEEE standard was given. Detailed information on how each standard was rated on the individual criteria is provided in the INDIVIDUAL EVALUATION CRITERION Appendix. Also, a discussion was given concerning the use of automated tools in developing a CM plan. The overall consensus was that automated tools, especially a plan template, would be of significant value. All participants in the interviews stated that they would use a plan template if available.

In conclusion, it is our hope that this document will provide some insight to the reader on how and why CM plans are used, and how currently available standards can aid in the plan development process. Finally, while the CM plan itself is not difficult to write, it is critical to the entire CM process. The plan provides the focus for the process and procedures, and is the mechanism used to communicate the CM process to the other organizational groups on the project.

Acknowledgements