D. Mini-Assessment Process

One method of tracking progress of an organization against an improvement framework is a mini-assessment. A mini-assessment obtains a quick snapshot of your improvement program. A mini-assessment is not an audit or a full process assessment, but rather a small check to determine progress. Results from the mini-assessment indicate how fast improvement is taking place so that you can detect any backsliding.

A mini-assessment is a process-focused, not a goal-focused, progress check. Therefore, other goal-oriented metrics should accompany it so that the mini-assessment is not the sole means of determining progress. When a process check is the sole measure of progress, it is easy for an organization to lose sight of the overall purpose of the improvement program and become overly focused on the process score. By adding business-oriented metrics such as end-user satisfaction and schedule predictability, an organization can balance metrics that track framework adoption with metrics that reflect business success.