In the following continuation of the Professional Praxis, you take part in the process specification/flow/engineering stage, by stepping out of the project perspective and assessing how all of the pieces of process (or how you accomplish things) fit together.

Pat’s status message on the instant messenger reads, “‘A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.’ – Ralph Waldo Emerson”

Thinking about this, you IM Pat saying, “Hey! Your status message made me think about our project. How do we know if the processes that we use as a software engineers are not a foolish consistency, repeating processes that are ineffective?”

Pat responds, “I agree. We do need to think about that. Now that we have switched to the iterative model, let’s do some process specification/flow/engineering. Process specification, flow, and engineering will help us evaluate and ultimately remedy process issues, improving cost, work flow, and the final product. Here’s a diagram showing how process engineering works:” The diagram is attached below,

You respond, “I’m on it. I’ll specify our process through a diagram. I’ll also reexamine and verify content, format, and outputs of the processes. And, if they don’t match, I’ll make recommendations to make them match. I’ll also figure out which metrics need to be used to assess the overall process.”

To prepare:

• Read “Sketching Out BPM” focusing on a method of processspecification/flow/engineering.

Create a process diagram that links all of the processes (from the previous Assignment which is attached below) through their inputs and outputs. Reexamine and verify that the outputs of one process have the appropriate content and format for the next process step. If they do not match, revise them accordingly. Write a 3- to 4-page paper that explains and provides rationale for the changes made to the processes in order to ensure consistency with the inputs and outputs. The paper must also identify and include rationale for the metrics that will be used to assess the overall process. Support your rationale using this unit’s resources and or your own research. Use proper APA format and citation. In the appendix of your paper, insert the process diagram.