3 Using the Key Practice Pages

The key practices are grouped by maturity level, and each maturity level is separated by a tab page. The tab page includes a description of the maturity level, a list of the key process areas for that maturity level, and the page number where each key process area begins.

Each key process area contains:

The key practices themselves are grouped into the five common features (Commitment to Perform, Ability to Perform, Activities Performed, Measurement and Analysis, and Verifying Implementation) and are presented in a hierarchical format, as shown in Figure 3.1, an example page from the key practices. The key practices include:

Key practices

The key practices, also known as top-level key practices, state the fundamental policies, procedures, and activities for the key process area. They are identified in bold and are numbered within each common feature. For example, the first key practice in the common feature of Activities Performed is identified as Activity 1.

Subpractices

Subpractices, also known as subordinate key practices, are listed beneath the top-level key practices and describe what one would expect to find implemented for the top-level key practice. The subpractices can be used to help determine whether or not the key practices are implemented satisfactorily.

Supplementary information

Supplementary information is boxed following the key practices. The supplementary information includes examples, elaborations, and references to other key process areas.

When the subpractices or the supplementary information underneath a key practice extends to another page, the number of the key practice is shown in parentheses at the start of the new page to indicate that the information on that page is a continuation of the key practice on the previous page.

Figure 3.1 Example of Key Practice Statements

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