Process Management: Baseline (Definitions)

"A documented characterization of the actual results achieved by following a process, which is used as a benchmark for comparing actual process performance against expected process performance." (Sandy Shrum et al, "CMMI: Guidelines for Process Integration and Product Improvement", 2003)

"A range of expected results that would normally be achieved by following a defined process. Often expressed in terms of the process control limits defined by the discipline of statistical process control." (Richard D Stutzke, "Estimating Software-Intensive Systems: Projects, Products, and Processes", 2005)

"Documented process performance values used as a reference to compare actual and expected process performance." (Richard D Stutzke, "Estimating Software-Intensive Systems: Projects, Products, and Processes", 2005)

"A documented characterization of the range of expected results that would normally be achieved by following a specific process under typical circumstances." (Sally A Miller et al, "People CMM: A Framework for Human Capital Management" 2nd Ed., 2009)

"A documented characterization of the results achieved by following a process that is used as a benchmark for comparing actual process performance against expected process performance." (Sally A Miller et al, "People CMM: A Framework for Human Capital Management" 2nd Ed., 2009)

[capability baseline:] "A statistically based description of the performance or results of a process that has been performed repeatedly. Capability baselines can quantify attributes of the process (e.g., effort or duration) or of the product produced by the process (e.g., amount or quality). Control charts used in statistical process control are one form of capability baseline. However, other statistical representations may be more appropriate, depending on the nature of the data being characterized. The purpose of a capability baseline is to predict outcomes and to interpret the results of process performance." (Sally A Miller et al, "People CMM: A Framework for Human Capital Management" 2nd Ed., 2009)