Interviews are essential analytic tools. They probe the extent to which people in the organization understand and use the processes the organization has developed. (A fundamental assumption is that people do not use a process they do not understand.) In addition, interviews can educate people in the organization and help them "buy into" new processes.
The assessment team conducts interviews throughout the onsite visit, except for the last day. Data collection is guided by the requirements of the CMM/CMMI, but the assessment team’s task also includes probing for non-model issues that might affect an organization’s product development.
Because interview questions are so important, they must be carefully crafted (see The Stages of an Interview). However, the team should not feel "married" to a set of prepared questions. The first obligation of a team member is not to ask the questions he or she has prepared but rather to discern how an organization has implemented its practices. Real understanding often comes from follow-up questions, and team interviews therefore should allow for and encourage follow-up.
That said, the person leading the interview must stay focused on the information that the team is looking for and should prevent the interview from going off on tangents. This flexibility requires a knowledgeable and experienced Lead Assessor.
The duties of a good Lead Assessor during interviews include treating all parties with respect, permitting no interruptions or disparaging remarks, and approaching data with an open mind. He or she should be skilled in diffusing tensions as quickly as possible, without causing embarrassment to any of the concerned parties.
A number of techniques can help make interviews more successful and more pleasant for all concerned. For example, the Lead Assessor should ensure that the interviews are informal so that organization personnel feel free to discuss the real issues in their everyday work lives. Also, he or she must continually stress the primary principles of the interviews (and of process improvement). At the opening of each interview, it should be stated that the interview will focus on the organization’s processes, not on the success or failure of individuals. Also, confidentialitythe non-attribution of informationis essential. The Lead Assessor should encourage participants to tell the team anything and everythingboth technical and culturalabout the organization. (When the assessment team members take notes, however, they must be experienced enough to distinguish between what is important and what is not.)
Everyone involved in the interview should feel that an interesting and useful discussion is taking place. Participants should feel when they go away from the interview that they have learned something new and useful. In the interview, they should feel free to express their own views and to offer suggestions both to the team and to each other. Bad interviews are ones in which individuals feel they are being testedor worse, that they are being forced to disclose secrets. (For its part, the organization should never pressure participants with directives like: "Answer only those questions you are asked and under no conditions offer any information you have not been asked for.")
One of the assessment rules is that no manager may participate in an interview with his subordinates because the subordinates, no matter how comfortable they are with the manager, will always feel constrained. For the same reason, no manager whose subordinates could be interviewed should serve as an assessment team member.
Although SCAMPI assessments may seem to emphasize documentation over interviews, interviews remain crucial to the SCAMPI method. In every SCAMPI, for example, a minimum of 50% of all practices must be substantiated by interviews . In addition, where documentation is inadequate, a SCAMPI team will emphasize interviews even more, and the assessment process will resemble a CBA IPI.
Both CBA IPI and SCAMPI assessments permit the occasional use of video/teleconference technology, but the practice is discouraged because it does not lend itself to the openness of a personal interview.