Consolidation is an iterative process that continues throughout the assessment.
It is to be recalled that in the early stages of an assessment not much data relevant to the components of the model will be collected. However, relevant data continues to accumulate as the assessment progresses. The focus of the document review changes over the course of the assessment. The initial document review is focused on establishing organizational context and identifying possible areas to probe. As the assessment progresses, the emphasis shifts to confirming interview data and answering specific questions. In a SCAMPI assessment, document review takes on a more fundamental role early in the process. The team reviews the documentation prior to the start of the assessment to verify that all practices for each PA have a document associated with the practice. The focus of interviews also shifts over the assessment period. As the assessment progresses, the focus of interviews narrows until the team is primarily looking for very specific data items.
Consolidation affects the way the assessment team prepares for subsequent interviews as well as the manner in which extra interviews and reviews are scheduled. Both of these kinds of decisions are based on the information that is still needed, which depends on the further needs that consolidation has identified. The team continues to review information needed to ascertain the status of each KPA/PA and revises its assessment data-gathering plan as appropriate by scheduling follow-up document reviews, interviews, or demonstration sessions.
When at the end of a day’s consolidation activity the team reviews the information it has transcribed onto its data worksheets, it also plans questions for the following day and decides whether additional interviews and demonstrations need to be scheduled and/or additional documents need to be reviewed. To determine whether to schedule an additional interview or to add a participant to an interview session that has already been scheduled, the assessment team needs to decide whether topics associated with the required additional information are going to be covered in the remaining interview sessions (and whether the participants scheduled for those sessions are the appropriate persons to address those topics). If not, the team schedules extra follow-up interview sessions and/or demonstrations. Evolving changes to the plan must be coordinated with the organization site coordinator. Plans for follow-up interviews and demonstrations may grow out of any consolidation sessions.