TIPA Classes of Assessment
Why TIPA Classes of Assessment?
TIPA assessments may be performed in several contexts that do not require the same level of detail or confidence in the assessment results. To better support the assessment activities, TIPA now defines “Classes of Assessment” that enable organization to determine the effort they are willing to put into an assessment—depending on the level of confidence required in the results and on the amount of resources available to perform the assessment.
The TIPA framework proposes three classes of assessment that allow tailoring the assessment method to the purpose and context of a specific assessment project. These three classes of assessment comply with the latest evolution of the ISO/IEC 15504 standard (renamed as the ISO/IEC 33000 series).
TIPA Class 1 (new)
TIPA Class 1 is the most exhaustive assessment method and provides the highest levels of objectivity and reliability in the assessment results. It requires the collection of more evidence than the two other classes with at least two sources of evidence (i.e. testimony and document review) to confirm the process ratings.The purpose of a TIPA Class 1 assessment is to provide a sound assessment of individual process maturity enabling determination of organizational maturity and trustworthy comparison between organizations.
Class 1 Key Benefits
- Exhaustive assessment method.
- Sound assessment of the process situation.
- Objective comparison of assessment results.
- Compliance to ISO/IEC 33002 requirements related to process assessment (standard rating scale and method, standard maturity scale, standard aggregation method).
TIPA Class 1 assessments provide the highest level of rigor and confidence. The use of Class 1 is particularly recommended for assessing high process maturity levels, for benchmarking with other organizations, or for public display of assessment results.
TIPA Class 2
TIPA Class 2 corresponds to the original TIPA assessment method (in use until April 2014). It provides an assessment method that balances the usability of the assessment results for internal purposes against the resources required to perform the assessment.The purpose of a (current) TIPA Class 2 assessment is to provide a sound assessment of individual process maturity enabling a structured improvement and allowing comparison over time or between internal units.
Class 2 Key Benefits
- Good trade-off between assessment cost and achieved results.
- Good level of confidence in the results.
- Focused review of process inputs and outputs, limited to specific cases.
- Compliance to ISO/IEC 33002 requirements related to process assessment (standard rating scale and method, standard maturity scale, standard aggregation method).
TIPA Class 3 (new)
TIPA Class 3 is the less exhaustive assessment method. It requires fewer resources, rating evidence and time than the two other classes, but also provides limited assessment results with minimal process analysis.The purpose of a TIPA Class 3 assessment is to provide a quick overview of process maturity enabling the monitoring of both process implementation and improvement through quick rating of process maturity, light Strength & Weakness analysis, and light definition of improvement suggestions.
Class 3 Key Benefits
- Less paperwork
- Simplified templates and tools
- Condensed assessment activities
- Simplified assessment outputs
- Less resources needed on the assessor side (reduced assessment team).
- Less resources needed on the customer side (less individuals interviewed).
- Faster and less costly than traditional TIPA (Class 2) assessment.
- Compliance to ISO/IEC 33002 requirements related to process assessment (standard rating scale and method, standard maturity scale, standard aggregation method).