Documentless Assessments Using Nominal Group Interviews

2026-04-23

AI Summary

This study addresses the challenge of process assessment in the absence of supporting documentation by proposing a collaborative evaluation method that integrates Nominal Group Technique, user stories, and Planning Poker. For the first time, it adapts agile practices—specifically user stories and Planning Poker—to the context of CMMI process assessments. The approach transforms CMMI practices into concrete user scenarios and replaces traditional document reviews and audit-style interviews with consensus-driven estimation, enabling fact-finding and validation without reliance on formal documentation. Applied in real-world consulting engagements, the method effectively facilitated structured dialogue among assessors with divergent viewpoints and enabled them to reach agreement on critical process issues, thereby significantly enhancing the collaborativeness and feasibility of the assessment process.

Technology Category

• Data Mining & Knowledge Management: Intelligent Query Processing
• Planning, Routing, and Scheduling: Activity and Plan Recognition
• Natural Language Processing: Discourse, Pragmatics & Argument Mining

Application Category

• User Modeling, Personalization and Recommendation: Metrics for user behavior and evaluating success
• Search and Retrieval-Augmented AI: Web evaluation methodologies and metrics
• Web Mining and Content Analysis: Web measurements

Abstract

This paper describes a group interview technique designed to support documentless process assessments while promoting at the same time collaboration among assessment participants. The method was successfully used in one consulting assignment where it got previously discording participants, talking to each other and agreeing on the issues. The technique borrows from agile software development the concept of user stories to cast CMMIs specific practices in concrete terms and the Planning Poker technique, instead of document reviews and audit like interviews, for fact finding and corroboration.

Problem

• documentless assessment
• process assessment
• collaboration
• nominal group interview
• CMMI

Innovation

• Nominal Group Interviews
• documentless assessment
• user stories
• Planning Poker
• CMMI