Process Definition Approaches

This chapter presents our approach for generating the piles of documentation necessary for process improvement. The thing to remember is that this documentation is necessary documentation. You do not write just to get credit for finishing your assignment to write a particular piece of documentation. The old CMM tenet still applies: "If it isn't used, it doesn't exist." Process improvement is not a documentation drill. Generally speaking, if your procedures are not used throughout the organization, then you have no procedures! The whole purpose of the CMMI is to use what you have developed. Your documentation is not "for show."

Introduction

Why is documentation necessary? Consider this example. Suppose you are stuck at work one evening. You think you can get home in time to fix dinner, but doing some shopping beforehand is definitely out. So you call your teenage son and ask him to go to the store and buy some food for dinner. Would you leave it at that? Those of you that have teenagers know the answer is a resounding "No." You decide that you will fix macaroni and cheese for dinner, and you tell him this over the phone. Consider all of the different options someone would have with only that requirement. Do you get the boxed stuff? If yes, do you get the name brand or the store generic? If you are fixing it from scratch, what kind of cheese do you get? How much? What kind of macaroni? How much? Do you need anything else, like maybe milk? Regular, skim, condensed, evaporated? Now, back to the teenager. If you tell him all this over the phone, what else do you tell him? That is right ” write it down! Why? Because you know he is more likely to get it right if he writes it down than if he just tries to remember it, unless your teenager is some kind of genius.

Well, process improvement is the same way. If you want someone to do it right, and have everyone doing a task consistently, then write it down. And write it in enough detail that it is not open to interpretation. Understanding this concept is the heart of this chapter.

When writing documentation, or making writing assignments, remember that people hate it, people are not good at it, they think they can do it until they try and then they cannot, but they can be taught. When writing documentation, don't use documentation from your previous organization. You will get to check off the Designing procedures part of your plan, but

• You will not get buy-in from the organization.

• Your wonderful procedures will never be implemented across the organization.

• You will fail the SCAMPI.

Does the CMMI not tell me how to do stuff? Can I not just copy what it says and reword it a little bit? No! The CMMI documents best practices from other organizations. It describes what to do, not how to do it. The organization's job is to document how to do things.

I know what you are thinking: "This is gonna be hard " Your organization will figure out that this effort is more than they originally thought. They will start justifying why they cannot or will not do something. Usually it boils down to it is too hard, they do not know how, it is a hassle, they do not want to do it. That is not a strong justification!

Do not worry ” we provide some templates and guidelines as examples in Chapters 15 and 16.