THINKING OUTSIDE CMMI FOR PROCESS IMPROVEMENT

Systems Project Managers and Leads
Engineers and Other Process Stakeholders
Executive and Senior Managers

This chapter describes numerous ways of looking at and approaching process improvement and, as such, its sections can be read in any order. It does not prescribe one approach or another, rather it provides you with enough information to make the choices yourself. As with most other endeavors in work, the approach you take should be one that aligns with your organization s goals and prevailing culture. Also, don t be afraid to start down one path, realize it s not working, and choose a different path . The information in this chapter will probably be most useful to people with process responsibility. However, executives, CIOs, senior managers, and the users of processes will also benefit from an understanding of the many different ways CMMI-based process improvement can be achieved. Also, because this chapter assumes that you have an understanding of the use of the word organization, make sure you read Define the Process Language for Your Organization in Chapter 5 ” Five Critical Factors in Successful Process Definition.

 

Once you and others you re working with understand how you re going to plan and manage your process improvement project (Chapter 3), it s time to start implementing improvements. This chapter describes a number of approaches to implementing CMMI-based process improvements and provides some of the positive and negative aspects of each approach.

After reading about the various approaches, discuss them with people who will be involved in or affected by the improvement efforts (i.e., the relevant stakeholders). Determine the approach or combination of approaches that best fits the culture of your organization. Don t be afraid to start down a path and then realize that you need to change direction. That is the essence of process improvement: learning to do things a better way by measuring and analyzing past performance.

The most important thing to remember is to always try to resist the temptation to implement CMMI practices. Use the model as a guide to implement process improvements that effect a positive change in the business.

Executive and Senior Managers

As people reporting to you embark on process improvement initiatives, demonstrate your commitment to the efforts by actively seeking status and progress on those efforts. If your process improvement initiative is being managed like a software or systems development project (see Chapter 3), you can incorporate the status and progress reporting of that effort into your normal project reviews. Also, expect your SEPG or process people to occasionally ask you for help in resolving issues with projects and suborganizations. They are looking to you for leadership, decisiveness, and clarity. Here s a great opportunity to distinguish yourself as a leader, not just a manager.

Another way you can demonstrate your support for the CMMI process improvement project is to regularly (i.e., during software and systems project reviews) ask your engineering managers or leads how they are engaged in process improvement. If you find out that a project is not involved, find out why. Devise ways to recognize and reward project personnel who actively support the process improvement project.

 

Engineers and Other Process Stakeholders

Victims, stop being victims already. You re going to just keep hoping that all this process stuff will go away. Take my word for it, you ll go away before it will. When those process people come around asking you for your opinion on something, it s in your best interest to get involved and participate. Why? Because someday soon you are very likely going to have to live with the procedures and work products that those process people are developing. You have the opportunity to help create those procedures and work products into things you like and can work with. If you think the process people are trying to fix something that isn t broken, tell them. Get involved or stop complaining.

 

Systems Project Managers and Leads

In an organization trying to institute process discipline, you are the people who can make or break the CMMI effort. Project management practices are the crux of most of the CMMI Level 2 process areas and much of what s in Level 3. You are the people for whom change is most critical. Work with your SEPG or improvement teams . Help them understand the development and project management problems you encounter most often. The process people can and will help you find solutions if you let them, and they will address organizational, resource, and process issues that bother you but for which you don t have time to address. Offer to pilot or try out new procedures, procedural changes, and work products such as templates, forms, etc. Doing so gives you an opportunity to give your input into the final products that will be used by the whole organization, thus your chance to make them work the way you want.