Management Commitment

This chapter discusses the odds and ends that we have either skipped over or not discussed in much detail. The purpose of this chapter is to give you some things to think about, and to offer some final words of what we hope can be construed as wisdom.

Change Management

We have avoided talking about change management in this book. By "change management," we do not mean managing change as discussed in the CMMI process areas (PAs). The CMMI talks about managing changes to requirements in the Requirements Management PA; about managing systemic changes in Configuration Management; and about managing changes to management plans in Project Planning and in Project Monitoring and Control. That is not the kind of change management we need to discuss.

The type of change management that needs to be addressed is that of changing the culture in your organization. There are many books on this subject, most of which will have you determine what type of organizational paradigm you match (e.g., open , closed, random, synchronous), the type of management style prevalent (e.g., dictator, collaborative, charismatic), and the category of change implementation you prefer (e.g., early adopter versus late adopter). Most of these books are written by social scientists, not by engineers. This is actually a good thing because most engineers prefer a carefully laid-out, step-by-step game plan that addresses technical problems in the organization, not people problems. And people can be a problem. Just think how much easier it would be to make this process improvement stuff work if you did not have to bother with the people you run into every day in your workplace. Well, that is the same kind of thinking that suggests that systems would be a lot easier to build and deliver if it were not for all of those users out there.

The same holds true for process improvement. Process improvement is all about change. If you do not really want to change, then do not start this journey. Period. The Software Engineering Institute (SEI) has a line that goes, "If the level of discomfort is not high enough, then change will not occur." So, while people might complain about the way things are done, if the way things are done is not totally intolerable, you will have a fight on your hands to implement and institutionalize the changes that come with process improvement ” because people hate change.

How can you overcome this resistance to change? Well, there are several approaches, but most boil down into two methods :

1. Force change (the hammer principle).

2. Reward change (the dangling carrot principle, using benefits and bonuses).

The first method, called the hammer technique, is where the head honcho in your place of work (the president, the CEO, your boss) says, "Either we get that level or you lose your job." Anyone found not following the newly written procedures (even if the procedures do not fit the organization) is punished. This technique, while draconian, has been known to work.

The second method, where change is rewarded, is where the organization comes up with awards, bonuses, promotions, positive attention, and proof that the new way of doing things creates a better work environment in which the person doing the work has more control over his day-to-day duties . This approach has also been known to work.

Wait a minute! Do both approaches work? Of course. As you will find with most anything in process improvement, every time you ask a question, the answer begins with, "It depends." While some of the people responding might be trying to give you a snow job, "it depends" is often the best answer. So what does "it depend" on?

• The size of your organization

• The culture

• The budget

• The type of work

• The history of introducing and accepting new ideas

• The type of people

• Personalities and egos

• Politics

• Consistent approach and commitment

• And many more issues

So, take into consideration the type of place in which you work, and tailor and customize your process improvement efforts to it. And then start over again, because you will be wrong. Expect missteps and stumbling blocks. There is no true step-by-step approach that works brilliantly each and every time. We have tried to summarize best practices that we have seen applied effectively in organizations with which we have worked. So take these lessons learned and try them on for size. As with anything you try on, you may need to go up or down a size, and maybe the color is not quite right for you. But at least it is a start.

If we had to pick one overall initial stumbling block that we have run into, it is that some people see their world through rose-colored glasses or prefer living in denial, to wit, "there are no problems in my organization/project." Well, guess what? It is called process improvement. If there are no problems, if everything is perfect, then you do not need to improve. But because you have already decided (or someone has decided for you) to do process improvement (probably for the mandated rating for business contract awards), then you will have to change. To prove it, do an appraisal using the CMMI as the reference model. That first appraisal is always an eye- opener . When you match your organization's practices against the CMMI practices, you will find that there are gaps. Those gaps can be considered problems , or areas of improvement . Start there.

It is great to talk about the need for change and accepting that change is part of process improvement. But how do we get from here to there?

This brings us to Dr. Phil. At the time that this book was written, Dr. Phil McGraw is an absolute phenomenon in the United States. Dr. Phil currently hosts his own television show, which, among other things, is about change. Now, Dr. Phil concentrates on changing people's personal lives; that is, losing weight, overcoming past slights, and becoming a better person overall. While we like Dr. Phil's no- nonsense approach (which seems to be what attracts most people to his show, as well as his folksy humor and country-boy ways of turning a phrase), we sometimes disagree with him on his solutions for problem resolution.

Dr. Phil makes no bones about the fact that he is not offering psychological counseling for the long term . He offers people what he calls "a wake-up call." This wake-up call is supposed to change your life, and apparently in most cases it does. However, he did one show in which he offered solutions. In this case, we do not think he really accomplished what he set out to do.

On this particular show, Dr. Phil interviewed a woman who was upset over her young daughter's weight. The mother, intending to motivate her daughter to lose weight, would call her daughter names such as fat and stupid. Did this inspire her daughter to lose weight? Of course not. Did the mother know she was not really helping? Yes. The reason the mother went on the show was for help in stopping her diatribes against her daughter, and for help in replacing her (the mother's) bad habits with good, new ones.

What did Dr. Phil do? He said he gave her steps to help. He basically had her review the tape to see how she was hurting her daughter and destroying any positive self-image the girl might have once had. The mother then said, "I know what I am doing is wrong, but I can't stop. What should I do?" Dr. Phil responded by asking if she had not heard him correctly. Did watching the tape and hearing the discussion between Dr. Phil, the mother, and the daughter not give her any insights?

Well, we guess it did for her, but we felt cheated. We did not hear any sequenced steps of how to change her behavior. We would have liked something like the following (and we are no psychologists ” this is just an example):

• Take a deep breath , and let it out slowly when you feel like criticizing.

• Look at your daughter and try to see her as the beautiful, young girl she is.

• Tell her something nice, something that you like about her.

• If you cannot think of anything, lie. Come up with something. Use your imagination .

What does this have to do with process improvement? Everything.

What this woman had learned from her short time with Dr. Phil was the process of her actions. What she wanted was procedures detailing what to do, when, and how. If you want change to occur in your organization, you must not only give wake-up calls, but also follow through with instructions that support the changes needed.