DFTS implementation consists of Steps 11 and 12 in the PICS framework (see Figure 21.1). It involves two broad sets of activities: launching organization-wide learning and implementing the DFTS process. These constitute this chapter's main focus. They involve designing and delivering formal DFTS learning and training for the organization as a whole. Step 11: Launching Organization-Wide LearningOrganization-wide learning helps build capabilities to inspire and sustain the DFTS initiative as well as build foundations for continuous learning and improvement. To attain those goals, the organization has to transform itself into a learning entity that can continually identify opportunities for improvement and innovation. Such capabilities can be powerful instruments in making quality initiatives self-sustaining and for launching future initiatives. It takes years of committed leadership to build corporate cultures in which continuous improvement and innovation thrive (see Case Studies 20.1 and 20.2). It is important to identify both long- and short-term objectives and to ensure that they are complementary. The training program should be designed to meet the following long-term objectives:
Long-term objectives help sustain the initiative and produce lasting results, but an organization also needs to focus on short-term objectives that reflect customer expectations as well as the organization's short-term internal objectives. Short-term results must focus primarily on the customer's quality, cost, and schedule requirements identified during QFD. These objectives should be measurable and included in the project charter. The following capabilities are needed to attain short-term objectives and to get started with the DFTS process:
The first software project that the team develops using the DFTS technology should be comprehensive enough to provide adequate learning opportunities without being unduly complex. The learning curricula as well as assessment and certification should be structured to meet both short- and long-term objectives. Designing Learning Curricula: Customization and DifferentiationThe priorities of specific objectives may differ from organization to organization, as revealed by the preparedness appraisal. "One size fits all" is not the best DFTS learning strategy. The learning curricula must be customized to specify an organization's short- and long-term objectives and priorities given its strengths and deficiencies as well as its competitive and strategic contexts. To do that, the organization's current capabilities, short- and long-term objectives, and competitive and strategic challenges must be assessed. Much useful data is generated during the preparedness appraisal, as discussed in Chapter 20. These must be made available for curricula design. In addition to customization, the training programs should also be differentiated as per the roles and needs of the trainees concerned. The training is imparted in two stages, as described in Steps 11 and 12 of the PICS framework (see Figure 21.1). Training Support PersonnelAs stated in Chapter 5, Step 11 involves training those who are largely in supporting roles, such as senior executives, Executive Champions (ECs), and various personnel in sales, marketing, finance, and human resources (HR), who provide support services including costing, customer liaison, documentation, and training. Their understanding of the DFTS process is important for its successful implementation and integration. DFTS training tends to be much more inclusive than a typical Six Sigma and DFSS program given the pervasiveness of the software development process in such organizations. Step 11 involves two customized and differentiated training programs. Senior executives and ECs attend the senior executives and champions seminar, and other support personnel undergo white belt training. Senior Executives and Champions (SEC) SeminarThis seminar is meant for the members of the steering committee and other senior executives. It includes the CEO and senior executives from software development, quality, finance, planning, sales, marketing, internal IS, and HR, as well as ECs and project champions, as applicable. The seminar is organized following the decision to introduce DFTS as the software development technology. It should be practical but also intense in that it delivers meaningful zest. The participants, led by the CEO, must display their enthusiasm for learning and launch the initiative. Needless to say, it should be prepared and designed well. A typical SEC seminar takes four to five days and consists of the following key components:
All the senior executives must attend this seminar. A few senior executives, such as Vice President of Software Development/Chief Software Architect, Chief Quality Officer, and various ECs and project champions, must undergo more intensive training meant for black belts. This equips them with additional "hands-on" skills to lead a DFTS implementation process. White Belt TrainingWhite belt training should be organized after the SEC seminar and should be designed to strengthen the process. It is meant for personnel who provide support in the organization. This includes support personnel from HR, sales and marketing, finance, and information systems. White-belt participants should be introduced to the metrics, tools, and techniques of the DFTS process and acquire an awareness of the methodology and its value. A typical white-belt seminar may take two to three days and consists of the following key components:
Step 12: Implementing DFTS Technology: Learning and Application ProcessThis step is at the heart of the trustworthy software development process. It involves training and applying DFTS methodology (see Figure 2.6) to an actual software development project. Classroom learning and application are interspersed over the project development cycle and constitute an integrated learning system, as shown in Figure 21.2. Step 12 consists of training the team members and leaders in the DFTS technology and then having them apply it to an actual software development project. It consists of two training programsDFTS black belt training and DFTS master black belt training. Figure 21.2. DFTS Black Belt Training and Project Work ScheduleDFTS Black Belt TrainingThis training program involves software developers and project leaders. It is scheduled as part of the implementation process. It enables effective learning acquired during project implementation and classroom learning. All software professionals, from Vice President of Software Development/Chief Software Architect down to young software engineers, must undergo black belt training. It should also be required training for all quality professionals, from Chief Quality Officer downward. Such organization-wide training is essential, because quality management is usually not included in software engineering curricula in colleges or graduate schools. The team undergoing Black Belt training should have an approved software development project already assigned, together with a project charter. Black belt training constitutes the core body of knowledge for the DFTS process. We also emphasize the importance of acquiring Personal Software Process (PSP™) and Team Software Process (TSP™) skills.[1], [2] Training consists of five sessions of one week of formal classroom learning followed by five sessions of actual software development activities. The duration of the software development activities between classroom training may vary from a few weeks to several months in an enterprise software context. Black Belt Training CurriculumDFTS black belt training must be customized to organizational needs. Typically the curriculum consists of the following key learning components:
DFTS Master Black Belt TrainingDFTS Project Leaders are trained to be master black belts (MBB) who provide technical, teaching, coaching, mentoring, and leadership support to the project team, as discussed in Chapter 5. MBBs undergo the same training classes as black belts (BBs), along with other software and quality professionals. In addition, they should acquire advanced skills in at least two DFTS bodies of knowledge, such as CoSQ, Software Quality Metrics System (SQMS), QFD, TRIZ, FMEA, and Taguchi Methods. Additional advanced training programs for MBBs can be designed given a software developer's specific training needs. MBBs should be proficient to help BBs and other software and quality professionals in a wide range of software development issues. Training Evaluation and CertificationIn a Six Sigma or DFSS project, team members possess green belt skills and are led by BBs, who in turn are mentored by MBBs. DFTS BBs and MBBs play roles that are more intense and that have comparatively higher skill sets than their counterparts in Six Sigma and DFSS. For example, BBs are team members in a DFTS project rather than project leaders, a role assigned to MBBs. DFTS MBBs also carry the teaching and mentoring responsibilities of Six Sigma/DFSS MBBs. As such, DFTS MBBs play three critical roles: lead the project teams, teach/train BBs and others throughout the organization, and act as mentors to BBs and white belts. (They can also be mentors to senior executives, much like senior executives at GE had young mentors to help them during the launch of GE's e-business initiative.[3]) Comparatively, BBs and MBBs need broader skill sets in a DFTS context compared to Six Sigma and DFSS. Software developers (BBs) and team leaders (MBBs) both must be proficient in the whole DFTS development processnot just coding, but also various upstream and downstream development activities (see Figures 2.6 and 21.2). The leadership must make training and learning a big deal. Everyone with any link to the DFTS process must undergo trainingand that starts with the CEO. Successful completion of training and subsequent contribution in DFTS deployment and integration must be made the major requirement for individual rewards and growth for everyone, including the CEO and top management. The quality and HR departments should come up with a certification scheme for the DFTS trainees in consultation with academia and possibly outside consultants. Trainee participants must meet a specified level of proficiency for certification purposes. Table 21.2 shows typical certification requirements.
Each week-long DFTS training phase is followed by software project work and Customer Appraisal and Review (CAR) before the next phase of training and further development work. The duration of the development activities varies from a few weeks to several months in an enterprise software context. This is a process of action learning in that the team learns not only in the classroom but also during the actual software development process (see Figure 21.2). A defining aspect of the DFTS learning process is the practice of self-appraisal, successive appraisal, and review of work carried out to date with the customers. This ensures that customer needs are understood as they evolve throughout the development process. The customers are kept abreast of the state of the development process, thus avoiding costly surprises and revisions. Here customers are not only external but internalthe next people in the development process. |