Improve

Thursday’s presentations wrap up SEPG for 2010. Thursday is also a day where people get their tickets early to return home and miss out on some well prepared and informative presentations. This year’s choices will make it worth your while to stick around and lend our final speakers your ear.

Here are my picks for wrapping up SEPG 2010:

• “Driver Tree” an Experience Simulation Model for process improvement projects – Stefan Ast, Winfried Russwurm and Thomas Birkhoelzer – As the authors stated, any process improvement project faces issues when trying to decide what process areas would benefit the business the most if investment were made in them.
  • This presentation shares the Siemens “Driver Tree” model and simulation tool used to evaluate alternative activities for process improvement projects. But more than just a report on one company’s way of doing things, this presentation makes the claim that their approach is customizable and that YOU can adapt the methodology for your OWN organization.
  • This promises a learning opportunity with a “take-away” that could benefit all of our organizations. I have had the privilege to work with Siemens process innovators since the early ‘90s so I plan to attend this session and learn again from them.
• The New “Innovative” Era of Business Appraisals  – Renato Vasques
  • Models and standards such as the CMMI, ISO 9001 and a host of military and government standards have been considered the cornerstone of process improvement efforts. And we all realize that one model or standard does not necessarily provide any organization with all that is necessary to drive the variety of projects and product lines that make up the organization’s business.
  • So how do managers and engineers react to CMMI, Six Sigma, ISO, Lean, Agile, SPICE, PMI, ITIL, aerospace standards, telecommunications standards etc…???? This ISD Brazil presentation promises to share some of innovative ideas they have developed and tried out to allow appraisals to be run in a multi-model fashion. The multi-model era is not going to go away no matter how many times model and standard consolidation is performed. Let’s learn from these innovations!
• Towards a Systems Thinking View of Process Improvement – James Hart
  • I received my Systems Engineering degree from the University of Arizona a number of years ago and at the time of graduation, most recruiters did not know what a Systems Engineer was. Some 30+ years later, at an SEPG conference, it was announced that the process improvement world would benefit from more Systems Engineers being involved with it.
  • Taking a system thinking view means looking at the big picture and understanding where each component, including the people component fits in. This is the approach Jim Hart has taken to get organizations to understand how to empower people so they can see how their individual actions and decisions affect the system they work within
  • Come join me and listen to Jim as he shares systems ideas that can help people understand why systems behave as they do, understand the interdependencies of performance, and use “what-if scenarios” to predict improvement results.
  • Jim’s presentations are never for the “faint of heart” but they are always power packed and informative. You won’t be disappointed!
• Demonstrating Best Value in Supplier Selection – David Quinn
  • We should choose suppliers because we can get a product or service at a cheaper cost and therefore our product offerings will give our customers greater value! Hmmmm, it seems like this has become a mantra for organizations who are trying to decide who to choose as a supplier.
  • David is going to challenge that thinking in his presentation and even illustrate when spending extra money is justified to gain greater capability. Want to learn about a proven formula that differentiates proposals to assign the proper value to the proposed cost? Come listen to David with me as SEPG 2010 wraps up.

I will also be providing my opinions of the sessions I get to attend during the conference through continuing blogs to let you know how I felt about them after I saw the author’s in action.

Catch up with me during the conference and let me hear your reactions to the presentations you have attended. You can easily find me at my partner’s booth 416, Method Park.

More information:  SEPG 2010 Agenda

See you in Savannah!

Tim Kasse
CEO & Principal Consultant
Kasse Initiatives LLC

Wednesday promises to bring us a variety of opportunities to learn and share our process improvement experiences. It includes presentations on the Software Process and its future. It includes discussions on Agile techniques, tools, and effective teams. It will try to make sense of Six Sigma techniques and explain why conducting Peer Reviews is still one of the most important life-cycle activities that can be done. It promises to unveil the secrets of SCAMPI Appraisals, give you a glimpse into the future with a discussion of CMMI v1.3 and even let you suggest topics that you would like to have discussions with your peers on. Show up for Wednesday well rested. It will be worth it!

Here are a few selections for Wednesday that caught my eye:

• Software Process – Its Role and Future – Watts Humphrey – SEI Fellow – This is one presentation that is a “MUST Attend” no matter what else you had planned for the early morning hours. Mr. Humphrey, the Godfather of the CMM / CMMI and the assessment industry and my former boss, will present his views on the field of Software Engineering
  • “To be true engineers, we must use operational processes, measure our work, and evaluate and use the data. Until we do this, our field will continue to be driven by unsubstantiated myth and opinion…….”
  • Mr. Humphrey will certainly articulate what he feels is the next challenge for the software engineering process community
  • Mr. Humphrey wrote his book on “Managing the Software Process” in 1989 while he was in the middle of his tour of managing the Process Program at the SEI. Years and many miles later, he takes his place among the greats: Deming, Juran, and Crosby still sharing his experience and energy for process improvement and quality. BE THERE!
• SCAMPI Evidence from Agile Practices – Judah Mogilensky and Hillel Glazer
  • Discussions abound about how Agile software development practices and CMMI-based process improvement can coexist. You may remember that I keynoted an Agile conference with the presentation: “An Agile View of the CMMI” in November 2008.
  • This presentation not only presents these authors’ viewpoint on Agile and CMMI but goes a step further and provides suggestions for appropriate Agile artifacts that can be used as evidence for several CMMI process areas and practices.
  • Make sure that you keep your self up-to-date on the best discussions on Agile and the CMMI by attending this session!
• The Coach Approach – Stephanie Archer and Robert Leinen
  • Why is it that when great process descriptions are developed they are not instantly accepted and adopted by the projects they were designed for? Resistance and the need for organizational change to be integrated with the process improvements are just two answers to this question
  • Stephanie and Robert from Deloitte Consulting present the ideas behind Deloitte Consulting’s “process coaches” along with case studies illustrating the positive impact of these coaches on actual projects.
  • If change happened all by itself, we would all be ML 5!!!! Put the CMMI SGs and SPs aside for a moment and check out the significant impact a process coach can make!
• Applying Six Sigma Techniques to Process Improvement Effort – Kiran Honavalli and Jarred Market
  • Six Sigma books line most of our shelves whether we have read them or not. Many start out by explaining that Six Sigma is the best quality management method in the world because the method focuses the organization on its customers. Well, I thought most of us focused on our customers whether we used Six Sigma techniques or not – but then again, maybe not.
  • Kiran and Jarred did not promise to take us immediately to Six Sigma with their presentation but they did promise to share some practical ideas on how using Six Sigma techniques can increase compliance to CMMI-based process improvement. I am always one who wants to hear about the practical approaches others have learned about and are willing to share, so come join me and learn some practical basics.
• 125 Appraisals and Secrets Learned Along the Way – Norm Hammock
  • Norm is someone who has extensive experience in CMM / CMMI process improvement and appraisals. His own abstract words got my attention straight away: “Want to learn process improvement secrets from someone who has been there and is willing to share?” When someone is willing to pass along his/her 20+ years of experience in our industry, we should all show up and listen very closely! I know I will!
• Plenary Session on CMMI v1.3 – An Update – Mike Phillips
  • What? Another version of the CMMI? When did that happen? Why wasn’t I informed? Where have I been? Well, you should be aware of the intense work that has been going on to update all three CMMI constellations: CMMI-DEV, CMMI-ACQ, and CMMI-SVC. And if you are not as up-to-date as you would like to be, I suggest you get yourself to this critical information session and get up-to-date quickly!!!!

I will be providing my presentation choices for the last day in the next blog so you will want to check back one more time.  I will also be providing my opinions of the sessions I get to attend during the conference to let you know how I felt about them after I saw the author’s in action.

Catch up with me during the conference and let me hear your reactions to the presentations you have attended. You can easily find me at my partner’s booth 416, Method Park.

More information:  SEPG 2010 Agenda

See you soon!

Tim Kasse
CEO & Principal Consultant
Kasse Initiatives LLC

Tuesday starts the official first day of the SEPG conference and it promises to offer concrete information that you can think about and use when you return to your own organizations

Here are a few selections for Tuesday you may want to consider:

• Keynote Panel – Process Improvement on a Regional Scale – Wan Peng Ng, Rafael Salazar Chavez, Barry Dwolatzky – Even if you are not an early morning riser, you will want to get your coffee early and be present for this opening panel session
  • If you represent a country in the “Western World” then you probably think of India and China when you think of global software development. But remember this year’s theme – “Perform At a Higher Level”. Three leaders representing three different countries from around the globe are focusing on “productivity and product quality” to capture their share of the outsourcing market. The influence of TSP (Team Software Process) will be highlighted in their success. Be there for this “how to” discussion!
• Holistic Quality – Bud Glick and Rajesh Sharma
  • Even mentioning quality these days seems dangerous. For many organizations, projects, and individuals, quality is what you have to do to satisfy the PPQA process area and GP 2.9. But Bud and Rajesh have set their sights on giving the topic one more go and making sure that it is not just a mandatory function for CMMI compliance but a strong component supporting an organization’s business objectives
  • Remember, “A focus on quality means a continuing focus on process improvement” according to Dr. Deming
  • Quality comes from improvement of the process!
  • The CMMI has always been a Quality Management document!
• I am a Change Agent: What Do I Do and How Do I Learn How? – Stan Rifkin
  • Process Improvement Means Change! – Over the past twenty years, I have often shared the view that when and if an organization wants to embark on a process improvement initiative, it must also give equal attention to the people or organizational change
  • Stan Rifkin started at the Software Engineering Institute in 1988 about the same time I did and was one of the original thinkers on process groups and what skills they needed to be “change agents” and support the full scope of their organization’s process improvement initiative.
  • With today’s strong focus on CMMI compliance, I highly recommend attending Stan’s presentation and learning about being a “Change Agent” from one of the best.
• High Maturity In Practice: Using Case Studies to Drive Consistent Interpretations – Michael Evanoo and Kathy Smith
  • Since 2006, what constitutes a High Maturity organization, what does a Lead Appraiser look for, what is a Process Performance Baseline or a Process Performance Model has been the topic of conversation, numerous presentations, High Maturity classes, and High Maturity workshops.
  • I personally believe that what has been missing has been case studies with examples that takes high maturity out of the CMMI ML 4 and ML 5 process areas and puts it into everyday facts and figures that can be easily understood and built upon. CHECK THIS ONE OUT FOR SURE!
• Survey Results of Baselines and Models used by Level 4 and 5 Organizations – Ron Radice
  • No high maturity track would be complete without the experienced insight of Ron Radice. Having developed the original concepts of process architecture in the early ‘80s while working for Mr. Watts Humphrey at IBM, Ron has been a pioneer of statistical process control and quantitative control.
  • With all of the hullabaloo over High Maturity and what should and should not be in place, it will definitely be interesting to hear Ron’s input on just “what has really changed in the high maturity community since 2000!
• Maturity Level 4 Results in a Lot of BS – Pat O’Toole
  • Pat has been a leader in supporting and assessing High Maturity organizations almost as long as Ron has and has more than significant experience that he has shared and will continue to share.
  • I am from Texas so I have my own definition of BS, so I will definitely be attending this presentation to understand what guidance Pat is trying to give us.

I will be providing my presentation choices for the remaining two days in subsequent blogs so you will want to check back frequently to see if you agree.  I will also be providing my opinions of the sessions I get to attend during the conference to let you know how I felt about them after I saw the author’s in action.

Catch up with me during the conference and let me hear your reactions to the presentations you have attended. You can easily find me at my partner’s booth 416, Method Park.

More information:  SEPG 2010 Agenda

See you soon!

Tim Kasse
CEO & Principal Consultant
Kasse Initiatives LLC

I will be attending the SEPG 2010 in Savannah this year and one of the reasons is the theme the SEI has chosen to build this world-important conference around.

The theme of this year’s SEPG is “Perform At a Higher Level” and it comes at a time in our country’s and world’s history where solid and higher level performance is needed on all fronts if companies are to be efficient and effective and turn our high quality products and services and keep their customers satisfied.

So with that theme in mind, I took a quick tour of this year’s program to see what would catch my eye and want me to definitely sit in on those presentations. My selections are by no means a reflection on the quality of those I will not mention, but they are ones that piqued my own interest and possibly will pique yours as well.

Here are a few selections for Monday’s tutorials you may want to consider:

• “Organizational Change Management – The key differentiator for sustainable process improvement” – Julie Calfin
  • In a previous blog, I talked about a Change Management Tool Kit that I shared with the SEPG 2009. It should be clear that any process improvement initiative needs not only a focus on the technical side but also on the people side. Check this one out and see what Julie Calfin has to say.
• Reducing the Costs and Increasing the Value of CMMI Reappraisals – Beth Layman
  • Everyone on both sides, the organization to be reappraised and the Lead Appraiser is trying to find legitimate and effective ways to conduct reappraisals and keep costs down. How that can be done is dependent on a number of factors. I will definitely want to hear what Beth has to say.
• The Multiple Quality Models Paradox: How Much “Best Practice” is Just Enough? – Keith Heston
  • Keith’s abstract starts off by asking the question most of us are asking right about now, “Can you really have too much of a good thing?”  His answer is YES! Many organizations starting out on a CMMI journey get overwhelmed with the many current quality models and standards.
  • Keith promises to break down key models and standards such as CMMI, ITIL, and ISO 9001 into their process DNA – quality components to help attendees simplify the way they think about and pursue multi-model improvement. Sounds like advice we all should consider today!
• Agile CMMI: Obtaining Real Benefits from Measurement and High Maturity – Kent Johnson and Margaret Kulpa
  • What is Agile and what does CMMI stand for is still being debated. And Agile and measurement – really? Kent and Margaret have considerable experience in CMMI, Agile, High Maturity and Measurement. If you would like to gain more insight into all four at once, this is the presentation for you!

I will be providing my presentation choices for the remaining three days in subsequent blogs so you will want to check back frequently to see if you agree.

I will also be providing my opinions of the sessions I get to attend during the conference to let you know how I felt about them after I saw the author’s in action.

I hope to see old friends and make new ones at this conference. You can easily find me at my partner’s booth 416, Method Park. We can chat and I can even introduce to one of the best process improvement tools in the business – STAGES!

More information:  SEPG 2010 Agenda

See you soon!

Tim Kasse
CEO & Principal Consultant
Kasse Initiatives LLC

Process defines how a business does business and may include a set of processes such as:

• Software Engineering processes
• Hardware Engineering processes
• Systems Engineering processes
• Manufacturing processes
• Financial processes
• Human Resources processes
• Legal processes
• ………..

Process helps to establish the business culture and then sets guidelines and expectations. Process can be viewed as a methodology that is applied from elicitation of requirements to design through delivery. There are no shortcuts – there are no other alternative methods that a business can adopt that embraces a “cradle to grave” philosophy to ensure quality and profitability with control every step of the way.

We build the business right – through process. We build the right business – with guarantees of product and service quality and customer satisfaction.  Process is the fastest-lowest cost path to get there and know if you are there!

With models, standards, methods and techniques from all parts of the world focused on process and quality it is only fitting that a process improvement manifesto was developed. In September 2009, a group of experts in Software Process Improvement (SPI) from all over the world gathered near Madrid, Spain and shared their expertise and wisdom from their many years of process improvement experience. Sponsored by the European Union, 30 workshop participants brainstormed core values and principles specifically focused on process improvement. Download the SPI Manifesto @ Here

What to use the Manifest for?

Jorn Johansen and Jan-Pries-Heje, the leaders and chief editors of the SPI Manifesto put forth a reminder on what to use the manifest for. You can use the manifest to obtain knowledge of SPI. It will help you remember what is important about software process improvement. Each value and the consequent principles are written so you can easily place yourself into the problem and context. Short explanations for each value are provided that can further augment your understanding. Each value also has some relevant examples that will make it easier to learn and remember the values and principles.

You can use the SPI Manifesto when you are responsible for planning a SPI project. The third manifest value states that SPI is actually really about change. You can apply these SPI Manifesto principles in your organization’s process improvement project that will support the necessary corresponding change. Download the SPI Manifesto @ Here

Values

• People – Must involve people actively and affect their daily lives not to be focused on management alone
• Business – What you do to make business successful – this is not about living to deploy a standard, reach a maturity level, or obtain a certificate even though it can certainly help do all of those things
• Change – Process improvement is inherently linked with change – we realize and accept that we cannot continue to live as we do today – we must change – perhaps a little or perhaps a lot

Principles

People

• Know the culture and focus on needs
• Motivate all people involved
• Base improvement on experience and measurements
• Create a learning organization

—        Business

• Support the organization’s vision and business objectives
• Use dynamic and adaptable models as needed
• Apply risk management

— Change

• Manage the organizational change in your improvement effort
• Ensure all parties understand and agree on process
• Do not lose focus

You are invited to read the details behind these Values and Principles statements located in the body of the SPI Manifesto and share your comments back with us. Do you agree? Do you disagree and why? Do you think something critical was overlooked and should be added?

We are interested in your comments and inputs – after all process improvement is continuous…………………..

Download the SPI Manifesto @ Here

Tim Kasse
CEO & Principal Consultant
Kasse Initiatives LLC

“The roles of the Project Manager and the Systems Engineer are often combined and imposed on the already overloaded Project Manager. This is encouraged by contracts that do not understand the criticality of systems engineering and do not recognize the need for both a Project Manager and a Systems Engineer” – Tim Kasse – 2004

After years of being involved in systems and software engineering and conducting hundreds of assessments, I am astonished at what project managers tell me they are responsible for. I am more astonished that organization’s think that if they just announce that a project manager can be a multi-faceted person, he or she will magically be able to do all that is asked of them in an unquestionable manner. One assessment revealed that a Project Manager was responsible for (No Joke):

• Planning and Control (Management part) of project including the soft side or people side
• The technical management of the project – This means they were supposed to be able to completely fulfill the Systems Engineering role
• Quality Assurance – Conduct the quality assurance functions on their own project
• Configuration Management – Perform the configuration management functions required for Developmental control of configuration items and ensure a smooth hand-off to the Organizational control part of configuration management
• Systems Test – As they normally did not actually do any coding or build any other engineering components, it was thought that the Project Manager should be able to conduct the Systems Testing as well

There may have been even more responsibilities but those mentioned above should be sufficient for this blog. My response to the report given by those project managers: Can any of you really perform all of those tasks with efficiency and effectiveness? Because if any one of you can, I will hire you immediately and pay you the highest salary of your imagination. Why, because we are going to make millions off of you!!

If you are a Project Manager please let me know what Project Management responsibilities you have been given responsibility for. How does your list match up to the one given above?

Project Manager

The project manager is the head of the project and has the ultimate responsibility for the planning and control of everything related to the project. The Project Manager must provide direction to the project team and be able to answer questions including:

• For whom do I work?
• What is expected of me?
• Why is it expected of me?
• What tools and facilities are available to me?
• How do I do what is expected?
• What training is available to me?
• What must I produce?
• When must it be produced?
• Who do I give it to?
• How will my product be evaluated?

The Project Manager is the DRIVER and as such takes on the responsibility for many diverse tasks including:

• Lead the project team through the process of creating and executing the project plan
• Mold the project members into a project team
• Obtain approvals for the project plan
• Issue status reports on the progress of the project compared to the plan
• Respond to requests for changes to the plan
• Facilitate the team process, using trained and experience in interpersonal skills
• Remove obstacles for the team so they can do the job they are asked to do
• Act as the key interface with the project sponsor
• Act as the key interface with the project customer
• Ensure that the relevant stakeholders are involved throughout the project lifecycle as required
• Call and run regular project meetings
• Issue the final project report
• Capture lessons learned and update the process database

Systems Engineering combines basic engineering principles and a method of thinking together with a roadmap that guides a project toward a functional development of complex systems. It requires the interaction of technology, the organization, and the environment.

Hence one can look at Systems Engineering as the management technology that controls a total system life-cycle process, which evolves and which results in the definition, design, development, and deployment of a system that is of high quality, and is cost-effective in meeting the user’s needs.

Systems Engineers

The Systems Engineer is typically responsible for:

• Identifying the need and the system opportunity by matching need and technical feasibility
• Being the link between customer needs and system idea and design during the entire process of system creation
• Developing a set of system and functional requirements based on customer needs, wants, constraints and interface requirements
• Dividing and allocating the functional requirements into different subfunctions and modes of operation
• Serving as the lead in envisioning the system’s operational concept and create the link between the system’s requirements and the system’s configuration
• Designing the system architecture based on the operational concept and operational scenarios
• Collecting data from various sources, perform modeling and simulation and analyze them as a basis for decision making
• Determining if the system is designed to its requirements
• Testing and verifying that the system, as built, will meet those requirements as designed
• Conducting technical and tradeoff analysis leading to the resolution of technical problems at different interface points
• Conducting risk assessment on the various system elements
• Seeing the entire picture and how each part is contributing to the performance and feasibility of the system as a whole
• Coordinating the work of the various disciplines involved and manage the interfaces among them so that the result is an overall optimum system
• Evaluating or supporting the performance and qualifications system integration and of the final system through testing and simulation

If you are a Systems Engineer please let me know what responsibilities you have and the relationship you have with the Project Manager. How does your list match up to the one given above?

System evolution has and will require the technical guidance of the Systems Engineer from cradle to grave and the management guidance of the Project Manager to ensure the customer requirements are evolved into a deliverable product.

Share your Systems Engineer vs. Project Manager experience.

NOTE: Tim Kasse’s B.S. degree was in Systems Engineering. He has been involved with various software, systems, and hardware projects throughout his career.

Is an assessment really the most appropriate step in getting an organization’s process improvement initiative started?

One of the more important steps in starting a process improvement initiative is to determine the appropriate tasking and the scope of the process improvement program. There is great temptation for an organization to attempt to take on too much too fast, especially if it feels that it must catch up to its competition. For example, an organization will assess its capability against all of the Process Areas (PAs) of the CMMI and try to set up Working Groups and Action Plans in a broadly based approach to implement multiple levels of PAs at the same time. While it is natural to want to initiate a program quickly, it is important for an organization trying to get a process improvement initiative started to be as realistic as possible in these beginning stages.

Many Lead Assessors / Lead Appraisers push organization’s to undergo an assessment straight away to find out where their current process capability is. Is that appropriate for the organization? Or is it a need of a Lead Appraiser to get his/her checkmark to keep governing bodies, such as the SEI happy with the number of assessments conducted within a given time period?

It is my opinion, after 20 years of involvement with the CMM, CMMI and assessment, that it might not be appropriate for an organization to conduct an assessment right away. The organization might want to focus on only a few areas to get its process improvement initiative started, show positive results and then expand.

There are many factors that must be taken into consideration when an organization is trying to establish its organizational process. What process improvement entry strategy an organization chooses depends on a number of factors, including the following:

What possible process improvement entry strategies have helped your organization or have you recommended? Send me your comments and then download the paper, “Entry Strategies Into the Process Improvement Initiative” written by me and my dear friend and colleague, Dr. Patricia McQuaid of Cal Poly State University and compare. The original version was written around the CMM but has been updated to CMMI v1.2 for this offering. Send additional comments if you want. We are always interested in your opinions and points of view.

Best Regards,
Tim Kasse
CEO & Principal Consultant
Kasse Initiatives LLC

At SEPG 2009 in San Jose, I presented a half-day tutorial titled “Change Mangement Tool Kit.”  The idea of “managing change” may be a lot harder than it sounds, thus the idea of developing and evolving a change management tool kit to help people and organizations in their change efforts. What? I thought process improvement based on the CMMI was about building processes, procedures, standards, guidelines, templates, and checklists that could be matched up against the CMMI practices.

Of course if your process improvement focus is strictly on obtaining a Maturity Level 3 or higher, you might think something like this. But here is my challenge. How many of you are in organizations that built action plans based on assessments / appraisals along with other appropriate input and had a major section in that Action Plan that focued on supporting the changes that would need to be made by the people in your organization. You see, if you want to claim, your organization is engaged in a process improvement initiative, you should be claiming in the same breath that you are engaged in improving the people side of the change as well as the technical process side.

What would you think if someone out of the SEPG or EPG or just PG today, walked into your office and plopped down the latest set of organizational processes. What would you think if the person that brought you this latest and greatest work, told you that this represented “YOUR” new way of working and that you and your project were going to be audited against it from now on? You might be a bit upset. After all, you  are an adult and a professional. Right?

Does your action plan have “people expectations” inside of Change Management side? If you perform testing, you are required to have “expected results” inside of your test plan so that the testing results can be compared against the expected results.

This is exactly what should happen in process improvement efforts!!! When you hand out the new and improved process descriptions, you should have the expected people reactions written down along with the risk mitigations to deal with the people reactions. What? People, risk, risk mitigation. Hey, we are trying to reach ML 3! The people should be following the organizational processes – right?

If your organization’s process improvement Action Plan does not have a complementary Change Management component with expected people results, you might want to revisit and revise it. And if you are not sure what Myers Briggs personality types, or birth order, or risk taking personality has to do with the process improvement initiative, you might want to give us a call and ask about what type of Change Management Tool Kit Method Park can help you build and evolve to answer these questions and ensure you are focus on your most important asset, your people as well as your process descriptions.

See You Soon in Prague

Best Regards,

Tim Kasse

I have ignored the AGILE and CMMI wars for many years and have forced myself into the fray in the past year. If you are taking one side or the other, you have little knowledge of history and probable less history of Systems Engineering.

DR. Win Royce developed the Waterfall model in 1970. It was for Systems Engineering not Software. If you know something of building systems, you will know that all systems have a feedback loop. So did Dr. Royce’s waterfall model. But there was something more. Dr. Royce, in 1970 stated that the strict waterfall model where we asked what the customer wanted and then went off and built it with no more customer interaction was not appropriate. He suggested using “prototypes” to help the customer and the supplier build a mutual understanding of the requirements and then start with the waterfall model, still with feedback loops. The Software Community grabbed hold to the waterfall model and gave it the description and bad rap that one must complete the requirements stage before the design before the ………. In 1986, fourteen (14) years later, Dr. Royce was invited to republish his waterfall article, unedited again. The software community still did not get it.

Later, groups just like the Agile group sprung up to let the software world that this Waterfall stuff was bunk and you should have experts who did pair programming and care about the customer. I am one of the original authors of the CMM and have been actively involved with the CMMI for 20 years. In other words from the beginning. While the folks who created the Agile Manifesto did so in part to create controversy, they have seriously missed the point. Read “Balancing Agility and Discipline” by Barry Boehm and Richard Turner with forewords by Grady Booch, Alistair Cockburn and Arthur Pyster. and Scaling Software Agility by Dean Leffingwell.

Here is my point. Some of the Agile points are well made. Large cooperation’s with Lawyers who were hung up on point-by-point contracts caused the strict following of the Waterfall model and made a mess of things. BUT that was not the fault of the description of the Waterfall Model.

As far as Agile techniques are concerned. Sorry to disappoint all of you do or die fanatics. Prototyping was suggested in 1970. RUP corresponds to CMMI Requirements Development pretty well. There was a 14 month study just on this.

Incremental Development. It is a product lifecycle that has been around for 30 years and is embedded inside of the CMMI. So it goes for Evolutionary Delivery, developed by Tom Gilb a zillion years ago.

So Agile, Evolutionary, Incremental, Prototype, RUP, customer involvement, and others key volatile AGILE words have been around for at least 30 years and are part of the process assets described in OPD of the CMMI. They are techniques that projects must apply as they make BUSINESS SENSE!.

CMMI is process oriented but remember the quality of the process influences the quality of the product. CMMI is about using processes to help build quality products and services that satisfies not only the technical requirements but the customer in the operational environment by the end users that have to use it. CMMI is a spin off of Dr.Demings TQM. Dr. Deming clearly states that process should not be done for process sake but for business. CMMI and process improvement and techniques like Agile and others are about Business.

Please come to the European SEPG and hear my talk titles “The Agile View of the CMMI “and learn even more detail. What makes sense given the constraints your project faces. There are projects that last 12 years that the Waterfall Model fits perfectly. There are 7 days events where the 4 months gathering of requirements is stupid. You only have 7 days. YOU MUST USE YOUR BRAIN AND PUT BUSINESS FIRST!