So your boss asked you to look into CMMI and Agile - but you’re not sure he gets it. How do you brief him?

Hey, software and engineering professionals –

Regular followers of Ask the CMMI Appraiser know that this CMMI Appraiser gets a wide range of questions about engineering strategy, performance innovation and process improvement. But we also get questions about executive leadership – sometimes from people who don’t want to go “on record” asking the question, for fear of making their boss look bad.

For example, after one of my CMMI training classes recently, a software developer from a large Michigan-based automotive company (you’ve heard of them) approached me somewhat timidly. She confided in me that she had orders from her boss to get "certified at CMMI ML3" while also transitioning them to be "an agile shop."

She was concerned that her boss didn’t know what he was asking her to do. She said, “Now that I’ve taken the Introduction to CMMI training, I understand that adopting the CMMI is about taking on a large-scale business transformation initiative. What can I do to help my boss understand how big it is?”

I responded the same way I’d respond to anyone who said their boss told them to “go get certified” at CMMI ML3, become agile, or any other major culture change. I said he was showing signs that he needed some help - a little remedial training, if you will.  We call it a CMMI Executive Briefing.

What are the signs that your boss may need an Executive Briefing? Here are a few:

• You walk out of a meeting with your boss, and you suspect he doesn’t know what he’s just asked for;
• The leaders asking the question don’t understand that CMMI and Agile are game-changers, which means changing the way people behave, not the forms they fill out; 
• The boss asks for a CMMI certification or CMMI appraisal or some other "achievement,"– without saying why or how he thinks it will help; 
• You’ve been assigned a task that is impossible to complete, given the time and the money they’ve allocated toward accomplishing it; 
• They ask you to change all of your projects over to agile this week; 
• They tell you to “get a level.”

The source of confusion for executives is understandable. The CMMI does indeed have “levels” associated with it, which in retrospect may have been a mistake because it’s too easy for companies to say, “Three is more than two so Level 3 is better than Level 2,” which does a great disservice to the organization.

What your boss really should be saying is, “I want to completely change the way people behave in our company,” which is the same as asking for a massive re-engineering of the organization. Getting “CMMI certified” has zero to do with that outcome.

The important thing to remember is that adopting the CMMI is all about solving business problems. It’s not about documents, forms, certificates or ratings. It’s about adopting a model that's about how great organizations perform. Transitioning to "agile" is not much different. It's also about solving business problems, changing behaviors, and not about documents or ratings.

So that’s why we recommend the Executive Briefing. We want to help executives understand the size and complexity of what they’ve asked for. The Executive Briefing gives them the tools they need to help their teams be successful in adopting the CMMI and Agile together.

Like this blog? Forward to your nearest engineering or software exec!

Jeff Dalton is a Certified SCAMPI Lead Appraiser, Certified CMMI Instructor, author, and consultant with years of real-world experience with the CMMI in all types of organizations. Jeff has taught thousands of students in CMMI trainings and has received an aggregate satisfaction score of 4.97 out of 5 from his students.

Visit www.broadswordsolutions.com for more information about running a successful CMMI program.

Why CMMI?

Hey CMMI Appraiser, I found your blog via a Google search for “Maryland CMMI.” We are a Maryland manufacturing company that uses both Waterfall and agile methods. Quick question: Why CMMI? ~ Todd L.

Hey, Todd - Why CMMI? Well, let me ask YOU quick question … Why dance?

The point is that, like dancing, adopting the CMMI can be a liberating experience. I find it fascinating that the misperception continues, even among CMMI appraisers today, that the CMMI is this heavy, command and control, document-centric cauldron of hard, dreary work and pure nonsense.

CMMI has none of that. It doesn’t tell you how to do anything. It doesn’t “require” anything. The CMMI says, “Here’s what great companies do.” That’s all it essentially says.

Let’s break it down a little more. Here’s what the CMMI is and does:

• The CMMI is a tool to help solve business problems.
• The CMMI helps you change and improve requirements churn and volatility, so that you can spend less time and money on requirements.
• The CMMI helps you be on-time and on-budget.
• The CMMI helps you motivate your staff, and make them better at what they do.
• The CMMI helps you understand and deal with risk, before it hurts you
• The CMMI helps you avoid having too many meetings, unhappy customers and unpredictable projects.

And the CMMI can do this whether you choose agile, waterfall, and any other set of methods.

Why CMMI?  Back to you, Todd: Why not?

Like this blog? Forward to your nearest engineering or software exec! 

Jeff Dalton is a Certified SCAMPI Lead Appraiser, Certified CMMI Instructor, author, and consultant with years of real-world experience with the CMMI in all types of organizations. Jeff has taught thousands of students in CMMI trainings and has received an aggregate satisfaction score of 4.97 out of 5 from his students.

Visit www.broadswordsolutions.com for more information about running a successful CMMI program.

Is there an easy way for managers communicate about adopting the CMMI?

Dear CMMI Appraiser, our Virginia-based health care products company is designing new processes within the CMMI in response to customer requirements. To help facilitate this change, I’ve asked my managers to get up to speed on your blog posts about Organizational Change Management. One problem: they keep forgetting all the steps of the Commitment Curve. Is there an easier way to help us remember the key components of communicating change?~ Lou A.

Lou, it’s great that you are focusing your managers on communicating as a way to facilitate the adoption of CMMI. As you know from reading our posts about Organizational Change Management (OCM), Julie Calfin, Broadsword’s Director of Consulting, does amazing work with companies that are undergoing large scale business transformation. I’ve forwarded your question to Julie. Take it away, Julie! ~ The CMMI Appraiser

Thank you, CMMI Appraiser!

Lou, I’m glad you’ve had your managers read our blog posts as a way to get up to speed on facilitating the adoption of the CMMI in your organization. It’s true that it can be difficult to remember all seven steps of the Commitment Curve if you are not used to them. Perhaps it will help to summarize these steps into three basic themes: Inform, Educate, Commit.  (See the right side of the chart)

Before I go into these themes, it will be helpful to take a step back and remind your managers why it is so important to communicate.

We use communication for many reasons. We use communication as an accelerator for change. We use communication to help people understand their role and what they have to do differently. We use communication proactively to reduce anxiety and confront issues, such as change resistance, and anticipate those issues before they actually happen. We use communication to build trust in leadership.

Now, Lou, you are doing the right thing by teaching your managers to be better communicators, as long as you understand that the ultimate responsibility for effectively communicating the change resides with you. For communication to be a part of your OCM strategy, one person or group must be planning all the communications, and pulling the trigger to make sure they are sent at the scheduled times.

The above Commitment Curve, which you’ve seen before, shows how we use communications to bring people to commitment. The three themes on the right are new. They should be easier to remember. As you can see, the first theme is to inform people. The next theme has to do with educating them. And the third theme gets them to the point that they commit to whatever it is that we are asking them to do differently.

Let’s break these down:

Informed – when I am informed, I just have the high level information. Per the chart, I have experienced Contact, Awareness and Understanding as precursors to being informed.

Educated – when I am educated, I know more of the details. I know how the change will affect me personally. I know what skills I will need. I know how my role will be different. Best of all, from a company culture perspective, once I am educated, I can educate others, and can tell others what this new change or new process is.

Committed – when I am committed, I’m not only telling people about the new processes, I’m using them. I’m living them. My actions are showing that I’ve accepted the change. You’ll see me training other people in the change, and making sure they are using the new processes.

Hopefully by reducing the seven steps to three themes, Lou, your managers will be able to remember the key components of communicating change.

Good luck!  

Like this blog? Forward to your nearest engineering or software exec!

Julie Calfin is the Director of Consulting at Broadsword Solutions Corporation. She has years of real world experience using OCM strategy and tactics to help her clients achieve their goals. Julie also uses the CMMI, in partnership with her clients, to set-up, monitor, and sustain process improvement programs.

Visit www.broadswordsolutions.com for more information about running a successful CMMI program.

What's the different between a non-compliance and an observation?

Hey Appraiser,

We have internal auditors in our company, and they're always ranting on and on about "non-complaince" and "observations."  I don't get it, what's the difference?  ~Vib

Dear Vib,

You'll likely get different answers to this question since these words have different meanings depending on which process model or audit method you are employing.  Since this is a CMMI and agile blog, I'll use that as my baseline.  But if you are adopting ISO15504, 9001, or ITIL, these have their own meanings.

When I conduct SCAMPI Appraisals the findings fall into 3 categories - Strengths, Weaknesses, and Observations.  I typically don't use the "compliance" or "audit" words as I find them counter to the meaning and purpose of CMMI.  CMMI is not a standard we are "compliant" with, and a SCAMPI appraisal is not an "audit."

I suppose you could think about a weakness in a SCAMPI appraisal as something that is "non-compliant," but it is more complicated than that.  We consider the performance of the projects/individuals (the Specific Practices) and the characteristics and performance of the organization and process itself (the so-called Generic Practices), as well as the information from the community (through interviews with the extended organization).  It's entirely possible for a project to be fully-compliant with a specific practice, but we find a weakness within a Process Area due to a deficiency that is indicated by an interview with the extended community.  So are they compliant?  Non-compliant?  That just gives me a headache.

In reality there is a continuum of strength and weakness, and the information we gather in appraisals helps us identify where on that continuum the organization is performing.  

An Observation can be either an illumination of great strength, or a recommendation for improvement in performance (or in the process) that is not a weakness.  It is arrived at through the interpretation of the data by the appraisal team after a complex set of interactions that are both data-intensive and interpersonal.

Hope this helps!

Like this blog? Forward to your nearest engineering or software exec!

Laura Adkins is a Senior CMMI Consultant with Broadsword Solutions Corporation. She has years of real world experience using pilot testing strategies and tactics to help her clients achieve their goals. Laura also uses the CMMI, in partnership with her clients, to set-up, monitor, and sustain process improvement programs.

Visit www.broadswordsolutions.com for more information about running a successful CMMI program.

Theory is great – but what is piloting like in the real world?

Hey, CMMI Appraiser – a few months ago, we participated in your Introduction to CMMI class, and have been enjoying the theory behind piloting processes here at Ask the CMMI Appraiser. But we’re wondering if you would address what piloting is like in the real world? ~ Manley A.

Hey, Manley – great question! Let me pass it along to Laura Adkins, a Senior CMMI Consultant with Broadsword, who does amazing hands-on work with companies who are piloting processes based on the CMMI. Take it away, Laura! ~ The CMMI Appraiser 

Thank you, CMMI Appraiser!

Manley, you are correct that the theory of pilot testing only takes you so far. I’d be happy to discuss what pilot testing is like in the real world.

We here at Broadsword pilot all of the processes we develop using our AgileCMMI methodology, before deploying them. We use a four-step sequence that looks like this:

It’s important to note that most companies are focused on designing and deploying their processes. That’s only half the battle. What we are asking them to do is add two steps between Design and Deploy. Those two steps are: Pilot and Update.

Piloting and updating before you deploy your new processes is a real world scenario. As you probably know from the CMMI training you took, Broadsword uses the methodology we developed, AgileCMMI approach, which calls for us to work incrementally and iteratively. When designing, piloting, updating and deploying processes, we use a 12-week cycle.

For your CMMI-based processes, if you follow the same time cycle, you would test them for six weeks, then make updates for six weeks. This gives you one Quarter for designing and one Quarter for piloting and updating before you deploy. By adding extra time into the way that your new processes are rolled out, you increase their likelihood of success.

As a practical matter, to develop processes during the design phase, you should pull from a group of users. We think it’s important that the people who are actually going to be using the processes help develop them.

Now, once the piloting completes, and you’ve had projects using these processes for a period of time (6 weeks or so), you need to update process assets using your experience.

To do that, we recommend holding a retrospective on each area that was pilot tested.

Keep in mind, when you develop processes, you might have multiple process areas – for example, requirements and project planning. Therefore you would need to ensure that a retrospective covers each process area that was in the scope of the pilot.

Use the retrospective to talk about strengths, weaknesses, identify any lessons learned, and capture feedback for improvement.

Once you have that meeting with the participating projects, you will reconvene with the user group that developed your processes. Evaluate with them all of the feedback that came back from the pilot testing. As a group, you would then prioritize the process improvements, and select which ones you would like to go ahead and make changes to.

The final step before deploying is updating.

In the Update stage, you will make your changes to the process assets and update any training material. Communicate back to the pilot participants about changes that you made. This allows them to understand how much of their feedback was used, and how their feedback impacted the processes.

Finally you are ready to deploy. Just release your processes into your environment as you normally would.

Hope this helps, Manley! Let me know how it goes.

Like this blog? Forward to your nearest engineering or software exec!

Laura Adkins is a Senior CMMI Consultant with Broadsword Solutions Corporation. She has years of real world experience using pilot testing strategies and tactics to help her clients achieve their goals. Laura also uses the CMMI, in partnership with her clients, to set-up, monitor, and sustain process improvement programs.

Visit www.broadswordsolutions.com for more information about running a successful CMMI program.

Why was the CMMI Appraiser in Hong Kong?

Hey, CMMI Appraiser – What were you doing in Hong Kong last week? I saw some tweets. ~ Brian O.

Hey, Brian, thanks for following us on Twitter. Last week Team Broadsword was “on location” in China to work with one of our great clients, MTR (Hong Kong's national rail company). They brought us halfway around the globe to deliver our CMMI + Scrum Learning Experience and to lead them through an effort to introduce agile methods to their Maturity Level Three-inspired software development team, using our agileCMMI methodology for continuous improvement.

Here is a pic of your CMMI Appraiser in China (that's me in the middle) with our gracious and talented hosts:

By the way, Brian, if you haven’t participated in our workshops yet, you’ll have a chance to do so in Virginia next week. CMMI + Scrum Learning Experience is popular, fun, hands-on working sessions in a structured environment, designed to move you rapidly toward whatever goal you are trying to achieve. Here’s what you'll experience:

• Get educated
• Try it yourself
• Be mentored
• Try it again
• Make breakthrough discoveries

And there's more.  For those who love to learn, Broadsword is offering a full slate of trainings, workshops and webinars … right here in the USA … starting NEXT WEEK:

CMMI Training in Virginia:

SEMINARS:
September 11-13, 2012 in Fairfax, VA – Introduction to CMMI-DEV v1.3 - Fairfax, VA


WEBINAR:
September 28, 2012 – CMMI for Executives: Are you ready to Lead?

Oh, and by the way. Readers of Ask the CMMI Appraiser, like Brian, who are interested in getting a daily dose of short, poignant CMMI news, insights and information from us on Twitter, are invited to follow our tweets @CMMIAppraiser.

Like this blog? Forward to your nearest engineering or software exec!

Jeff Dalton is a Certified SCAMPI Lead Appraiser, Certified CMMI Instructor, author, and consultant with years of real-world experience with the CMMI in all types of organizations. Jeff has taught thousands of students in CMMI trainings and has received an aggregate satisfaction score of 4.97 out of 5 from his students.

Visit www.broadswordsolutions.com for more information about running a successful CMMI program.

How do I communicate my vision for what we’ll look like after adopting the CMMI?

Dear CMMI Appraiser, I am CEO of a Maryland electronics parts engineering firm. Our business is experiencing rapid growth and we’re using the CMMI to design new processes for our Engineers to do their work. Your recent posts about Organizational Change Management have been perfect timing for us. What are some of the things I should be thinking about in terms of communicating the new vision for our company with our 100+ employees?~ Snil V. 

Snil, you are wise to begin planning to communicate your vision for what the company will look like once you’ve adopted the CMMI. As you know from reading our posts about Organizational Change Management, Julie Calfin, Broadsword’s Director of Consulting, does amazing work with companies that are undergoing large scale business transformation. I’ve forwarded your question to Julie. Take it away, Julie! ~ The CMMI Appraiser 

Thank you, CMMI Appraiser!

Snil, it’s a pleasure to hear from readers like you who have gotten value from our blog posts about Organizational Change Management. Planning the vision is a key component of your growth strategy. Many CEOs assume that this just takes care of itself.

Unfortunately for those CEOs who fail to plan how they will communicate, the chance of success is greatly diminished. Far better to have something written down that paints a compelling picture of where your company will be in the future, after you’ve achieved your desired CMMI Maturity Level.

  

A well communicated vision does a lot of the hard work of change management for you. Consider the characteristics of a well communicated vision:

• Motivates and inspires people 
• Enables you to coordinate large groups of people without using endless directives 
• Results in the high energy level that is needed to accomplish difficult tasks
• Establishes a standard of excellence
• Allows you to move quickly
• Bridges the present and the future 

Here at Broadsword, we have a workshop that helps organizations formulate their future state vision. In this workshop, we help company leaders relate their vision to what their organization will be like after they’ve adopted and are using new processes. The Vision Workshop teaches executives to develop an effective vision by utilizing the above characteristics.

Keep in mind, it’s not always the CEO who shapes and delivers the vision. Sometimes software or engineering departments are adopting the CMMI, but not the rest of the company. In such cases, it makes sense for a departmental leader to share a vision for his/her department that is aligned with the overarching vision of the CEO.

In your case, Snil, adopting the CMMI is nothing short of transforming the culture of the entire organization. To create a vision for what the organization will look like when all of this change is done, start with the corporate values and mission. Zero in on the aspects of your values and mission that resonate with people emotionally.

This change management philosophy comes from John P. Kotter, the author of “The Heart of Change” (John P Kotter and Dan S. Cohen, Harvard Business School Press, 2002). Kotter’s premise is that people need to physically see the need for change and feel the consequences of not making the change in order for them to think differently, take action and change their behavior. They need to see and feel what the change is going to be all about. Connecting these changes with their emotions is a lot more compelling than giving them a bunch of data to think about and analyze. It’s no surprise that a vision that is essentially a business case is not as compelling as one rooted in the emotions.

So, how to create a vision that will elicit an emotional reaction? If possible, you’ll want to draw upon the five senses, and paint a picture of what it’s going to feel like in this organization in three to five years.

Here are some tips from John P. Kotter about what the vision should be:

• Simple: No techno babble or jargon.
• Vivid: A verbal picture is worth a thousand words – use metaphor, analogy, and example.
• Repeatable: Ideas should be able to be spread by anyone to anyone.
• Invitational: Two-way communication is always more powerful than one-way communication.

I hope this helps, Snil. Communicating the vision can be challenging but it may be one of the most rewarding aspects of your work as a leader.

Like this blog? Forward to your nearest engineering or software exec!

Julie Calfin is the Director of Consulting at Broadsword Solutions Corporation. She has years of real world experience using OCM strategy and tactics to help her clients achieve their goals. Julie also uses the CMMI, in partnership with her clients, to set-up, monitor, and sustain process improvement programs.

Visit www.broadswordsolutions.com for more information about running a successful CMMI program.

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Like this blog? Forward to your nearest engineering or software exec!

Jeff Dalton is a Certified SCAMPI Lead Appraiser, Certified CMMI Instructor, author, and consultant with years of real-world experience with the CMMI in all types of organizations. Jeff has taught thousands of students in CMMI trainings and has received an aggregate satisfaction score of 4.97 out of 5 from his students.

Visit www.broadswordsolutions.com for more information about running a successful CMMI program.

What are some fun ways to introduce CMMI to our team?

Hey Appraiser,

Most of the people I meet who talk about CMMI are BORING and don't seem to have any fun!  When they present to our engineers it really turns them off.  What should I do?  ~Ross T.

zzzzzzzz. What...er, oh, hold on while I wake up, that instructor was talking about something.....

Ross, I totally know what you mean.  Sometimes, depending on the speaker, a CMMI Instructor can come off as very academic and boring.  But it's not a total loss.  There are plenty of energetic, smart, and engaging people out in our community talking about CMMI.

One thing you might try is introducing your staff the to the CMMI Song.  Yes!  There is one.  It's called "I Learn the CMMI"and here's the YouTube link to the song and the lyrics.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRgCFxJjUvY

Here's the MP3 link on the SEI website:

http://www.sei.cmu.edu/library/abstracts/podcasts/cmmisong.cfm

Another thing to show them is fantastic little video my friend James Peachey created in Xtranormal about a CMMI Appraisal interview:

http://www.xtranormal.com/watch/12871955/project-7-interview

So don't lose hope.  There are plenty of entertaining, fun, and energetic CMMI professionals out there.

Enjoy!

Like this blog? Forward to your nearest engineering or software exec!

Jeff Dalton is a Certified SCAMPI Lead Appraiser, Certified CMMI Instructor, author, and consultant with years of real-world experience with the CMMI in all types of organizations. Jeff has taught thousands of students in CMMI trainings and has received an aggregate satisfaction score of 4.97 out of 5 from his students.

Visit www.broadswordsolutions.com for more information about running a successful CMMI program.