Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Global Adoption of CMMI Performance Improvement Framework Continues to Rise

Reposted from: BusinessWire · Feb. 24, 2014 | Last Updated: Feb. 24, 2014 11:31 AM ET  

CMMI Institute announced today that a record number of Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) appraisals were completed in 2013 as organizations across the globe elevate organizational performance by adopting CMMI. The company also released the findings of a customer satisfaction survey using the Net Promoter® Score (NPS) methodology in which individuals who utilize CMMI rated CMMI as the world class means of improving organizational performance.
CMMI appraisals allow companies to measure their capability maturity against a defined framework of best practices. More than 1,600 appraisals were completed in 2013, the most ever done in one year and an 11% increase over 2012, the previous record year for appraisals. Of the 2013 appraisals nearly 40% were completed in China, where the widespread adoption of CMMI is driving economic growth and development across the region.
For complete story go to: http://t.co/LijVKa7L0Y
Just as a side-note, as a Lead Appraiser at Broadsword, I personally delivered 10 of those SCAMPI A's last year, in addition to about a dozen Class B and fifteen Class C Appraisals.
CMMI ROCKS!
Like this blog? Forward to your nearest engineering or software exec!

Jeff Dalton is a Certified SCAMPI Lead AppraiserCertified 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 engineering strategyperformance innovation , software process improvement and running a successful CMMI program.


Thursday, February 20, 2014

Finally, CMMI information for Extra-Small Companies!

Dear Readers,

If you work in an extra-small company with under 20 employees, and are interested in learning more about performance innovation and process improvement models, you’ve probably noticed there is not a lot of information about CMMI for companies your size. You may have even come to the conclusion that the CMMI is not appropriate for small companies – but that’s just one of the myths about to be SHATTERED!

Finally, for those in extra small companies who need to know EVERYTHING about the CMMI, Broadsword is pleased to announce that we are hosting FREE, LIVE Webinar on Thursday, March 20, 2014 at 1PM ET. Join us for “Shattering the Myths about CMMI and Extra Small Companies!”


You’ve heard the Myths:

  • CMMI is only for big companies
  • CMMI is too expensive to implement
  • CMMI and Agile don't go together
  • CMMI requires too much documentation
  • CMMI success is hard to achieve

Contrary to these common myths, in my work with companies in a broad range of industries, I’ve found that CMMI is actually more beneficial for small, agile organizations than for large ones. Small organizations are looking for the value and opportunity CMMI brings to their business. More and more are adopting the Model.

This FREE webinar sheds new light on how and why your extra small businesses can benefit from adopting the CMMI. You will learn about the true purpose of the CMMI, as well as how to avoid the pitfalls that keep many companies from even starting.

What: Free Webinar
When: Thursday, March 20, 2014 | 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM ET
Where: On your screen
How to register: Sign up here

Won’t you join us, and tell a friend in an extra small company? This Webinar just might change your perception about the CMMI, what it is, and how it can help you.

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 engineering strategy, performance innovation , software process improvement and running a successful CMMI program.

To download eBooks about CMMI, visit Jeff’s Author Page on Amazon.

Monday, February 17, 2014

Does the CMMI require us to have a full time CMMI consultant?

Hey, CMMI Appraiser, we’re a young company with a dozen FTEs. We see the value of adopting the CMMI, but lack the resources right now to bring on full time CMMI consultants to help us. Is there any way an extra small organization like ours can have a successful CMMI adoption? ~ software entrepreneur at a recent Conference

Dear Readers,

Welcome back to the studio for today’s episode of CMMI-TV. You know, in my travels around the country and planet, I meet a lot of executives who initially think it is not possible to have a successful CMMI adoption without incurring the heavy cost of a full time CMMI consultant. This is just one of the common myths about the CMMI and extra small companies (those with fewer than 20 people). Below is a video clip with my response to this myth, followed by a synopsis of my response. Enjoy!


OVERVIEW

Does CMMI require you to have consultants in your company help you achieve a level of the CMMI? Or is that a myth?

Some say they have a full time consulting presence on staff to help them achieve a level of the CMMI, but this CMMI Appraiser believes that only a MINIMAL consulting presence is required for you to be successful.

WHAT TO EXPECT FROM A CMMI CONSULTANT

If you only remember one thing from this video, remember this: The CMMI is not something that consultants can DO to you. It is something they can HELP you with it. Hopefully they can remove some roadblocks, and give you some good suggestions – but no one knows your organization as well as YOU do. Therefore, the internal people at your company are the best source of process improvement ideas.

WHAT NOT TO EXPECT

If you are going to use a CMMI consultant, DO use them to help you structure a program and go-forward plan to achieve a Maturity Level 2, Maturity Level 3, 4 or 5. But here are some DON’T do’s:

  • DON’T use CMMI consultants to write processes
  • DON’T let them tell you what the answers are
  • DON’T let them tell you what it is that you need to do to run your business to be successful

Only YOU can do those things. The engineers, management, project management and leadership of your organization are best suited to decide what best practices are likely to work best for you.

This is not to say that a consultant has no value. A consultant can help you get organized, and that can be extremely valuable, but DON’T lean on them too heavily to be successful with CMMI. Only a minimal consulting presence is required.

CONCLUSION

No matter what process improvement model you embrace or who helps you adopt it, the improvement of your company is up to YOU, not up to them.

For more information, register for our upcoming Webinar:

Shattering the Myths about CMMI and Extra Small Companies
March 17, 2014 (1-2PM EDT)

CMMI-TV is the free video series with the answers you’re looking for about Agile, CMMI and Performance Innovation. As a subscriber, you’ll be notified when we add new episodes to CMMI-TV and you’ll get links to other premium content, as well. Sign up here!

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 engineering strategy, performance innovation , software process improvement and running a successful CMMI program.

To download eBooks about CMMI, visit Jeff’s Author Page on Amazon.

Thursday, February 13, 2014

CMMI Webinar on Valentine’s Day? What’s not to love?

To celebrate the most romantic day of the year, we here at Broadsword decided to give engineering and software professionals something they all seem to LOVE:

Another great learning opportunity!



Yes, for those who need to know EVERYTHING about the CMMI, Broadsword Solutions Corporation is hosting a FREE webinar on Friday, February 14, 2014 at 1PM ET: “CMMI – Everything You NEED to Know.”

Click here to register for the Webinar.

Key Webinar Take-aways:

  1. If you are having trouble with estimates, CMMI can help make your estimates better
  2. If your projects are late, CMMI can improve predictability
  3. If your management is micromanaging you, CMMI can help you give them consistent information and insight into projects
  4. If you have a lot of tedious rework going on, CMMI can help you avoid that with validation and making sure requirements are right
  5. If you have unhappy customers, CMMI can help you manage their expectations
  6. If you are experiencing a lot of chaos in your business, CMMI can bring stability
  7. If you need to define the Way you do business, that’s what CMMI helps you do best!

Your speaker is Jeff Dalton of "Ask the CMMI Appraiser." Jeff is a Certified Lead Appraiser and CMMI Instructor. He has conducted hundreds of CMMI Appraisals and taught thousands of students in his CMMI Training classes. He is a process innovation thought-leader and CMMI Consultant who has been a guest speaker at conferences and workshops around the world.

Don't miss your date with performance improvement! Our popular Webinar series fills up fast. Register here.

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

Jeff Dalton is a Certified SCAMPI Lead Appraiser, Certified CMMI Instructor, ScrumMaster, author, and consultant with years of real-world experience with the CMMI in all types of organizations. Jeff pioneered agileCMMI, the leading methodology for incremental and iterative process improvement. He 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 engineering strategy, performance innovation , software process improvement and running a successful CMMI program.

To download eBooks about CMMI, visit Jeff’s Author Page on Amazon.

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Will Large-Scale Adopters CHANGE Agile?

Hey, CMMI Appraiser, why do you say large adopters are going to change agile, even if their suppliers want it to stay the same? ~ QA professional at DC SPIN meeting

At a recent DC Software Process Improvement Network (DC SPIN) event, where this CMMI Appraiser was speaking on "Agile Resiliency: How CMMI Will Make Agile Thrive and Survive," I took a question from a QA professional on why we should be concerned that large adopters are changing agile. Below is a video clip with my answer, followed by a synopsis of my response. Enjoy!



OVERVIEW

Danger!  Danger!  Agile will change!

Large adopters such as Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Rockwell Collins, SAIC and Ford will change agile, just as they've influenced other methodologies and models they've embraced. For example, at one time, even Waterfall was once thought to be innovative, helpful and useful. But Waterfall methods evolved and changed to meet the information needs of the large adopters, and a similar fate awaits agile.

HISTORY OF THE PROBLEM

When the CMMI came out in 2001, the large-scale early adopters were doing business in a top-heavy, document-focused, command and control manner. They took a similar approach to adopting the CMMI. When they adopted the process model, they continued to do business the way they always did business.

It’s important to note that neither Waterfall, the CMMI, nor any particular process model was ever intended to be top-heavy and document-focused. But that’s the way the large early adopters did business, and thus, that’s how the methodologies and models evolved.

PRESENT THREAT

Large adopters are STILL doing business their old way. There are hundreds of companies being influenced by organizations like General Motors, Ford and Chrysler and hundreds of contractors being influenced by the Department of Defense.  Now they're saying, "Let's be agile!"

I don't know about you, but that scares me.  In Detroit, we have a saying, “Suppliers don’t change GM. GM changes suppliers.”

As a supplier, you can have all the best intentions and the right way of going about things, but these large new adopters have tremendous weight and momentum behind what they are doing, and you will eventually get changed. Not because they don’t want to be agile, but because they are NOT agile.

FUTURE RISK
  • The large-scale adopters will take a top-down, document heavy, command-and-control approach to adopting agile
  • They will want to be on committees
  • They will want to drive standards

This will not be good for those of us who love agile.

CONCLUSION

We can fight back by applying the concept of “Agile Resiliency,” a proven strategy for scaling agile by strengthening and reinforcing agile values, methods, and techniques. Agile Resiliency is about integrating the architectural strengths of the CMMI with your agile approach to help you make agile resilient enough to resist the pressure to change – and even scale and thrive.

CMMI-TV is the free video series with the answers you’re looking for about Agile, CMMI and Performance Innovation. As a subscriber, you’ll be notified when we add new episodes to CMMI-TV and you’ll get links to other premium content, as well. Sign up here!

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 engineering strategy, performance innovation , software process improvement and running a successful CMMI program.

To download eBooks about CMMI, visit Jeff’s Author Page on Amazon.

Monday, February 3, 2014

Are they Alternative Practices, or just innovative?

[Dear Readers, our good friend Pat O’Toole, CMMI expert and seasoned consultant, is collaborating with us on a new monthly series of CMMI-related posts, "Just the FAQs." Our goal with these posts is to provide answers to the most frequently asked questions about the CMMI, SCAMPI, engineering strategy and software process improvement. This month Jeff takes the helm with an article about Alternative Practices.  Take it away! ~ the CMMI Appraiser]


This week I completed my 88th presentation of “Introduction to CMMI-DEV” and, needless to say, my evolution from slide-reader to evangelist took place long ago.
Me (using my best evangelical, big tent voice):  “Goals are WHAAAAAT?
Them (in a postulate tone): “R-E-Q-U-I-R-E-D!”
Me: “Practices are WHAAAAAT?” 
Them: “E-X-P-E-C-T-E-D! “
Me: “Everything else?” 
Me: “G-O-O-D   I-N-F-O-R-M-A-T-I-O-N! “  Whoo hoooo!
I followed that up with my usual sermon about what “expected” really means - it’s what the CMMI generally expects to see in order to achieve a given goal within the context of the business model.  Since we conduct appraisals through the examination of practices and the “evidence” they collectively produce, it’s usually a hot topic during my classes that are often filled with potential Appraisal Team Members.
In the back of the room, a young woman (who I could have sworn had just been nodding off) raised her hand and asked, “what if we’re just smarter than you are?” 
Rut roh!  Cue the music!
She was making a great point.  I’ve been lucky enough to work with people who are almost universally smarter than I am, and with so many approaches to systems and software engineering executed across so many cultures, I am always learning about innovative ways to accomplish a task. Lead Appraiser’s haven’t seen everything, and the very fact that the practices are “expected” is recognition of that.  These are, of course, known as “Alternative Practices.”
The CMMI glossary defines an alternative practice as something that is a “substitute” for one or more Specific or Generic Practices.  
This leads us to Rule #1: “Sometimes there is another way.”
In general, the CMMI does a reasonably good job of anticipating the practices a project will employ to achieve a particular Goal, and they are described in general enough terms that they apply to most situations.  In fact, some of the practices are SO general and high-level, that it leads to confusion in the market about what projects teams are supposed to do!
That leads to Rule #2: “There are not many other ways.”
Every few years this topic is hotly debated on one of the CMMI message boards that has not yet been shut down due to the religious extremism exhibited by its members, and they always end up in the same place:

Rule #3: “Just ‘cause it’s interesting doesn’t mean you’ve discovered an alternative.”
My good friend and “Just the FAQs” writing partner, Pat O’Toole, dug into this topic a few years back in one of his useful ATLAS studies.  He asked the community to provide examples of “alternative practices” that they had run across in their travels.  His data suggests that they are few and far between – 5 out of 44 candidates were, in fact, agreed to by the community-at-large to be true alternatives to the CMMI’s Specific and Generic Practices.  And some of those are, IMHO, still open for debate.
Pat calls those 39 remaining practices (and I presume many others he has run across) “alternative implementations,” and I use the term “innovative implementations.” Teams do often come up with innovative ideas for behaviors and processes, but that, in itself, does not mean that an alternative has been discovered (nor does it mean that the authors of the CMMI thought of that innovative implementation when they designed the model!).
In searching for examples, people sometimes get hung up on the sequence and grouping of practices, and they find themselves searching for that direct one-to-one alternative to a single practice.  Save yourself some time because . . .
This leads to Rule #4: “Alternatives rarely map one-to-one with the CMMI practices.”
There are often many-to-many, or at least a “many-to-one,” relationships between any alternative and a single or group practices, creating even a greater opportunity for confusion between “alternative” and “innovative.”
In my experience, the most commonly referenced “alternatives” are related to one “agile” practice or another.  Perhaps this is because they are gaining in popularity, (or because they just aspire to be different…), but team members often refer to agile estimation techniques – planning poker or Fibonacci sequencing for example -  as an alternative to the CMMI’s estimation practices in Project Planning.  I mean – who wants to do THOSE THINGS?  But even though these are both VERY innovative approaches to estimation, they are simply collaborative techniques based on sizing that fit quite nicely into the “expected” category.
Another common suggestion is that the use of “sprints” (scrum) or “iterations” (XP) are an alternative to the CMMI’s expectation that a “lifecycle” be defined and employed (PP, OPD, IPM, et al).   Ditto for Kanban for software.  Again, while these are an innovation in the software product management, these are still a kind of “lifecycle” – albeit conceptually very different from what some of us experienced while we were coming up in the industry.
Here’s some others I often hear:
Pair programming?  Nope, peer reviews.
Retrospectives? Uh uh.  Collect Process Related Experiences
Backlog Grooming? Ah ha!  That must be one!  It’s REALLY alternative!  Nope.  It’s an innovative combination of Requirements Management, Validation, and Project Planning.  Good stuff for sure – just not an alternative practice.
While Alternative Practices are sometimes treated as secret black magic that only the most seasoned Lead Appraisers can interpret, my experience has been quite the opposite…..
This leads Rule #5 – the final rule:  “Most alternative practices are mundane and administrative.”
“What?  After all this you tell me that the mythical “Alternative Practice” is BORING?”
I’m afraid that’s mostly true.  Maybe not all of them (since I’m not smart enough to know them all), but the most common ones seem to be pretty unimpressive.
·         Your customer directs you to use a supplier
·         Your customer tells you what the architecture and technology will be
·         The government “helps” you by giving you the schedule and budget they want you to use
·         Another company does independent V&V
·         On a 10-year maintenance project you use a “push and pop” ticketing system since a WBS with life-cycles is not that useful
On the other hand, if your customer changes the requirements the night before launch, it is NEITHER alternative nor innovative!
Good luck – and focus on innovation, not alternatives!

“Just the FAQs” is written/edited by Jeff Dalton and Pat O’Toole.  Please contact the authors at jeff@broadswordsolutions.com and pact.otoole@att.net to suggest enhancements to their answers, or to provide an alternative response to the question posed.  New questions are also welcomed!

Saturday, February 1, 2014

9 Things Your Consultant Won’t Tell You about CMMI (But I Will)

Hey, CMMI Appraiser – we have recently been mandated by a customer to achieve a level of the CMMI. We started conversations with a CMMI consultant to help us think about going through the SCAMPI-A appraisal, but at this early stage, we aren’t confident about our needs. Can you give us a checklist? ~ Emory A.

Hey, Emory – wow, that’s important. If your CMMI consultant hasn’t been able to help you identify your needs, then the first thing on your checklist should be to find a new CMMI consultant!  Consulting is about WAY more than just content.  If all they have is the CMMI content, they're a contractor.  If they can give you sound business advice, in a cohesive and useable way, maybe they are a consultant too.




In the meantime, here are nine things you need as you prepare to adopt the CMMI:
  1. You need confidence. Look for a Certified Lead Appraiser who is a credible CMMI Institute Partner as well as an organizational performance improvement expert. CMMI is only the beginning!  You need them to have broad, diverse base of experience and a consistent success rate. When you call on their references (you DO call consultant references, right?), find out if they added value beyond the appraisal, and if they are a Lead Appraiser, be sure they took meticulous care in conducting the appraisal documenting and submitting the formal appraisal records.
  2. You need to get stronger. You need to be serious about performance and process improvement, and your CMMI consultant needs to focus on making your company even stronger than it is today. The focus should NOT be on getting a CMMI level as quickly as possible.
  3. You need hands-on involvement. Whether you are a large or small organization, your CMMI Consultant needs to give you sound, hands-on advice that moves you forward and guides you towards the useful adoption of CMMI.
  4. You need coaching and training in more than just CMMI. For your CMMI adoption to be successful, it is important that sponsors and practitioners understand the depth and breadth of systems/software engineering in addition to the basics about the CMMI model, and what their roles and responsibilities are for implementation. CMMI training is a must for at least a core team, but there is so much more to than that.  Planning, estimating, unit testing, backlog grooming, spring planning, and more!
  5. You need an ROI. Be sure your CMMI consultant will do a complete job, and not cut corners. CMMI is about changing your company to radically improve performance. This is a difficult task, and your CMMI consultant needs to be committed to doing it right, so that you receive the best ROI possible.  It's not about ratings...it's about you and your company doing what you do, only better.
  6. You need a multi-disciplined partner. You are an expert at software development, service delivery, engineering and project management – and your CMMI consultant should be too! Don’t settle for consultants who can only demonstrate an expertise in the CMMI. There’s a whole lot more to your business than the performance improvement model you use.
  7. YOU need to succeed with your CMMI appraisal (your CMMI consultant can’t do it for you). That’s right, “passing” an appraisal is entirely up to you, while adhering to the rules that pave the way to acceptance is up to your CMMI Lead Appraiser. Don't listen to someone who guarantees you will get a "level.".  That's unethical. Again, make sure you find one who knows your business.
  8. You need a mature process. Ask your CMMI consultants whether they have a step-by-step, well defined process to help you through the process.  You don't want someone who just shows up saying "dude, can I get a login ID to Sharepoint?"  You’ll get a better outcome if you take an approach that works the way you work. For instance, our AgileCMMI methodology helps organizations incrementally decrease risk and ensures their success.
  9. You need to enjoy the journey! The CMMI is more akin to a behavioral improvement model than an engineering process improvement model. As such, your CMMI adoption is an ongoing quest to be a great company, as opposed to an end in itself. Achieving a Maturity Level of the CMMI will be just one byproduct of your journey.  And it's not even the most important one!

Hope this helps you identify your needs, Emory. And remember, if you need to find a replacement for that CMMI consultant, let me know. I just may know a guy.

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

Jeff Dalton is a Certified SCAMPI Lead Appraiser, Certified CMMI Instructor, ScrumMaster, author, and consultant with years of real-world experience with the CMMI in all types of organizations. Jeff pioneered agileCMMI, the leading methodology for incremental and iterative process improvement. He 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 engineering strategy, performance innovation , software process improvement and running a successful CMMI program.

To download eBooks about CMMI, visit Jeff’s Author Page on Amazon.