Does the CMMI Appraiser Make CMMI Training Fun?

Hey, CMMI Appraiser – We are big believers that training our people doesn’t have to be drudgery.  I heard from some colleagues that your presentation at CMMI Global Congress 2015 was both educational and entertaining.  When is your next CMMI training in Virginia, and can we all attend? ~ Lina R.

Hey, Lina – I’m glad to hear that my keynote presentation “12 Questions Wildly Successful Companies Answer Every Day” left a favorable impression on your colleagues!  As to your questions ...

Yes, we try to make our Virginia CMMI training classes as interesting and entertaining as possible, and yes, everyone's invited!  Most people tell me afterward that they had a blast – but you can find out for yourself on September 23-25, 2015 in Fairfax, Virginia.

Register for INTRODUCTION TO CMMI TRAINING: Fairfax, Virginia -September 23-25, 2015.

I love that you plan to get others to sign up for CMMI training, Lina.  I’d encourage everyone in your company who touches the process to join us.  Also, if you hear one of the following comments, it's a sure sign that person needs CMMI training:

• “We don’t have a consistent way to estimate a project’s effort and cost.”
• “We are too busy to do retrospectives or to review lessons learned with the team.”
• “No one here is responsible for capturing or reviewing metrics related to projects, technology and organizational performance.”
• “We have repositories for process descriptions, templates, and tools, but no one uses them.”
• “We have a process for building, installing and delivering our products, but it is not widely understood.”

These are just a few of the complaints made by folks who end up getting the most out of CMMI training.  “Introduction to CMMI-DEV v1.3” is designed to help people at CMMI-focused companies that are looking for guidance on being lighter and more flexible, as well as agile teams that are still seeking the kind of results they’ve been hoping for.

That's the big difference between this Lead Appraiser's approach to the CMMI, and the other guy's. Our focus is on using our agileCMMI methodology to help you learn that the CMMI is about the transformation of the culture of your company.  You’ll see the CMMI as a tool for improving and changing the way your company behaves, so that you can get better at what you are ALREADY doing.  And you’ll take away valuable skills to use immediately, including how to play Planning Poker, do agile program planning and perform retrospectives.

So sign up, and get your company signed up for a 3-day CMMI training class that’s hands-on, interactive, agile, practical, and – yes, yes! -- a whole lot of fun.

We hope to see you there!

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.

We need CMMI for SPARC, but will our Scrum teams have to follow one standard process?

Dear CMMI Appraiser, we’re an agile shop, delivering enterprise information technology solutions to the federal government. We just found out from a CMMI consultant about the requirement in SPARC for a CMMI SCAMPI appraisal. If we get a CMMI level for SPARC, does that mean our Scrum teams will have to follow one standard process? ~ Ray F.

Dear Ray,

A lot of companies are asking questions about the CMMI and the SCAMPI-A appraisal since SPARC came out. The SPARC RFP simply states that “contractors who do not possess independently prepared SCAMPI appraisal results assessed at the appropriate CMMI level for a given task will be restricted from performing the work.” It doesn’t say why that helps you. Understandably, people get confused when self-proclaimed CMMI-experts talk about the CMMI as being all about everybody doing the same thing every time. According to them, the CMMI is repeatable and predictable, and that means that everybody has to have the same behavior.

It sounds right. But is it?

Unfortunately, the CMMI says nothing of the kind. What needs to be repeatable are the OUTCOMES. Many projects are unique and require their own "way of doing things" (otherwise known as the PROCESS) - even though they will have repeatable outcomes (high quality software, efficient production, happy customers).

This is not to downplay the CMMI’s ability to help you bring more discipline to your agile methods. It is a terrific tool for that purpose. As a matter of fact, it is THE TOOL for that. However, it does not say you need a single standard process. The CMMI says you should have a SET of standard processes from which each project can derive their unique process. A “set” means more than one. And “more than one” means you need some flexibility and agility to decide how you are going to do something.

So, to be successful in adopting the CMMI in your agile environment, you’ll need to understand what the CMMI says and doesn’t say. You also need to know that, in the CMMI, flexibility and agility outweigh rigid compliance. See my Agile Process Manifesto....

For example, let’s say your development team has a new project. Do they want to use Planning Poker to estimate? Do they want to use Wideband Delphi or Cocomo? Or do they want to use something else? The answer depends on what they are building and the constraints they are dealing with.

The ability to provide flexibility is the most important thing you can do when it comes to improvement and deploying process. Rigid compliance hurts you, it doesn’t help you.

The great thing about the CMMI is that it is extremely agile. It gives you the ability to have choices and agility. It's right in the book ("Integrated Project Management").

I’ll say it again. A set means more than one, and more than one means there is room for flexibility and agility.

Anyone can claim to be a CMMI consultant. But only a small amount of people in the world have the requisite skills, training, experience and certifications that qualify them for the task. And an even smaller group of them have a proven track record. Think about it - it's not just "CMMI." It's organizational change, communications, successfully giving (and getting) advice. It's complicated!

Good CMMI consultants have a deep holistic understanding of the entire model, how it works, and useful ideas on how to use it to improve your company. They will recommend an approach that bridges agility and discipline, in a manner that fits the way your organization is already doing things.

Watch out for CMMI consultants who talk about the SPARC RFP and tell you one size fits all. Next time, just say, "NO!"


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.

What Can We Expect from CMMI Training?

Hey, CMMI Appraiser – a couple people from our Appraisal Team will need to register for CMMI training this fall.  What can we expect from your CMMI training class? ~ Harris S.

Hey, Harris – thanks for your interest in our CMMI training classes!  Our next two courses on Introduction to CMMI-DEV are being held in September, and I can't wait!  It’s another exciting opportunity for me to do what I love best – helping people get on the path to being a great company.

What defines greatness in a company?  We think greatness in an individual and in a company is the ability to transform from where you are now to where you want to be.  For software and engineering executives who dream of having all the benefits of being agile, combined with the resiliency and rigor of a scalable operational model, you need a path to get there.

It should be no surprise to hear that success doesn't just happen.  Being a great company takes training and preparation. It takes being tested with assessments on your readiness to adopt philosophy or methodology you are adopting. And it takes professional consulting to guide the agileCMMI adoption, or whatever performance improvement model you are pursuing.

The first step is CMMI-DEV training.

WHAT IS CMMI-DEV TRAINING?

The Introduction to CMMI for Development training course is a 3-day class that we teach in cities like San Diego, Chicago, Detroit, Washington, DC, Philadelphia and New York City. The class is recommended for software engineers, software developers, project managers, business analysts and line managers. It is an opportunity to learn how software process improvement works, and how to improve the performance of your software or engineering organization.

WHY ARE OUR CMMI TRAINING CLASSES DIFFERENT?

Our classes are quite a bit different from some of the other CMMI training classes, because we infuse agile concepts into our classes. For example, instead of some of the standard training exercises, we include:

• How to play Planning Poker
• How to use Fibonacci sequencing for your estimates
• How to do agile program planning
• How to perform retrospective

… And many other hands-on things that you’ll want to learn to participate in today’s programs using Scrum, Kanban or other methods.

WHERE TO TAKE A CLASS?

Our next two courses being presented on the following dates and locations:

Register for INTRODUCTION TO CMMI TRAINING: Southeastern, MI - September 9-11

Register for INTRODUCTION TO CMMI TRAINING: Fairfax, VA -September 23-25

We hope to see you in class!

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.

Is there still room to attend a CMMI webinar this month?

Hello, CMMI appraiser, We are interested in changing and improving performance, and our engineers would like to attend one of your CMMI webinars this month. Is there still room? Thanks ~ Kevin M.

Hello, Kevin,

There’s always room for people who are passionate about changing and improving the way they do their work!

After all, that’s what the CMMI is all about. The Model provides a framework for changing culture that can establish an environment for allowing you to operate like a great company – for the long term. And it does so by allowing you to focus on improving and changing the way your company behaves, so that you can improve performance, build stronger products and have happier customers.

But it’s not only about CMMI. More engineering and software professionals are learning to adopt and align several of today’s most popular frameworks and methodologies, including CMMI, A-SPICE, ISO and Scrum, and combining them for greater results. Helping you with this challenge is the reason behind our "Everything You Need to Know" webinar series.

So please tell your engineers to come on in! Check out the FREE webinars below and sign up for one (or four, or five) that best match your needs. Note that all presentations are at noon, Eastern Time.

June 16 – “Everything You Need to Know: CMMI!”

This webinar will provide systems engineers, software developers, project managers and process professionals with a basic understanding of how to use the CMMI, a model that is the defacto standard and leading framework for software process improvement. Sign up here.

June 18 – “Everything You Need to Know: CMMI for Extra-Small Companies!”

If you are an "extra-small" or emerging IT and engineering shop (under 25 people) that has been trying unsuccessfully to bid on government contracts that require or recommend a CMMI Rating, "Everything you NEED to know: CMMI for Extra-Small Companies!" helps you learn about a flexible and affordable solution. Sign up here.

June 23 – “Everything You Need to Know: Agile Transformation!”

The webinar helps you learn to become the company you want to be by transforming the values and behaviors in your organization to take advantage of Agile methods for a lighter, leaner approach to solving business problems incrementally and iteratively. Sign up here.

June 24 – "Everything You Need to Know: Agile Resiliency!”

On this webinar, you will learn about applying the concept of “Agile Resiliency,” Broadsword’s proven strategy for scaling agile by strengthening and reinforcing agile values, methods and techniques. The Webinar shows you how integrating the architectural strengths of the CMMI with your agile approach can help you make agile resilient enough to resist the pressure to change – and even scale and thrive.  Sign up here.

June 25 – “Everything You Need to Know: Multi-Model Improvement!”

Designed specifically for organizations that have a CMMI Maturity Level 2 or Level 3 rating and want the benefits of aligning CMMI, ISO/TS and Auto SPICE, “Multi-Model Improvement” gives you everything you NEED to get started! Sign up here.

I hope you and your team will be able to join us, Kevin! Looking forward to seeing you on the webinar(s).

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.