Friday, July 27, 2012

What are the roles and responsibilities of a CMMI sponsor?

Dear CMMI Appraiser, I work in health care support services in Maryland. Our two biggest clients are requiring us to adopt the CMMI, and guess who got picked to lead the effort? Can you tell me, what are the roles and responsibilities of a CMMI sponsor? ~ Paula R.

Paula, as more companies are responding to client demands that they adopt the CMMI, the CMMI Appraiser has received a steady stream of questions about managing this change. One of the leading experts on this topic is Julie Calfin, a Senior CMMI Consultant with Broadsword. Julie does amazing work with companies who are undergoing large scale business transformation. Take it away, Julie! ~ The CMMI Appraiser

Thank you, CMMI Appraiser!

Paula, congratulations on being selected to lead the transformation of your company! That’s a big vote of confidence. Adopting the CMMI is a change that will affect everything – process, technology and people – and you are wise to seek out information about the roles and responsibilities that will help you architect that change.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, Organizational Change Management (OCM) techniques are there to help. Like an architect’s blueprints, OCM principles guide the process of changing behavior throughout the company, and allow you to make the changes quickly, with minimal disruption on the business.

What are the roles and responsibilities of a CMMI Program Sponsor?

The company should establish the governance of the CMMI-based process improvement program at the beginning of the program, and provide you with training to perform your role as the CMMI Program Sponsor. You may find it helpful to think in terms of the behaviors you need to exhibit as a program sponsor:

• Serving as the “champion” of the program and its results

• Aligning the goals and objectives of the program to the organization’s vision and strategic business objectives

• Allocating resources to the program, including people, equipment, and tools

• Reviewing the actual performance of the process improvement program against its plans and estimates

• Removing obstacles that may hinder the program from achieving its goals and performing according to its plans

• Providing authority for the policies that require the organization’s process assets to be followed by their intended users

• Overseeing the performance and maturation of the organization’s processes, and ultimately, the optimization of these processes

The good news is, your behavior is under your control. By exhibiting effective behaviors, you can lead a successful process improvement program, and help transform the company.

I’m excited for you, Paula! Please check back and let us know how you are doing.

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

Julie Calfin is a Senior CMMI Consultant with BroadswordSolutions 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.

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Are retrospectives really necessary for piloting processes?


Hey, CMMI Appraiser – we are a parts manufacturing company in Virginia that is working toward a CMMI Appraisal. As CEO, I need to make sure that we are using our resources wisely. Are retrospectives really necessary when piloting processes, or can we skip it? ~ John L. 

Hey, John – great question! Let me pass it along to Laura Adkins, a Senior CMMI Consultant with Broadsword, who does amazing work with companies who are trying to evaluate the validation process as it pertains to the CMMI.  Laura will take good care of you. ~ The CMMI Appraiser

Thanks, CMMI Appraiser!

John, we work with companies using the CMMI as framework for improving processes as complex as designing rockets and as simple as creating reports. In all cases, we encourage them to test their processes and analyze their validation results with, among other things, a retrospective for improvement.  The retrospective is not something you should skip.

In the retrospective, all results should be identified. Examine the data, and decide if the results went as well as you thought. If they did, why did they? If not, why not?

The risk of not doing the retrospective is that you will miss what people are thinking.  Like any relationship, this may alienate them. And you will certainly miss seeing what they see. As a result, you will find that things you thought were safe assumptions weren’t so. The process may fail, and you have to do more rework in the long run, which can destroy profitability.

Retrospectives have an important place in pilot testing. Without the retrospective, companies would keep running the process the same way forever, and never see improvement. Or, more commonly, your people would find that the process did not work, and just avoid or ignore the process, and do it any old way they wanted to.

Don’t skip the retrospective!

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.

Monday, July 23, 2012

What conclusions can we draw about CMMI Users’ experience?

Welcome back to Ask the CMMI Appraiser for the final installment of CMMI User Stories.

If you’ve been following these updates, you are probably aware of the impetus for sharing them. In May, the industry received a breath of fresh air when the SEI announced that the CMMI would no longer be considered a "research" project, and was now “mature”. While it was exciting to learn that the CMMI would be moved to a new business unit within Carnegie Mellon University, and headed up by former Confluence CEO Kirk Botula, many questions remained about the way CMMI Users were experiencing the Model.

Fortunately, Broadsword was in a unique position to provide some answers. Having recently completed our new study of what CMMI Users really think about the CMMI, we had a lot of interesting data at our fingertips. We were pleased to share excerpts from our report.

What conclusions can we draw about the CMMI Experience?

As a result of this study, we have come to several conclusions:

  • The vast majority of companies that adopt CMMI received value from the experience. According to 90% of CMMI Users polled, the experience was worthwhile. 

  • Only slightly more than half of the CMMI Users said they were motivated by receiving a “CMMI certificate.” Not surprisingly, there were overlapping responses. Many CMMI Users seeking a “CMMI level” told us they also valued continuous improvement. Many CMMI Users who were motivated to be a great company told us they also planned to take advantage of the competitive advantages associated with being “CMMI certified.”  And some said they started with a "certification" approach but as they learned, they transitioned to the more healthy "great company" approach.

  • Calculating ROI continues to be difficult. Almost the same percentage of CMMI Users responded that they had received an ROI as those who did not know. This appears to reinforce what CMMI Appraisers and CMMI sponsors alike have suspected for years: that a direct correlation between cost and value of CMMI is difficult to establish. It’s much easier to draw a connection between companies that intend to use the CMMI to radically improve performance, and those that do not.

  • Adopting CMMI continues to be a difficult, but worthwhile, effort. One of the biggest challenges facing the new business unit will be to continue setting expectations among CMMI Users that it is not easy to adopt the Model, but well worth the effort.

  • Most companies reported a positive experience with their Lead Appraisers. Because the cost of a good Lead Appraiser is a fraction of the reward of a successful process improvement program that puts companies on the path to greatness, it makes sense that most CMMI Users were satisfied.

  • An overwhelming majority responded that they will be renewing their rating when it expires. They said the real performance breakthroughs came when they stopped being concerned with "CMMI certification" and thought more about what it took to be a professional company. By contrast, CMMI Users who did not think this way about the CMMI, we found, were among the 5% who reported that they did not intend to renew.

This concludes our CMMI User Story analysis. We hope this effort provides useful insight to anyone using the CMMI. Whether you are an engineering executive leading the CMMI effort in your company, a Lead Appraiser, an SEI Partner or a member of the new CMU business unit, you are now armed with data that can help make the CMMI a better Model for everyone.

Thank you for following our CMMI User Story analysis. For additional tips, techniques, insights and analysis on a changing industry, be sure to return to Ask the CMMI Appraiser.

We’ve also made the information available in an eBook. If you would like to receive the complete set of CMMI User stories in one report, simply subscribe at the top of this page to receive eBooks. Provided that you are using a valid company email address (not a Yahoo, AOL or Gmail account), we will be happy to add you to the distribution list, and send you the eBook, along with others, in coming weeks.

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.

Thursday, July 19, 2012

Is adopting the CMMI more of a science or an art?

Hey, CMMI Appraiser – settle a bet between me and a fellow Michigan software engineering executive. Is adopting the CMMI more of a science or an art? I say science, because of its rigor and discipline, and he says art, because, he says, the Model can be interpreted differently for each company that adopts it. Who’s right? ~ Isaac F.

Yes!

Isaac, it’s both. Taking the journey to become a great company by adopting the CMMI is both an art and a science. So you both win.

Most people think art and science are polar opposites. Whereas art is expressive, emotive, decorative, or conceptual, science is logical, ordered, practical and functional. How could they possibly overlap?

To illustrate this dynamic, let me share a personal passion of mine.


This CMMI Appraiser started his career journey as a classical musician. I hold degrees in both Music and Computer Science. Today, in addition to running an Agile process innovation firm, Broadsword, I am a Certified Lead Appraiser, CMMI Instructor, ScrumMaster and author of “agileCMMI,” Broadsword’s leading methodology for incremental and iterative process improvement.  And I also play music semi-professionally.

Here’s my secret: I see most things as a musical orchestration. When I wrote software, it was like playing the computer – composing a piece and playing it on a complex instrument.

Today, when I walk into a company, I see an orchestra and a composition that is in need of arrangement and rehearsal. I see my job as a behind-the-scenes conductor or coach to the orchestra, a sectional coach, if you will, who goes around making sure all of the different sections (brass section, string section, etc.) are working together. Then I tap my baton on the stand and say, “Time to play,” and you hear beautiful music come out the other side.

Sounds like art … but there’s a whole lot of science that goes into a CMMI-based process improvement program before you can synthesize something new.

Charlie "Bird" Parker, my favorite jazz musician, did that. Charlie was known for his genius in playing fast and technically accurate.  For Bird (and for me) music is about engineering the craft. You learn the theory, history and all of the academics, which includes theory, drilling and finger exercises. After you master that, only then you can be creative.

A perfect example of an organization that does this is CutTime Productions (www.cuttime.com). Led by Detroit Symphony Orchestra bassist Rick Robinson, CutTime Productions is an artistic venture committed to connecting curious but inexperienced music lovers with the beauty and power of classical music in new and innovative ways. Broadsword recently became a supporter of CutTime, helping them cover the startup costs of traveling the country and introducing their music and methods nationally.

CutTime has the ability to apply science and discipline, and layer creativity on top of it. In that sense, CutTime Productions does for classical music what Charlie Parker did for Jazz, and what Broadsword does for software engineering. We are all after the same wonderful, paradoxical goal:

Applying science and art on the path to greatness.

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.

It’s time for another Webinar! CMMI – Everything You Need to Know

Need to learn EVERYTHING about CMMI? Now's your chance . . . and it's FREEEEEEE!
Join us for “CMMI - Everything You Need to Know” on Friday, July 20, 2012 at 2PM EDT, a free Webinar hosted by Broadsword Solutions Corporation.

Who should participate? If you are an executive, engineer and/or business professional who is trying to create an environment in which your organization can manage its uniqueness in a structured way, this Webinar is designed specifically for you.

Because what is the CMMI all about, anyway? The CMMI is about the transformation of the culture of your company. It’s about improving and changing the way your company behaves, so that you build better products, win new business and retain the customers you have. This fast-paced, indepth Webinar shows how to use the CMMI to reach these outcomes, and more.

Even if you have been working with CMMI for a while, you’ll want to check out the Webinar. You are bound to hear some ideas that you haven't considered before, that will help you get better at what you are ALREADY doing.

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 this informative event! Register 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 running a successful CMMI program.

Monday, July 16, 2012

Do you intend to renew your CMMI Maturity Level?

Welcome back to Ask the CMMI Appraiser for today’s installment of CMMI User Stories.

Since the SEI’s announcement about the CMMI raised a call for more detailed information about how people are experiencing the CMMI, Broadsword has been sharing excerpts from our new study of what CMMI users really think about the CMMI.

A quick recap of the questions we’ve asked to date:

What do companies THINK about the CMMI?
After adopting the CMMI, did you experience an increase in quality or performance?
After adopting the CMMI, did you experience a decrease in defects?
Adopting the CMMI ... was it worth it?
Do CMMI Users actually get an ROI?
Adopting the CMMI - how hard is it?
What was your motivation for adopting the CMMI?
Are you satisfied with your CMMI Appraiser?

Today’s post concerns the final question we asked CMMI users:

Do you intend to renew your CMMI Maturity Level

Renewal of a CMMI Maturity or Capability Level rating must occur every three years. We wanted to understand what percentage of current adopters intended to renew.

As the chart reveals, the vast majority of CMMI Users intended to renew.

What does this data tell us? Consistent with the previous question, “Are you satisfied with your CMMI Appraiser?” in which over 90% of respondents said that they were happy with their Certified SCAMPI Lead Appraisers, over 90% plan to renew.

Most CMMI Users told us they were aware that the duration between SCAMPI “A” appraisals is three years. However, not every CMMI User is aware that, depending on their company’s current health and readiness, there may be a lot to do before the renewal. For example, this CMMI Appraiser works with many companies that commission a SCAMPI "C" to evaluate their health and readiness before scheduling the higher-cost SCAMPI "A" to renew their rating. Regardless of when they achieved their ML rating, it makes sense for CMMI users to assume they need to start their renewal process ASAP.

A final point among CMMI Users who intended to renew: Many told us that they had the best success with the CMMI when their team stopped looking at the CMMI as something they had to “do,” and started looking at it as a set of best-practices of many successful organizations that could serve as a model for them to be successful. As a result, they stopped focusing on what documents they produced, and focused more on how they were acting. They said the real performance breakthroughs came when they stopped being concerned with "CMMI certification" and thought more about what it took to be a professional company.

By contrast, CMMI Users who did not think this way about the CMMI, we found, were among the 5% who reported that they did not intend to renew.

For our final blog post on CMMI User Story analysis, check back soon right here on Ask the CMMI Appraiser.

We’ve also made the information available in an eBook. If you would like to receive the complete set of user stories all at once, simply subscribe at the top of this page to receive eBooks. Provided that you are using a valid company email address (not a Yahoo, AOL or Gmail account), we will be happy to add you to the distribution list, and send you the eBook, along with others, in coming weeks.

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.

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

What’s the fastest way to get buy-in of new processes?


Hey, CMMI Appraiser – just wanted to update you since my last question to “Ask the CMMI Appraiser.” You may recall that our SEPG took your Introduction to CMMI training last fall.  Now we are designing new processes. What’s the fastest way to get buy-in for these new processes, company-wide? ~ Ross O.

Hey, Ross – great to hear from you again! Helping people transform company culture with CMMI is an area of expertise of Laura Adkins, a Senior CMMI Consultant with Broadsword. Laura does amazing work with companies who are trying to institutionalize new processes within the Agile and CMMI frameworks. Take it away, Laura! ~ The CMMI Appraiser

Thanks, CMMI Appraiser!

Ross, since you’ve been to our CMMI trainings, you are familiar with Broadsword’s vision for using the CMMI to change the way your company behaves. The goal is to make this transition a positive experience, so that everyone buys in. One way to accelerate buy-in – or “institutionalize” – is with pilot testing.

Why does pilot testing accelerate buy-in? There are many reasons. The first reason is: everyone who participates in a pilot test becomes a champion.


Like the athletes in this picture, champions see the value of processes that work. They have been trained and mentored and can spread the word on why they love the new processes. This is important because, the more people you have supporting your new processes, the better. It’s how you create early buy-in.

Having the support and endorsement of champions means a lot. We’ve found that users are far more likely to try out a new process if they know it was pilot tested first. For example, a project manager who has used the new processes in pilot testing will spread the word to other project managers. And he will talk to his peers in a different manner from how the SEPG will be rolling the new processes out. He’ll say things like, “Hey, it really wasn’t that bad. It was easier than you think.” So having champions really helps disseminate the new processes and knowledge among others, in a way that they will trust.

The second reason pilot testing accelerates institutionalization is the simple fact that you’ve already trained people for the pilot. Not only are they ready for the new processes ahead of time, but you now have fewer people left to train. That helps accelerate adoption.

The third reason pilot testing gets everyone to buy in faster is that it decreases the risk of unintended consequences. Sometimes we make assumptions when we develop processes, assumptions about what types of projects are using the processes, or what will work. If you do this in a vacuum, where you haven’t solicited everyone’s feedback, you may be in for some unpleasant surprises. You don’t know what you don’t know, as they say.

Pilot testing helps you know. Use pilot testing to validate that you have made correct assumptions, and that the new processes will be a good fit for your organization.

That’s the best way to get buy-in quickly.

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.

Posted by Jeff Dalton at 1:39 PM 0 comments 

Saturday, July 7, 2012

Does the Agile Manifesto "forbid" writing down requirements?

Hey, CMMI Appraiser – I’m a member of an an agile team for a Maryland contractor to the National Institutes of Health. We just started designing a fairly complex financial system for NIH, but one of my teammates is adamantly against writing down changes to the requirements. He says the Agile Manifesto forbids it – but our boss clearly thinks it’s important. Does the Agile Manifesto really forbid writing down the requirements? ~ Carol W.

Carol, I had the same conversation with an XP team a couple of weeks ago. They said, “We don’t see any value in writing down the changes to the requirements. Business value is in our software, not in documents.”

Suffering through unclear requirements is not a question of "if" but "when" on any project team.  In my experience, anyone who says that has never suffered from the confusion and chaos that inevitably occurs when a team loses track of the current state of requirements (just ask any tester or customer).  In the case of your colleague, I strongly suspect he is mistaking the Agile Manifesto, a very well thought out, disciplined set of guidelines, for the "Lazy Manifesto."  Only one of those approaches is going to help make your company great (hint: it's not the Lazy Manifesto).  Let's take a look at what the Agile Manifesto actually says (with compliments to Sutherland, Jeffries, Beck, Schwaber, Beedle,  Cockburn, et al):



No doubt you've seen this before.  At this point, the Agile Manifesto is so familiar that a mythology has been built up around it. After listening to so many people talk about it I get this mental image of a gang of brainy geeks climbing up a mountain-side, complete with crampons and ice picks, setting up a smoke lodge, and sitting there on the mountaintop for a couple days. Smoke fills the teepee, and on the last day, out comes a puff of white smoke along with the Agile Manifesto, along with a torrent of hundreds of conferences and books!  Everyone in the teepee goes on to become a superstar and software is defect free and on-time forever!  Did I mention the rainbows and unicorns?

It turns out these folks got many things right … and one thing REALLY right.  Collaboration and communication  (and the structure to encourage them) are pivotal for creating great software.

They were also smart enough, as the founding fathers and mothers of "Agile," to say about the stuff on the right: “This stuff is important too.”

But somewhere along the way, too many people took a paper cutter to this document, and focused only on the stuff on the left.  This may be why your colleague is confused.  This is where comments like "business value only exists in code" came from.  That is ONE of the places business value exists, perhaps the most important, but not the only place.

So, IMHO, it is important to write down requirements.  Does it have to be a huge, heavy specification?  No, it can be as simple as sticky notes or maybe in a tool like iScrum or Process Focus.  Applying discipline to your Agile methods will help your team, customer, and boss understand the business issues at stake. This will help make your team more successful and put you in position to take on larger, more complex projects.

To be clear, when I say "apply discipline," I don't mean rigidity and useless documentation.  Of course we care more about the stuff on the left.  Just remember the stuff on the right is really important too.

Sounds like your colleague is about to get his first experience with that.

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.

Friday, July 6, 2012

Are you satisfied with your CMMI Appraiser?

Welcome back to Ask the CMMI Appraiser for today’s installment of CMMI User Stories.

As you know from our earlier posts, the SEI’s recent announcement about the CMMI raised a call for more detailed information about how people are experiencing the CMMI. In response, Broadsword decided to release excerpts from our new study of what CMMI users really think about the CMMI. Today’s post concerns the seventh question we asked CMMI users:

Were you satisfied with your experience working with your CMMI appraiser?

Organizations often report different experiences with different lead appraisers. We wanted to understand the level of satisfaction with the lead appraiser experience.

Very few responded that they were not satisfied, or did not know.
What does this data tell us? The market seems to be responding to the fact that most (not all) Certified SCAMPI Lead Appraisers are very experienced. Many have not only been practicing engineers/software developers/project managers with advanced degrees, but have also been executives, leaders, authors, and successful consultants for many years.

For example, this CMMI Appraiser has been a software developer, engineer, project manager, software architect, line manager, Chief Technology Officer, VP of Consulting, and CIO - all before I was a CMMI Appraiser.

So Certified Lead Appraisers are not your typical “CMMI consultants." Many of them can add significant strategic value to companies adopting the CMMI, due to their depth of experience. And because the cost of a Lead Appraiser is a fraction of the reward of a successful process improvement program that puts companies on the path to greatness, it makes sense that most CMMI users were satisfied.

For more CMMI User Story analysis, check back soon right here on Ask the CMMI Appraiser.

We’ve also made the information available in an eBook. If you would like to receive the complete set of user stories all at once, simply subscribe at the top of this page to receive eBooks. Provided that you are using a valid company email address (not a Yahoo, AOL or Gmail account), we will be happy to add you to the distribution list, and send you the eBook, along with others, in coming weeks.

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.