Broadsword Expands Automotive Supplier Capability with the Addition of Ross Timmerman as Senior Consultant

Hey, CMMI Appraiser – I work for a major automotive manufacturer (you’ve heard of us) and those of us in engineering who are agile have come to loggerheads with our management team. It’s pretty clear that their perception of us is completely wrong. They think we don’t have the capacity to share information. We think their decision-making is questionable, as well as their strategy and tactics. In short, we don’t get each other. How can we bridge this gap? ~ Nick S.

Nick, I hear this a lot from agile teams in the automotive industry. So often, I sometimes just want to lock you guys and your management teams into a room with a case of beer and get you talking to each other. Really talking! You would have good business conversations about how you are going to run your business, without getting all caught up in ego, agile purity or the blame-game.

It’s really not too difficult to have these frank conversations, Nick. All it takes is a strong desire to improve on what you’re already doing. From that point, you simply decide to take the best of both models. You adopt a flexible, agile approach to the CMMI, that fits within your company’s particular situation.

Easier said than done? Perhaps. Because we are so passionate about seeing this transformation happen for our clients, we’ve recently expanded our automotive supplier capability by adding Ross Timmerman to our team, as Senior Consultant.  Ross possesses an extremely useful gift for facilitating these conversations.

Please join me in welcoming Ross Timmerman to the company, and wishing him great success!

With more than 18 years in the automotive industry as an electronics engineering design and management professional, Ross has experience with embedded hardware and software design, project management, process improvement and electronics manufacturing. His broad range of familiarity in the automotive supplier sector, in particular, adds additional capability to the Broadsword team. Prior to joining Broadsword, Ross worked at Johnson Controls and Visteon.

As a Senior Consultant with Broadsword, Ross will focus on assisting clients in the automotive, aerospace, defense, and federal government sectors using Broadsword’s AgileCMMI methodology, which is based on the industry leading Capability Maturity Model Integration, or CMMI.

“One of the things I am most excited about is that I will be able to take the engineering and process improvement knowledge I have learned and help Broadsword clients to improve,” Ross said.

As we continue to expand our presence with automotive suppliers and in the government, manufacturing, and IT sectors, we welcome Ross’ depth and breadth of experience. His passion and focus on business transformation and process improvement will have a significant impact on helping our clients achieve their goals.

Read the full press release here: Broadsword Expands Automotive Supplier Capability with the Addition of Ross Timmerman as Senior Consultant

If you would like more information about using CMMI to strengthen agile and help you communicate agile values to the management team, Nick, you are invited to participate in our upcoming Webinar: “Agile Resiliency – Scaling Agile so that It Thrives and Survives,” February 12, 2015 @ noon EST.

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.