Which book is a good start on CMMI, coming from a Scrum/agile background?

Which book is a good start for learning about CMMI coming from a Scrum/agile background? ~ Quora User

Dear Readers – We've been having a lot of fun on Quora.com recently. For those who are new to the social media platform, I've found it to be a place for high-level discourse about (among other interesting topics) engineering strategy and software process improvement. Below is today's response. Enjoy! ~ the CMMI Appraiser

Dear Quora User,

If you’re looking for the definitive “CMMI-Scrum” book, commissioned by the CMMI Institute, you can download my book “The Guide to CMMI and Scrum” free from the CMMI Institute site, or from the Broadsword web site.

Here’s a review with links to a free download: A GUIDE TO SCRUM AND CMMI®: IMPROVING AGILE PERFORMANCE WITH CMMI.

It’s filled with tables and examples for all types of Agile ceremonies and techniques.

Have fun!

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

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.

Visit www.broadswordsolutions.com for more information about engineering strategy, performance innovation, software process improvement and running a successful CMMI program.

Using Agile on a Waterfall project – What are the challenges?

What are the main challenges of using an Agile methodology on a Waterfall project? ~ Quora User

Dear Readers – Below is my response to a question posted on Quora.com by an Agile Leader who is thinking about using Agile methods in a "waterfall" environment - which can mean different things to different organizations, which I detail below. Regular users of Quora.com know this social media platform as a place for high-level discourse about engineering strategy and software process improvement, and the conversation has been especially thought-provoking recently. Enjoy! ~ the CMMI Appraiser

Dear Quora User,

The agile community has done a great job at defining and branding agile frameworks like Scrum and XP, although technically, they’re not methodologies. But they do provide great guidance for how to do things, what the roles are, and in what sequence actions are to take place.

“Waterfall,” is more ambiguous. There really isn’t a “waterfall community,” or a methodology that is called waterfall - although it is generally thought of as phased, task oriented, and planned for the project duration. Because of its use of project managers, strong oversight, metrics, and reporting, it’s often thought of (by agilistas anyway) as “low trust,” where “agile” is thought of (by agilistas) as “high trust,” due the the focus on self-organization and relying on the people who are doing the work to make important decisions.

A lot of people think they are implementing “agile” by adopting some techniques (ceremonies) such as the daily standup, or using a structure like a backlog for requirements. Some implement a tool like Jira (Atlassian), or TFS (Microsoft) and then call themselves “agile.” In the real world, “Agile” is a philosophical approach to running an organization based on a set of core values that include things such as “Transparency,” “Collaboration,” “Fail-fast” and others. Once an organization establishes their values (and people subscribe to them), then a set of methods, tools, and frameworks are established that align or trace to them.

For instance, “daily standup” traces to transparency and collaboration. “Sprints” trace to “fail-fast,” and so on. Scrum and XP are good examples of frameworks that have done a good job of aligning with agile values. Opinions vary, but there a some people who say SAFe (Scaled Agile) doesn’t do as good a job - one reason it is resonating so well with the government!

So, if by “waterfall” you mean “low trust” and “command-and-control,” you can use all the agile ceremonies you want, but you’ll struggle and not get a lot of value from them. If you mean that your work is “phased” with project mangers, and you have a strong culture based on agile values, you “are agile,” although you are not using Scrum or XP (for example). It’s possible to use waterfall techniques and still be agile, although it’s not very common in the industry. It’s also important to realize that Scrum does not equal agile, although it is a manifestation of agile values, if implemented properly.

If you choose to run a project using “waterfall,” but you want to encourage teams running their sub-projects to use Scrum, you are free to do that (in fact, I recommend it), but it all starts with leadership, who need to demonstrate a culture of agility and ensure the values are adopted by the organization - regardless of the techniques you use.

Good luck!

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

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.

Visit www.broadswordsolutions.com for more information about engineering strategy, performance innovation, software process improvement and running a successful CMMI program.

Where can I get CMMI V2.0-related content for studying?

Where could I get CMMI V2.0-related content for studying? I can’t get it because it is paid. I am working as a CMMI implementer in an IT company. ~ Quora User 

Dear Readers – recently I've been answering questions about performance improvement, CMMI, and Agile from engineering and software professionals and leaders, on Quora.com. Below is my response to a CMMI adopter who wants to be understand the new Model upgrade, CMMI V2.0. Enjoy! ~ the CMMI Appraiser

Dear Quora User, the only place to get the new version of CMMI V2.0 in online format. There is no longer a book that you can purchase or download. Neither are there CMMI-DEV or CMMI-SVC "constellations," just one model with different “views." These are some of the many changes you'll find in the new Model upgrade.

The reason for this is because the CMMI Institute has moved to an online subscription model, where you can only see the detailed content if you have an annual license. The price on this has been fluctuating as they experiment, but it’s somewhere between $400-1500US per user, depending on what you are buying.

The new CMMI is separated into two sections - protected content (anything that describes the meaning of the practices, including examples) and un-protected content (names of the Practice Areas (new terminology) and Practices. So you can see the list - just not what THEY think the meaning of each item is! For that you must buy a license.

Here are a couple of new things to get you started:

• Process Areas are now Practice Areas
• The sub-Practices have been eliminated
• The Generic Practices have been eliminated
• There are new Practice Areas for Governance and Implementation Infrastructure to replace and enhance the content from the Generic Practices
• New CMMI appraisals will see the CMMI Institute determining the sample, not the Lead Appraiser or Sponsor
• Each Practice Area has multiple levels within it (Practice Groups)

I’ve written pretty extensively on CMMI V2.0 here my blog, and have also done a number of videos (including interviews with the CMMI Institute’s Chief Architect) at CMMI-TV.com.

For more in-depth learning about CMMI V2.0, check out our upcoming CMMI V2.0 webinar, "CMMI V2.0 Is Here! Why It's the Best CMMI Yet.

Also consider signing up for a CMMI V2.0 Training class (where you will get the license as part of the training).

Good luck!

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

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.

Visit www.broadswordsolutions.com for more information about engineering strategy, performance innovation, software process improvement and running a successful CMMI program.

Large organizations adopting agile: How well is it going?

Jeff, in your exploration of over 300 organizations, a lot of them are the very big ones. When we look at the adoption profile, it's the late majority, the laggards, that are getting into Agile now. How well is that going? ~ Shane H.

[Editor's Note: During the coming weeks, this CMMI Appraiser will share excerpts from a recent conversation with Shane Hastie, Lead Editor for Culture & Methods on the “Engineering Culture by InfoQ” podcast about leadership, and the kind of leadership that is needed in today’s Agile world. Today’s blog post is the first installment. Listen to the full interview at http://bit.ly/infoqpodcast]

Well, Shane, this isn't a popular opinion, but based on the empirical data we've collected, it's not going well. The marketing of agility is doing far better than the reality of agility, for a lot of different reasons. I always say it's the early adopters who kind of set the tone for adoption.

Of course, the early adopters of Agile tended to be smaller, more compact organizations, and subsections of companies or organizations that were trying Agile. They had great success with Scrum and XP and some of those things. But as Agile has scaled, and as more and more big companies have adopted Agile, it hasn't been as successful.

The reason? Start with the culture. It’s the culture of the company that drives the behaviors of the people. Small startups, small subsections of teams, tend to have very collaborative, transparent cultures. But look at large organizations like General Motors, the Department of Defense, Lockheed Martin, and Nationwide Insurance. All of these organizations have 300 or 400 teams working together, and the culture of those teams is the culture of their organization.

I’ll use General Motors as kind of a metaphor because there are a lot of big companies like them. Why are General Motors’ software teams very document-heavy and very process-heavy with lots of low trust oversight? Because that's how the company operates. It has nothing to do with their software teams. It has everything to do with the culture of the company.

The same has been true with the CMMI. The CMMI has a reputation of being kind of a heavyweight process-burden model. But the only reason people think that is because the early adopters were General Electric, General Motors, Lockheed Martin and the DoD. These are organizations were already heavy, overburdened, over-processed companies, so when they adopted CMMI, they made it a process-heavy model. And when they adopted Agile, what do you think they did? They made it heavy, and over-burdened.

In my work assessing the agile performance of large organizations like these, I’ve found that they all have Project Managers that do tasking. They use Microsoft Project. They do a lot of things that you would think were Agile anti-patterns, or antithetical to agile values. They all do them!

It's only the smallest companies that are running Scrum projects using the Scrum roles as defined in the Scrum Guide. Most larger companies have Project Managers, Architects, Directors, Process Quality, and audits. They have all the things that you would say agile teams would never have. I observed this early on, and said, “Hey, there's a culture clash.”

I'm sure your audience knows what a “type mismatch” is in software, Shane. We call this phenomenon an “organizational type mismatch,” when the values and philosophy of the company are at odds with the values and philosophies of Agility.

When you look at the core agile values – collaboration, transparency, fail-fast, and so on – you see they are directly antithetical to the corporate philosophies of a company like General Electric, for example, and other large organizations that are very much command-and-control, low-trust, document-focused, audit-focused, etc. We noticed right away that senior management -- CIOs and CTOs especially -- were keen on becoming more Agile. But they weren't so keen on changing the corporate culture. That itself was an impediment to their success, and continues to be today. That's why I say it's not going well.

# # #

I hope my readers have enjoyed this segment of my interview with Shane Hastie on the InfoQ podcast. We'll be talking more about leadership, and whether leadership is more or less important in today’s Agile world, in the next segment. Please check back soon.

http://bit.ly/infoqpodcast

For those interested in a deeper dive into learning about Agile Leadership, please visit agilecxo.org for white papers, blog posts, podcasts and performance models to help software and engineering executives guide their organizations to be more agile, from top to bottom.

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

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.

Visit www.broadswordsolutions.com for more information about engineering strategy, performance innovation, software process improvement and running a successful CMMI program.

What's the best way to provide guidance for Scrum teams?

What's the best way of making sure that teams working on different projects follow the same Scrum process? Would you use a rigid approach or allow a degree of flexibility for each team? ~ Quora User

Dear Readers – Engineering strategy and software process improvement are popular topics on Quora.com, and I try to go in and answer questions as frequently as I can. Below is my response to an Agile Leader who wants to be more successful with Scrum. Enjoy! ~ the CMMI Appraiser

Dear Quora User,

Scrum, one of several popular frameworks that fall under the “agile” umbrella, is an “empirical process model.” This means, for this context, that teams learn and improve as they go, and may end up with different approaches over time, as compared to other teams.

Providing Scrum teams with guiderails 

The very nature of empirical models means that a “rigid” approach is not acceptable, and would corrupt the very architecture you’ve adopted - probably leading to negative results.

That doesn’t mean teams shouldn’t be provided with guidance (sometimes called "guiderails" in the community) on how the company expects them to perform.

Like a great musician, artist, or writer, the best performing scrum teams have MASTERED the art of scrum before they go off an make a lot of changes, versus the worst garage band, that just turns up the volume and celebrates their rebelliousness.

One performance model that is gaining in popularity is the Agile Performance Holarchy (APH) from AgileCxO.org. This set of guiderails is intended to influence leadership to set expectations of performance using a very disciplined approach, but then encourages teams to improve, adjust, learn, and modify based on their needs - but only AFTER mastering the craft. Makes sense.

Good luck!

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

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.

Visit www.broadswordsolutions.com for more information about engineering strategy, performance innovation, software process improvement and running a successful CMMI program.

Why is there such a disconnect in how Agile is marketed and how Agile is adopted?

Dear CMMI Appraiser,

For defense industry CMMI organizations like ours, why does there seem to be such a disconnect between the way Agile is marketed and the way it is actually adopted by teams? ~ Quora User

Dear Readers – Because there is often a high level of discourse at Quora.com about engineering strategy and software process improvement, I try to go in and answer questions as frequently as I can. Below is my response to an engineering professional in the defense industry who wants to be more successful with agile. Enjoy!

Dear Quora User,

Because reality is a harsh teacher.

Agile: why is there a disconnect?

When you consider that most marketing is about the “happy path,” and by its very nature doesn’t advertise the complexity of the product or service, or its potential points of failure, it makes more sense. Agile is complex, hard, and fraught with risk. It’s also rewarding.

Agile is popular because it espouses self-organization, collaboration, transparency, optimism, trust, rapid delivery of value, and celebrating early failure (among other things). These are all things that, in theory, produce more value, more quickly than what we sometimes call “waterfall,” or “traditional” project management techniques.

Then comes the reality. Companies, customers, teams, and humans are often NOT collaborative, optimistic, trusting, or willing to celebrate early failure. This is especially true in the government, health care, and aerospace industries. If they naturally were all those things, it would be simple to adopt and embrace agile values, ceremonies, and techniques, and everyone would happily march down the path to a more agile future. But they’re not - almost never.

For instance, as a reaction to top-down, command-and-control approaches to managing projects, Scrum doesn’t identify “project manager” as a role. After all, a Scrum team is self-organizing. Why would they need a manager? That sounds great - except there are MANY things a project manager needs to do related to product development that have nothing to do with tasking and oversight, and of the over 200 agile organizations I’ve assessed, 100% have project managers. Some are good at it - they limit the PM's role to ensure it aligns with agile values. Some are terrible at it, and have PMs that can’t resist being dictators.

The other problem is that leaders often don’t even know what agile “looks like,” and they go about the process of “agile transformation” without any attempt on their own part to change and become agile themselves. This creates immense friction in the organization and makes “real” agile adoption (as opposed to just adopting some techniques) almost impossible. AgileCxO’s model, the “Agile Performance Holarchy,” is the defacto standard for agile leaders who are serious about this, and AgileCxO’s research has shown that leaders, not teams, or the largest impediment to agile adoption.

So, the bottom line is that Agile is hard and requires very strong leadership - although not the kind we’re used to. Try marketing that!

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

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.

Visit www.broadswordsolutions.com for more information about engineering strategy, performance innovation, software process improvement and running a successful CMMI program.

CMMI in Aerospace - some things to think about

Dear Appraiser - we're a large aerospace engineering company, and we're just not sure how CMMI fits into our company. Give me some ideas please! ~Paul G Cincinnati, OH.

Paul - CMMI and Aerospace? it's a great question because it opens up the idea of multi-dimensional process deployment - something I'm super passionate about.

You see, we tend to think about process in a single dimension - we plan, we estimate, we design, build, test, and deploy.  But no!  It's much more interesting and cool than that.

In a typical aerospace, defense, or aviation organization, there are many sub-organizations that execute a process, but they each need to do it differently.  On size does not fit all.  And then after they are done their pieces, they need to do it together. So there isn't ONE process - there are many.

Even though the CMMI has one "Project Planning" process area, and one "Technical Solution" process area, they are MANY instantiations of it within a large aerospace organizations - and each one is different - because each one has different goals, objectives, and needs.

For instance, the software teams may be using a product backlog, planning poker, and an entire set of agile frameworks, methods, and techniques.  The Systems Engineering team may be using MS Project, Gantt charts, and a set of waterfall techniques.  Yes - they're both executing Project Planning.

Take this organization that I work with in Mason, OH.  They design and build cameras and other optical equipment that goes in to space.  They have the following types of independent engineering organizations.:

Systems Engineering
Design Engineering
Software Engineering
Hardware Engineering
Validation Engineering
....and more.

Each one of these groups has to 1) estimate the work, 2) plan the work 3) understand the requirements, 3) design the solution 4) integrate the solution design with the OTHER engineering disciplines, 4) build the solution 5) integrate it with the OTHER engineering disciplines and 6) test both the individual and integrated solutions and finally, implement the overall solution.

Each one of them is very different - with different goals and objectives, and a flexible set of processes is needed.  The CMMI does a great job at providing the architecture for this.

How does CMMI play into this?

CMMI helps us create an architecture that aerospace, defense, and aviation companies can use to develop a flexible and tailorable process that makes sense to all of the sub-organizations. The opposite of "everyone doing everything the same," the CMMI enables a process that is modifiable and flexible enough to meet the needs of all of the various engineering disciplines.

So take a look.  At its core, the CMMI is not a process (or really even a process model), it's a flexible, agile, and modifiable architecture that let's you apply different processes and behaviors at all levels, in multiple dimensions, to deliver high quality products.

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

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.

Visit www.broadswordsolutions.com for more information about engineering strategy, performance innovation, software process improvement and running a successful CMMI program.

What is the value of an agile organization adopting the CMMI?

Hey CMMI Appraiser – Our software engineering organization is the only one in our company that uses agile. But now we’re being asked to adopt the CMMI. Other than satisfying a customer requirement, is there any value for an agile organization to have a SCAMPI appraisal? ~ Jason A.

Hey, Jason,

For an organization like yours that cares about agile, another way of phrasing your question might be: “How do we maintain and scale our agile approach, while having the resilience to withstand the intense pressure to change as we get larger?”

Because THAT’S the value of an agile organization having a SCAMPI appraisal. Adopting the CMMI allows you to strengthen and scale agile, and make agile resilient to outside forces that would try to force you to change.

You may not have heard this before, but agile and the CMMI are 100% compatible. In fact, CMMI is an important tool for helping agile scale. So the real value of having a SCAMPI appraisal is that it’s a great way to test the strength and resiliency of your agile values, methods and techniques.

I would recommend that agile organizations adopt CMMI, even if your customers weren’t requiring it.  But you have to do it right.

As far as the market, you are correct that most software organizations at defense industry contractors are not agile. Some agile adoption is taking place,  with some experimentation at the small team level. But most have not embraced an agile approach to software development, and I’d say a big reason has to do with their customers.

True, we have seen the federal government show some interest in agile, but it is still a long way from true agile adoption - especially when it comes to agile values like “high-trust,” “collaboration,” and “fail-fast.” As a result, we’ve seen some contractors adopting ceremonies from frameworks like Scrum and XP, but they are more “Scrum-But” than Scrum.

I'ts not the adoption of ceremonies or techniques that makes you agile. It’s whether or not the business has embraced agile values.

Adopting the CMMI will help you find clarity in this regard. During your SCAMPI appraisal, your Lead Appraisal Team will be asking questions that will help define agility in your organization, including:

Are you really agile? What are your values?  How does the team demonstrate them?  Who attends sprint demos?  Your Lead Appraiser will be looking to find out if you're doing it well - or if you're Agile in name only.

Agile is something that you are. It’s a philosophy; it’s a way of thinking; it’s a way of life. To be agile is to adopt agile values, the values of collaboration of personal responsibility, of having the right team members, of failing fast, and the other agile values from the Agile Manifesto.

By contrast, the CMMI is not something you are. The CMMI is something you use to strengthen what you are. In the context of agile, the CMMI helps you strengthen what you are by helping you build a resilient framework. And by embracing lessons of CMMI with agile (or Waterfall or Spiral – or whatever your methodology of choice is) you move closer to being a better company.

So it’s a good thing your customers are asking you to adopt CMMI. Take it as an opportunity to align your agile organization with 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.

Where do you get the inspiration to successfully lead agile teams?

Hey, CMMI Appraiser – we came across your blog while searching for practical information on how to become more agile, and how to maintain our agility. Where can I get some inspiration for leading teams to embrace all things agile? ~ Zach M.

Hey, Zach – It’s always a pleasure to hear from engineering and software professionals like you who care about agile, engineering strategy and performance innovation.

When searching for inspiration, I turn to Charlie Parker.

Charlie “Bird” Parker was a brilliant, though seriously flawed, pioneer of the American jazz scene. While his personal challenges are well documented, Parker is known as the undisputed master of the idiom, who understood that being great was not simply about being talented. His legacy, regarded by music historians as one of the most powerful in the history of American music, was not an accident. It was arrived at through years of disciplined study, practice, and experimentation, which resulted in the very definition of the art form. But it was not simply about study, nor was it only about a disciplined adherence to structure. Parker knew what so many in software engineering still struggle to understand today: that great accomplishments are achieved through mastering and synthesizing all three elements — talent, learning, and discipline.

What really set Bird apart was his ability to master these concepts with extraordinary agility. When he performed, he heard something very different from the music of his predecessors. While standing firmly on the shoulders of the giants who came before him, he created a new, agile style that catapulted jazz into an entirely new dimension. With its short bursts of creativity, rapid real-time adaptations, and incremental, iterative improvisational character, this style — which came to be known as “be-bop” — would be better described as real-time composition.

Unlike the music that preceded Parker’s 1939 debut, his was incremental and iterative in three dimensions:

The first was internal to the skills of any accomplished musician, who learns to hear the sound in the split-second it takes for it to escape his or her instrument, and then incrementally inspects and adapts the tone, inflection, and pitch — sometimes before the sound wave has even reached the audience.

The second dimension was the real-time collaboration among and between the members of his group: between saxophone and piano, between drums and bass, between piano and guitar, and a continuous build of those collaborations across the ensemble. The magic of be-bop is in the real-time composition created when a group of accomplished players collaborate as a team, fail fast, and deliver the minimum viable product throughout the course of the composition.

Finally, Bird would collaborate with his audience — reading their reaction, inspecting and adapting, and recalibrating his compositions to meet the desires of his fans.

If it sounds as though I’m saying that agile methods have been around a lot longer than Scrum, XP, and the spiral model, I am. While I have immense respect for the authors of the Agile Manifesto, they were 60 years behind Bird.

The lessons from Charlie Parker are as relevant to agile teams today as they were to musicians in the 1940s — most software organizations still struggle with the synthesis of talent, learning, and discipline. It’s not for lack of trying. The landscape is littered with models, techniques, and tools in search of software’s perfect chord, yet we continue to struggle with the processes required to improve productivity and increase the predictability and stability of software projects.

Here's a way to learn more - quickly and easily!

The 2017 Agile Leadership Summit on September 22, 2017 in Washington, D.C. offers a solution to this problem, by presenting a first: A framework for adopting, transforming, and mastering Agility.

At the Summit, you’ll experience a live jazz performance that demonstrates agility, iteration, and excellence right before your eyes. To deepen your learning experience, there will be two fantastic keynotes by industry leaders, and six entertaining vignettes on Agile leadership, craftsmanship, and teaming. Lunch will be served, and you’ll have opportunities to network with other Agile leaders.

Inspired yet? Then join us at the Agile Leadership Summit! You’ll learn from your peers about how to take agile leadership, and your organization, to the next level of agile performance.

More information is available at agilecxo.org.

Portions of this article originally appeared in the Cutter IT Journal.

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, including the complete “CMMU Users Stories,” visit Jeff’s Author Page on Amazon.

Discount code -- $400 off! -- for Agile Dev East Conference

Hey, CMMI Appraiser, I saw a Tweet that you'll be speaking at the Agile Dev East conference. What topic will you be addressing? ~ John B.

Hey, John - thank you for following me on Twitter!

Yes, I'll be presenting at the Better Software Agile Dev East Conference, which takes place in Orlando in November.  My topic is agile leadership, and I’ll be introducing folks to a new model for evaluating high performing teams, the Agile Performance Holarchy. The Agile Performance Holarchy is a late-binding, soft-coded performance model for adopting, transforming and mastering agility within your software or technology organization.  With the Agile Performance Holarchy, current and future leaders now have an object-oriented model for building and assessing agile capability.

I’ve assessed hundreds of agile teams over the last 15 years, and I’ve learned that there are two impediments that exist to successful and scaleable agile adoption. It’s not that we need a new method. We don’t need to turn Agile into Waterfall.  And we certainly don’t need lower trust or more command and control.

What we need is for leadership to understand, embrace and project agile values, and how they trace to the ceremonies and techniques that we’re using. And we need teams to execute those ceremonies with discipline and integrity.

The Agile Performance Holarchy is a clear definition of great agile for leaders and teams alike, and it provides a sustainable path to agile capability, while preserving the value of high trust and empirical process control.

I hope you can stop by the session, John, and learn about verifiable agile performance.  For those who haven't registered yet, here's the link: Agile Dev East Conference.

Feel free to use my code (BE17JD25) and get $400 off!

It will be my pleasure 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, 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.

When is the best time to adopt CMMI?

Hey, CMMI Appraiser --  Our company just performed a self-assessment, and we are looking at CMMI as a way to push process improvement across our entire organization.  What are some of the factors we should consider as far as timing ... i.e., when is the best time to adopt the CMMI? ~ Brian G.

First of all, Brian, congratulations on completing a self-assessment.  That's the first step to improving you company, your products, and the satisfaction of your customers.  You are on your way!

For a lot of organizations, the best time to look at adopting the CMMI is when you identify the need to change behaviors and establish an environment for operating like a great company – for the long term.  For example:

If you are having trouble with estimates, CMMI can help make your estimates better.

If you are having trouble with late projects, CMMI can help improve predictability.

If your bosses are micromanaging you, CMMI can give them more information to help them understand what is going on with projects.

If you have a lot of tedious rework, CMMI can help avoid that by bringing clarity and validation to the process by making sure the requirements are right when you get them.

If you have unhappy customers, CMMI can help put a framework in place that helps you manage their expectations.

If you experience a lot of chaos in your business, CMMI can help you bring stability to that as well.

If you are interested in defining the Way you do business as a group, the CMMI can help you define your Way and be the great company that you are.

So what should you do next? 

I recommend learning everything you need to know about CMMI as a large collection of lessons learned and best practices.  You can get this information for free on our next webinar, "CMMI: Everything You NEED to Know," on Friday, August 18th at 2PM.

Click here to register for "CMMI: Everything You NEED to Know!"

After watching the webinar, you'll be that much closer to getting started with CMMI. Please check back if we can offer further assistance.

In the meantime, I look forward to seeing you on the webinar!

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.

Where can we find an agile and lean version of the CMMI Training Class?

Hey, CMMI Appraiser, We heard your CMMI training class is a little different from other CMMI training classes because you take an agile and lean approach to the CMMI Institute's "Introduction to CMMI-DEV v.1.3". Where can we sign up? ~ Galen D.

Galen, you heard correctly! As an organizational performance innovator, this CMMI Appraiser designed an agile and lean version of the CMMI Institute-authorized training class, "Introduction to CMMI-DEV v1.3," just for people like you. We're conducting the class on August 14-16 in Knoxville, Tennessee, and I'd love for you to experience it with us!

REGISTER NOW >> 

As you may already know about CMMI, (Capability Maturity Model Integration), the Model is a high-performance framework for engineering and software organizations that will give you the tools you need to focus on doing the things you signed up for - writing great software and building great products.

If your company is conducting a CMMI SCAMPI A Appraisal, this is a required course for Appraisal Team Members.

What will you learn in the CMMI training class?

In the class, you’ll learn how to use the CMMI as a guide to help you ...

• Establish a useful level of control over your processes
• Improve the speed of software delivery, engineered products, and technology services
• Change and improve the behaviors within your company needed to deliver high-quality services and products

What's in it for you?

• Learn about ways to improve performance and remain agile
• 21 PDUs towards your PMP certification
• More than a 30% discount
• Fun and entertaining learning experience with hands-on games, exercises, and lectures

What do you get to take home?

• CMMI Institute Authorized training materials
• Broadsword exclusive training materials
• A copy of CMMI: Guidelines for Process Integration and Product Improvement
• CMMI v1.3 quick-reference card
• CMMI v1.3 Reference Poster
• Certificate of Completion

In "Introduction to CMMI" you will not only learn, but learn to apply what you’ve learned, so that you always know how things are going and how they can be made better.

Will you join us?

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.

What does it mean to "labor in freedom"?

Dear Readers,

Happy Independence Day!

This Fourth of July, we're pausing in our mission of helping companies improve organizational performance to reflect on all we have as Americans.  Once again we are deeply humbled by the heroism of countless servicemen and women who gave their lives to ensure the rights and freedoms that we enjoy every day.

For many engineering and software professionals, this includes the freedom to build great companies that solve real problems.  Truly, what could be more important to the health and viability of our nation?  As Albert Einstein said, “Everything that is really great and inspiring is created by the individual who can labor in freedom.”

That’s why Broadsword is so passionate about helping companies adopt CMMI and agile as tools that can help them be as great as they can be.  We want you to “labor in freedom” and be free of burdensome process debt, free of unhappy customers, and free from life-draining overhead and excessive, rigid compliance.

So let’s all enjoy our precious free time on this, our nation's 240th birthday.  As we celebrate the holiday with friends and family, as we wave flags, sing patriotic songs, and attend picnics, parades and fireworks celebrations, let’s take a moment to appreciate how the values that helped build this great country can also help us build great companies.

To your freedom!

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.

Announcing CMMI training August 14-16

Hey, CMMI Appraiser –

I’m part of an executive leadership group that is made up of several very different software and engineering companies. Many of us are interested in CMMI training, but it's complicated. We’ve got an aerospace engineering firm with an Agile team approach, a Department of Defense contractor with a Waterfall approach, and an automotive industry supplier with a CMMI-based approach. Is there one CMMI training class that can meet all of our needs? ~ Ethan M.

Hey, Ethan,

You’ve come to the right place. Our CMMI training is a good fit for just about every type of company and every variety of leader and staff person. All you need is a desire to learn.

With learning as your goal, you’ll find can use the CMMI as one of the tools that helps you set the right goals and objectives, ask the right questions, and establish the type of environment for operating like a great company.

So if you and the executives in your group love learning, here’s an interactive learning experience that will feel just right:

Announcing "Introduction to CMMI-DEV v1.3," a CMMI Institute-approved CMMI training class that Broadsword is conducting on August 14-16, 2017, in Knoxville, TN.

Register HERE for "Introduction to CMMI-DEV," August 14-16, 2017, in Knoxville, TN.

"Introduction to CMMI-DEV v1.3" is designed to help engineering and software professionals.  Some are CMMI-focused and looking for guidance on being lighter and more flexible.  Some are on Agile teams that are still seeking the kind of results they’ve been hoping for.  And some represent Waterfall organizations that are considering new perspectives.

If you’re coming "Introduction to CMMI-DEV v1.3," be prepared for a different kind of CMMI training experience.  You’ll play games, do exercises, tell stories and listen to your peers.  With real life examples, lessons and proven techniques, you take away – and retain – valuable information to be used on the job, immediately.

Register now.

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, 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.

The #4 Reason to Attend Capability Counts 2017: To Take Advantage of All Our Nation’s Capital Has to Offer

Hey, CMMI Appraiser - Should we send our team to Capability Counts 2017 this year? 

~ a small business client that provides IT Services to the Federal Government

Hello, my friends!

Absolutely you should send your team to the big annual industry event I like to call "The Greatest Show on Earth"! We'll be there, celebrating our umpteenth (yes, that's an official statistic) time that we'll be presenting our strategies, techniques, tips and tactics about organizational performance innovation, Agile and CMMI to the most passionate group of engineering and software executives and professionals on the planet, and we'd love to have you join us. To help you decide, we're counting down the Top 5 Reasons to Attend Capability Counts 2017, and today we’re down to Reason #4.

If you are just joining us for the countdown, here’s what you missed:

Reason #5: To Build Capability

And now, we're on to Reason #4. Drum roll please!

The #4 Reason to Attend Capability Counts 2017 is …

To Take Advantage of All Our Nation’s Capital Has to Offer

As you may know, each year a different, unique American city plays host to the annual Capability Counts conference. This year’s picturesque setting is Alexandria, VA, located just across the Potomac from our nation’s capital and a stunning destination in its own right. Rich in history and bustling with energy, this northern Virginia hotspot has something for everyone:

• Before the White House, there was Mount Vernon. Less than ten miles from Alexandria, visit the home of our nation’s first president.
• An incredible selection of restaurants, many featuring outdoor dining
• Hop onto the Metro and make your way into D.C. to visit some of the new monuments that may have opened since your last visit, like the MLK Jr Memorial and the National WWII Memorial
• Gorgeous public gardens
• Abundant historical military sites, including Fort Stevens, the Lee Mansion, and the Lincoln Cottage
• Take a spring evening stroll along the Potomac, and stop for a cocktail or dessert at a riverfront bistro
• Tour the Newseum in nearby D.C. to learn about the history of our nation’s press
• Take part in one of Alexandria’s many walking tours, featuring costumed guides and local experts
• Visit King Street, Alexandria’s charming shopping destination

…and much more. There are many compelling amazing reasons to attend this year’s conference; between the excellent technical learning, influential networking opportunities, and historic location, you’ll find yourself immersed in knowledge and opportunity.

We can’t wait to see you there!

Register today

Still undecided? Stay tuned for Reason #3!

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 https::/broadswordsolutions.com for more information.

The Countdown to Capability Returns! Top 5 Reasons to Attend Capability Counts 2017. Reason #5: To Build Capability

Hello again, my friends!  Are you ready for our industry’s premier event? Yes, it’s almost time for Capability Counts 2017 in Alexandria, Virginia, on May 16-17 – and I for one can’t wait!

To help the time go by faster, as I do every year, I’ll be counting down the Top 5 Reasons to attend. So let’s get started with Reason #5.

Reason #5: Acquire valuable information about building capability

There’s a very good reason I call this event, “The Greatest Show on Earth.” Formerly known as SEPG conference, and f/k/a CMMI Congress, Capability Counts 2017 offers attendees a banquet of information about building capability:

• Opening Keynote presentation from Greg Williams, Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate at NASA
• 80+ speakers will share their knowledge of CMMI adoption and capability improvement experience
• 7 Tracks with captivating sessions - customize your schedule to fit your business needs

There’s a lot here for you. Learning experiences range from formal presentations to tutorials to workshops to informal conversations and social interactions. We’ll share strategies and tactics, tips and techniques, best practices to adopt, and pitfalls to avoid.  Also we will be reprising the popular "Gamers' Alley" track.  And we’ll have the truly unforgettable experience of building our capability, together.

Yes, Capability Counts 2017 offers the best of the best in performance improvement and building capability. But what did you expect?  When so many great people get together around their shared passion for process improvement, performance innovation and CMMI, cool things happen.

Will you join us?

Register for Capability Counts

Need more reasons to go? Stay tuned for Reason #4!

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 https::/broadswordsolutions.com for more information.

Get Your DISCOUNT CODE for Capability Counts 2017

Capability Counts DISCOUNT CODES are here!

Thinking of coming to Capability Counts 2017 in Alexandria, VA on May 16-17?

This conference, formerly known as "SEPG," will be a collection of several hundred process improvement and CMMI experts from around the world - and you definitely want to be there!

Your CFO will be happy to hear that The Appraiser can give you $200 smackers off the registration fee!

Message me at appraiser@broadswordsolutions.com for your code.

Register for the conference here.

Hope to see you at Capability Counts 2017!

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.

Can we get PDUs for CMMI training?

Hey, CMMI Appraiser – we enjoyed your webinar and would love to know when the next CMMI training class is going to be held in the DC area. Also, can we get PDUs for your class? ~ webinar attendees from Virginia

Hello, Virginia!

I’m glad you enjoyed the webinar and are hungry for more information about the CMMI. You are in luck! With a certain holiday in February fast approaching, your CMMI Appraiser decided to give engineering and software professionals something you all seem to LOVE:

More opportunities to learn!

"Introduction to CMMI-DEV v1.3" is an interactive learning experience that is designed for managers, systems engineers, software developers, project managers, or process professionals –whether they are with CMMI-focused companies that are looking for guidance on being lighter and more flexible, or Agile teams that are still seeking the kind of results they’ve been hoping for. This three-day CMMI Institute course provides attendees with a detailed overview of the Capability Maturity Model Integration for Development (CMMI-DEV).

And yes, you can receive 21 PDU's towards your PMP Certification for this course!

"Introduction to CMMI-DEV v1.3"
February 22 8:30am – February 24 2017 1:00pm.
Mclean, VA

Cost: $1300 (that’s more than 30% off!)

Register for "Introduction to CMMI-DEV v1.3"

Bonus Content! You won’t get this anywhere else!

In addition to the CMMI Institute Authorized course material, class participants will be presented two Broadsword exclusive course modules. These modules, “The Secrets of SCAMPI Appraisals” and “Agile Resiliency: Making Agile Stronger with CMMI”, have proven to be a highlight learning experience, and are only offered here.

What's not to love? 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, 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.

What is the future of Agile?

Hey, CMMI Appraiser - In your opinion, what is the future of agile? ~ Flore D

Hey, Flore, I am talking about the future of agile -- and the future of organizations that embrace agile -- on a live webinar presented by ISACA. You're welcome to join me!

Register here.

Attendees can expect to receive valuable take-aways from this hour-long webinar as we explore a model-based approach to building agility and capability, including a practical demonstration of how the CMMI strengthens your organization. You'll understand what needs to be done to guide your organization to thrive and survive in a leaner, more agile future.

See you on the Webinar!

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.

Hey, CMMI Appraiser - Where can I find you on Twitter? ~ Paul C.

Dear Readers,

Did you know that Ask the CMMI Appraiser is on Twitter?

If you're one of over two thousand of our followers, you're already getting our daily tweets packed with CMMI knowledge.  You know we're different because we help you focus on the fact that Process Improvement, Agile, and CMMI are all about the transformation of the culture of your company.

Join the movement! Click to follow us on Twitter right now @CMMIAppraiser.  What could be easier -- or more fun?

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.