Meet an agile legend

Hey, readers. I have a question for YOU today. How many times in life do you get to meet someone who changed the course of your industry? ~ The CMMI Appraiser

Jim Highsmith, an outstanding author, and one of the original signatories of the Agile Manifesto, is such a man. And we all get a chance to meet him. Jim will be the Keynote Speaker at AgileDC 2012 on October 23.

Are you getting excited? This is a great opportunity to learn something new for those of you who work in the federal government sector. And it’s a great opportunity to meet Jim for agilistas, ScrumMasters, engineers, and software executives whose careers and lives have been shaped – like mine – by Jim’s work.

This CMMI Appraiser will be presenting at AgileDC as well. All are invited to come and learn about ways to make agile survive and thrive in the Federal Government.

If you’ve been reading Ask the CMMI Appraiser’s recent posts, you know how passionate I am about making agile survive by making it stronger. I think the way to make it stronger is with CMMI.

One point I emphasize in my presentation is that agile methods and values – indeed, every part of the agile architecture except for the techniques – are applicable to both agile and Waterfall. And CMMI is applicable to those also! This means, no matter what approach you take to developing software engineering solutions, the CMMI helps you get better at what you are ALREADY doing.

Here’s the link to register for the AgileDC conference, October 23, 2012, in Washington DC.

Come learn more!

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.

How do we strengthen our agile approach when the Federal Government keeps changing what we're doing?

Dear CMMI Appraiser,

Just found your blog.  We’re a Virginia-based contractor to the Federal Government and a “Waterfall” lifecycle company. For the past two years we’ve been switching some of our projects over to agile methods like Scrum, but so far we haven’t been able to scale it beyond the smallest projects. Part of the problem is that our government clients keep trying to change what we’re doing so it looks more "waterfall."  How would you deal with this? ~ Pete McC.

Pete, welcome to Ask the CMMI Appraiser. It’s good to have new readers. Thanks for your question.

The way this CMMI Appraiser sees it, you're fighting a two-headed monster.  And it's an ugly one, at that.

The first head of the monster that you face in adopting Scrum, or any of the agile methods, is internal. While you are off trying to be a Scrum team, your company’s leaders are off trying to be a Waterfall team.  In fact, I bet if I were to look through all of your departments, not just software engineering, but accounting, marketing and sales, operations, I would find that your CEO, CIO and COO are off living in a Waterfall world.  That's one reason Scrum projects can’t scale and why you might feel you're not getting much traction. 

The second head of the monster is external. By trying to change what you are doing, the Federal Government is actively, but probably un-knowingly, weakening your agile values. And if it’s a struggle between the Federal Government and agile, we all know who is going to win!

Both of these challenges are fixable, Pete.  But neither is going to get solved this year. The problem is bigger than you and I. I recommend that you start working on techniques you can use to strengthen Agile, and build a process integration layer to get your agile teams to talk to the business leaders. The CMMI is the perfect tool for that.

By using CMMI as a framework (as opposed to slavishly adhering to practices) you’ll be in a position to deal with BOTH heads of the monster. Consider:

First, the CMMI provides a framework for your agile teams to talk to the business leaders, helping them understand how well agile methods are working for THEM, and to communicate important information to other stakeholders like middle management, customers, and accounting. And when you're ready to test it - go ahead and have a CMMI Appraisal.

Yes, I said it.  CMMI Appraisals can be very beneficial for Agile organizations - assuming the Lead Appraiser you're working with gets it - not necessarily an easy task!

Second, the practices that CMMI makes available to you include those that help bring greater clarity and strength to the Scrum ceremonies themselves (the “Specific Practices” in the CMMI), and those that help strengthen the understanding, adoption, and continuous improvement of the Agile values and behaviors (the “Generic Practices” in the CMMI).  So, the way to make agile survive and flourish in the Federal Government is to make it stronger. And the way to make agile stronger is with CMMI.

Don't CHANGE it - make it better!

Now that you found us, keep checking this blog for updates, Pete.  I will be posting much more on the topic of using the CMMI to strengthen agile, so that you will be in a better position to defeat the two-headed monster once and for all.

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.

What's the different between a non-compliance and an observation?

Hey Appraiser,

We have internal auditors in our company, and they're always ranting on and on about "non-complaince" and "observations."  I don't get it, what's the difference?  ~Vib

Dear Vib,

You'll likely get different answers to this question since these words have different meanings depending on which process model or audit method you are employing.  Since this is a CMMI and agile blog, I'll use that as my baseline.  But if you are adopting ISO15504, 9001, or ITIL, these have their own meanings.

When I conduct SCAMPI Appraisals the findings fall into 3 categories - Strengths, Weaknesses, and Observations.  I typically don't use the "compliance" or "audit" words as I find them counter to the meaning and purpose of CMMI.  CMMI is not a standard we are "compliant" with, and a SCAMPI appraisal is not an "audit."

I suppose you could think about a weakness in a SCAMPI appraisal as something that is "non-compliant," but it is more complicated than that.  We consider the performance of the projects/individuals (the Specific Practices) and the characteristics and performance of the organization and process itself (the so-called Generic Practices), as well as the information from the community (through interviews with the extended organization).  It's entirely possible for a project to be fully-compliant with a specific practice, but we find a weakness within a Process Area due to a deficiency that is indicated by an interview with the extended community.  So are they compliant?  Non-compliant?  That just gives me a headache.

In reality there is a continuum of strength and weakness, and the information we gather in appraisals helps us identify where on that continuum the organization is performing.  

An Observation can be either an illumination of great strength, or a recommendation for improvement in performance (or in the process) that is not a weakness.  It is arrived at through the interpretation of the data by the appraisal team after a complex set of interactions that are both data-intensive and interpersonal.

Hope this helps!

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.

Register now for Virginia CMMI Training Classes

Hey, CMMI Appraiser – my business partner was one of the 100+ people who attended your CMMI + Scrum Learning Experience workshop at SEPG North America in Albuquerque last March. She loved it! Are you planning to do any CMMI training in Virginia any time soon, so that we can all attend? ~ Crystal B.

Hi, Crystal – I’m glad to hear that our CMMI+Scrum workshop was useful to your business partner. Yes, the CMMI Appraiser will be conducting Virginia CMMI training classes very soon. In fact, we’ll be "on location" in Virginia next month (details below). Are you ready to learn?

That's right!  In September, we are hosting a 3-day CMMI training class in Fairfax, VA, Introduction to CMMI-DEV v1.3, with an optional 4th day event if you sign on for the CMMI + Scrum Learning Experience that your partner enjoyed so much.

Click the links below for more details and to register for Virginia CMMI training classes:

CMMI Training in Virginia:

September 11-13, 2012 in Fairfax, VA – Introduction to CMMI-DEV v1.3 - Fairfax, VA
September 14, 2012 in Fairfax, VA – CMMI + Scrum Learning Experience

I really appreciate that you are thinking of bringing others from your firm to the Virginia CMMI training classes. Everyone who touches the process in your company is encouraged to join us.

And please feel free to invite colleagues from other companies. Whether they are an Agile shop, still seeking the kind of results they’ve been hoping for, or a CMMI-focused organization, looking for guidance on being lighter and more flexible, these practical, relevant CMMI training classes will give them new insights into addressing persistent problems, and help them improve upon what they are ALREADY doing. So share the news!

As you may know from your business partner, Broadsword is a different kind of organizational performance improvement company. We are the world leader in using Agile and Lean methods to drive high performance engineering, using our AgileCMMI methodology and collaborative CMMI consulting, CMMI training and CMMI coaching solutions. Executives, engineers, and business professionals (like your partner) have given us high marks for our training classes in cities all around the world. We’re looking forward to bringing our CMMI training back to Virginia.

See you there soon! 

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.

Can we use CMMI-DEV on short projects?

Dear Appraiser,  we're an IT Services firm in Ohio.  We need to know if it possible to use the CMMI-Dev model on projects that start and finish within 2 to 3 months?  It seems like a lot of work and documentation efforts to use the model for a 60 or 90 day effort?

If these are the only type of projects we have for an appraisal- will that suffice? ~Larry M.

Larry,

I understand your concerns.  You've heard that the CMMI requires TONS of documents, and a "full-lifecycle" data-dump in order to succeed with an appraisal.  Lot's of people have heard this too.  I'm sorry, you're beyond help.....NOT!

I could just tell you that you're wrong, but since I'm a teacher at heart let me try to help you understand WHY this nasty impression about CMMI exists in our industry.

Years ago there were some early adopters of CMMI.  These companies were working with, mostly, the Department of Defense, and they were building large, complex systems.  Back then, "agile" was just a rainbow and unicorn in Ken and Jeff's eyes, and was not nearly as popular.  And companies with 90-day projects didn't have much interest in process.  But the big-boys who adopted this model, the CMMI, did have a lot of interest.  They needed ways to manage their Engineering processes, and the CMMI was just the ticket.

Funny thing about these companies though . . . they ALREADY were doing work that required lots of documents, long phases, gates, audits, and measurement.  They ALREADY were top-down, command and control, and "low-trust."  So it stands to reason that this is the context that they adopted the CMMI with.  They set the standard - and boy did they!

Fast-foward a few years to short iterations, agile methods, fail fast-fail early, planning poker, and daily stand-ups.  What a difference!  The way information is managed is much different now.  

The unicorns have landed!

On a Scrum project, for instance, the entire Scrum team room is one massive "information radiator" where a simple visit provides evidence of dozens of CMMI practices.  Sure, some things end up in documents and in databases, but some things are just visual.

In some ways, the frequent iterations of agile projects produce way MORE evidence than those in a traditional "waterfall" project - it's broader, deeper, and constantly being improved.  What appraiser wouldn't like that?  Well....don't get me started on that one....

The practices in the CMMI do not indicate sequence, volume, or physical weight of deliverable.  The key is to do WHAT IS RIGHT for your company, and then find a Lead Appraiser that understands it.  I've appraised companies that backed a truck up full of documents, and I've appraised those who rode up on a scooter with an iPad.

It just depends....

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.

We want to be ML3 but out consultant says we have to be ML2 first. Is this true?

Hey Jeff,


Our boss says we need to CMMI ML3 ASAP.  We went out and found a CMMI consultant who told us we first had to be CMMI Level Two or else the SEI would not approve our appraisal. That doesn't seem fair - we hire really smart people and we're probably already ML5.  Please help before my boss does something dumb! ~Ernie

Ernie,

If you've been following my posts, you know how I feel about a lot of "consultants."  It's just too easy to get a business card printed up and start selling yourself as an expert.  There is a lot of misinformation out in our industry about the CMMI, so let me try and help.

First of all, if that's what you were told your consultant is wrong.  That's it.  There's no more to be said about it.  They obviously have never been trained, or even been close to a SCAMPI Appraisal.  In the very first, most basic, "Introduction to CMMI" Training Class the material clearly states that "Maturity Levels Should Not Be Skipped" (emphasis on the word "should") and even this is in relation to a process improvement focus, not appraisals.

Lead Appraisers have conducted many CMMI appraisals where ML3 was the company's first appraisal - and yet the SEI accepted them.  I say "accepted" because the SEI doesn't usually approve the appraisal per se, instead they verify it was conducted properly based on the requirements of SCAMPI.

Maybe what your consultant was trying to tell you was that you SHOULD not skip a CMMI ML2 appraisals. If that was their advice, I completely agree with it.   Almost every client I work with that skipped wished they hadn't.  But it's not a requirement.

The SEI has done a pretty good job of defining the foundation - and it's in Level 2.  Going directly to ML3 sometimes forces you to make decisions that you won't want to make - resulting in Process Debt that will be difficult to unload for a long, long time.

So do it right, take your time, and please - work with someone who is qualified to help you save time, money, and frustration.

Oh, and if you were ML5 - you wouldn't say "probably."  You would KNOW.


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.

My boss said we need to choose between Agile and CMMI. Which should we choose?

Hey Jeff,


My boss is a software guy, and he seems to know a lot of life-cycles and software development processes.  The other day he was having an all-hands meeting and he said to us "look, you guys gotta choose.  It's either Agile or CMMI - but not both.  So let's cut the crap and get our act together." 


We need to do SOMETHING.  What should it be - Agile or CMMI? ~Ross

To CMMI or to Agile - that is the question.... to paraphrase Billy Shakespeare.

Well Ross, your boss is right, you've gotta choose.  But the question is, choose what?   We COULD spend some time choosing between two completely different concepts, or we could make the right choice.

Choosing between CMMI and Agile is like choosing between a hamburger and a tractor.  One is good if you're hungry, the other is good if you need to plow some dirt.  Huh?

Agile is a philosophy that stems from a set of guiding principles known as the "Agile Manifesto."  It is purposely vague so as to allow people to make the right decisions based on their individual projects.  CMMI is a model that suggests a set of best-practices you might use to improve what you are doing.  It's a "what to" not a "how to" set of suggestions.  So if "what you are doing" is using an Agile method like "Scrum" you could use the CMMI to make it better.  If you are approaching life in a waterfall fashion, then CMMI could make that better.  And don't let any CMMI Consultant tell you otherwise!

CMMI is not a collection of methods, and Agile is not a best-practices model.  See?  A hamburger and a tractor.

So instead of choosing between CMMI and Agile, choose between being a good company or being a great company.  If that were my choice, I would not be choosing between CMMI and Agile, I would be embracing both CMMI and Agile even more!  Except be sure you understand what they both mean.

As Mr. Shakespeare liked to say "Let me embrace thee, sour adversity, for wise men say it is the wisest course"

Agile methods are an excellent way to manage software project using iterative and incremental techniques such as Scrum, Spiral, and XP.  CMMI is an excellent tool to both improve upon HOW you adopt those methods, and to fill in any gaps you (or your management) might have.

CMMI is also an excellent tool to help you understand how well Agile methods are working for you, and to communicate important information to other stakeholders like Management, Customers, and Accounting. And if you want to test it - go ahead and have a CMMI Appraisal.

Many of my Agile purista friends argue that all that matters is what goes on inside a Scrum team. As a matter of fact some insist that no one else is allowed into their daily standup.  This just is not realistic in the real world - and it's not useful.  Customers, management, accounting, and marketing all have a legitimate stake in software projects - no matter how annoying software developers believe them to be.

To paraphrase the Bard again - "me thinks they know not from where they're paid.  Perhaps a bodkin is in order."

So make the right choice Ross.  Choose to be a great company.    Wrap your arms around both and hold on tight!

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.