One Minute to Performance Innovation - What's the best way to establish a policy?

Hey, CMMI Appraiser, What's the best way to establish a policy? ~ Senior VP, Fortune 500 Company

Dear Readers,

Today’s episode of One Minute to Performance Improvement was filmed ON LOCATION at the airport in Detroit, Michigan, where your CMMI Appraiser just got off the phone with a client, who asked, "What's the best way to establish a policy?"  Below is a video clip of my response, and, below that, a quick summary. Enjoy!

Jeff Dalton from Ask the CMMI Appraiser, on his way to visit a client, on a moving walk.

ASKING THE RIGHT QUESTIONS

What’s the best way to represent a policy?  The answer depends on several other questions, including:

• How you define a policy?
• What is it that you want a policy to do?
• How will you communicate a policy?

GREAT MISUNDERSTANDING 

People often think that adopting the CMMI means they have to have "binders full of processes."  They tend to treat every project – even projects as small as mapping a desktop computer to a printer – as though they were building a space shuttle.  It doesn't have to be that way.

AIRPORT POLICIES

Looking around the airport, one sees evidence of an organization doing a great job of defining and communicating their policies, such as: ‘Do not accept any bags that do not belong to you’ and 'Please watch your step as you exit the moving walk.'

Instead of having a policy in some dusty old binder, put it in a sign on the wall, put it in newsletters, in a video, or in a recording, where it can be useful and used by people.

CONCLUSION:

Whether your goals are to successfully deliver software, achieve a CMMI “certificate” or rating, develop a strategic weapon to help you attract and retain new customers, or get on the path to becoming a great company, the CMMI can help.

Find out more about CMMI on our upcoming Webinar:

Webinar: “Everything You Need to Know. CMMI!"
When: April 22 @noon EDT
Cost: FREE!

Hope to 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 running a successful CMMI and performance improvement program.

Grab a cup o’ hot cocoa and enjoy the “Agile Resiliency” Webinar, winter edition!

Dear Readers,

Winter is here, and your fun-loving CMMI Appraiser is throwing another virtual log on the fire and pouring virtual cups of hot cocoa for everyone who joins the presentation of our popular Webinar, “Agile Resiliency” on Thursday, February 12 at noon EST.

Registration is now open: "Agile Resiliency: Scaling Agile So That It Thrives & Survives."

Click HERE to register for the Live Webinar (Thursday, February 12, noon EST)

Why attend?

They say agile won’t scale due to opposition. We say, yes, it can! … as long as engineering and software professionals understand the concept of “Agile Resiliency.”

What is “Agile Resiliency?” It’s a term we’ve coined for a new way of thinking about scaling agile by taking a look at your agile methodology through the perspective of the “Agile Resiliency Architecture,” which keeps you focused on what's most important to your business and your process, and ultimately, your product. In this practical, interactive, fast-paced Webinar, you’ll learn the following:

• How to think of agile in terms of a 3-tiered Architecture consisting of your values, your methods and your techniques
• How to start with agile values and see them as guiding your work
• How to apply the Architecture as a method or framework for managing the work of Scrum
• How to use the Architecture to focus on the techniques for doing the work, such as Planning Poker, Continuous Builds, Story Time, Backlog Grooming, Retrospectives, etc.
• How to integrate the architectural strengths of the CMMI with your agile approach to bring about the transformation of the culture of your company

… Plus, many more strategies, tips and insights for improving ourselves and making our agile methodology scalable.

Space is limited ... sign up now!

Register for the FREE Live 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 running a successful CMMI and performance improvement program.

CMMI-TV: Are You Scrum or “Scrum-But”?

Hey, CMMI Appraiser, what can I expect as a member of an Appraisal Team that is appraising an agile organization? ~ SEPG NA Conference Attendee

Dear Readers,

Today’s episode of CMMI-TV was filmed ON LOCATION at the most recent SEPG North America Conference in Tyson’s Corner, Virginia, where I delivered the keynote address on “Values-based Engineering.” Earlier in the day, an attendee had asked what to expect as a member of an Appraisal Team that is appraising an agile organization. Below is a video clip with my answer, followed by a synopsis of my response. Enjoy!

OVERVIEW

The CMMI is an important tool for helping agile scale. Having a CMMI appraisal is a great way to test the strength and resiliency of your agile values, methods and techniques.

APPRAISING AGILE ORGANIZATIONS

Being a member of the Appraisal Team looking at an agile organization has many advantages:

• It is more interesting to appraise a good agile project
• You get to appraise actual behaviors, not just the documents they are producing 
• There is tremendous value for the company for you to appraise behaviors

QUESTIONS

As a member of the Appraisal Team looking at an agile organization, you will be asking questions, including:

• Are you really agile? After all, ceremonies are widely open to interpretation. There isn’t a 1:1 map. So we as an Appraisal Team have to figure out, are you really agile? Or, are you just Fragile?
• Are you Scrum – or are you “Scrum-But”? I use the term “Scrum-But” when people say, “Oh, we’re using Scrum, but …” For example, some misguided, would-be agile developers say, “We use Scrum, but we’re using Microsoft Project.”

FRAGILE VERSUS AGILE

Most organizations start off pretty fragile. The problem is that agile is an aspirational way of doing business. It’s not a methodology. Agile is something we are, while CMMI is something we use to make it better. If the desire to have an agile transformation is being pushed uphill from project teams, there is only one way this will end, and it’s not good.

CONCLUSION

Agile is aspirational. Agile projects have to be driven by aspirational values that come out of the leadership of the organization. It has to be part of the company culture. Because without that, you are Fragile … not agile … and you are “Scrum-But” … not Scrum.

CMMI-TV is the free video series with the answers you’re looking for about Agile, CMMI and Performance Innovation. As a subscriber, you’ll be notified when we add new episodes to CMMI-TV and you’ll get links to other premium content, as well. Sign up 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 and performance improvement program.