cmmi guide to the perplexed
DESCRIPTION
Covers understanding CMMI, Picking a consultant/lead appraiser & what to do if you picked poorly, and, how to make yourself less at the mercy of your appraiser or the need for consultants.TRANSCRIPT
04/10/2023 1®2009 Entinex, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ***PROPRIETARY***
CMMI Guideto the Perplexed
With All Due Respect to Maimonides
04/10/2023 2®2009 Entinex, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ***PROPRIETARY***
Many things about CMMI Can Be Perplexing
What perplexes you? What’s actually “required”? How to understand/use CMMI appropriately. How far can interpretation be stretched? OK already! Agile and CMMI can co-exist. But
how? What about all the redundancies? How to choose a consultant or appraiser. How to avoid picking a loser consultant/appraiser. If you already picked a loser, how to defend your
processes and artifacts. How to work with CMMI without the need to work
with a (loser) consultant.
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What perplexes you?
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What’s actually “required”?
Process Areas
Specific Goals Specific Practices
Generic Goals Generic Practices
Required
Expected
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UNDERSTAND MODELS
How to understand/use CMMI appropriately. (1)
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How to understand/use CMMI appropriately. (2)
YOUR activities to MAKE stuff& DELIVERservices.
CMMI’s practices for IMPROVING how you make stuff & deliver services.
Diagrams not to scale.
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… In Other Words and Therefore:
You need to know what you’re doing before CMMI can help. How you manage projects, develop products, &
define your standards are yours. Not all projects or processes are good candidates
for improvement with CMMI. Pursuit of Maturity Levels is likely to cause non-value-
added work to some of your projects and processes. That’s why CMMI emphasizes the business value of
the improvements. PAs are called Process Areas and not processes
because they are areas of process activities. Regardless of where & when they might appear on a
project.
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How far can interpretation be s - t - r - e - t - c - h - e - d ?
Ask the question(s) backwards:
What does the CMMI expect you to accomplish?Read the informative material!
What are you doing
How do you avoid the risks
Which of your outputs do
what you do
Does itdo
CMMI?
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OK already! Agile and CMMI can co-exist. But how?
CoreCMMI
Principles
CoreAgile
PrinciplesCoreAgile
Principles
Optimized OptimizedExtreme
Extreme
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CMMI & Agile
Be honest with the Manifesto and CMMI.
Systems Engineering: Components of the system are necessarily sub-optimized to optimize the system. Allow the “balance” to be fluid and dynamic. Process design is a systems engineering
exercise, NOT a compliance drill! Optimization is context-driven. What’s the
business reason for the process / improvement?
Being fully committed to both Agility and Discipline requires being a learning organization, not pathologically box-checking one.
04/10/2023 11®2009 Entinex, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ***PROPRIETARY***
What about all the redundancies?
Redundancies were necessary to facilitate the organic (continuous) growth.
You are not required to be redundant. That would be antithetical to improvement!
Ex. There doesn’t have to be a difference between how you validate requirements or work products for your products and services compared to how it’s done for work products of the project.
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How to choose a consultant or appraiser.
“Know your (CMMI) stuff”. Knowledge is power. Become (or get) an expert in CMMI/SCAMPI.
Pilot your consultant/lead. Try before you buy. Don’t “buy” the entire “package” in the beginning. Like a doctor, seek a 2nd opinion.
Hire a different consultant for a training component, or for implementation, or for a SCAMPI C or B.
Ask for and follow-up on references. Lurk on discussion boards and Google for
publications/work. PARS (http://sas.sei.cmu.edu/pars/)
04/10/2023 13®2009 Entinex, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ***PROPRIETARY***
How to avoid picking a loser consultant/appraiser.
Define “loser”. Someone who … Is a pathological box-checker. Can’t relate to you. Can’t think “out of the box”. “One-trick pony.” Inflexible/Unreasonable (where the model and
methods would otherwise allow) Poor communication skills.
Use your heart, not your head. Interview by what’s important, not shallow
cost/schedule. If cost/schedule are #1 priority, give up now.
04/10/2023 14®2009 Entinex, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ***PROPRIETARY***
Avoiding losers
Questions to ask: Explain to you what the generic practices do in
a way that you can use. Describe a typical engagement flow. Give them a real issue you’re facing and ask
them what they’d recommend you do about it. Provide some processes of yours which are
troubling you (and/or process areas) and to ask them how they'd interpret and implement CMMI to address your situation.
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More Loser Avoidance
What to look/listen for: Talking more about you than themselves. Taking ownership of your needs and business.
Trying to figure out what makes most business sense? Looking for ways to save you time, money, energy? Looking to ensure your effort goes smoothly and meets your
needs? Mindful of you/your staff’s limitations on resources. Talking business and value not compliance.
Relates to your situation, context, technology, market, customers and approach.
Seem to be “giving away” a lot of free help.Using SEI as an excuse or scapegoat.“Requiring” things not required by CMMI/SCAMPI.SCAMPI C for ML2 takes 2 weeks.
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If you already picked a loser, how to defend your processes and artifacts. Know your Required from your Expected.
Understand model intent.
Understand and demonstrate your context.
Start with known/defined processes.
If you’re worried, throw a SCAMPI C or B Don't let your SCAMPI A be your first experience with a
disconcerting LA.
Hire a trusted consultant/LA to prepare/participate on SCAMPI.
Know and Tell your PIID story effectively Starts with ensuring you've properly interpreted the model.
The model is predominantly common sense, if something doesn't make sense you’re probably not interpreting it correctly.
04/10/2023 17®2009 Entinex, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ***PROPRIETARY***
How to work with CMMI without the need to work with a (loser) consultant.
Gain expertise/experience in: Project Management Process Improvement
TQM Lean
Engineering Understand and define the distinctions:
Process areas, processes, and procedures, Standards, Project activities vs. Development/Service
Activities Use CMMI to improve the above,
not define the above.
04/10/2023 18®2009 Entinex, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ***PROPRIETARY***
Summary
Understand Models, in general.
Be honest with the core values of Agile and CMMI.
Grow your expertise in TQM, Lean, and Change.
Get a handle on how you manage projects, develop products and services and use CMMI to improve them, not define them.
Interview for values and principles, not impersonal traits.
04/10/2023 19®2009 Entinex, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ***PROPRIETARY***
Questions/Discussion
04/10/2023 20®2009 Entinex, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ***PROPRIETARY***
Contact
www.entinex.comwww.CMMIFAQ.infowww.AgileCMMI.com