Making Process Improvement Work: A Concise Action Guide for Software Managers and Practitioners

Description

• Copyright 2002
• Dimensions: 6-1/4" x 9-1/4"
• Edition: 1st

• Book
• ISBN-10: 0-201-77577-8
• ISBN-13: 978-0-201-77577-8

“This book hits the mark for three important issues:

How to keep focused on real improvements

How to develop an implementable improvement plan

How to develop meaningful and useful measurements

I will definitely recommend it to my clients who are just beginning or are having trouble with their improvement program.”
—Norman Hammock, SEI Authorized Lead Assessor

“At last a common sense and business-oriented approach to process improvement. This book gives very practical instruction that is easy to apply. Your people will thank you for it.”
—Nancy K. M. Rees, Vice President and Chief Engineer, Xerox Corporation

“...gets right to the heart of process improvement with specific, concrete steps and excellent examples. It’s a book you can use today.”
—Dennis J. Frailey, Principal Fellow, Raytheon Company

“Too many organizations develop a checklist mentality targeted at achieving the next process maturity level or passing an audit...Neil and Mary remind us to focus on pragmatic mechanisms for achieving superior business results...”
—Karl Wiegers, Principal Consultant, Process Impact

Software process improvement too often reflects a significant disconnect between theory and practice. This book bridges the gap—offering a straightforward, systematic approach to planning, implementing, and monitoring a process improvement program. Project managers will appreciate the book’s concise presentation style and will be able to apply its practical ideas immediately to real-life challenges.

With examples based on the authors’ own extensive experience, this book shows how to define goals that directly address the needs of your organization, use improvement models appropriately, and devise a pragmatic action plan. In addition, it reveals valuable strategies for deploying organizational change, and delineates essential metrics for tracking your progress. Appendices provide examples of an action plan, a risk management plan, and a mini-assessment process.

You will learn how to:

Scope and develop an improvement plan

Identify and prioritize risks and mitigate anticipated difficulties

Derive metrics that accurately measure progress toward business goals

Sell your improvement program in-house

Initially target practitioners and projects most-open to new approaches and techniques

Stay focused on goals and problems

Align the actions of managers and practitioners

Delay major policy documents and edicts until solutions have been practiced and tested

Use existing resources to speed deployment

Incorporate improvement models, such as SEI CMM^® and CMMI^SM, into your improvement program

For those managers who are tired of chronic project difficulties, constant new improvement schemes, and a lack of real progress, this easily digestible volume provides the real-world wisdom you need to realize positive change in your organization.

0201775778B02262002

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Extras

Related Articles

A Goal-Problem Approach for Scoping a Software Performance Improvement Program

How to Monitor Software Process Improvement

Management Role: Ensuring That Software Process Improvement Sticks

Pat O'Toole's Dos and Don'ts of Process Improvement: DO (or is it Dont?) Lead by Example

Pat O'Toole's Dos and Don'ts of Process Improvement: DO Align the Reward System

Pat O'Toole's Dos and Don'ts of Process Improvement: DO Ask Different Questions

Pat O'Toole's Dos and Don'ts of Process Improvement: DO Become a Learning Organization

Pat O'Toole's Dos and Don'ts of Process Improvement: DO Establish Organizational Policies, Not CMM Policies

Pat O'Toole's Dos and Don'ts of Process Improvement: DO Establish the Alignment Principle

Pat O'Toole's Dos and Don'ts of Process Improvement: DO Exercise Restraint With Alphabet Soup

Pat O'Toole's Dos and Don'ts of Process Improvement: Do Exit Staged, Right?

Pat O'Toole's Dos and Don'ts of Process Improvement: DO Firm Your Firm by Reaffirming

Pat O'Toole's Dos and Don'ts of Process Improvement: DO Generate Size Estimates, Naturally

Pat O'Toole's Dos and Don'ts of Process Improvement: DO Keep Your Eye on the Prize

Pat O'Toole's Dos and Don'ts of Process Improvement: DO Separate Process Documentation from Procedures

Pat O'Toole's Dos and Don'ts of Process Improvement: DO Separate Process Documentation from Training Material

Pat O'Toole's Dos and Don'ts of Process Improvement: Do Set the Stage for Continuous Improvement

Pat O'Toole's Dos and Don'ts of Process Improvement: DO Take Time Getting Faster

Pat O'Toole's Dos and Don'ts of Process Improvement: DO Your Level Best To Stay Under the Threshold

Pat O'Toole's Dos and Don'ts of Process Improvement: Don't Carry Old Baggage on a New Journey

Pat O'Toole's Dos and Don'ts of Process Improvement: DONT Establish Policies as Behavioral Guidelines

Pat O'Toole's Dos and Don'ts of Process Improvement: DONT Expect a Miracle

Pat O'Toole's Dos and Don'ts of Process Improvement: DONT Foul Up Size Tracking

Pat O'Toole's Dos and Don'ts of Process Improvement: Dont Maintain a Low Profile

Pat O'Toole's Dos and Don'ts of Process Improvement: DONT: Attend Industry Conferences

Practical Project and Process Documentation

Project Management for Web Sites: Solid Pre-Production is the Key

Real Process Improvement: Getting What You Need

Shoestring Process Improvement — Don't Stop Because Times Are Tough

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Table of Contents

Foreword vii

Preface ix

Acknowledgments xv

Chapter 1: Developing a Plan 1

Scope the Improvement 4

Develop an Action Plan 23

Determine Risks and Plan to Mitigate 38

Summary 49

Chapter 2: Implementing the Plan 51

Sell Solutions Based on Needs 52

Work with the Willing and Needy First 57

Keep Focused on the Goals and Problems 71

Align the Behaviors of Managers and Practitioners 73

Summary 75

Chapter 3: Checking Progress 77

Are We Making Progress on the Goals? 78

Are We Making Progress on Our Improvement Plan? 87

Are We Making Progress on the Improvement Framework? 88

What Lessons Have We Learned So Far? 101

Summary 113

Conclusion 115

Appendix A: Mapping Goals and Problems to CMM 117

Appendix B: Mapping Goals and Problems to CMM and CMMI 125

Appendix C: Action Plan Example 133

Appendix D: Risk Management Example 139

Appendix E: Mini-Assessment Process 145

References 157

Index 161

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