The theme of this year’s SEPG is “Perform At a Higher Level” and it comes at a time in our country’s and world’s history where solid and higher level performance is needed on all fronts if companies are to be efficient and effective and turn our high quality products and services and keep their customers satisfied.

So with that theme in mind, I took a quick tour of this year’s program to see what would catch my eye and want me to definitely sit in on those presentations. My selections are by no means a reflection on the quality of those I will not mention, but they are ones that piqued my own interest and possibly will pique yours as well.

Here are a few selections for Monday’s tutorials you may want to consider:

• “Organizational Change Management – The key differentiator for sustainable process improvement” – Julie Calfin
  • In a previous blog, I talked about a Change Management Tool Kit that I shared with the SEPG 2009. It should be clear that any process improvement initiative needs not only a focus on the technical side but also on the people side. Check this one out and see what Julie Calfin has to say.
• Reducing the Costs and Increasing the Value of CMMI Reappraisals – Beth Layman
  • Everyone on both sides, the organization to be reappraised and the Lead Appraiser is trying to find legitimate and effective ways to conduct reappraisals and keep costs down. How that can be done is dependent on a number of factors. I will definitely want to hear what Beth has to say.
• The Multiple Quality Models Paradox: How Much “Best Practice” is Just Enough? – Keith Heston
  • Keith’s abstract starts off by asking the question most of us are asking right about now, “Can you really have too much of a good thing?”  His answer is YES! Many organizations starting out on a CMMI journey get overwhelmed with the many current quality models and standards.
  • Keith promises to break down key models and standards such as CMMI, ITIL, and ISO 9001 into their process DNA – quality components to help attendees simplify the way they think about and pursue multi-model improvement. Sounds like advice we all should consider today!
• Agile CMMI: Obtaining Real Benefits from Measurement and High Maturity – Kent Johnson and Margaret Kulpa
  • What is Agile and what does CMMI stand for is still being debated. And Agile and measurement – really? Kent and Margaret have considerable experience in CMMI, Agile, High Maturity and Measurement. If you would like to gain more insight into all four at once, this is the presentation for you!

I will be providing my presentation choices for the remaining three days in subsequent blogs so you will want to check back frequently to see if you agree.

I will also be providing my opinions of the sessions I get to attend during the conference to let you know how I felt about them after I saw the author’s in action.

I hope to see old friends and make new ones at this conference. You can easily find me at my partner’s booth 416, Method Park. We can chat and I can even introduce to one of the best process improvement tools in the business – STAGES!

More information:  SEPG 2010 Agenda

See you soon!

Tim Kasse
CEO & Principal Consultant
Kasse Initiatives LLC

• Software Engineering processes
• Hardware Engineering processes
• Systems Engineering processes
• Manufacturing processes
• Financial processes
• Human Resources processes
• Legal processes
• ………..

Process helps to establish the business culture and then sets guidelines and expectations. Process can be viewed as a methodology that is applied from elicitation of requirements to design through delivery. There are no shortcuts – there are no other alternative methods that a business can adopt that embraces a “cradle to grave” philosophy to ensure quality and profitability with control every step of the way.

We build the business right – through process. We build the right business – with guarantees of product and service quality and customer satisfaction.  Process is the fastest-lowest cost path to get there and know if you are there!

With models, standards, methods and techniques from all parts of the world focused on process and quality it is only fitting that a process improvement manifesto was developed. In September 2009, a group of experts in Software Process Improvement (SPI) from all over the world gathered near Madrid, Spain and shared their expertise and wisdom from their many years of process improvement experience. Sponsored by the European Union, 30 workshop participants brainstormed core values and principles specifically focused on process improvement. Download the SPI Manifesto @ Here

What to use the Manifest for?

Jorn Johansen and Jan-Pries-Heje, the leaders and chief editors of the SPI Manifesto put forth a reminder on what to use the manifest for. You can use the manifest to obtain knowledge of SPI. It will help you remember what is important about software process improvement. Each value and the consequent principles are written so you can easily place yourself into the problem and context. Short explanations for each value are provided that can further augment your understanding. Each value also has some relevant examples that will make it easier to learn and remember the values and principles.

You can use the SPI Manifesto when you are responsible for planning a SPI project. The third manifest value states that SPI is actually really about change. You can apply these SPI Manifesto principles in your organization’s process improvement project that will support the necessary corresponding change. Download the SPI Manifesto @ Here

Values

• People – Must involve people actively and affect their daily lives not to be focused on management alone
• Business – What you do to make business successful – this is not about living to deploy a standard, reach a maturity level, or obtain a certificate even though it can certainly help do all of those things
• Change – Process improvement is inherently linked with change – we realize and accept that we cannot continue to live as we do today – we must change – perhaps a little or perhaps a lot

Principles

People

• Know the culture and focus on needs
• Motivate all people involved
• Base improvement on experience and measurements
• Create a learning organization

—        Business

• Support the organization’s vision and business objectives
• Use dynamic and adaptable models as needed
• Apply risk management

— Change

• Manage the organizational change in your improvement effort
• Ensure all parties understand and agree on process
• Do not lose focus

You are invited to read the details behind these Values and Principles statements located in the body of the SPI Manifesto and share your comments back with us. Do you agree? Do you disagree and why? Do you think something critical was overlooked and should be added?

We are interested in your comments and inputs – after all process improvement is continuous…………………..

Download the SPI Manifesto @ Here

Tim Kasse
CEO & Principal Consultant
Kasse Initiatives LLC

One of the more important steps in starting a process improvement initiative is to determine the appropriate tasking and the scope of the process improvement program. There is great temptation for an organization to attempt to take on too much too fast, especially if it feels that it must catch up to its competition. For example, an organization will assess its capability against all of the Process Areas (PAs) of the CMMI and try to set up Working Groups and Action Plans in a broadly based approach to implement multiple levels of PAs at the same time. While it is natural to want to initiate a program quickly, it is important for an organization trying to get a process improvement initiative started to be as realistic as possible in these beginning stages.

Many Lead Assessors / Lead Appraisers push organization’s to undergo an assessment straight away to find out where their current process capability is. Is that appropriate for the organization? Or is it a need of a Lead Appraiser to get his/her checkmark to keep governing bodies, such as the SEI happy with the number of assessments conducted within a given time period?

It is my opinion, after 20 years of involvement with the CMM, CMMI and assessment, that it might not be appropriate for an organization to conduct an assessment right away. The organization might want to focus on only a few areas to get its process improvement initiative started, show positive results and then expand.

There are many factors that must be taken into consideration when an organization is trying to establish its organizational process. What process improvement entry strategy an organization chooses depends on a number of factors, including the following:

What possible process improvement entry strategies have helped your organization or have you recommended? Send me your comments and then download the paper, “Entry Strategies Into the Process Improvement Initiative” written by me and my dear friend and colleague, Dr. Patricia McQuaid of Cal Poly State University and compare. The original version was written around the CMM but has been updated to CMMI v1.2 for this offering. Send additional comments if you want. We are always interested in your opinions and points of view.

Best Regards,
Tim Kasse
CEO & Principal Consultant
Kasse Initiatives LLC