Introduction CMMI (Capability Maturity Model Integration) has been around for 32+ years and is a proven collection of engineering, management, service and improvement practices. The two primary models that organizations use are: Development (CMMI-DEV) Services (CMMI-SVC) The DEV model is used for development of systems, products, IT solutions and software. It has a worldwide adoption …continue reading >

Introduction Kanban (“signboard” or “billboard” in Japanese) is an inventory-control system to control the supply chain. It was made popular by Toyota in 1953*. In Kanban, a signal is sent to produce and deliver a new shipment of material as it is consumed. These signals are tracked through the replenishment cycle and bring visibility to …continue reading >

Introduction Since 1989 Mary and I have been performing the role of change agent. This involves teaching or coaching new skills, such as estimation, risk management, defect identification, agile, CMMI practices, or fixing organizational problems so that work can be done quicker with fewer problems. There is one common difference between the teams and organizations …continue reading >

Introduction The software, systems and IT development communities are constantly looking for approaches to organize and manage their work. Over the years there have been many solutions to choose from. These include the Project Management Body of Knowledge from the Project Management Institute (PMI), the Capability Maturity Model (CMMI), Integrated Product Development, Concurrent Engineering, and …continue reading >

Introduction Does your new project team have the following challenges? A deadline and expectations with no reliable estimates or task breakdown Few or no requirements No repeatable life cycle to manage work now and in the future Bugs and rework from previous projects consuming resources If some of these resonate, here are five steps that …continue reading >

Introduction A common definition for work done is, “I am sure this will be OK,” and “The deadline is up.” If a team applies one of these definitions to requirements, test plans or code, then defects slip downstream, causing rework, extra test cycles, costs and upset customers. Here is an alternative definition for “done”: The …continue reading >

Introduction Can you find the information you need when performing project work? When you do find it, is it the correct version and of reliable quality? Projects run faster when they simplify the information they generate, use a process to reduce errors, and store the information in a single place for quick access. Over the …continue reading >

Introduction Organizations move to Agile (Scrum) to get early customer feedback and deliver features incrementally. They also become Agile because it sounds more appealing than the alternative! Either way, from my recent informal audience poll of 450 people, two-thirds are not happy with their Agile implementation and experience chronic chaos or quality problems. What is going …continue reading >

Introduction You have noticed that some project work seems to drag on forever. When things don’t go as quickly as you want, stop and identify some of the underlying causes. Consider the following categories and questions. Skills Are your team members skilled? For example, eliciting and writing software requirements can take ten times longer when …continue reading >

Introduction A common question we get asked is how team members and project managers can engage their senior management in improving the state of the organization. At the project level, there are chronic challenges regarding schedules, rework, changes in priorities, and death-by-chaos. The management team has its own issues regarding resources, sales, deadlines and new …continue reading >