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

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 CMMISM, 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.  

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      

About the Author :
Neil Potter is a co-founder of The Process Group, a company that consults in software engineering process improvement. He has been working in software development, software engineering, and process and project management since 1985. He is an SEI-authorized Lead Assessor. Mary Sakry is a co-founder of The Process Group, a company that consults in software engineering process improvement. She has been working in software development, software engineering, and process and project management since 1976. She is an SEI-authorized Lead Assessor. 0201775778AB02262002