This document contains a presentation by Bill Smith on lessons learned from process improvement initiatives. The presentation includes 10 lessons: 1) Treat process improvement like a project; 2) Involve future users when developing processes; 3) Understand root causes of problems before assigning blame; 4) Avoid a one-size-fits-all improvement approach; 5) Walk before you run when implementing changes; 6) Keep an open mind; 7) Process improvement and compliance are not the same; 8) Plans without implementation are meaningless; 9) You may lose people and that's okay; and 10) Consider dissenting opinions. The presentation provides examples and references to support each lesson.

1. SEPG North America 2012
Albuquerque, New Mexico USA
What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Stronger:
My Process Improvement
Lessons Learned
3/9/2012
Bill Smith, CEO
Leading Edge Process Consultants LLC
www.CmmiTraining.com

2. All slides contained in this presentation are Copyright 2012 by Leading
Edge Process Consultants LLC – even though I left our logo and
copyright information off the individual slides to give them a “cleaner”
look. So, what does this mean? Please don't copy, modify, or otherwise
use any of these slides without my written permission.
Plus, the Software Engineering Institute (SEI) would like you to know that
CMM Integration℠, IDEAL℠, SCAMPI℠, SCAMPI Lead Appraiser℠, and
SEPG℠ and are all service marks of Carnegie Mellon University. There’s
more. Capability Maturity Model® and CMMI® are registered in the U.S.
Patent and Trademark Office by Carnegie Mellon University.
Sorry, but my lawyer made me add all this stuff, and he only speaks
legalese. I promise the rest of your time with me will be a bit more
interesting. Thank you for your patience.
Bill

3. I’ve been
involved in
improvement
initiatives
dating all the
way back to… …when I
used a
comb!

4. One
theme
has
emerged…

5. “Out of life’s school of war:
What does not destroy
me, makes me stronger.”
Friedrich Nietzsche, 1889.
Often paraphrased as “What
doesn’t kill you makes you
stronger.”

6. Or
to put a
more modern,
less depressing
spin on it…

7. “Next time you feel like
It’s just one of those days
When you just can’t seem to win
If things don’t turn out the way you
planned
Figure something else out
Don’t stay down, try again, yeah…
Everybody makes mistakes,
Everybody has those days…
Nobody’s perfect!”
“Hannah Montana aka Miley Cyrus on the stage of Hannah Montana Tour,” Author: Hannah Montana
Mike Schmid from Hollywood CA. Photo in public domain, used here under the
following license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/
“Nobody’s Perfect”
2007

8. So that you can avoid
some of the mistakes
I’ve seen
and sometimes even
made…

9. I submit to you my…

11. # 10

12. ML 1, new to measurement
Their new consultant…
first SEPG meeting …

13. SEPG member
proposes 8 new
measures…
…for REQM!

14. Everyone …except one guy
agrees… (a PM)

15. Vote
called, measures
“adopted”

16. • 6 months trying to
collect measures
• All but 2 eventually
abandoned
• Frustration, wasted
time / money

17. # 10
Lesson 10
Don’t Ignore the Naysayers;
See also: “Conflict
jump-starts the
creative process,”
Ikujiro Nonaka They May Be Right

18. #9

19. Tech lead, 8-person development
team
Started code reviews, everyone’s
OK except…

20. One guy always
pushes back.
Until 1 day…

21. He sits quietly
thru a review of
his code
A good sign (?)

22. Afterwards, he
repeatedly
pounds a
refrigerator
against the wall
in frustration!

23. He eventually
leaves the
company
(presumably
taking a job in
an organization
where they
don’t do code
reviews)

24. #9
You May Lose
People…
and
That’s Okay

25. #8

26. Assorted, varying degrees of guilt
A (youthful) software developer

27. I’m handed some
impressive
binders

28. I’ll look at them
“when I have
time”

29. I keep doing
what I was doing

30. • I’m not trained
• Nobody cares
• “Has anyone tried
these?”
• My bookshelf sags
• How much money
was wasted?

31. #8
“And Then See also:
“Train, train, train,”
Watts Humphrey
a Miracle …Is Not a
Happens”… Deployment Plan

32. #7

33. (The less said, the better)
(I plead “the Fifth”)

34. Organization
“must be
compliant – now”

35. Develop, deploy process descriptions
absurdly fast

36. Leading to an appraisal

37. • Successful ML 3
• Several months later:
“not doing that CMMI®
stuff”
• Back to business as
usual
(Until the next
appraisal?)

38. #7
Process
Improvement
and Compliance
Are Not
Synonymous
See also: “Cynicism and dysfunction both begin
when managers start saying one thing and
thinking another,” Roger Martin

39. #6

40. ML1, striving for ML 3
Their consultant

41. One PM has
team meetings
…every
…single
…day!

42. I’m glad I don’t
work for him!

43. I learn more…

44. • His project
delivers software
on-time
• His customer &
team love him
• He’s using an
agile method
• Overkill? No.
Potential best
practice? Yes!

45. #6 Keep
an
Open
Mind
See also: “Keep an open mind
and a level head,” Watts
Humphrey

46. #5

47. Small, 6-week-old IV&V team
Their new team lead

48. Team member
working on
“IV&V database”

49. Database
constantly
being
redesigned!

50. I pull the plug on
the database

51. • We focus on
actually doing
IV&V!
•A
spreadsheet, su
its us fine

52. #5
Walk
Before
You Run
See also: “Improvements should
be made in small, tested steps,”
Watts Humphrey

53. #4

54. Small consulting company, getting
“better”
Quality Manager, little funding for PI

55. I form a Process
Group

56. We spend weeks
developing our
“process for
developing a
process”

57. It rocks!

58. • “Billability” pressures
torpedo the effort
• Assets never actually
helped the business
• Time, money wasted

59. #4
Avoid a
One-Size-Fits-All
Improvement
See also: “You have choices in your improvement
approach,” Suzanne Garcia, Richard Turner
Approach

60. #3

61. See also: Lesson 2
New 80-person software
development organization
New QA Manager

62. My team begins
auditing

63. No projects are
following the
process!

64. We ask “Why?”

65. • Developers are not
undisciplined or lazy
• The organization’s
processes are bad!

66. #3
See also: “To identify actions that address a
defect or problem, you need to understand its
root causes,” CMMI-DEV v1.3 (CAR)

67. #2

68. See also: Lesson 3
New 80-person software
development organization
New QA Manager

69. Going back to
Lesson 2:
Why were “bad”
processes
developed?

70. They had formed
a process “tiger
team”

71. …that included
nobody that
would be using
the processes!

72. • Processes were
unusable!
• Organization
eventually lost the
contract due to poor
performance

73. #2
See also:
“Ultimately, everyone must
be involved,” Watts
Humphrey

74. #1

75. Small company moving towards ML 3
Their consultant

76. PI effort way
behind schedule

77. We draw a
fishbone
diagram, identify
root
causes, impleme
nt solutions

78. Solutions involve
treating PI like a
project

79. • We rigorously
estimate process
development time
• We develop a detailed
schedule
• We track actual
progress in detail
• Successful ML3
appraisal – on time!

80. #1
Make Process
Improvement a
See also: “Unplanned process
improvement is wishful thinking,” Watts
Humphrey
Project

81. Summary

82. 10. Don’t Ignore the Naysayers; They
May Be Right
9. You May Lose People… and That’s
Okay
8. “And Then a Miracle Happens” Is Not
a Deployment Plan
7. Process Improvement and
Compliance Are Not Synonymous
6. Keep an Open Mind

84. References
• Smith, Bill. My life (Pittsburgh PA metro area, Washington DC metro area, et al: 1961
to date).
• Chrissis, Mary Beth, et al. CMMI® Third Edition: Guidelines for Process Integration and Product Improvement.
(Boston: Addison-Wesley, 2010).
• Garcia, Suzanne, and Turner, Richard. CMMI® Survival Guide: Just Enough Process Improvement. (Boston:
Addison-Wesley, 2007).
• Gerrard, Matthew, and Nevil, Robbie. “Nobody’s Perfect” (song). (Walt Disney: 2007). (Popularized by Miley
Cyrus as “Hannah Montana.”)
• Humphrey, Watts S. Managing the Software Process. (New York: Addison-Wesley, 1990).
• Martin, Roger. “Changing the Mind of the Corporation,” Harvard Business Review, November-December 1993.
• Nietzsche, Friedrich. Twilight of the Idols, or, How to Philosophize with a Hammer, 1889.
• Nonaka, Ikujiro. “The Knowledge-Creating Company,” Harvard Business Review, November-December 1991.
• Senge, Peter, et al. The Dance of Change: The Challenges to Sustaining Momentum in Learning Organizations.
(New York: Doubleday 1999).

85. For More Information
Appraisals Training
Mary Segnit Bill Smith
Coaching & Consulting
www.CmmiTraining.com