Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Why Should We Care about Formalizing Informality?
One might question the value of training the use of
informal (or less formal)
measures
such as the scenario just described. If these measures are intended
to remain informal, why should we care to discuss them and bring them to
our attention in training?
The reason we should care is because even though they are
informal
they are
affecting our real
decisions,
and therefore affecting our business. Think about
the number of informal decisions made every day in your business. This
means at times there is value in stepping back to consider how the informal
measures we use affect our
decisions.
This could be viewed as a periodic alignment of the
criteria
used to make
decisions. After discussing the results with others in your organization, you
might decide to
document
and train certain
less formal criteria
used to guide
decisions. This is one more example of
formalizing informality
in an Agile
organization. It is also an example of why your training needs to be specific
to your organization and culture.
Measurement Flow Down Too Often Missed in Large
Organizations
Process flow down common in Agile organizations that employ small teams
often is missing in many large organizations—especially when the processes
are maintained at a high abstract level. Small team leaders in large organiza-
tions are too often unaware of how the company processes relate to what
they do. In small Agile organizations, everyone is aware of the Agile
processes and shares them openly.
To o o f t e n i n t h e l a rg e r o rg a n i z a t i o n s , t h e o n l y a g i l i t y i s “ s t e a l t h ” a g i l i t y. To o
often inside large companies the company processes are abstract and discon-
nected from what people really do. This is why I have claimed that many
small Agile organizations are actually achieving the intent of the CMMI
more effectively than many large organizations. This is another example that
demonstrates how
Agile can help the CMMI
.
6.22 Addressing Risk in the Process Improvement Plan at
NANO
At NANO, we had to address the issue related to the effective use of people.
We a l s o n e e d e d t o b e s e n s i t i v e t o t h e c o n c e r n o f t h e p o t e n t i a l l o s s o f t h e i r
