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In unison, one replied “Yes!” and the other “No!” A discussion ensued lead-
ing to the recognition that the expectations of a “Project Lead” were different
under the two managers. This led to one person stating:
We need to define Project Lead consistently across the organization.
The Director immediately responded:
No, we don't. What we need to do is change the word.
He then said:
I don't want you to change what your people do as “Project Leads,” but we
do need to use another word to describe it.
One can easily argue the advantages and disadvantages of arriving at roles
and responsibilities in an organization using the method just described. I
share this story first to point out that the CMMI model does not dictate what
roles and responsibilities an organization defines, how they are defined, or
how or when you go about tailoring them.
6.29 An Alternative Approach to Tailoring at NANO
The approach the Director at NANO took was in my judgment the most
effective to gain the best use of his current resources. He was in effect tailor-
ing the roles and responsibilities in his organization according to the unique
strengths and weaknesses of his people.
It has been my experience that taking this level of care in assigning responsi-
bilities to people can bring great benefits to an organization. On the other
hand, I have heard some argue against this type of approach because it tends
to lead away from organizational consistency, which is a key characteristic of
CMMI level 3 organizations.
If you read the tip under Organizational Process Focus Specific Practice 1.3
Establish Tailoring Criteria and Guidelines, it states:
The challenge is to provide guidance that has sufficient flexibility to meet
the unique needs of each project, but at the same time ensure meaningful
consistency.
At NANO this type of tailoring of roles and responsibilities was con-
ducted periodically based on changes at the organization level rather than
