Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Would I commit to a plan that didn't specify how much time I was signing
up for?
This was a real dilemma for me. Therefore, I went back and created a section
of the plan that talked about exactly how we would determine and agree to
the resources and effort. We were using an
incremental
approach. We had a
criterion
to make
decisions
about work we would do in each increment. We
would look at each potential piece of work on a case-by-case basis, consider-
ing
priority
of the work,
personnel availability
,
effort estimates
, and
skill level of
those assigned.
This way no one would be forced to sign up for something
without knowing the consequences ahead of time. I wouldn't have to guess
about how much time each task would take before I even knew who might
be assigned.
LESSON 6
When planning, if you don't know the answer, don't guess. Explain in your
plan exactly what you are going to do to get the answer. Then, when more
information is available, update the plan.
I found people resisted this plan at first, but eventually bought in. It was
exactly what we planned to do. But why did people resist originally? I
believe at first they wanted a plan that just called out the answer, but we
didn't have the full answer. Why don't they like this? The answer is because
it isn't easy. It means you have to participate throughout the project to make
decisions
about each task as sufficient information becomes available.
8
I told one of the leaders of NANO that my role was to guide this effort and
give him helpful hints along the way, and he quickly responded by saying:
I don't want hints; just tell me what the CMMI says I have to do.
I then explained that the CMMI does not dictate things you have to do. It is a
reference model to help you ask key questions about your processes so you
can figure out what the right processes are for your organization. That client
was clearly a bit frustrated with my answer. I could tell he wanted me to just
write his processes for him since he viewed me as the expert. I also explained
that he knew his business and his organization's culture far better than I did
and the goal was to develop processes that fit his work and helped his people
do their job.
8. Reference Agile Manifesto Principle 4: Business people and developers must work together daily
throughout the project.
