Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
How Senior Management Can Make a Difference When Moving to
Agile
Let me conclude this chapter by sharing a recent story. I was working with a
client collecting data for a CMMI appraisal. As I was talking to a systems
engineer who was responsible for Requirements Management, I asked him if
he had any sample artifacts we could use as evidence that changes to require-
ments were being appropriately managed.
This relates to Specific Practice 1.3 of the Requirements Management Process
Area in the CMMI model. His eyes lit up immediately.
“You bet,”
he says,
“I've got a great example.”
He then pulls out an extensive Excel spreadsheet showing a list of require-
ment identifiers and on-going issues being worked against each. It was
evident that a great deal of requirements work was under way on the project.
This did not surprise me. It is common for projects to work this way. How-
ever, when I had previously read their project plan it stated that they were
using a strict waterfall development process and that all requirements would
be baselined at the system requirements review. There was no plan for evolv-
ing requirements work. There was no budget for ongoing requirements
collaboration after the system requirements review was completed. So I
asked him, as I examined the spreadsheet:
Have you had the system requirements review yet?
He responded:
Oh, yeah, that was completed a few months ago, but we've got way too many
issues to baseline the requirements. We'll still be working the requirements
until we get to the critical design review.
Then I asked:
Does Senior Management know this?
He replied:
Oh no, they think the requirements are baselined, but I would never tell them
what we are doing because they'll just scream at us.
Senior management can make a difference by letting their people know
they expect to hear about issues, and by creating an environment where
the people feel safe to communicate the truth.
