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4.6 Running Process Improvement like a Project
At BOND, part of the plan forward was to run the process improvement effort
just like any other project in the company. I worked closely with the assigned
Process Improvement Lead inside the company building a project plan with a
schedule, tasks, and assigned resources.
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We u s e d t h e C o n t i n u o u s R e p re s e n t a -
tion of the CMMI model and decided to prioritize process areas and attack
them incrementally.
The Project Management process areas were identified as the highest priority
and attacked first during the initial increment of work. To address each
process area we used a tailored version of the Technical Working Groups
(TWG) approach recommended by the SEI [21]. While the fundamental TWG
approach is sound, there are lessons I have learned applying this approach to
develop CMMI “compliant” processes that fit within an Agile culture.
4.7 TWG Approach for Agile Organizations
The purpose of a TWG is to use key subject matter experts (SMEs) in the orga-
nization to help develop, document, and deploy processes and related
process support assets across an organization. In observing TWGs in the past
in multiple organizations, I have
found common patterns I like to
avoid when implementing this
approach in an Agile organization.
Those patterns have led to a tailoring
of the TWG approach for Agile orga-
nizations, which are described in the
following paragraphs.
One of the responsibilities of a TWG
is addressing any potential weak-
nesses against the CMMI model that
might have been identified. Another
is to ensure the people in the organi-
zation who must use the process and
supporting process assets are trained
in those processes.
Pause, Reflect, and Glance Forward
If you are experienced with Agile
approaches but are new to CMMI,
you might be asking at this point: “If
this organization is successful using
an Agile approach, why go through
all this effort?”
We w i l l b e g i n t o a n s w e r t h i s q u e s t i o n
in the next chapter where we discuss
the added value the CMMI can bring
to a successful Agile organization.
This subject will also be addressed fur-
ther in Part IV where we investigate
common misapplications of agility.
3. Refer to appendices for an example of a template for a Project Management Plan.
