Abstract
Process implementation does not start with developing and documenting the first process. It begins long before this, with determining what the corporate climate or propensity to change is. Start by understanding senior management's commitment to the effort and then obtaining their support, without which process implementation will fail. To facilitate gaining their support, educate senior management on the value of having usable and repeatable processes, if necessary, particularly as it applies to meeting company goals.
Next, determine which areas to focus on. The Software Engineering Institute's CMMI is a good source to help you identify and group process areas. Instead of focusing on obtaining a particular certification such as: CMMI Certification, ISO Certification, etc., concentrate first on getting your house in order.
The CMMI has categorized process areas into specific maturity levels and also provides the option of attaining capability levels only for particular process areas. While this distinction is helpful, be sure to look at where your company is today. Decide what results you want to achieve, and then identify what you must fix. It may seem like you are working backwards, however this is the fundamental concept.
Don't reinvent the wheel. Leverage what already exists in industry. If a methodology suggests going through steps 1 through 5, and steps 3 and 4 don't work for you, recognize this and apply accordingly, only those that apply to you. Do not implement processes for the sake of doing so, and certainly not because they worked well for another company. Understand why they worked for others, and then determine how they may work for you.
Finally, keep actual process documentation simple and useful, and monitor actual results of the process implementation efforts relative to the objectives set.
Introduction
Many of us are familiar with using processes, even if unnoticed or applied subconsciously. For the most part, a successful process is one whose execution goes almost unnoticed and is transparent to those involved, simply because it is second-nature to them. Something as basic as our daily routine in preparing for the day, preparing for a trip, or planning a social event, follows a process that we may not necessarily have formalized or documented, however is second nature to most of us. Additionally, being able to determine the effect of the process, good or bad, enables one to make the necessary adjustments in a timely manner. This is where monitoring the effects and outcomes of a process against the desired objectives become apparent.
“What is a process? A process is a sequence of steps performed for a given purpose. More simply stated, process is what you do. The process integrates people, tools, and procedures together as illustrated in Exhibit 1 below. Process is what people do, using procedures, methods, tools, and equipment, to transform raw material (inputs) into a product or service (output) that is of value to customers.” (Paulk, 1995, p.8)
Exhibit 1 – Process: holding the pieces together
Preliminary Groundwork
Objectives
In determining why process development and implementation might be necessary, it is important to understand, prior to initiating any process improvement activity, why you are undergoing it. What are the issues and what end results are you expecting to achieve? Having a clear objective of what you want to achieve as a company allows you to effectively implement your objectives.
Being able to achieve your objectives should include being better able to measure, and therefore be more predictable of the outcome of the quality of your products and services. You may consider formalizing these objectives as a business strategy, perhaps via a company Quality Initiative that serves as a supporting structure within which your other business strategies are executed.
In fulfilling your objectives, you must determine what you need to improve; from a business process perspective, and to identify why you need to improve these business processes. Ask yourselves, “What measurements do we want to capture to use for decision-making purposes?”
Analysis
Once you have identified your objectives, analyze the company's situation. However, do not focus on improving things as they are, instead focus on looking to make radical changes (if necessary) to get you to where you need the company to be to meet those objectives that you identified.
Determine what it is that works well today, and what needs to improve? Of the things that work well, determine if they truly work well, or whether it is because of the traditional ‘this is how we have always done it’ syndrome? If it is the latter, educate those in the company who think this way on the dangers of doing so, and encourage them to be more receptive to change.
Your analysis should include determining what metrics you will capture and how you will use them. Do not gather them just to do so. Also determine the necessary skill level required to develop and implement processes, and identify those in the company that have these skills, or at least have been exposed to process implementation. The results will help determine how much work is needed in making the initiative a success. Once you have all this information, you can determine which process areas to target.
Organizational Structure
Senior management support cannot be overemphasized. You must obtain buy-in and support from your senior management before you proceed with the process implementation effort. Support includes selecting a sponsor, preferably a member of the senior management team, identifying a company champion for the initiative to lead all efforts, providing adequate resource- and project-funding, and providing awareness to the rest of the company's management team on the importance of this initiative. The management team should incorporate objectives that are goal congruent with this initiative, into the goals and objectives of their staff to facilitate adopting the processes and to help signify the importance of the initiative. The individual who is selected to champion this effort must be knowledgeable of process improvement activities and what it takes to perform them.
Additional Champions
Identify additional champions across the organization, preferably by functional area so as to facilitate process development and implementation, and most importantly, company-wide adoption of these processes. These champions should be identified and recognized as a formal entity within the company such as the Software Engineering Process Group (SEPG).
Training and Awareness
With this structure in place, you must help educate the entire company, including the senior management team. Not only on the benefits of the process implementation initiatives, but also on how you will be performing the activities of the initiative. Training does not have to be extensive, however should be at a level that is appropriate for the audience after the initial work performed to determine the level of exposure and awareness to product implementation in the company. Use those individuals who are knowledgeable of process improvement activities to assist in propagating the knowledge, and in developing and implementing the processes that you define.
Select a Methodology
With so much knowledge in industry today, do not resolve to develop your processes from scratch. Use what exists. Areas to consider include, the Software Engineering Institute's Capability Maturity Model Integrated (CMMI), the Project Management Institute's A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide), Institute of Electrical and Electronics Standards (IEEE), International Organization for Standardization (ISO), etc. A combination of what each methodology has to offer is not unusual, and probably worth considering, as long as it meets your objectives – use what works for you. Our recommendation is to adopt the CMMI and supplement it with the other methodologies. This recommendation is based on our experience and the CMMI approach to using process areas to help better define the interrelationships across individual processes.
Process Development
Now that you've completed the preliminary activities, including determining your objectives, completing the necessary analysis, educating and bringing awareness to the company, and selecting a methodology that works for you, you are ready to begin the actual process development effort.
Process Development and Approval
We encourage you to define a suitable method for developing processes, and a separate approval method. Process development can be facilitated by the SEPG, however initial research and development of the starter processes, procedures and supporting artifacts such as templates, forms, checklists, etc., should be performed by a group responsible for performing these specific activities. Our recommendation is to have this group under the leadership of the designated company champion. This approach supports a faster method of process development and discourages churning and reinventing the wheel. The SEPG basically has a starting point from where they can begin to modify to suit your needs. The recommendation is to have ownership of the actual documents remain with the group that is led by the company champion, even though the SEPG and the rest of the company own the processes. This also ensures consistency in the documentation style of the processes developed.
Approval responsibilities should be delegated to a higher level of functional representatives. That is, a level to which the SEPG reports. This ensures accountability and visibility to those stakeholders who must mandate the adoption of the processes by allowing them to determine that the processes remain aligned with the company objectives.
Documentation
Decide on a documentation format for capturing your processes and develop a template to facilitate its use. It is important that you keep both the format and the template simple and easy to use. Do not spend your efforts on what is, instead focus on what needs to be, and document it. Additionally, do not make the documentation unnecessarily lengthy. Most people will feel overburdened by the seemingly excessive documentation. Also use visuals whenever possible to help easily put processes into perspective.
Although the initiative focuses on developing and implementing formal processes, encourage the company not to wait on the formal processes, and to document or adopt processes informally. The emphasis is placed on speeding up the development and implementation of the formal process when the time comes to develop these processes formally. This approach helps guard against procrastinators and encourages buy-in. With all these items in place, process development follows a more structured and manageable format.
Process Implementation
Processes are to be used once developed. Up to this point, all we have done is defined the processes. You must remember that a process description is not a process. “Only when activities are “performed” or methods are “used” is it accurate to speak of a process. Standards and procedures that are not used are merely shelfware; in such a case, the process is ad hoc, since the putative process description is not followed. Process and process description are frequently, if perhaps imprecisely, used interchangeably.” (Paulk, 1995, pg. 8)
To help facilitate process implementation effectively, consider identifying target projects on which the processes can be adopted. This approach provides an opportunity to work out the kinks before rolling it out to the company. These types of projects basically serve as pilots for the process implementation. Of course, introduction of new processes must be driven also by where you are in the project life cycle into which a process is to be injected.
Dissemination and Training
Before rolling out a new process, there are two primary activities that must occur:
- Disseminate the process documents – ensure that you create a central repository (your Quality Management System (QMS)) that is accessible by the entire company so as to facilitate adopting the processes that are developed. Publishing it on your Intranet is encouraged, especially for remote access. Consider implementing a tool that supports a dynamic representation of your QMS.
- Train the users – with the introduction of any new process comes training. Ensure that the appropriate people receive training. Do not depend on the users reading and executing the processes based on what they have read. Training ensures consistency in the interpretation of the processes and serves as an official indication of the implementation of the processes.
Once the information is disseminated and you have trained the appropriate people, do not assume that implementation is complete. You must understand if the processes are being used and take timely corrective action on your observations.
Process Monitoring
Process monitoring involves reviewing specific projects to determine firstly, if the processes are being followed, and secondly, if they are being done correctly. One of the most reliable ways to determine how process implementation is progressing is to institute audits. These may be done informally, however a formal approach is preferred.
Audits
Audits must be performed in order to establish some kind of control over the process implementation effort, and to provide a level of comfort on how well the processes are being adopted. Help those involved in the audits, particularly those who you will audit, understand the purpose of the audits. Audits in general connote a negative message. Help those to be audited understand that the audits are not intended to get them in trouble, however they are intended to assist them in uncovering deficiencies or inconsistencies in how they are being implemented. In addition, it sends the proper message as to the importance of the process implementation efforts. You must make all efforts to clearly define the focus of the audits, especially auditing the implementation of the processes to ensure that they are aligned with company objectives.
The goal of these audits is to improve quality through results. The audits will help determine the effectiveness of the implemented processes, relative to achieving the results required to meet your primary goal for quality improvement. That is, are the processes being used, in the proper manner, to support the expected results? Additionally, the audits serve as a means for mentoring and re-educating process-users on the value and objectives of the process implementation effort. Without these audits, you cannot effectively tell if the processes are being used to support the expected results, in order to take timely corrective action. The audits serve as a necessary transition into gathering your metrics.
Process Enhancements
Very important to the whole process implementation effort is the need to make timely adjustments when necessary. Those using the processes typically bring the need for these adjustments to light, however audits also help in quickly determining if the processes have been correctly interpreted. To make this process enhancements occur efficiently, ensure that you establish a feedback mechanism for capturing these process enhancements opportunities. Also encourage opportunities to discard areas of the process that are not adding the anticipated value. This approach promotes a quick and flexible method to enhancing existing processes.
Metrics
One of your key objectives should include effectively and continuously improving performance and quality in your company. One approach is to determine what measurements are useful to your stakeholders, and why. The rationale here is to identify a well-defined set of metrics useful to those who need the information to make informed decisions. Consider narrowing the number of metrics you will gather in an attempt to make the exercise, and the ensuing data gathered, valuable.
A word of caution; do not gather metrics because everyone else is doing so. You must determine why you are gathering them and what you are going to use the information for, otherwise it becomes a lesson in futility, and those people in the company who are gathering them simply go through the motions and do not believe in the effort, since they do not see the value. As you begin to obtain and analyze these metrics, they will enable you to progressively measure how well you are doing relative to previous metrics and predetermined goals. Use the information to help make better decisions in your quality efforts. Additionally, make this information visible to the company, particularly those who will use it to make decisions relevant to moving the company closer to its goals.
Closing
With all this said, if you still think process implementation is a hassle, you are probably correct. However, applying the principles described in this article will make your experience a whole lot more worthwhile.
Involve as many people in developing your processes, for example by creating an SEPG, and be open to making changes to processes that do not add the anticipated value. This approach will encourage people to be more receptive to the process implementation initiative.
To put a spin on an old saying, process implementation will be a whole lot easier without people. As you probably realize, it is impossible to perform process implementation without people. In fact, it is primarily because of people that we develop processes. You must engage those who will have to use the processes, particularly during process development, to facilitate adopting the processes.
Without a doubt, you will encounter three categories of people:
- Those who get it.
- Those who don't get it.
- Those who don't want to get it.
My advice to you … focus on educating those who don't get it so you can win them over. Secondly, through the help of the senior management team, ensure that you have a reward system that addresses unacceptable behavior that is not aligned with the company objectives. And finally, those who get it are your champions. Support them and they will continue to support the process implementation initiative. The more you have of this category of people, the closer you get to process implementation being less of a hassle!