Chapter 2. Implementing Integrated Process Improvement

[ Team LiB ]

Chapter 2. Implementing Integrated Process Improvement Do what you can, with what you have, where you are. �Theodore Roosevelt (1858�1919) We find by experience (our own or another's) what is hurtful or helpful. �Giovanni Battista Lamperti, Vocal Wisdom (1895) I have but one lamp by which my feet are guided, and that is the lamp of experience. �Patrick Henry, Speech before the Virginia Convention (1775) The two questions that are most frequently raised at integrated process seminars and presentations are How do I pull it all together? and What do I do with my existing process-improvement investments? Both old hands and novices may be overwhelmed by what they see as the complexity of integrating their often-disparate process-improvement activities. This chapter presents some practical advice for implementing integrated process improvement. The advice is based on the experience of some of the Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) authors and others who have used a variety of methods to integrate their process-improvement activities. The chapter doesn't attempt to summarize or repeat the information found in the wealth of process-improvement and change management books now available. Rather, it points out critical strategies that can facilitate process-improvement integration. The first section of this chapter addresses the issues of starting a new process-improvement initiative in an integrated way. It is intended for organizations that have not yet implemented formal process improvement and hence will be starting out with a clean slate. Building the needed support systems, networks, and sponsors, and the way in which this activity differs from single-discipline process improvement, is addressed in the second section. The third section is intended for organizations that are currently pursuing process improvement. It suggests ways to incorporate legacy processes and current process-improvement initiatives into an integrated process-improvement structure, without losing the organization's existing investments. The fourth section focuses on the use of appraisals to provide encouragement and energy to the improvement process, without leading to a "checklist mentality." The fifth section looks at process-improvement activities that are not model-based, and that may be ongoing concurrently with CMMI in an organization. Finally, the sixth section presents lessons learned from several organizations in the form of "Pearls of Wisdom."

[ Team LiB ]