SLAMit! SMS Lean and Agile Method for Improvement Teams

Business Performance and the Software Development Process

When we talk about "performance improvement" in the context of software-intensive systems, we are talking about increased responsiveness, flexibility and sensitivity in the development process to the needs of the business. Effective business performance relies on a continuously improving business capability to develop and adapt services and products faster, cheaper, better and above all more predictably. Software plays a key role in delivering this capability. Harnessing the unique transformational power of modern information technology while complying with the normal management controls that apply to any other part of the business is the balance that successful businesses achieve.

If we are talking of improvements in the software development process, therefore, the first and key action is to set clear improvement goals that support the business strategy. If there is no clear understanding at senior level what the expected benefits of an improvement programme are, improvement activity is unlikely to deliver much impact on business performance.

Achieving compliance with an improvement model or quality standard will not of itself necessarily achieve objectives such as improved productivity, or enhance the effectiveness of the software development process in delivering the required business outcomes. While achieving accreditation/compliance may be a requirement for sales and marketing purposes, such models and frameworks are most effective when used as a guideline and not a business goal in themselves.

Effective Process Improvement

Kotter’s Model (based on a Plan, Do, Check, Act cycle) suggests organisational change & improvement is created and sustained by work in 8 strategic focus areas. However, these cannot be treated as sequential steps. All the eight focus areas need to be addressed simultaneously to realise effective improvement.

SMS' Lean and Agile Method for Improvement Teams enables you to map how you are going to get from where you are now ("current state") to where you want to be ("future state"). It delivers value to stakeholders incrementally, building engagement and commitment to the point where improvement activity becomes embedded in organisational culture and thus self-sustaining.

Fig 1. Kotter's Model:

Agile Improvement

It is difficult to plan how to get to a destination if you don't know where you're leaving from! SLAMit begins by defining your starting point and your destination, and then maps the route by which you plan to get there in a series of "sprints", run every 2-4 weeks. At the start of each sprint, the business priorities of goals and requirements are reconsidered, enabling the team to adapt to ensure the work products and activities remain in tune with the need to deliver business value to the client. Commitments to expenditure can be similarly reviewed each sprint and varied as the client thinks is desirable

In this way, the client always remains in control of the risks, the budget, and the objective and direction of the work.

The SLAMit approach addresses all the 8 focus areas in setting up and running the Sprints. This includes maintaining the engagement and commitment of senior management ("Create a guiding coalition") and using integrated teams to create a sustainable culture of change.

Rather than being something imposed on a busy team from the outside, process improvement then becomes integral to the way the project team - and the business - operates. Each section and indeed each individual is aware of the overall value stream and the impact of their activity on other parts of the end-to-end process. This encourages a problem-solving response to the issues and difficulties which arise.

The roadmap is linked to Kotter’s 8 Step Process and is customized specifically to fulfil the vision and mission using lean and agile methods to deliver rapid progress.

1.    Urgency – finalise agreement of scope, business priorities, timescales and plans

2.   Guiding Coalition – identify process ownership, obtain support and commitment

3.   Vision & Strategy – analyse capability gaps, establish a process baseline, measure

4.   Communicate – make gaps & performance visible, discuss & agree priorities, identify training needs

5.   Empower – assign Process Action Teams, agree Product Backlog and PAT charters

6.   Quick-Wins – use SMS’ Lean and Agile Method for Improvement Teams to iteratively deliver process modifications from the Product Backlog, closing the successive gaps

7.   Consolidate – perform periodic “quick-look” min-assessments, measure, analyse and document lessons learned from pilots & trials, review PATS, modify Product Backlogs

8.   Institutionalise – Publish progress against plan, celebrate successes, disseminate lessons learned, revise overall plan as needed to keep focus on goals and value

Continue the cycle of Plan, Do, Check, Act activities embodied in Steps 6 through 8

Appraisal

If CMMI accreditation is required, a full-scale SCAMPI® Class-A appraisal can be performed at a suitable time to assess maturity level. The set of activities for this are typically scheduled over 12 weeks and include: appointment and training of the Appraisal Team Members preparation of the Practice Performance Implementation Database the Document Review Initial Briefing On-Site Period & Final Findings Presentation.
Periodic use of the SMS Symptomatic Diagnostic tool to position the organisation on the 5-point scale of effectiveness provides an audit trail of demonstrable improvement in value delivered.

Benefits of the SLAMit approach:

• Everyone in the organisation is engaged and provided with necessary training early in the programme
• The client organisation receives a return on investment at the end of each sprint
• Waste and rework is minimised
• Improvement opportunities are prioritised each sprint so the focus is always on the single useful next step
• Changes to business goals and constraints can be accommodated flexibly without wasteful replanning
• The programme transfers knowledge to client staff and develops a culture of continuous improvement

Why use SMS?

You can read the principles of successful process improvement implementation for yourself. Delivering a successful implementation in the context of existing company culture and history is another matter altogether.

SMS consultants have supported numerous organisations through various stages of their journey to the "desired state". We can both anticipate the problems and barriers to change and apply successful strategies to resolving the issues which inevitably arise.

In the end, you will achieve your goal more quickly, more harmoniously, and more cost-effectively, by applying SMS expertise. When you are investing in process improvement, invest in a little insurance to keep you on course. To speak to one of our consultants contact SMS sales@measuresw.com