Sustaining High Maturity Process Implementation with Five People CMM Process Areas

© SITARA Technologies Pvt. Ltd.
For Use and Distribution by the CMMI Institute in the proceedings of the SEPG North America 2013 1111
SITARA Process JewelBoxTM
Sustaining High Maturity
Process Implementation
with
Five People CMM Process Areas
Raghav S Nandyal
Chief Executive Officer
raghav_nandyal@SITARATECH.com

AGENDA
Establish the context
Some perspectives …
Common themes shared between high
maturity CMMI implementation and 5 People
CMM process areas in focus
Characteristics of these 5 People CMM
process areas
CA, CD, QPM, OCM and OPA
How the interweaving works
Reasons why the interweaving works
Conclusion
Q&A

Establish the Context
Building high maturity process is often, the easy
part
Sustaining high process capability is the more
difficult aspect of high maturity implementation
Requires organizations to prepare conditions
necessary to respond to “The Never-ending
Next”
Requires organizations to develop and improve
competencies as much as improving the
process
Requires organizations to explore valid
quantitative techniques – which are simple, yet
effective – to arrive at the most beneficial
analysis

Asset
repository
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Lessons
Learned
High maturity practices of the 3 CMMI constellations
requires institutionalization of practices that achieve
the following objectives:
Use quantitative understanding of processes to
establish performance baselines with which,
process behavior is modeled/understood (OPP)
Projects are then managed by adopting these
performance baselines and models (QPM)
Organizational process performance/outcomes
are managed using business objectives (OPM)
When process performance deviates from the
norm, causes are identified to improve
understanding of process performance (CAR)

Since workforce capability is highly correlated
with process capability
sustaining these high maturity objectives cannot
become reality …
without proactive engagement of individuals
who improve organizational learning,
minimize special and common cause variation
and,
ensure stability and permanence of the
process context
Example: Changes to the SEPG team causes
instability
Example: If individuals do not build the required
“process capability” within themselves, knowledge
and skills alone will not be sufficient

Since People CMM advocates a process-based
professional empowerment of individuals,
What are the 5 People CMM process areas
that could complement high maturity
CMMI process areas?
How is stability of the surrounding context
ensured, to sustain process maturity and
process capability with the 5 People
CMM process areas?
Notion of organizational learning is highly
pronounced in the People CMM
Unit focus: Training & Development
Organizational focus: Competency Development
Primary objective: to improve the workforce capability
through ‘knowledge retention’ and ‘knowledge gain’

The 5 People CMM Process areas:
Share many common implementation objectives
with “high maturity implementation” of the 3
CMMI constellations. For Example:
Institutionalization, is through (generic) goals
Participatory culture, is promoted by involving all
stakeholders of the improvement program
Minimize rework – the hidden factory – by
indulging practitioners to embrace “process
driven” execution

The People CMM concerns itself to the domain of
workforce management and development
provides a high-level guideline to design
organizational processes which address
workforce capability development
From field experiences of 4 organizations
that used People CMM practices along
with high maturity CMMI-DEV practices, it
is clear that –
Only when competent people use a capable
process can a predictable, high maturity
performance result
Focusing only on building a capable process
leads high-maturity implementations, nowhere!
Some Perspectives …
Common Themes

Implementation objectives behind People CMM
and High Maturity practice implementation of the
CMMI constellations share common themes
Minimize variation in execution outcomes
By establishing a ‘stable operating environment’,
with an ability to arrest impact of variation
People CMM CMMI Constellations
Competency Analysis
Competency Development
Organizational Process Focus
Organizational Process Definition
Quantitative Performance
Management
Organizational Capability
Management
Quantitative Project Management
Organizational Process Performance
Common Themes

Create an organization of learners by inculcating a
learning orientation among practitioners
By transferring out experience from project
execution back into the organization
Leverage from reuse and knowledge sharing
Promote organizational development and
professional empowerment by making ‘process
alignment’ the cornerstone to promote a
‘continuous performance improvement’ culture
Organizational Performance
Alignment
Organizational Performance
Management
Causal Analysis and Resolution
Common Themes

From postmortems and introspective sessions:
process stability is hurt due to ‘people’ issues
High churn resulting from no active retention
policies; competent people are the first to leave!
Inability to ensure individuals are ‘productively
employed’ with a competency focus
Lack of recognition of individual competencies
leading to a decay of unit level competitiveness
Lack of guidance to make informed decisions
using experienced individuals in the organization
– such as ‘Mentors’ or ‘Coaches’
Employees care enough about ‘professional
development’ – seek opportunities where
available
Top 10 People Issues

Breakdown of coordination among support
functions such as HR & staffing functions and
delivery functions resulting from ‘just-in-time’
staffing requirements of projects
Lack of an appropriate compensation strategy to
attract, retain and grow talent
Employees like to work in ‘caring’ or ‘less
hostile’ work environments
The best of knowledge transfer and resulting
documentation is no substitute to the ‘eroded
competency’
Competency erosion has a cascading effect
More People Issues

Lot to gain from commonality between high
maturity practices of CMMI and People CMM
Structure of the two frameworks: goals promote
both institutionalization and implementation
(Generic) Goals help to improve process
capability
Intent behind the process areas grow, both,
process maturity and workforce capability using
complementary practices
Similar competencies required for individuals to
execute the designs behind these frameworks
Predictability of execution: possible only when
‘both’ process capability and workforce capability
(competencies) are stable
Business Justifications

People CMM is better able to address key people
issues concerning high maturity process
implementation
Attrition management and knowledge retention
Competency development – particularly relevant
under volatile conditions of technology change
Professional development of employees while …
focusing improvement opportunities with a higher
return on investment – ‘grow workforce
competencies’
Helps to address project stability and process
effectiveness issues due to people issues
Has less to do with not having a defined process
Business Justifications

Characteristics of the 5 People
CMM process areas:
Explore how the 5 People CMM Process Areas
interweave with High Maturity Process
Implementation
Explore how to best exploit the synergy due to
such interweaving of practices

Competency Analysis (CA)
Purpose of Competency Analysis
to identify the knowledge, skills, and process
abilities required to perform the organization’s
business activities so that they may be developed
and used as a basis for workforce practices
offer the much needed holistic or systemic view
required to focus process improvements on all
three essentials of high process maturity –
knowledge, skills and process abilities
CMMI constellations place emphasis on improving
just the process alone, in two process areas of
Organizational Process Focus and Organizational
Process Definition

SITARA 10W5D Competency Hierarchy Model
Identifies organizational competencies to span at
least 10 Wide competencies with each
competency demonstrating 5 Deep capability
For Example: Program Management
Competency can have the following 5 Deep
Capabilities:
Product Specification
Design Management
Product Line Management
Programming Language
Communication Strategies

Only when the organizational competency
description for Program Management
demonstrates adequate capability within the
identified 5D can true potential from having
Program Management competency be realized
Since organizational capability = collective
capability of individuals, the organizational deep
capabilities are further strengthened by …
linking them to ‘individual or personal’
capabilities with the concept of a competency
clusters and stratification

For Example: In order to grow Program
Management Competency, individuals must build
Knowledge
REQUIRED EXPECTED
Domain
knowledge
Product line
expertise
Market Analysis
Competition
Analysis
Process Abilities
REQUIRED EXPECTED
Planning
What-if analysis
Decision Analysis
Product Communication
Interviewing and Elicitation
Developing Early proof of concepts
Skills
REQUIRED EXPECTED
Conceptualizing
Break-through
thinking
Prototyping
Programming
Modeling

Competency Development (CD)
Purpose of Competency Development
to constantly enhance the capability of the staff
to perform their assigned tasks and
responsibilities
SITARA Domain-Competency Sandwich Model
COMPETENCY
DOMAIN
LEARNING
MECHANISMS
TOOLS &
TECHNOLOGY
TECHNIQUES
& PROCESSES
KNOWLEDGE SKILLS TALENTS
SUSTAINED
FOCUS

Individuals
Business
Objectives
Business
Unit A
DEPT A DEPT B DEPT N
K S PA
3 3 2
JOB DESCRIPTION
REQUIRED COMPETENCY
Implementation Example:
Competency Analysis (CA) & Competency Development (CD)
Competency
Domain ProcessAbilities
Knowledge
Skills
ProcessAbilities
JOB DESCRIPTION
Competency
Assessment
CBP (1..n) :: PAL
K S PA
ROLE A 1 2 2
STAFF A
CURRENT COMPETENCY
Training
Curriculum
Training
Calendar
Training
Training
Data
Process Improvement
Roadmap & Staffing Reqt.
Training
Plan
COMPETENCIES
DOMAIN
LEARNING
MECHANISMS
TOOLS &
TECHNOLOGY
TECHNIQUES
& PROCESSES
KNOWLEDGE SKILLS TALENTS
SUSTAINEDFOCUS

Hands-On Activity
Use the SITARA 10W5D Competency Hierarchy and Domain
Competency Sandwich Models and establish the following:
Name of the Competency:
Knowledge
REQUIRED EXPECTED
Process Abilities
REQUIRED EXPECTED
Skills
REQUIRED EXPECTED

Organizational Capability Management
(OCM)
Purpose of Organizational Capability
Management
to quantify and manage the capability of the
workforce and of the critical competency-based
processes they perform
Agile lifecycle
Requirements
Elicitation
Proof-of-concept Et Cetera
Waterfall/ Spiral
Requirements Analysis
Design and
Implementation
Product
Integration
Et Cetera
Measurement
Database 1
Measurement
Database 2
Measurement
Database N
W
O
R
K
F
O
R
C
E
C
A
P
A
B
I
L
I
T
Y

Quantitative Performance Management
(QPM)
Purpose of Quantitative Performance
Management
to predict and manage the capability of
competency-based processes for achieving
measurable performance objectives
Measurement
Database 1
Measurement
Database 2
Measurement
Database N
NEW Project using
Agile lifecycle
Requirements
Elicitation
Proof-of-concept Et Cetera
NEW Project Using
Waterfall lifecycle
NEW Project Using
Spiral Model
Requirements Analysis Design and
Implementation
Product
Integration
Et Cetera
W
O
R
K
F
O
R
C
E
C
A
P
A
B
I
L
I
T
Y

Organizational Performance Alignment
(OPA)
Purpose of Organizational Performance
Alignment
to enhance alignment of performance results
across individuals, workgroups, and units with
organizational performance and business
objectives
Opportunistic
Proactive
Opportunistic
Proactive
Proactive
START
FINISH
Business
Objectives
Performance
Improvement

Competency Analysis and Competency
Development, positively impact organizational
learning embedded in several CMMI process
areas
most noticeably in ‘Organizational Training’,
‘Organizational Process Focus’ and
‘Organizational Process Definition’
Focus is on much broader ‘competency needs’
Emphasis of training in PCMM is on knowledge,
skills and process abilities required to perform
business functions
Impact on workforce practices is also considered
Consideration for both strategic and tactical needs
How the Interweaving Works

Quantitative Performance Management positively
impacts Measurement & Analysis and
Quantitative Project Management process area
of the CMMI constellations
Organizational Capability Management positively
impacts Organizational Process Performance
process area of the CMMI constellations
With PCMM practices of OCM in place,
workforce capability requirements to achieve
quantitative goals are understood
Process context information is captured

Organizational Performance Alignment positively
impacts ‘Organizational Performance
Management’ and ‘Causal Analysis and
Resolution’ process areas of the CMMI
constellations
Both opportunistic and proactive improvements
are pursued while ensuring alignment to cascaded
business objectives across,
individual, team, unit, and organizational levels
Data collection, analyses of trends against
performance objectives, acting on exceptional
findings, analyzing the impact of workforce practices
on performance alignment and reporting results is at
multiple levels within an empowered work culture

Reasons Why the Interweaving Works:
Sponsorship perspectives for any process
improvement initiative are –
To ensure that they help to minimize variation in
‘execution’,
by bringing in consistency
Assure customers of highest quality, predictable
result while reassuring ‘internal stakeholders’
Possible only when process stakeholders
collaborate with ‘competency stakeholders’
(operational management)

Reasons Why the Interweaving Works
Sponsorship perspectives
People CMM practices of these 5 process areas
are organized into process areas which deal
with
Developing individual capability
Building workgroups and culture
Motivating and managing performance, and
Shaping the workforce
People CMM therefore prepares a fertile ground
on which to grow process capability using the
high maturity CMMI practices

Sponsorship perspectives …
Organizations adopt high maturity CMMI
practices
to bring in consistency in execution across
projects,
with a process focus,
by defining a ‘process architecture’
Whereas, People CMM is better able
to establish consistency in execution,
by recognizing impact of both process and
the workforce capabilities on execution
outcomes,
by defining a ‘competency architecture’

Sponsorship perspectives …
Implementation objectives behind CMMI are–
To establish a process framework which is
used by practitioners
To continuously evolve the state of practice
and reinforce confidence while delivering on
expectations,
by consciously minimizing impact of
variation …
using a process definition

Implementation objectives behind People CMM–
To establish a competency framework
To nurture a competency orientation among
practitioners by evolving and growing their
knowledge, skills and process abilities,
by consciously improving organizational
memory through learning and competency
development …
using a process definition

Common processes for both high maturity CMMI
practices and People CMM can be
Deployed using the same organizational
infrastructure (such as OSSP on an Intranet)
Improved within a common process
improvement program
Improvements effected on practices on one
framework positively impacts the other
More bang for the buck

Conclusions:
Process improvement itself can become an
organizational competency – done in both, good
times and in bad times
Structure of the CMMI promotes effecting holistic
improvements along with People CMM practices,
to ensure process improvements have a
competency focus

CMMI constellations address the requirements of
projects from an execution stand-point by
identifying practices in the 6 major categories of
engineering, service establishment and delivery
acquisition engineering, project (and work)
management, process management and support
People CMM addresses the more holistic
organizational requirements for ensuring
execution outcomes are repeatable and
permanent by growing a competency
organization – within competency communities
Conclusions
Reported Benefits

CMMI initiatives tend to be oriented toward the
practitioners of engineering methods; whereas
the People CMM is more inclusive of other
support groups and functions as well, such as
human resources, administration, facilities,
network and support, and finance.
People CMM adoption has a much higher
probability of bonding all of the organizational
constituencies into an integrated team
Conclusions
Reported Benefits

Strong People CMM practices help to ensure much
better execution of projects and facilitates the
adoption of high-maturity CMMI practices
Individuals feel more secure when the strategic
intent is known in terms of ‘career development’
Common process deployment vehicle, such as a
corporate intranet, leads to improvements to both
‘process’ and ‘competency’ improvement
Process improvements without ‘competency’
focus is impossible; impacts process maturity
And, there are strong connections inherent in the
two: CMMI constellations and People CMM
Conclusions
Reported Benefits

Postmortems and introspective sessions of
projects from high process maturity work
cultures, reveals that sustaining high process
capability is hurt due to ‘people issues’
Organizations that shoehorn 5 People CMM
process areas while deploying high maturity
CMMI practices, stand a much better chance at
controlling the impact of people issues on
sustaining gains made after establishing high
process maturity
It is only when competent people use a capable
process can you assure predictable performance
Conclusions
What we have seen so far

It is only when a competency enabled, quantitative
foundation is established would a culture of
informed learning resulting from continuous
process improvement prevail
Process improvement programs can sustain
endlessly only with this assurance in place
Conclusions
What we have seen so far

References
[Chrissis 2011] Chrissis, Mary Beth et al, “CMMI
for Development®: Guidelines for Process
Integration and Product Improvement, Third
Edition”, Addison-Wesley Professional. 2011
[Curtis 2002] Curtis, Bill et al, “The People
Capability Maturity Model”, Addison-Wesley,
Pearson Education, Inc. 2002
[Nandyal 2012] Nandyal, Raghav, “Building and
Sustaining High-maturity Software
Organizations”, McGraw-Hill Education. 2012

DISCUSSIONS, Q&A
Raghav S. Nandyal
Chief Executive Officer
SITARA Technologies Pvt. Ltd.
#54, Sri Hari Krupa
6th Main Road
Malleswaram
Bangalore KA INDIA 560 003
Telephone: +91.80.2334.3222
Mobile: + 91.984.523.3222
Email: raghav_nandyal@SITARATECH.com
URL: http://www.SITARATECH.com
Thank You!

Sustaining High Maturity Process Implementation with Five People CMM Process Areas

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