If you're finding that your great ideas fall on deaf (executive) ears - this presentation is for you! While originally developed and delivered for technical audiences (software sizing and estimation) - the concepts apply equally well in any industry. Instead of presenting/pitching/selling your concepts based on how your peers would want to hear them, we need to reframe them in executive terms - by using a 3 step process: Create, Confirm, Convince.

1. Three C’s for (FSM*) Success:
Create, Confirm, Convince
Carol Dekkers PMP, CFPS, P.Eng
President, Quality Plus Technologies, Inc.
dekkers@qualityplustech.com
Phone +1 813 816 1329
* FSM = Functional Size Measurement. Could be ANY new initiative.
Convince
Confirm
Create

2. FUNDAMENTAL
CHALLENGE?
C LEVEL
EXECUTIVES
CREATE CONFIRM CONVINCE
Keynote TOPICS

3. About
Quality Plus Technologies, Inc.

4. Why Listen to Me?
Carol Dekkers
• B.Sc.ME + PMP + CSM + P.Eng.
Credentials:
CFPS (Fellow) and ISO project editor
• 75+ articles, 10+ textbooks, 500+ presentations
Consultant, author, speaker, observer, student
Committed to FSM success 25+ years

5. The Fundamental Challenge
(to software development and measurement today)…
“… is proving that Agile Communities
can benefit from FSM*”
Mauricio Aguiar, IFPUG President,
CEO Ti Metricas
Oct 2018
* FSM = Functional Size Measurement (software sizing)

6. Smart Minds think similarly
2012…
“How do I convince senior executives
(often CEOs) and public officials that
quality
is important and an essential strategy for
–pick your ending– performance
excellence, competitiveness, growth,
sustainability, survival, efficiency,
effectiveness ?”
How Do You “Sell” Quality? by ASQ CEO Paul Borawski
http://asq.org/blog/2012/03/how-do-you-sell-quality/

7. Smart Minds think similarly
TODAY…
“How do I convince senior executives
(often CEOs) and public officials that
quality
is important and an essential strategy for
–pick your ending– performance
excellence, competitiveness, growth,
sustainability, survival, efficiency,
effectiveness ?”
How Do You “Sell” Quality? by ASQ CEO Paul Borawski
http://asq.org/blog/2012/03/how-do-you-sell-quality/
Functional Size Measurement
…of agile software development?

8. C level executive…
“The ultimate role of a CEO is to provide a
long-term return on investment to the
shareholders of the company…(the) issue of
short-term progress vs. long-term gains is the
central conflict…”
“…cares about profits, revenues, earnings,
and market share…short-term/long-term
tradeoffs, risk, time to market, return on
investment”
Quality Meets the CEO by Jeffery E. Payne

9. Key elements of CEO decision making:
Intent, Information, Education
Quality Meets the CEO by Jeffery E. Payne

10. Measurement = objective proof…
Translates feelings into facts
(c) Quality Plus Technologies, Inc. 2018
Feeling  Product
delivers value to
stakeholders
Proof  FP size
Feeling  Highest
value functions
delivered first
Proof  Relative FP
Feeling  Backlog size
is growing
Proof  Overall size FP
Feeling  We are
more productive than
competitors
Proof  FP / Pers. Mo.
Feeling  Agile is
better (less rework)
Proof  FP churn
FSM = product size
Fact based proof for
developers, but…

11. C level executives want to know…
? Short-term return (#)
? Long-term return (#)
? Risk of non-delivery (%, mitigated)
? Proven past success (or pilot with ROI)
? Information or education (goal)
? Awareness of competing proposals
? Quantify in C level terms ($$$)
Quality Meets the CEO by Jeffery E. Payne

12. Where to start?
Convince
Confirm
Create

13. Create Measures that Matter
(i.e., Relevant to Agile)
 What to measure  Driven by WHO needs measures
 GQM can help
 Define measures:
 Efficiency  Better (Faster? Cheaper? Less rework?
Higher/same quality?)
 Effectiveness  Right product @same/lower price
 Shareholder value  ROI (Increase output/input)

14. Dr. David Rico – Business Value of
Lean & Agile Metrics
C level execs want to know:
? Short-term return (#)
? Long-term return (#)
? Risk of non-delivery (%,
mitigated)
? Proven past success (or
pilot with ROI)
? Information or education
(goal)
? Awareness of competing
proposals
? Quantify in C level terms
($$$)
Quality Meets the CEO by Jeffery E. Payne

15. Why do
(should)
executives
care about
software size?
 They don’t… unless it is in
context with other measures:
 Cost (savings)
 Value (investment)
 Competitiveness (speed to market)

16. Typical Agile
Project
Estimation
Sprints  time-boxed at 2-4 weeks  estimate what
can go into a sprint
Agile Size Estimating
Methods typically include:
T-Shirt Sizing (Sm, M, L, XL…)
Story Points/Planning Poker
Use Case Points
Based on team / org velocity  sprint is assigned user
stories/capabilities to be delivered (during sprint)
Agile does not = Adhoc… Estimates and Schedules
important

17. The Challenges with Agile Estimating Methods
(Not a problem with FP…)
(c) Quality Plus Technologies, Inc. 2018
All are subjective
and cannot be
replicated, even
within the same
teams
Significant variation
within and between
teams
No rules on how to
size
Inconsistent and
unpredictable
Cannot be used to
develop
productivity, cost or
quality metrics
Cannot be used to
evaluate against
industry data
Optimistic bias
Difficult to
determine Velocity,
especially when first
implementing Agile
Using IFPUG function
points can address
most of these
limitations
*** FSM (Function Points) provides objective sizing for use in agile projects!

18. Why do we care about software size?
Quantifies
intangible …
functionality
considered
+ basis of
user value

19. Confirm measures
 Reliable (and repeatable)
 Correct (audited)
 Validated (do the # make sense?)
 Proper units of measure
 Plan presentation
It is important to state the obvious
otherwise it may be overlooked.
Peter Drucker

20. Convince
 Selling  negative connotation
 Present  show proof (neutral)
 Decision making:
Analysis – intellectual (#)
Buy /decide – emotional
Post-decision – intellectual justification

21. Presentation pointers
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
0 1 2 3
Axis Title
Axis Title
Defect density
Y‐Values
 Kawasaki 10/20/30
 Tools (+ / -)
 Pre-test
 Live (g r a p h s , AJIONy
bullet points,
colors,
hyperlinks)

24. Q. What to measure?
Better question is
What do EXECS want
to know?

25. Dr. David Rico – Business Value of
Agile Software Metrics

26. Sometimes changing your perspective changes what
you see…

27. Sometimes changing your perspective changes what
you see…

28. Proving value (of metrics) takes
planning to create (define),
confirm and convince.
Thank you.

29. Edward R. Murrow (1940’s)
“The newest computer can merely compound, at speed, the
oldest problem in the relations between human beings, & in the
end the communicator will be confronted with…
what to say and how to say it.”

30. 30
Carol Dekkers is available for keynote presentations, consulting
contracts and to train your professionals (globally) in the following
areas:
- Project management (PMBOK®)
- Leadership (emotional intelligence, Heart of Agile, presentation skills, communication
and team building)
- Software estimation (costing, scheduling, sizing)
- Functional Size Measurement (International Function Point Users Group – IFPUG sizing)
For further information, contact Carol by email or phone:
(Dekkers@qualityplustech.com or +1 813 816 1329)