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Is it the Tools? or the People?

By DanielBMarkham on June 29, 2005 8:22 PM | | Comments (0)

One of the things I get the most as a process consultant is "Do we need better processes, or better tools?" Usually it shows up in cases where tools were bought to fix process issues (after all, buying a tool is simply writing a check. Fixing a process means getting consensus among dozens, if not hundreds of people -- which do you think is easier?) But there are cases where infrastructure is needed. How do you find out where this is the situation?

When I was creating the first MAT, I used the concept from CMMI of "Ability To Perform". Put simply, can we do this? Do we have the time, people, tools, and training to do this? It's a critical question. Take a look at some results below:

Here are the results of a MAT on a PMO last year:

Discipline
Perceived Problems
Ability To Perform
Commitment To Perform
Directing Implementation
Verifying Implementation
Knowledge
Clear User Responsibility
Business Modeling
-1.222
-0.667
0.778
-0.778
-0.667
0.222
1.778
Requirements
-1.333
-1.222
0.778
-0.778
-1
-0.444
1.222
Analysis & Design
-1.556
-0.778
1
-1
-0.556
-0.333
0.778
Implementation
-1
0.667
1.222
0.556
-0.444
0.778
1
Test
-1.444
0.111
1.778
0.333
1.333
1.333
1.889
Deployment
-1.444
0.222
2.333
0.778
0.444
1
1.111
Environment
-2.444
-0.444
-0.444
-0.778
-1
-0.556
0.333
Project Management
-1.222
0.333
2
0.778
0
0.222
1
Configuration & Change Management
-1.556
-0.444
1.444
-0.667
-1.111
-0.222
0.889

As you can see, the biggest need they had for Ability To Perform was in the area of requirements. Subsequent to this assessment, we brought in a requirements specialist to work and teach the tool.

Currently in the MATv2 assessments, I've expanded Ability To Perform into it's separate components: training, time, people, money, tools. Hopefully we'll get some better diagnostics in the days ahead. If so, they'll make for interesting analysis.

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This page contains a single entry by DanielBMarkham published on June 29, 2005 8:22 PM.

Maybe Worf Was Right? was the previous entry in this blog.

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Daniel Markham
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