PROJECT MANAGEMENT

PS&J Software Six Sigma can help you implement a lightweight, cost effective, measurement driven, surprise free Project Management process consistent with PMI’s PMBOK.  We can help you to integrate your Project Management process with CMMI and/or Six Sigma if your organization has on-going process initiatives in either or both of those areas.

For more information, read our white paper on Software Project Management Training or e-mail us at Quality@softwaresixsigma.us.

Category:  Project Management
Course:  Managing Software Projects
Length:  1 Day
Description:  Managing Software Projects is a high level course for those that are familiar with all the standard project management techniques but have limited software experience. It provides the knowledge to understand technical and management issues specific to software development and to manage software projects to successful conclusions.

Category:  Project Management
Course:  Leading Software Projects
Length:  4 Days
Description:  Leading Software Projects provides a firm grasp of project management methods and techniques in the context of software development, but it also goes far beyond the typical PMBOK training class by providing specific detailed methods for managing the software development process’s cause and effect relations.  For organizations with a CMM, CMMI, or ISO goal the course includes an optional module addressing model compliance. Additional tailoring is available on request.

Category:  Project Management
Course:  Six Sigma Software Project Management
Length:  5 Days
Description:  Six Sigma Software Project Management provides a firm grasp of project management methods and techniques in the context of software development, but it also goes far beyond the typical PMBOK training class by providing specific detailed methods for managing the software development process’s cause and effect relations, from a Six Sigma Perspective, illustrating how to make effective use of the Six Sigma toolkit to managed project performance. It is targeted for an organization that has a Six Sigma initiative, but can be of great value anywhere there is a focus on metrics and fact-based management. It can be used to train project managers or as an elective in a Black Belt training program.

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CMMI

CMMI is a large intimidating model. Many organizations don’t know where to begin or may implement a heavy bureaucratic process that attempts a literal interpretation of the model.  PS&J Software Six Sigma can help you design a lightweight process appropriate to the size of your organization that address the goals of your target CMMI level and that capitalizes on existing practices to the maximum extent possible.  The process that we can help you put in place can be objectively measured and will result in measurable cost savings.

PS&J Software Six Sigma can show you how to implement your processes in such a way that it will pay for itself in cost savings and product quality improvements and that you will be fully prepared for a formal assessment. We can also show you how to integrate your CMMI improvement activities with any other ongoing process improvement initiatives like PMP or Six Sigma.

If your organization is using Agile methods including  Xtreme, SCRUM, we can provide an approach that is fully consistent with both the Agile methods and with the goals of the CMMI model.

PS&J has extensive experience with all aspects of the CMMI dating back to the introduction of the original CMM in the 1980’s. 
PS&J offers a package of services that address the whole CMMI model based improvement cycle in a methodical and consistent way including:

• Sponsorship Seminar
• Preliminary Assessment
• Planning Workshop
• On Going Support & Checkpoints
• Final assessment

The cycle can be repeated as often as necessary to meet the organization’s business goals. Although we provide individual elements of the cycle as point services, e.g. the SPI Planning Workshop or an Assessment, we recommend the whole package for any clients that arejust starting out with CMMI model-based improvement.
The Sponsorship Seminar:

• provides executives with an introduction to the CMMI maturity model
• explains and compares the SCAMPI A, B, C assessment methodologies
• explains the organizational roles and responsibilities required for a successful CMMI improvement effort with special emphasis on sponsoring management
• explains how to make best use of assessment results
• provides an overview the mechanisms for improving cost, cycle time, and product quality
• explains how to set up a software process measurement framework and how to use the measurements for project management and process performance improvement
• provides an introduction to organizational change management

The sponsorship seminar concludes with a facilitate workshop session that helps management define a set of SMART process improvement goals for the organization.

Preliminary Assessment

PS&J recommends kicking off the improvement process with an informal assessment.   An informal assessment doesn’t require as much effort on the part of the internal staff and as a result costs considerably less than a full-blown assessment.  The assessment is used to baseline current organization capabilities, identify gaps, and serve as a catalyst for change. Assessment results, along with management goals, are the primary inputs to the improvement-planning workshop.

Planning Workshop

Once the management goals are set, PS&J facilitates an SPI workshop to build a plan to meet management’s goals.
The planning team typically includes process owners, all members of the staff responsible for the process improvement activity as well as the project managers, and some members of the senior technical staff selected for their influence and technical leadership qualities.
This workshop process allows the team to identify, prioritize, and establish a consensus about the opportunities for improvement that have the best chance at meeting management’s goals and provide the best overall return on investment. The team creates an overall plan for the year and a detailed plan for the next quarter.  The plan includes:

• clearly defined roles and responsibilities for all participants
• tasks
• required resources
• estimated costs
• detailed schedule
• predicted returns
• risk identification
• cost/benefit analysis
• quarterly improvement targets

The team then produces a presentation summarizing the plan.  The workshop concludes with the team presenting the plan to management for approval.  The sponsors have an opportunity to review the plan and to ask questions during the presentation.  Sponsoring management’s approval of the plan defines a commitment between all parties.

On-going Support & Checkpoints

PS&J can support an organization’s internal process improvement teams by:

• helping them to understand the goals and requirements associated with each applicable PA
• pointing out the various methods of implementing each PA and trading-off the alternatives
• providing templates for policies and procedures and/or actually writing process documentation
• training staff in performing the new practices
• providing on going mentoring via teleconference, e-mail or site visits
• providing incremental reviews of process documentation and process implementation indicators

If desired, PS&J can perform quarterly checkpoints.  During a checkpoint, PS&J will interview a subset of practitioners and managers, as well as examine data and analyze metrics collected over the last quarter.  PS&J will then facilitate a planning session covering activities for the next quarter.  Management is briefed on progress relative to the plan and on plans for the coming quarter. The briefing includes progress relative to the schedule, planned and actual costs, planned and actual savings to date, and next quarter activities including planned costs and savings.

Final Assessment

Normally an improvement cycle concludes with an assessment, typically a SCAMPI A or a SCAMPI B.  We can help you select the type that is best for you and help prepare you for  SCAMPI A provided by a third party.  The results of SCAMPI A are submitted to the SEI and published. A SCAMPI A assessment result can be a valuable tool for getting new business, particularly in the case with government contracts. If no marketing advantage accrues from a SCAMPI A assessment, its if frequently possible to get most of the same benefits with a SCAMPI B.  This allows reducing the number of people interviewed and relaxing some of the requirements for multiple instances of evidence that a practice is in use.  This can reduce costs considerably since the major cost in any assessments is the time of the interviewees.  We can provide a SCAMPI B directly or help you prepare for one provided by a third party.

For more information, read our white papers on Model-Based Software Process Improvement, Model-Based Improvement Pitfalls, Six Sigma and the CMMI, and Implementing a Measurement Framework or e-mail us at Quality@softwaresixsigma.us.

Category:  CMMI
Course:  Introduction to CMMI for Development
Length:  3 Days
Description:  This three-day course introduces managers and practitioners, appraisal team members, and process improvement teams to CMMI fundamental concepts. The CMMI for Development (CMMI-DEV) model is a tool that helps organizations to improve their ability to develop and maintain quality products and services.

Category:  CMMI
Course:  Achieving Business Results through CMMI
Length:  1 Day
Description:  The biggest obstacle to implementing any process improvement effort is getting started. "Achieving Business Results with CMMI" provides process improvement leaders with the information they need to successfully kickoff their CMMI based improvement effort. We have compiled lessons learned through our years of software process improvement experience and the experiences of our customers in a course that addresses:

• how to quickly move to the next maturity level
• how to minimize the investment and maximize the return
• how to recognize and avoid common pitfalls associated with process improvement

This course explains how to achieve measurable business results with CMMI. It illustrates how to measure software process performance, how to design a process to meet specific quantitative business goals, and how to measure return on process improvement investment. It provides examples of cost-effective practices in each CMMI process area and explains the mechanisms by which these practices improve the bottom line. It points out common process improvement pitfalls and provides advice on avoiding them and it explains strategies for cost efficient implementation of a CMMI based process improvement initiative.

Category:  CMMI
Course:  Implementing a CMMI Software Metrics Framework
Length:  4 Days
Description:  Implementing a CMMI Software Metrics Framework is designed for an organization just starting out with CMMI or a CMM level 2 -3 organization making the transition to CMMI. Explains how to define, implement, and use a software metrics framework consistent with the requirements of the CMMI. Illustrates the use of software metrics for estimation, decision support project management, process management, and quality management. Reviews the issues associated with automated data collection and analysis, data security, and data privacy.

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SIX SIGMA

If your organization is interested in applying Six Sigma techniques to software development and/or maintenance projects, PS&J Software Six Sigma can help you implement Six Sigma methods within the context of software engineering.  Six Sigma originally grew out of manufacturing and later out of product engineering. You will likely encounter many inconsistencies if you attempt to apply these stock versions of Six Sigma to software development.  PS&J Software Six Sigma has extensive experience adapting Six Sigma methods to software development projects. We can help you integrate Six Sigma into your software processes, show you how to use Six Sigma for software project management, and show you how to integrate Six Sigma with other process improvement methodologies such as CMMI and PMP.

For more information, read our white papers on Software Six Sigma and on Six Sigma, the CMM and the CMMI or e-mail us at Quality@softwaresixsigma.us.

Category:  Six Sigma
Course: Introduction to Software Six Sigma
Length: 3 Days
Description: Provides an introduction to the application of Six Sigma to software development and maintenance. Targeted to personnel who need to understand how to apply Six Sigma to software development. Explains the differences between applying Six Sigma in a manufacturing or service environment and a software development or maintenance environment. Illustrates the application of the Six Sigma tool kit to software development. Demonstrates techniques to measure, improve, and manage the software process. Uses software specific examples throughout.

Category:  Six Sigma
Course: Software Six Sigma Green Belt
Length: 12 Days
Description: Provides an introduction to Six Sigma and its application to software engineering targeted to software developers and software team leads. Explains the differences between applying Six Sigma in a manufacturing or service environment and a software development or maintenance environment. Teaches the how to apply the Six Sigma tool kit to software. Shows specific techniques to measure, improve, and manage the software process. Uses software specific examples throughout and includes extensive programming exercises to motivate software engineers to incorporate the use of six sigma techniques for continuous software process improvement into their every day practices.

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INSPECTIONS AND DEFECT PREVENTION

If you are already doing peer reviews or even inspections, you may be concerned that they are not as efficient as they should be or that they don’t find enough significant defects to justify their high cost. If you have this concern, it may indicate that you don’t have enough data to characterize the inspection process, to manage it, and to optimize its performance.   We can help you baseline your current capability, identify improvement opportunities, quantity the ROI, and effectively implement improvements to you process that will result in measurable cost savings and improvements in product quality.  Inspections should always reduce costs, never increase them.

PS&J Software Six Signa can teach you how to use statistical techniques to select high-risk products for review and to fix defect prone products before they get to test and integration. We use inspection data to drive proactive defect prevention resulting in a closed loop process for product and process quality management. If your organization has a CMMI or Six Sigma goal, we can help you to effectively integrate inspections and defect prevention, particularly at CMMI levels 4 and 5.

For more information, read our white papers on Software Appraisals and Measurements and Management or e-mail us at Quality@softwaresixsigma.us.

Category:  Inspections and Defect Prevention
Course: Performing Software Appraisals
Length: 1.5 Days
Description: Performing Software Appraisals shows software engineers how to perform cost effective appraisals that can dramatically improve product quality and reduce project costs and cycle time. Covers personal reviews (bench-checks), walkthroughs and inspections. Emphasizes a disciplined approach based on Tom Gilb’s inspection process. Address roles, responsibilities, appraisal techniques, and measurements. Students work in teams to perform an actual inspection, taking turns in each inspection team role.

Category:  Inspections and Defect Prevention
Course:  Managing and Moderating Inspections
Length: 0.5 Days
Description:  Success of any inspection process depends on the skills of the inspection team leader. Managing and Moderating Inspections shows the an inspection team leader how to plan the inspection, establish entry and exit criteria, manage the inspection meeting, and perform the follow up meeting. Inspection team leaders learn how to set standards for professional behavior, deal with problem personalities, and ensure the efficient use of inspection time. Inspection team leaders lean how to exploit six sigma techniques to perform cost effective inspections that improve product quality and reduce project costs and they learn how to manage your inspection process to optimize return on investment and product quality while minimizing integration & test costs.

Category:  Inspections and Defect Prevention
Course:  Software Defect Prevention
Length:  1.5 Days
Description:  Software Defect Prevention shows how to implement a formal software defect prevention process that complements software appraisal and design processes. Participants learn how to record defects found in the appraisals, testing, and operations. They learn how to analyze defect data using Six Sigma techniques and how to to select and prioritize categories of defects for early detection or outright prevention. They learn specific techniques for making whole classes of defects unlikely to occur. Course includes participation in a hands-on defect prevention meeting.

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