Institutionalization - It’s Not Just Another 20 Letter Word

Institutionalization – It’s just the way we do it here, Maturity Level by Maturity Level.

• Initial/Performed (ML1/CL1) – The work is done, the work products are produced, the Goals are satisfied. You have smart people doing good stuff.
  
• Managed (ML2) – The work is done according to a plan, the people are available and skilled/trained, adequate resources are assigned/acquired, identified work products are created, stored, evaluated and ultimately delivered, the work is monitored and controlled, and senior management takes an interest in the project throughout its lifecycle. ML2 is focused at the project level – Similar projects may do similar things dis-similarly.
  
• Defined (ML3) – All of the above, and there are documented characteristics and attributes that process descriptions possess: Purpose, Roles, Inputs and Entry Criteria, Process Steps, Outputs and Exit Criteria, Measures, Verification Steps, Job Aids (templates, fill-in guides, samples, tools, training, etc.). ML3 is focused at the organization level – Similar projects do similar things similarly, with allowable tailoring for the specific needs of projects.

Institutionalization is not how long the processes have been documented, but rather how ingrained into the organization’s operational methodology.

Institutionalization is codified in the CMMI’s Generic Practices. No matter how many smart people you have doing good stuff (Specific Practices), unless you Institutionalize (embrace the Generic Practices) you’ll never be other than ML1/CL1.

The Generic Practices of the CMMI lead to institutionalization of the following concepts.

Policy

• It is not enough for senior management to just talk about process
• Senior management must be continuous, visible, advocates for doing it the right way
• If senior management does not get out in front of the process improvement initiative, people will soon figure out that it is not that important and it will fall by the wayside until the next new best thing comes along; it migh be perceived as the flavor of the month phenomenon we see in organizations that are struggling for a magical solution

Planing

• Who (actor and role)
• What (what the project is to accomplish)
• How (the process steps for converting the project's inputs into outputs)
• When (schedule)
• How Well (objective quality standards and measures)
• Where (do they stage their intermediate and final work products)
• With What (samples, tools, checklists, guidelines, etc.)
• Where (do they get help)

Resources

• People (empowered, trained, available)
• Tools (hardware, software, job aids)
• Environments (proper working spaces, labs, etc.)

Training

• Availability is not a skill (process training and appropriate skills are needed)
• Organizational (what process training is the responsibility of the organization)
• Home Organization (what specific skills training is ones home organization responsible for)
• Project Training (new tools or processes that are for the primary benefit of the project)
• Individual (what must the individual do to make themselves a valuable, contributing member of the company)

Configuration Management

• All work products ought to be placed under some level of control
• Changes must be authorized
• Changes must be controlled
• Audits must be performed to ensure the documentation matches the work products, which may be documents themselves

Teamwork

• All work is accomplished by teams
• Teams must be managed to effectively develop the synergy that makes teams more powerful than the sum of their parts
• Teams must be empowered and authorized to do what they are tasked to do

Measure

• Without developing a quantitative understanding of project status it is difficult to determine if a project is on track
• Without developing a quantitative understanding of what your processes are doing for you, it is easy to fool yourself into thinking process change is the same as process improvement 
• Measures may be both qualitative and quantitative

Control

• Project and senior management must effectively steer the project according to the data they are collecting, both qualitative and quantitative data should be used
• When the data indicate the current state is significantly different from the predicted or desired state, the project manager must take control
• Typically the project manager may change the staffing, scoping, or scheduling

 Process Assurance

• The CMMI focuses on process improvement as the basis for improving the results of projects
• It is, therefore, essential that the processes are executed as documented.
• If a different process is followed each time, it is impossible to gather data on how following the process is really helping you

Product Quality

• It is not enough just to follow the processes, it is also essential that following the processes enables you to do better work

Status

•  Gathering data from multiple sources allows a project manager to develop a composite picture of the project that can be viewed from many vantage points
• This multiple view picture gives the project manager a better understanding of the project and the ability to make projections about its future

Standardization

• Following standards allows the project to do the same things the same way over and over again.
• This repeatability permits the projects and organization to develop data over a period of time that allows for prediction of future similar projects

Improvement

• Using the collected data collected over a period of time allows the organization to improve their processes to ensure the best possible process is being used for each project in the present and for the future