You do not have to go it alone when it comes to developing requirements. There are many templates and well-defined approaches to help in this regard.  If you are developing a complex system, it is good to break the requirements up, starting at the highest level of abstraction.  We will call that systems specification.  The […]

In this series on CMMI (capability maturity model integration) and requirements, we have discussed: understanding requirements commitment to the requirements control changes to requirements traceability of requirements from detail to scope and back inconsistencies, the difference between of what is included and what is being done The processes above work together and amount to managing the […]

If commitment to the requirements is a significant source of failure, it is followed close behind by the management of changes or additional requirements that come from doing the work.  Though many project managers may believe that once a project is underway, there shall be no changes; that is a myopic approach.  Change happens.  As […]

Learning and Morbidity & Mortality I have been watching a hospital type show.  That show demonstrated something called a Morbidity and Mortality (M&M) Conference and it occurred to me that some adaptation of this approach would help organizations to bring the learning from the work to the entire company. Learning and Conventional Projects We have […]

CMMI Requirements Management We decided to continue with requirements management since there are some generic goals that are probably just as important as the previously discussed specific goal and practices.  This is especially true when we consider the long-term impact on our project execution capabilities. CMMI Generic Goals The generic goals associated with requirements management […]

CMMI and Project Management There are intersections between Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) and project management beyond the specific or obvious project management areas listed below in the staged representation: Project Planning is Level 2 Project Monitoring and Control Level 2 Risk Management Level 3 Quantitative Project Management Level 5 There are other non-obvious intersections between […]

Documentation and Rework Once, a long time ago, I worked at a company that was having some difficulty coordinating their development work.  The product that was produced was a complex arrangement of mechanical and electrical / electronic systems.  The company was ISO certified and had documentation describing how they would work, including configuration and change management.  […]

Risk Management and FMEA Approach We walk through the use of the Failure Mode Effects Analysis (FMEA) tool used as a risk register that we can use for our project risk management. Using this approach we can uncover, assess, and plan our risk response actions in one sheet. That includes identify our control or mitigating […]

Imagine, a story based on true events. This is not John Lennon’s Imagine.  Imagine you are an executive and you are sitting down to your early morning breakfast with the daily paper.  As you read the paper, you find an article about your company and you are stunned.  The article is not a flattering article […]