Project Closure and Team Disband One of my favorites and often poorly executed part of a project is the project closure.  Project closure is not just a simple wipe our hands together and smile, then proclaim that we are finished with the project. It is not even handing the customer our results and patting everybody […]

Really, Eliminate Configuration Management? Anybody that believes they are saving project time, engineering time and money by eliminating configuration management does not understand how things really work.  This is especially true if the items you are eliminating the configuration management for, interface with other items.  Building a system or subsystems that comprise a variety of software components […]

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.  […]

Software Process and Measurement Cast podcast: The Big Picture of Configuration Management, Tom Cagley and Kim L. Robertson Configuration Management: Theory, Practice, and Application Configuration Management is a common thread that ties the various departments and organization together, facilitating coordination of effort and is fundamental to product and human growth.

In the purchasing contract with a tier one supplier, the expected the “0-kilometer” quality or failure rate is not to exceed 500 parts per million (ppm).  These are failures seen before the product leaves the OEM manufacturing floor requiring product rework on the assembly line or as the vehicle rolled off the end of the […]

I am writing this post after a discussion with some people on product development and project management processes.  The discussion took a turn to process intensive approach or not to use a defined process.  There are many ideas of how this can work, for example the Capability Maturity Model Integration is an example of the […]