Process Improvement

While the Lean Six Sigma approach is rarely linked with business intelligence, it is a concept that relies heavily on data, measures and analysis to support and encourage process improvement efforts. These can be provided by the BI function in the organization. The two disciplines can work together in a symbiotic relationship--one requiring data to solve problems, the other requiring problems for the data it can provide.

Just as we always look out for the good of our projects, we must also look out for the good of our career. We can never assure that they will continue to advance and grow, but there are some factors we can look to that might optimize our chances. Taken by themselves, none of these factors will assure a smooth and rewarding career progression. But leveraging several of these factors can help maximize success.

From Harris Corporation
Harris Corporation offers compelling insights into the impacts that process can have on culture and vice versa. This organization understood the four reasons why many organizations fail to transform their Project Management cultures, and avoided these pitfalls with their PMO working with OPM Experts LLC.

Government contractor Johnston McLamb shares details about the benefits of pursuing process improvement via a more rigorous CMMI rating. Such a trend is spreading among smaller IT firms worldwide, according to CMMI program manager Mike Phillips.

All other things being equal, the better a project’s business case and requirements are analyzed and communicated, the better the overall outcomes. And business analysts, by job definition, are going to fulfill this responsibility better than project managers.

If necessity is the mother of invention, then the customer is the father of business process improvement.

Projects are about changing things, whether it’s a new application to reduce paperwork or a new bridge to shorten commutes. Process improvements should also be thought of as projects — and by applying sound project management techniques, you can improve your chances of success.

Doing more with less people, less tools and less funding has become the norm--and 2012 doesn’t look to be much different. How can you continue to service a growing backlog of project requests in the face of static or shrinking budgets and a dwindling pool of project professionals? Believe it or not, there are things that can be done and ways to keep progress moving forward. Here are 10 tips you might find useful.

Part 1 of this two-part series introduces the agile engineering principles and practices that, when implemented, enable some teams and their respective organizations to build high-quality software very quickly that will please customers. Organizations embracing these practices--when used in conjunction with agile and lean management practices--can gain delivery advantages on their competitors while managing lower maintenance and support costs in the long term.

Welcome to the other side of process improvement, where we need to support processes that are not designed in such a way that they are able to be performed by a 14-year-old.

From kickoff to closeout, every project has its ups and downs. Project managers who have a handle on the five stages of team development can foster greater collaboration, decision making and overall performance. In part two of this series, we look at an example of a team progressing through all five stages.

In high school, you may have learned that pi is equal to roughly three and change. Now that you're a PM professional, you know that PI is worth a whole lot more than that. Despite the popularity of Process Improvement these days, there hasn't been much discussion of the schedules, costs and real value of bringing your software development to the highest levelsuntil now.

Given IT has played a significant role in business since the 1960s, it seems almost inconceivable that CIOs are still alignment challenged. Perhaps the challenge isn’t so much getting aligned but staying aligned given the pace and nature of change companies must cope with and adapt to in today’s global economies.

Few know the evolution of Application Lifecycle Management and how the Structured Revolution of the 1970s and '80s was a major turning point in software development. This article presents a retrospective on ALM and Structured Development Life Cycles--those that shaped it, the influencing principles and the related methodologies and tools the movement spawned.

How did you improve today? By making BPI an integral part of your company’s culture.

What does it take to do world-class business process improvement projects? Does it take a total corporate infrastructure dedicated to the task? Does it take lots of automated tool sets that do process analysis, simulations and collaboration? The answer may surprise you...

Project, program and portfolio management offices have survived tough economic times, but they have not advanced the cause of operational excellence, according to a survey of 600 practitioners.

A new survey by IIBA and Forrester provides information about business analysts, including backgrounds, skills, responsibilities and aspirations.

Discussion on quality management has not evolved much since the mid-1990s. Within executive circles, the discussions are not about the importance of quality, but rather on what quality is, how it is achieved and how it can be measured. The issues surrounding quality seem focused on definition and approach rather than on need. What is quality? What does senior management expect from the quality process, and how do these expectations apply to IT? Read on...

Just like individuals get direct benefits from IT certification in boasting their career prospects, so do organizations benefit from process improvement certifications.

We seem to be moving from the “every PMO is different” model to the “PMOs fit into one of several types” model. However, since the heady days of Y2K the world has changed a lot--and created a lot of opportunities for PMOs to reinvent themselves and create a new model. This writer may be a power-crazed egomaniac, but he thinks PMOs can run the organization (if not the world).

An equipment manufacturer is turning away new business. An airline is delaying flights due to maintenance issues. A homebuilder is struggling with a regulatory-driven software implementation. Here is a look at how three companies turned to Critical Chain to fix debilitating project management problems.

If you want to ensure that your organization can differentiate itself based on quality, you need to ensure that everyone is focused on achieving that goal. Quality goes far beyond the individual project, and this article looks at some of the steps needed to ensure that you are capable of delivering quality projects on a consistent basis.

Process improvement initiatives require leadership, clear requirements, and teams specifically focused on implementation and training. In the fourth of a six-part series on enterprise best practices led by PMOs, here are some recommendations for pursuing process maturity.

Making the most out of one of the most difficult parts of a project can reap tremendous rewards.

Too many PMOs are not yielding demonstrable positive financial results, often due to limitations outside of their control. Here are two common problem scenarios that can be fixed by changing the way in which the PMO is chartered, operates and is perceived within the business.

Welcome to IT Strategist's annual roundup of IT surveys. Here are the trends you need to know about to wind up 2009 and head into 2010.

Want to really make your mark as CIO? Here are some secrets to getting ahead with your C-level peers: Think like them, act like them, and you'll be on your way to CIO greatness.

The typical response to tough economic times is for IT leaders to make across-the-board cuts. While the cost savings are immediate, they are drastic, one-time fixes that introduce risk and don't position the organization for future survival.

While attending a recent course, this writer learned some simple techniques for better defining the customer and their desires. This article introduces some of the techniques that will help ensure teams know who their customers and users are, who they are not and how to create winning solutions for delivering value.

The CIO stands on unique ground when undertaking business process improvements: right in the middle of technology, business and people.

Everyone in your organization has his own area of expertise. Bringing all that knowledge together is one of your most powerful tools toward process improvement. Here are six steps to get you up to speed.

In today’s economy, businesses must continuously improve processes and the PMO needs to continue to add value by maturing with the business. How do you know that your PMO and project management processes are effective? Who sets the standards and how do you compare your PMO to those standards? As our look at the Central Arizona Project case study continues, we see how OPM3 stepped in to help.

How many people in your organization know what the PMO actually does? Here, we look at the work that the PMO can do to help a key group of people understand how the PMO operates: project stakeholders.

PMOs might take a page from New York City’s war on crime, which produced a sustained drop in reported crime. By focusing on solutions instead of symptoms, then targeting the most serious strategic or execution-related pain points, a PMO is more likely to make a transformative impact.

Here’s our March 2010 roundup of recently published books recommended by and for project management professionals, including the latest thinking on leadership … a primer on earned scheduling performance … guides to business process improvement initiatives and preparing for PMI certifications … a business analysis glossary … and more.

As a manger or coach, if you don’t change a pacesetter’s behavior you run a high risk of being held hostage by one person’s abilities--and pay a cost in team productivity. This article is about a pacesetter as a team member on an agile software development team. In this installment, we discuss useful approaches to dealing with these sometimes problematic people.

Have you ever been involved in a process improvement (PI) project? Have you ever led one? Have you ever wondered if there are any criteria, methods or standards that really define how to conduct these projects that are supposed to deliver huge returns for the company while delivering more value to its customers, employees and owners? And if there were, what should a process improvement methodology look like anyway?
Well, wonder no more. Just spend a few minutes and this short primer will help you understand what to look for in selecting a Process Improvement (PI) Methodology.

Do you make trade-offs with maintainability and adaptability in order to meet release dates? Fortunately, this hidden-cost fate is avoidable--but only for organizations that make a commitment. This article introduces you to technical debt and its common symptoms. You'll learn the basic steps to set up a repayment plan, the common causes of technical debt and effective strategies for paying it down.

The purpose of the PMO is to create a more efficient, more successful project portfolio. How do you know if your PMO is getting the job done? That's where PMO governance comes into play.