SPI Manifesto a.1.2

8/9/2019 SPI Manifesto a.1.2

1/17

MANIFESTO ten.ipsoruetnemevorpmIssecorPerawtfoS

CHIEF EDITORS

Jan Pries-Heje E-mail: [email protected] Roskilde University

Jrn Johansen E-mail: [email protected] DELTA Axiom

SPI MANIFESTO

Support the organisations vision

and objectives

Use dynamic and adaptable

models as needed

Apply risk management

Manage the organisational change

in your improvement effort

Ensure all parties understand and

agree on process

Do not lose focus

Know the culture and focus

on needs

Motivate all people involved

Base improvement on experience

and measurements

Create a learning organisation

VERSION A.1.2.2010

Must involve people actively and affect their daily activitiesPeopleNOT to show-off or be focused on management alone

A

Business Is what you do to make business successfulNOT to live to deploy a standard, reach a maturity level, or obtain a certificate

B

Change Is inherently linked with changeNOT continuing as we do today

C

People Business Change

We truly believe that SPI

VALUES

We trust that the following principles support the values

PRINCIPLES

2010, the authors.
http://www.eurospi.net/http://www.eurospi.net/http://www.eurospi.net/http://www.eurospi.net/http://www.eurospi.net/http://www.eurospi.net/http://www.eurospi.net/http://www.eurospi.net/http://www.eurospi.net/http://www.eurospi.net/http://www.eurospi.net/http://www.eurospi.net/http://www.eurospi.net/http://www.eurospi.net/http://www.eurospi.net/http://www.eurospi.net/http://www.eurospi.net/http://www.eurospi.net/http://www.eurospi.net/http://www.eurospi.net/http://www.eurospi.net/http://www.eurospi.net/http://www.eurospi.net/http://www.eurospi.net/http://www.eurospi.net/http://www.eurospi.net/http://www.eurospi.net/http://www.eurospi.net/http://www.eurospi.net/http://www.eurospi.net/http://www.eurospi.net/http://www.eurospi.net/http://www.eurospi.net/http://www.eurospi.net/http://www.eurospi.net/http://www.eurospi.net/http://www.eurospi.net/http://www.eurospi.net/http://www.eurospi.net/http://forskning.ruc.dk/site/research/priesheje_jan(579111)/http://www.madebydelta.com/delta/Business_units/Axiom/About+Axiom/Individuals/JOJ.pagehttp://www.madebydelta.com/delta/Business_units/Axiom/About+Axiom/Individuals/JOJ.pagehttp://forskning.ruc.dk/site/research/priesheje_jan(579111)/http://www.eurospi.net/


2/17

MANIFESTO Sotware Process Improvement eurospi.net

What is this?

02 17

In September 2009 a group o experts in Sotware Pro-

cess Improvement (SPI) rom all over the world gathered

in connection with the EuroSPI Conerence or a work-

shop at Universidad de Alcal in Spain.

EuroSPI's mission is to develop an experience and knowl-

edge exchange platorm or Europe where SPI practices

can be discussed and exchanged and knowledge can be

gathered and shared.

At the workshop 15 experts presented their wisdom

grounded in many years o process improvement experi-

ence. Based on the presentations, 30 workshop partici-

pants brainstormed core values and principles specifcally

or process improvement. Via afnity analysis and group

thinking exercises we ended up with a maniesto or SPI.

At the end o the workshop 4 values and 14 principles

were identifed. Among the group o participants, author-

ing responsibilities were distributed on a voluntary basis

backed by personal justifcation. Some values and princi-

ples were ocused on by more then one volunteer.

By mid-October 2009 all the contributions were avail-

able to the editors, who edited the document thoroughly.

A number o principles were written with considerable

overlap so it was obvious that they should be consoli-

dated. The same consolidation needs were applied to one

o the values.

The editors restructured the documented and edited the

text so that it introduces itsel in a uniorm style. The re-

sult was a document with three core values and eleven

principles. This document was ready in November 2009.

Eight reviewers read the resulting document and com-

mented thoroughly. Finally all the comments were ad-

dressed in this fnal version rom January 2010, including

a joining o two principles and a shorter ormulation o

the principles so the fnal document consists o three

values and ten principles.

A fnal review was perormed by Tim Kasse.

Manifest what is that?

A maniest makes things clear and obvious or evident.

This maniest gives expression to state-o-the-art knowl-

edge on SPI. It is based on hundreds o person-years o

practice and experience rom organisations worldwide.

What to use the manifest for?

You can use the maniest to obtain knowledge on SPI. It

will help you to remember what is important about Sot-

ware Process Improvement? Each value and the conse-

quent principles are written so you can easily place your-

sel into the problem and its context. Short explanations

or each value are provided that can urther augment your

understanding. Each value also has some relevant exam-

ples that will make it easier to learn and remember the

values and principles.

You can use the maniest when you are responsible or

planning a SPI project. The third maniest value states

that SPI is actually really about change. Thus, you can

apply the principles in your SPI project that will support

the necessary corresponding change in the organisation.

We hope you enjoy reading the maniesto and fnd the

contents useul.

Jan Pries-Heje and Jrn Johansen

2010, the authors.
http://www.eurospi.net/http://www.eurospi.net/


3/17

MANIFESTO Sotware Process Improvement eurospi.net 03 17

We truly believe that SPI must

involve people actively and affecttheir daily activities

A.1 Context and problemIn the last decade we have seen the growing o ivory

towers in many organisations, using magic tools and

models to paint process diagrams. However, in most o

these organisations, the projects and services did not re-

ally use these processes. So the ivory towers have had

limited success as drivers o SPI, and it is now time to

bring SPI to the people who will be most aected.

A.2 Value explainedBusiness success depends on the competitiveness o an

organisation.

The competitiveness o every organisation is based on

the knowledge, engagement and commitment o the peo-

ple working in it.

SPI is a tool to improve the competitiveness o organisa-

tions.

Bringing this together, we believe it becomes clear, that

only active involvement o the people working in an or-

ganisation ensures the success o an SPI initiative rom

the business perspective!

Successul SPI is based on actively involved people hav-

ing sufcient inormation and training.

A.3 Hints and examplesThe modern organisation paradigm is a change rom

experts solving problems and trying to orce change on

organisations to the organisations people solving prob-

lems and changing the organisation together. Japanese

improvement eorts such as Kaizen have demonstrated

this convincingly in the 20th century. More recently, we

also see this in the growing success o agile development

approaches.

Enablers or success in modern organisations include

people making ull use o their experience, taking respon-

sibility or change on their project and throughout their

organisation, and using and improving the processes they

have helped to defne.

VALUE A

2010, the authors.


4/17

17MANIFESTO Sotware Process Improvement eurospi.net

We truly believe that SPI is what

you do to make business successful

B.1 Context and problemThe sotware process creates sotware. Sotware Proc-

ess Improvement means activities that improve the way

o creating and implementing sotware.

However, many people believe that they dont need proc-

esses in order to build and ship sotware products. This

belie may be the source o most resistance to change

met by SPI proessionals. But the act is that you cannot

create sotware without process.

Another problem is when process is seen as somebody

elses process description. This again leads to the mis-

conception that one can do without process. Sotware

should not be created without process; however, what is

important is that you have process that fts the need o

your projects and your business.

B.2 Value explainedProcess descriptions are just words we believe the

process should bring value to the business. To have suc-

cess with SPI we must ensure that improvement recom-

mendations are targeted to the actual business-related

objectives, rather than compliant with a generic standard.

We must also close the gap between the process and

how the work is really being done; we believe that

words and actions consistently should communicate the

unity o the two not the decoupling.

B.3 Hints and examplesUse todays implemented processes as an agreed base-

line or process improvements.

Understand the business objectives in order to ensure

that suggested improvements will be eective in sup-

porting these.

Always reer to the process description as a representa-

tion o the process.

Communicate how standards and models is meant to

support SPI.

This continuous communication at all levels o manage-

ment and practitioners helps managers and practitioners

to understand how and why they need to support the SPI

activities.

I you are using a maturity model to inspire improvement,

you should respect that at maturity level 3, the process

belongs to the organisation. At maturity level 2, the proc-

ess belongs to the project. And at maturity level 1, the

process belongs and exists at the individual level.

04

VALUE B

2010, the authors.


5/17

17MANIFESTO Sotware Process Improvement eurospi.net

C.1 Context and problemOnly in a perect world is there nothing to improve. We

believe that all improvement involves change; or the in-

dividual, the project, and the organisation.

We know that it is difcult or people to accept or adopt

change, because they are comortable doing things the

way they always have, even i it costs them overtime or

loss o social interaction.

Never the less, we need to ace the need or change

when doing SPI.

C.2 Values explained andinterpretedSo Sotware Process Improvement means change!

Realising this means an organisation must ensure that

the process improvement inrastructure has a change

management component in it.

It is essential or an organisation to launch a process im-

provement initiative and to obtain measurable business

results together with satisfed employees.

C.3 ExampleAn IT organisation in a predominantly Asian culture want-

ed to enact a SPI program and achieve CMMI Maturity

level 3 at the same time. One change required was to

institutionalise peer reviews. But practitioners did not

want to review colleagues work and oer input that

suggested major deects were ound and needed to be

corrected. Peer review training was repeated every six

months, while videotaping the consultant coaching a

live peer review. Ater three years, the results o using

peer reviews could not be cost justifed. The consultant

explained to the CEO that i major deects were not ound

in peer reviews, but by the organisations customers,

everyone would lose ace, including the top managers.

Jobs could be lost as well. The CEO then appointed top

middle managers to serve as coaches, and encouraged

all project members to participate in peer reviews, con-

centrating on the most costly major deects. When the

practitioners saw management's commitment to change,

and saw that no one was getting fred or being demoted

because they ound and reported major deects, they

participated willingly. The product quality went up, jobs

were kept, profts increased, and liestyles improved due

to less time needed in fnding deects. Ater a successul

assessment, the CEO declared that this cultural change

was the most signifcant event in the process improve-

ment initiative.

We truly believe that SPI is

inherently linked with change

05

VALUE C

2010, the authors.


6/17


7/17


1.1 ExplanationIt is very important to ensure the alignment o SPI initia-tives and organisation culture.

Personal values are learnt implicitly rom the very child-

hood and mould the behaviour o individuals as members

o groups.

The culture o an organisation is undamentally embed-

ded in human behaviour and expressed through norms

(explicit or implicit rules) that the organisation uses toexpress behavioural expectations and indications o ap-

propriate and inappropriate attitudes and behaviours.

These rules also aect interactions with others.

When implementing SPI it is crucial to take the organisa-

tional culture into consideration in order to gain commit-

ment and avoid resistance.

The organisational culture is a shared system o mean-

ings, values and practices by the employees in the or-ganisation. Practices (symbols, heroes, rituals) are dis-

tinguishable characteristics o the organisational culture

that have a deeper meaning or the members o an or-

ganisation; but usually invisible to outsiders at a glance.

Values on the contrary are qualities, principles and be-

haviours considered morally or intrinsically noble, valu-

able and desirable by the members o the organisation.

Cultural values are deeply ingrained and rather resistant

to change resulting in confict i ignored.

The way SPI initiative is introduced is imperative or suc-

cess.

1.2 ExampleIn the company o a manuacturer o electronics, projectmanagers played a key role which they were keenly

aware o. A new top manager was hired into the com-

pany and immediately tried to change the way estimation

and planning were carried out. He purchased new project

management tools and insisted these to be used by all

projects. However, nothing happened.

What the top manager was not aware o was that the im-

pact o the retired CEO had let deep marks on the culture.To signal the death o old manuacturing and the begin-

ning o the new inormation age all the machines or

clocking in and out were taken down and the CEO (now

retired) ceremoniously had one o the machines buried in

the company garden. Everybody had heard or seen this

burial. This was why the projects and project managers

totally ignored the new top managers initiative. Nothing

happened until a point in time where it was realised that

in this culture, project managers were king. Thus when

a workshop was called where project managers them-selves discussed and decided what problems they were

actually acing, as well as which one was worth pursuing,

then the SPI initiative gained speed.

Know the culture and focus on

needs

PRINCIPLE 1

2010, the authors.


8/17

17MANIFESTO Sotware Process Improvement eurospi.net 08

2.1 ExplanationTo defne processes in a highly sophisticated processgroup and to believe this will be accepted by the people

who have to live these processes will never work.

Instead use the experience o the unctional experts to

defne and improve those parts o the process that aect

them in their daily work. Empower the unctional experts

to defne the necessary skills and to bring the right mix

o competences on board in order to achieve real value.

Motivation and support by the management is imperative.

To be motivated or process improvement, one should be

able to see what is in it or onesel. Management can also

consider the use o perormance incentives to retain and

reward. Coordination and cooperation between all levels

o management and practitioners will ensure a widely ac-

cepted process and the commitment o all people.

Provide the necessary resources like training, equipment

and coaching support to all people who have to use theprocesses. Give them the opportunity to understand and

accept the purpose o the processes.

2.2 ExamplesExample 1: The process management team had the task

to update the standard processes in order to satisy the

demands o a process reerence model like SPICE. The

team added missing activities and work products without

respecting i they could be implemented in the projects.

Involve the unctional experts in the improvement activi-ties rom the start to avoid any mismatch in advance.

Example 2: The project team has been asked to imple-ment a new release o the internal standard development

process. They are provided with only a link to the process

descriptions which they are expected to read and imple-

ment. To improve motivation and increase the chance o

success or the SPI initiative, conduct training or those

projects that have to use the new version. Training might

include highlighting the improvements rom the last ver-

sion and giving examples on how to implement them.

Example 3: A customer required that a new ISO standardprocess was to be ollowed. This process, however, was

not integrated in the organisations standard process.

Only the project manager knew about the requirement

and tried to implement it on the project without addi-

tional resources. To improve and motivate the use o this

new ISO standard, management should have empowered

the project manager to lead the improvement cycle or

the next process version and take into consideration any

update derived rom the new ISO standard. The manage-

ment should also provide the project manager with an as-sistant to deal with his main activities within the project

in order to ensure that the project manager has enough

time to take care o the process improvement activities.

Motivate all people involved

PRINCIPLE 2

2010, the authors.


9/17

17MANIFESTO Sotware Process Improvement eurospi.net 09

3.1 ExplanationAs processes are what people do, any SPI eort must op-timise their 'dooing' (day-to-day business). The conditions

or optimisation can be set, but only the individual can

change actions. Thus you need individual competences,

readiness and willingness to learn and optimise actions.

Readinessisobtainedthroughexperiencefromyour

own actions, as well as input or visible measure-

ments o process capabilities. The quality o readi-

ness sets the quality o the learning!

Competencesetsyourabilitytoreectonyourac -tions based on experience, input and measurements.

The result o the refection is new knowledge that

will change your uture actions.

Willingnessmotivatesyoutostepthroughthelearn-

ing cycle. It is infuenced by e.g. culture, personality,

incentives, requests or orders.

3.2. ExamplesExample 1: A developer gets eedback that his code has

too many deects. Time reports show above average timebeing used by a developer or bug xing o his own code.

A respected peer can help to improve the developer's

testing ability, and can oer to pair test with the devel-

oper to teach him new tricks.

Example 2: Measurements show that the primary origin

o deects is requirements. The SPI group thereore initi-

ates a root-cause analysis and decides this to be the next

ocus area or SPI work.

Example 3: A manager sees market reports showingthat the company is less innovative than competitors are.

New processes are implemented to make product inno-

vation possible and rom that day, the manager starts to

request innovation in all steps.

Base improvement on experience

and measurements

PRINCIPLE 3

2010, the authors.


10/17


4.1 ExplanationCreate a learning organisation that continuously acili-

tates the learning o its members and shares practical

process experience across projects.

A practice accepted by all levels o sta representing

useul core knowledge in a learning organisation has the

ollowing three distinctive eatures:

Fordevelopersithaspracticalvaluetoimprovethe

existing development work, and can be demonstrated

by development examples.

Formanagersithelpstosavetimeandcostandto

increase quality (improvement actor x). This can be

multiplied in many projects, thus enabling a multiply-

ing beneft o the improvement actor x.

Forassessorsithelpstodemonstrateimprovedcapa-

bility.

Such a highly valued good practice should be dissemi-

nated across projects.

4.2 ExampleIt is easy to just know the standard. It is, however, toughto develop a process achieving all the distinctive eatures

(listed above).

In an engineering company many projects were based on

the same core system/sotware (same product line). All

projects were analysed and 90% o the product unctions

identifed to be used across the products. The main goal

or the improvement initiative was to decrease replica-

tions by controlling the knowledge across projects. Inthe improvement project a generic re-usable system and

sotware specifcation along with a re-usable test scope

were created. The improvement project then delivered (1)

a specifcation useul or the engineers, (2) a solution sav-

ing 90% o the documentation eort or the requirements

work, and (3) higher capability levels in requirements

management.

Create a learning organisation

PRINCIPLE 4

2010, the authors.


11/17


5.1 ExplanationDr. W. Edwards Deming stated in most o his books andlectures: Process improvement should be done to help

the business not or its own sake.

Process improvement initiatives should at the minimum

be able to demonstrate the ollowing:

Traceabilitytotheorganisationsvisionstatement.

Clearly stated business objectives thatsupport the

vision and are able to guide the organisations and-projects eorts to produce measurable results.

Measurementandanalysisobjectivesthatarealigned

with established inormation needs and business ob-

jectives.

Objectiveresultsthat can be usedin making busi-

ness judgments and taking appropriate corrective ac-

tions.

5.2 Example

In a Scandinavian ICT company the headquarter had or-mulated a vision o eliminating deects by going or matu-

rity level 5. In a local subsidiary some outside consultants

had defned some vital ew actions to improve; where

deects and maturity level were not mentioned! These

two aims worked against each other so no improvement

took place. This changed when it was fnally decided to

align the local and the central by locally aiming or ma-

turity level 2.

Support the organisations vision

and business objectives

PRINCIPLE 5

2010, the authors.


12/17

MANIFESTO Software Process Improvement eurospi.net 12 17

6.1 ExplanationAll models are wrong some are useful (Quote fromGeorge E.P. Box).

Models do not depict the real world. Models just rep-

resent a simplified view of reality. Typically this view

condenses good and bad experiences from organisations

around the world for a specific scope.

SPI in general is not tied to any model. SPI first and fore-

most is tied to the organisations business objectives andneeds. Models like CMMI, SPICE, Six Sigma or standards

like ISO 9001, techniques like SCRUM, agile methods,

or lifecycle models like Waterfall, Incremental, Spiral,

V-Model, or many other models may contain valuable

input for your improvement effort. However, experience

has shown that in many cases you cannot just follow one

model to get the best results. Instead models and the

ideas built into them can and should be combined to

achieve business objectives in the best way possible way.

The way to go about using models is first to understand

your specific challenge and current process capability.

Then use appropriate models or parts of them - as

needed.

If required by your customer/market, then use the mod-

els to improve your processes rather then as a checklist

without sense.

Each model represents a tool box helping to resolve spe-cific challenges of a specific organisation. However, a

fool with a tool is still a fool and a fool with a process can

make a more organised mess.

Finally the best models with highest utility are dynamic

models. They have built-in ways to take circumstances

and contingencies into account, and they change behav-

iour dependent on the status of your improvement effort.

6.2 ExamplesPries-Heje & Baskerville have developed a number of

technological rules that you can follow to decide whether

a model is good for you. Here are some examples.

Example 1: If you want to improve software processesin a situation where you: (1) Believe that Best practices

for an improvement area can be identified. (2) Trust the

usefulness of practices from another organisational or

national setting. (3) Agree that your improvement effort

will be alike to what other companies have done; you are

not special in relation to this. Then choose a universally

applicable model, such as CMMI or ISO 15504 (SPICE).

If not then choose a situated model, such as Juran or Six

Sigma.

Example 2: If you want to improve software processes

in a situation where you: (1) Need a vision to motivate

and give direction to your improvement effort. (2) Believe

there is one and only one path to a future desirable state.

(3) Agree that your improvement effort should be directed

by one single vision and not balance many organisa-

tional activities and resources as to optimise perform-

ance. Then choose a directing model, such as Six Sigma,

or ISO 9000. If not then choose a balancing model such as

Juran or Balanced Scorecard.

Use dynamic and adaptable

models as needed

PRINCIPLE 6

2010, the authors.


13/17


7.1 ExplanationAny improvement eort may go wrong or not work asexpected. Fundamentally it is a good idea to be proac-

tive and think what could go wrong beore it does goes

wrong. It is a good idea because it gives us a chance to

avoid or prevent problems that may hurt us badly in the

uture.

In improvement practice we have oten seen that the

biggest risk in a SPI project is the complete lack o risk

management. When we analyze widely accepted projectmanagement standards (like Project Management Insti-

tute (PMI) standard) we see that risk management is an

integral part o successul project management. There-

ore we strongly recommend that you thoroughly identiy,

careully evaluate, and eectively mitigate the risks o

SPI projects.

7.2 ExamplesMany check lists exist or a risk assessment. Let us have

a look at some example risks: Lack of management commitment

We oten fnd SPI initiatives cancelled by the man-

agement, although the assessment reports disclosed

weaknesses in the process system. This issue was nor-

mally not evaluated and no mitigation actions where

implemented.

Lack of process performer involvement

We oten fnd processes developed in and published

by an ivory tower group. Some organisations identi-

fed this risk and developed successul strategiesto fght this risk: One way involved the training o

process perormers and eectively and timely eed-

back on process usage.

Apply risk management

PRINCIPLE 7

2010, the authors.


14/17


Manage the organisational change

in your improvement effort

PRINCIPLE 8

8.1 ExplanationReal improvement requires real people to really change

behaviours. Thus process improvement is about organi-

sational change. The simplest depiction o organisational

change is the three-step model: Unreeze Move

Freeze.

To unreeze or process improvement you have to make

the organisation receptive to change. The organisation

must realise that there is a need or change: typically, by

identiying a problem o relevance to the individuals inthe workorce. This frst step is called unreezing because

i you do not take the time to create organisational recep-

tivity, the organisation will behave like a block o ice; it

will naturally resist change.

To move your improvement eort, a solution to the rel-

evant problem that was identifed during the unreezing

process should be proposed. In this stage there will be

actors that promote the change and others that work as

barriers to change. A very simple change tactic is to sup-

port the promoting actors and suppress the barriers.

The third step is to reeze, that is, to make sure that the

change becomes a permanent part o how the organisa-

tion works. You reeze water to ensure a more permanent

shape. Likewise, you reeze the organisation to make

the change permanent.

The strength o the Unreeze Move Freeze model is

its simplicity. It gives clear and simple prescriptive guide-

lines or implementing SPI induced change.

Many other more complicated, and maybe more re-alistic approaches exist. They may be management-

oriented (commanding), ocused on exploration and in-

novation, or even employee driven.

8.2 ExampleAn assessment in a large fnancial organisation had re-

vealed that too many innovative tools and techniques

rom the method department were gathering dust on

shelves. A task orce project unroze the organisation

through a seminar with 25 participants that were allasked to bring one successul case and one ailure case

with them to the seminar. The assessment in the whole

organisation together with the workshop unroze the or-

ganisation. To move an implementation workshop was

created. Through an action research undertaking, the

workshop concept was tested and improved. Ater fve

learning cycles the move was over. Then a group o a-

cilitators were ound and educated. At the same time,

the workshop, which was perceived as very successul,

was made a mandatory part o the organisations project

model. Together these things roze the change.

2010, the authors.


15/17


9.1 ExplanationBetter processes equal more money and better business.

Process descriptions (should) contain inormation on how

the organisation is making money.

Process descriptions are a snapshot o some important

parts o the organisational common agreement on how

the organisation works and they are only valuable, i

they are agreed upon by the workorce.

Process descriptions can be packaged into models. TheCapability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) or ex-

ample had descriptions o 22 process areas at ve levels.

Process improvements constantly challenge the models

and process descriptions. They are to be continuously op-

timised to refect the state-o-the-practice in the organi-

sation. I they get petried process improvement may

grind to a halt.

To ensure living, operational and adaptive models andprocesses they have to be:

Flexibleand tailorable, thatis, usable for different

types o projects in an organisation.

Expressed in a common language and visualised

when possible.

Based on communicated, understood, commonly

agreed upon and supported improvement proposals,

that lead to their development, deployment and con-

tinuous maintenance.

9.2 ExamplesExample 1: A major sotware house was trying to es-

tablish a common process. Process action teams were

ormed to produce nal process descriptions or a busi-

ness manual (BM) consisting o all the processes to be

perormed by projects. It was, in act, meant to be a

company standard. Ater some time where the SPI group

helped projects and project managers understand and

use the BM, it became the way we do things here.

Example 2: A process management team was taskedto update the standard processes in order to satisy the

demands o a process reerence model like SPICE. A prob-

lem could be created i any missing activity or work prod-

uct was introduced without taking into account whether

it could be implemented by the projects. In order to im-

prove this situation, the project members were asked to

provide eedback to the process management team about

the problems during implementing the new process, in-

cluding improvement proposals.

Ensure all parties understand and

agree on process

PRINCIPLE 9

2010, the authors.


16/17


Do not lose focus

PRINCIPLE 10

10.1 ExplanationDefne targets, plan the measures to reach the targets,and stick to the improvement plan.

Each improvement has to make a contribution to better

ulfl the business goals and oer people motivation or

changing their behaviour. Both aspects have to be con-

sidered during the establishment o the targets. Without

business impact, it is not possible to get a budget or

measures, and without involvement o the people, the

measures will not lead to a change o behaviour.

Ater the defnition o SMART (specifc, measurable,

ambitious, realistic, time-bound) objectives appropriate

measures have to be agreed on with relevant key per-

sonal at all hierarchic levels. Once the actions to be taken

are clear they have to be integrated into an improvement

plan which is consolidated with the operational activi-

ties. Then improvement has to be ollowed with the same

persistence as the daily business.

To ollow an established improvement program, even in

difcult situations with respect to economics or resourc-

es, proves to the people that improvement is essential

or the organisations vision, business objectives and cus-

tomer satisaction.

Most improvement measures aim at changing human be-

haviour. People need motivation to change and have to

be made aware that reluctance may lead to undesired

consequences.

Companies which are consequent in SPI and do not loseocus will see several benefts:

Increasedefciency.

Betterproductqualitythroughbetterprocesses.

Trustfromcustomersbecauseofhighcapability

levels.

Competitiveadvantagesfornewbusiness.

Employees who participate in SPI on an ongoing

basis.

11.2 ExamplesIn many sectors, companies only get contracts i theyagree on improvements in SPI. Some domains include not

only the actual desired capability levels but enorce also

the establishment o an improvement plan heading or

higher levels at the end o the project.

Thereore almost all major suppliers have improvement

programs ongoing. Financial crisis or constraints may

lead to an internal re-evaluation o all process improve-

ment activities and sometimes to a reduction o eortand even project delays. I companies do not stick to their

improvement plans they will ace problems mainly in two

areas. First, in the tendering phase or new projects, they

will have to state lower capability levels that may result

in a loss o trust with the customer. Second, the employ-

ees will get the eeling that SPI is not a priority but a topic

which the organisation only deals with i there is time

and money remaining.

2010, the authors.


17/17

MANIFESTO Software Process Improvement eurospi.net 17 17

Photo

1. Thomas Wegner

2. Tom Peisl

3. Andreas Riel

4. Richard Messnarz

5. Jrn Johansen

6. Diana Kirk

7. Bernhard Sechser

8. Gunther Spork

9. Detlef Vohwinkel

10. Tim Kasse

11. Alec Dorling

12. Clenio F. Salviano

13. Morten Korsaa

14. Risto Nevalainen

15. Jan Pries-Heje

16. Patricia McQuaid

17. Miklos Biro

18. Kouichi Kishida

19. Christian Hertneck

20. Sema Gazel

21. Bo Balstrup

Presenters, authors and reviewers

1

2

5

4

12 15

7

9 1114

18 206

3

810 13

16

17 1921

It has been a very exiting and much more extensive task

than foreseen to develop the SPI Manifesto. But most

of all it has been fantastic to work together with this

team representing the most experienced people in pro-

cess improvement from all over the world in an ongoing

process for 4 month. Thank you very much to all for the

indispensable collaboration.

This result was initiated at the EuroSPI conference in

Alcal 2009. The next three years at the EuroSPI con-

ferences workshops will be established to substan-

tiate the values and related principles, and support these

with experience and knowledge.

Please contact Jan Pries-Heje or Jrn Johansen for ques-

tions and comments, and follow the SPI Manifesto work-

shops the next years at the EuroSPI conferences.

Jan Pries-Heje, Roskilde University,

Universitetsvej 1, 4000 Roskilde, Denmark

[email protected], www.ruc.dk

Jrn Johansen, DELTA Axiom

Venlighedsvej 4, 2970 Hrsholm, Denmark

[email protected], www.deltaaxiom.com

Richard Messnarz, EuroSPI

[email protected], www.eurospi.net

Not on photo

Kurt S. Frederichsen

Elli Georgiadou

Rory OConnor

Jrgen Schmied

Tomas Schweigert

Kerstin Siakas

Serge Tiechkiewitch

Keith Fuller
http://www.eurospi.net/http://forskning.ruc.dk/site/research/priesheje_jan(579111)/http://forskning.ruc.dk/site/research/priesheje_jan(579111)/http://forskning.ruc.dk/site/research/priesheje_jan(579111)/http://forskning.ruc.dk/site/research/priesheje_jan(579111)/http://forskning.ruc.dk/site/research/priesheje_jan(579111)/http://forskning.ruc.dk/site/research/priesheje_jan(579111)/http://www.madebydelta.com/delta/Business_units/Axiom/About+Axiom/Individuals/JOJ.pagehttp://www.madebydelta.com/delta/Business_units/Axiom/About+Axiom/Individuals/JOJ.pagehttp://www.madebydelta.com/delta/Business_units/Axiom/About+Axiom/Individuals/JOJ.pagehttp://www.madebydelta.com/delta/Business_units/Axiom/About+Axiom/Individuals/JOJ.pagehttp://www.madebydelta.com/delta/Business_units/Axiom/About+Axiom/Individuals/JOJ.pagehttp://www.madebydelta.com/delta/Business_units/Axiom/About+Axiom/Individuals/JOJ.pagehttp://www.eurospi.net/http://www.eurospi.net/http://www.eurospi.net/http://www.eurospi.net/http://www.eurospi.net/http://www.eurospi.net/http://www.madebydelta.com/delta/Business_units/Axiom/About+Axiom/Individuals/JOJ.pagehttp://forskning.ruc.dk/site/research/priesheje_jan(579111)/

SPI Manifesto a.1.2

Documents

Transcript of SPI Manifesto a.1.2