Main Topic: Agile CMMI: Driving Radical Change in your organization
Why do we resist change? Why is “process” a dirty word in software development? Why can’t you just leave me alone so I can write software?
In an industry that is becoming progressively more competitive and lean the process used to develop systems and software is the last frontier for competitive advantage. No longer is one country or culture dominating the software profession. Similar education, technologies, infrastructure, and skills are available to all corners of the world, but innovative and useful processes that harness these resources effectively have eluded all but a handful of organizations.
With their high-failure rates, high cost, and over-reliance on mountains of documentation, over complicated and ill-deployed processes have soured the industry on processes based on models such as CMMI, ITIL, ISO, and SPICE. But the success or failure of the systems development process doesn’t lie in these source models, but in the interpretation and deployment of processes based on those models, and this distinction can make the difference between a vibrant and innovative company and one that is struggling for survival.
The application of agile methods to the development of software and systems has revolutionized the industry, but consistency, predictability, and repeatability still have not been realized by most engineering and IT organizations. The CMMI provides an excellent model for the integration of agility with disciplined structure that will address these business needs, but the method used to develop such an approach has never materialized.
His presentation will summarize research conducted while co-authoring the SEI technical Note “CMMI or Agile: Why not Embrace Both?!” and will discuss the reasons for the perceived conflict between agile and CMMI, the science behind radical change, along with some surprising findings and solutions.
Engineering Society of Detroit Membership
Lori Birman is the membership director for the Engineering Society of Detroit (ESD). This month, Lori will give us a brief presentation on the benefits of being a member of the ESD.
MUG is now an affiliate member of the Engineering Society of Detroit (ESD). As an affiliate, our members are entitled to become members of the ESD. We had scheduled to have Lori Birman at the February meeting to introduce us to the ESD and explain the benefits. Unfortunately, Lori has a scheduling conflict this month and has agreed to present at our March 8th meeting.
Election for the MUG board of directors
At this months meeting (weather permitting), we’ll be holding elections for the board of directors. At the January 11th meeting, we opened the nomination period. Currently, the following people have been nominated:
- Will Fuqua
- Jim Glutting
- James Hice
- Craig Maloney
- Jim McQuillan
- Gibson Nichols
- Dave Satwicz
- Dick Williams
The nomination period will remain open until just before the elections on Tuesday, February 8th. If you or someone you know would like to help drive the direction of MUG, please consider submitting a nomination.
