The ITIL 4 Value Stream
Underpinned by Software Engineering with Lean, Devops, TPM or APM
Click here for a quick overview of ITIL 4
and their handling of the Value Stream
Having worked through the presentation you downloaded from the link directly above,
can you see that improvement projects are triggered in the Service Strategy ITIL lifecycle phase?
The above said, ultimately it is all about you being able to "Up" your Productivity and Quality Stats
(while reducing Risk, Rework and Waste)
This goal is achieved by firming up CM Level 2 processes.
Do this for Traditional Project Management processes or
Agile processes.
Then, with
a managed CM Level 2 base
firmly in place; reach higher.
Connect the dots here to see touchpoints on your journey towards success.
Achieve Business Value through Productivity and Quality
Improvements
off the stable base of Project Process Management
(Traditional or Agile)
at Capability Maturity Model Level 2
(+ Software Engineering (Dev), Services and Acquisition processes above CM L2)
Hover your mouse over the Deming image above.
CM Level 2+, differentiated from CM L1 per the CM table below, is all about Process Focus for Productivity and Quality improvements; as opposed to "just do it now" - heroics. Deming's philosophy above is the wisdom behind much of the Capability Maturity Model integrated from Carnegie Mellon University summarized (for Software Development processes) in the table below.
Click here for Dr. Deming's Red Bead Experiment.
This is an essential concept to learn if you aim for higher levels of Productivity and Quality and to be agile and lean.
Remember (per Deming's Red Bead Experiment) a process can be stable, in control and be producing defective items 100% of the time!
PMWay is all about ideas
to improve your game stats
I.e. can you pin down where is your game is currently at?
If you think the game has changed from Traditional Project Management to Agile Project Management
I suggest you are wrong!
At 1000 feet up, looking down, all projects follow the same essential approach illustrated below
Remember that a project, stage, phase or iteration should all qualify to fall under this definition of what is a project? It's a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service or result. A project is temporary in that it has a defined beginning and end in time, and therefore defined scope and resources. ELSE, not monitoring controls, you are out of control!
In Agile (Scrum project method for example) the goal is to produce working softare regularly each sprint that meets the user requirement (the art of slicing sprint delivery / product increment production). Requirements are accepted by the team as user stories into the current sprint. Therefore the gap in Scrum typically, is a 2 week sprint!
Here are some important questions you may want to consider, if your aim is to operate with agility at Capability Maturity Level 2+:
I.e. From the Agile Manifesto's two key principles which state:
“Our highest priority is to satisfy the customer through early and continuous delivery of valuable software”
Note: As the Scrum method can be used for all types of projects (not just software projects)
Per the last 10 minutes of the discussion here it is suggested that the word "software" can easily be swopped out for the word "value"
I.e. (in the Agile Manifesto's four value propositions:
We are uncovering better ways of developing software by doing it and helping others do it.
Through this work we have come to value:...)
The short answer you are looking for is to look at the CMM model above and find PP and PMC at CM Level 2. These core processes and more are still required for success in Traditional Project Management and especially in Agile Project Management.
Capability Maturity Level 2 is
essentially all about Project Management processes
Else operating @ CM L1
PMBOK |
Standards |
Strategy
|
CMmodel |
CMMiDev
PPTtriad |
Vmodel |
ITIL
|
DevOps |
Prince2A
|
DSDM
Scrum |
SAFe
|
PCMM |
Cobit |
PDCA
Your "Body of Knowledge" Gateway
The new Project Management Body of Knowledge Guide (released September 2017)
is the 'how to do it' checklist for Project Management Professionals.
Click the image directly below for the PMBOK game, in a nutshell.
If you understand the PMBOK you know this game is the same
for both Traditional and Agile Project Management!
The dashboard assists understanding of the PMBOK processes (+ "ittos")
to help you to pass the PMI exams and run projects better at Capability
Maturity Level 2+.
The PMBOK processes (underpinned by the latest thinking found in the
PMI Agile Certified Practitioner
(PMI-ACP) qualification and others)
incorporates Lean and Agile thinking.
Oh, also... do not forget that the PMBOK operates as a Standard!
Check out where it is situated in the greater scheme of things
as you "connect the dots" below.
A quick note to those "Traditional" is not "Agile" out there.
Find process 4.7 on the PMBOK dashboard (Close Project or Phase).
Did you know that "tailoring" these processes means you can run a project phase
as... wait for it...
"a two week sprint!"
Operating thus, as a Professional who understands Project Management Process,
(supported by your Executive [Executive Action Team (to EAT "the
red beads,")])
using
best selected project methodology,
there is less chance of dropping the ball.
Bottom Line
While (when) BEST PRACTICE is understood,
BEST PRACTICAL (from an agile and lean perspective) can be better!
Freedoms, Barriers, Goals and Destinations
Standards, Frameworks and Methodologies etc., by focus area
Note that the PMBOK is a Standard!
Answer the questions about People, Process and Technology
from the image above.
Slide #6 has more depth on the P-P-T
triangle (triad).
Now answer the questions about Governance and Execution then click the buttons
below.
Can you find Time (Schedule), Cost, Scope
Knowledge Areas
on the PMBOK 6 Dashboard?
Do you know that Quality
is tied
closely to (is a result of)
these three dimensions.
What about Resources and Risk?
Where do they
fit into the picture?
Here is the game!
Can you see it?
Governance and Execution
Governance (derived from the Latin gubernēre and gubernator | gubernum) which means "to steer" and also "a or the helmsman."
Essentially to steer could be that of a boat, a horse drawn carriage, a horse or project etc.
Other words derived from the above: governor, navigator, pilot, administrator rudder, helm (and figuratively) a leader, leadership.
Execution (derived from the Latin executio which means "accomplishment" or "fulfillment") is all about professional ability and tight management to produce results!
Are your projects under control?
Control at its very essence is the ability to Start, Change,
Stop.
I.e. when you stop changing have you produced planned value?
Unlike Business As Usual (BAU) a project is a temporary undertaking!
In essence, via the project, you are jumping a gap from one baseline to a new (improved) baseline (destination, goal etc.).
Planning and Monitoring and Control on either side of Execution ensures delivery and ultimately accountability to Stakeholders.
Can you find the Planning,
Execution and Monitoring and Control Process Groups
on the PMBOK dashboard?
If interested Slide #16 has more information about how PDCA fits into this picture.
projects being managed for value are either reined and under control (delivering results)
or they are not.
Click here for more on this if interested.
The Strategy Wall
Click the image
above (to open the PMP CMMi lego brick)
and reveal the secret to successful strategy (and project)
Implementation.
Do you know that many formulated strategies (and projects) fail in Implementation. Have you found using Balanced Scorecard (in itself) has not been that successful?
Did you see the PMP and CMMi lego brick (at the top right of the image above)? It is to the right of the Balanced Scorecard, enabling it for success.
Make careful note of how to empower these bricks (all the bricks in the strategy) at CM Level 2+ per the image below!
I.e. If Strategy Plan Formulation and Implementation is attempted under Capability Maturity Level 2 it will surely be a failure.
Bottom Line:
Capability Maturity Levels:
Note that level 2 is all about pinning down the essential project management processes.
If you run traditional or agile projects these essential processes will still apply!
CM Level 4 and 5+:
"Based on Production Stats and Focus on Continual Improvement."
CM Level 3+:
"Process, Project, Software Engineering
and Support
(and especially Risk Management against non
achievement of the plan)
fully installed."
CM Level 2+:
"Mainly Project (but also some other) Processes are Understood,
Tailored,
Applied and Managed.
"Now We Are Ready To Do It."
CM Level 1: Heroic
"No
Plan"
"Just Do It!"
No Plan, Be Heroic and Just Do It is CM Level 1
Just for fun click here for the games @ CM Level 1.
If interested click OOPS! above for the 15 reasons why projects fail at CM Level 1.
And Traditional Project Management process often is blamed for the
chaos!?
Agile methods touted as the solution but operated at CM Level 1 will simply add to, and bring about increased
chaos!
CM Level ZERO: NOWHERE!
No Ethics. Corruption.
"Killing the Goose
for its Golden Eggs."
2500 years old...
"Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen six, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pound ought and six, result misery."
― Charles Dickens, David Copperfield
CMMi Dashboard for Development
Note: Look for ML on the table below.
This is the Capability Maturity
Level.
CMMi 3.1 More Detailed Overview
The first step on your CMMi journey:
Find PP and PMC above.
Then find these core processes on the PMBOK 6 dashboard!
And just for fun also find them
on the Scrum dashboard.
PDCA is the 
of CMMi
and the CM Model.
Deming's Plan, Do, Check, Act (PDCA) cycle is the secret of Continual Service Improvement to achieve quality improvements.
This is tied to the concept of (kaizen).
Can you see how the image below ties back to the PMBOK 6 dashboard?
The People - Process - Technology Triad
Do you (can you?) "Remove the Red Beads"?
Click the image to get the importance of this!
Bottom line: pull the P-P-T points of the triangle
outward
in relation to each other; improving while maintaining balance.
Do you "Mind the Gap"?
The V Model shows you how.
On the image above
find Configuration (Configuration Management (CM)), Verification
(VER), Validation (VAL) and Bidirectional traceability of requirements (part of REQM process).
Now click here. Can you find CM, VER, VAL and REQM on the CMMi Dev table? What are their CM Levels?
Hover over the image below to get the importance
of safety while navigating
the tar pit.
The tar pit is where badly run software engineering projects
can get bogged down and
die!
Bidirectional Traceability of Requirements is at the heart of (Requirements Management [REQM] & Configuration Management [CM]).
Can you find REQM & CM on the CMMi Dev Dashboard?
What is the
Capability Maturity Level of
REQM & CM?
What about Verification (Ver) and Validation (Val)? Can you find these CM L3 processes?
Can you see that these are all about "Minding the Gap," "Step by Step" and "Start, Change, Stop?"
( Latest agile thinking here agrees with this
approach (I.e. Ver and Val and CM L2 processes))
Finally, can loginyou see that this side of the Gap is where you (software developers / ITIL Service Designers) are now.
In a next project phase (iteration, sprint etc.) you will move forward with the project goal to safely release a new version of valuable software.
After UAT sign off Service Operations must take over, maintaining the working system
while Service Strategy and Service Design look at next versions of Working Software.
ITIL 3
(Transitioning to ITIL 4: 1000 foot overview)
High Level Overview of the ITIL Processes
The image below explains how the CSI Register feeds the Scrum Backlog
I.e.
DevOps
Click the Elephant for DevOps essence!
Can Scrum bridge the gap?
From Reinventing ITIL in the age of DevOps
Abhinav Krishn Akaiser 2019
Product Owners are the New Release Managers
The release management team has been made partially redundant by machines. It is not absolute because of two reasons.
- You need an owner for the entire release management process that cuts across both development and operations.
- Cognitive abilities are very much in demand to ensure that the release management process succeeds and aligns with the objectives set forth.
The person who manages the entire release from end to end is the release manager and is still necessary. However, the release management role went from being a full-time position to a part-time one (statistically speaking), mainly because of the diminished work (thanks to automation). Capable release managers are
- Well aware of the customer landscape, the requirements, and to an extent the business priorities
- Fully involved in the development and deployment processes
- Understands operations and their acceptance criteria
The person who could do all this in the past was the product owner (PO), and thus that person is a favorite choice for a part-time release manager. POs are an adequate choice mainly because of their closeness to the business and to the development and operations teams. The person was like a bridge between the two entities and was expected to keep the boat going in the most turbulent conditions.
Thanks Abhinav (page 294)
PS I am reminded by the above of the importance of the Board
Executive to produce products in PRINCE2 Agile
Note below how value is produced in agile's Scrum method.
I.e.
DevOps is ITIL, just empowered for speed!
Scrum team sprints (as an example) must be able to release
working software faster.
DevOps/ITIL/Agile/Scrum etc., Goal: Release Working Software faster!
Notice that for the pilots telemetry is either nominal or not!
If you can't do the above in Scrum you may become Un-Done!
PRINCE2 (Agile)
Click the image above to see where Agility (with Governance) happens.
The image below shows how agility can introduce risk. Can you see it?
Click the image above for an overview of the different agile methods
DSDM
The image below shows how agility can introduce risk. Can you see it?
Click the image above for an overview of the different agile methods
Scrum
The Essence of Scrum @ Capability Maturity Level 2+
The image below shows how agility can introduce risk. Can you see it?
Click the image above for an overview of the different agile methods
Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe)
Click the image above for a short video on SAFe.
Bottom line:
If your scrums are not releasing valuable working software
regularly;
then SAFe
(as with the problems [and chaos] associated with traditional project management)
if badly run at CM level 1
can be just as unsafe!
People CMM
Cobit 5
Control Objectives In Business and IT
It is quite a challenge to install COBIT.
Guess what. Its easier to install that you realize.
Can you find BAI01 Manage Programs and Projects?
Thinking back to the Strategy Wall Slide #3 can you find APO02?
What about the ITIL Slide #8 (APO03, BAI04, BAI06 etc.)?
As with tailoring the PMBOK processes (and other method processes), Cobit needs to be implemented systematically so that it leverages off installed, operational and stable CM Model processes.
I.e.
Systematically installing the essence of the previous slides
(in bite sized and digestible chunks)
means Cobit is now also installed!
PLAN DO CHECK ACT
(PDCA)
The image below explains why
"Just Do It" at CM L1 is really a bad idea!
Click presentation above for a high level overview and (if interested)
dive into the problems discussed below and solve them
(TPM & APM @ CML1)
etc.
The classic "monkey trap" helps to illustrate the problem of TPM and APM (Wagile, Fragile and Aino) etc., run as a flawed project management system; without sufficient understanding of the processes needed for successful application for quality at Capability Maturity Level 2+
I.e. No SMART requirements identified and no accurate planning and monitoring and control, rather extolling and pushing (driving heroic "just do it" behavior) to get more out of (trying to pull results) from the system than is possible (for resources / time allocated / clarity about requirements in respect of complicated solutions required). This lack of clear and agreed REQUIREMENTS (REQM) and insufficient / inaccurate PROJECT PLANNING (PP) and PROJECT MONITORING AND CONTROL (PMC) means the team are operating at Capability Maturity Level 1.
Westrum's Typology of Organization Culture
The book Accelerate refers to the Westrum Typology of Organizational Culture.
Accelerate (and ITIL etc.) state that Generative behavior on the right of the model is required for success in Agile and DevOps.
ITIL 4 calls this a "safety culture." The "safety culture" is needed for teams to align for agility and find solutions which approach may not be understood or tolerated in the Bureucratic and Pathelogical Organizational Cultures of the model.
I.e. With Westrum in mind, Where would you pin your Oranizational Culture to be at? Pathalogical, Bureaucratic or Open Minded and Generative.
The Monkey Trap above. Do you really want to get free?
Along with SMART REQM's: Find the CML2 processes Project Planning (PP) and Project Monitoring and Control (PMC)
Then
it's simply
ONE TWO THREE
The Seven Scrum Dysfunctions and Root Cause Analysis
Click here for the 7 Scrum dysfunctions (and using Root Cause Analysis (picking out the red beads explained below) etc.) give an idea of how to improve quality in the scrum (agile) project management system
- from Mastering Professional Scrum (2019) by Stephanie Ockerman and Simon Reindl.
Note: Some links in this download are dependant on pmway.hopto.org being up. I.e. see i on menu above.
Run optimally a scrum team should be able to release working software in a 2 week sprint. Then (demo's approved by the Product Owner) they (the willing workers) have succeeded and the goals for the team are reset during next sprint planning ceremony. Scrum Master's role is to ensure a safety culture, productive team, process improvement from CM L2 (and CML2+ where possible) and good governance!
TPM vs APM essence in 2 minutes
Note that Traditional Project Management (TPM)'s 24 planning processes (just under half of the total processes for the PMBOK are planning processes!) are replaced in Agile Project Management (APM) / Scrum by User Stories! These must be approved as delivered each sprint by the Product Owner or the team are operating at Capability Maturity Level 1. And the minute a sprint is approved the team have finished that race successfully (they are operating at CM LEvel 2+)!
Deming's Red Bead Experiment goes a long way to clearly illustrate the causes and solutions for the "monkey trap" problem above.
Find this experiment on YouTube (or watch a PMWay selected video from YouTube below). Deming is the father of the Capability Maturity Model (CMMi) we are using here which is the output of the Software Engineering Institute at Carnegie Mellon University.
Here is some more of Deming's wisdom:
Red Bead Experiment
Solution:
If your Scrum Sprints are not producing approved value then Executives
YOU NEED TO PICK OUT / REMOVE / EAT THE RED BEADS!
I.e. install scrum (or other TPM or APM) processes (DevOps etc., processes) that allow the method to operate correctly /
remove noise and obstacles (exhortations etc.) that is getting in the way.
and EAT (Executive Action Team) the Red Beads!
The image below explains the problems typically found at Capability Maturity Level 1.
Time to up your game stats?
The Capability Maturity model above is a simplified version of the one found here
Finally (just for fun) click the red pin now if you want to do the Capability Maturity self assessment.