subject: Harmonisation Of Metrics Across Maintenance Projects In A Product Organisation [print this page] An effective metrics system is the requirement of any process improvement framework irrespective of which model or framework it is based on; be it ISO 9001, CMMI-DEV, CMMI-SVC or any other model/ framework.
A good metrics system is the core of any quality management system. If we take the example of the CMMI model framework the requirement for the metrics system starts right from CMMI ML2 and continues to mature as we move from ML2 to ML3 to CMMI High Maturity (i.e. CMMI ML4 & CMMI ML5) where-in statistical process control becomes a key element.
In this paper the author Lakshmidevi P has presented an interesting case study which demonstrates how one can harmonize metrics across the maintenance projects in a product based organization.
Given below is a brief abstract of the paper in the author's words:
"This paper explains in detail the objectives, scope, need and ways of standardising metrics across all the products. The entire process of identifying the metrics, key stakeholders and communication aspects in the initial phase and later working with the pilots and deployment methods are covered.
The focus of this paper is to highlight the practical aspects while running such an initiative and some key factors to increase the probability of success. The organisational structure is also covered to provide the context and can be used for comparisons.
The key factor is to identify the common minimum metric set across products with differing KPIs and customers and to get the approval from the project stakeholders. In the later phase, it is important to identify the potential issues that can crop up during deployment. This can be done by discussing with a few teams with experience in reporting to identify the good practices and issues. The next suggestion is to pilot the report in few projects and check the results against expectations. Piloting aspects and analysis of results are described in detail followed by the training and support activities required for the deployment of the report. The benefits and key learnings from this case study form the conclusion section."
Lakshmidevi P is an MBA with engineering background and has 9.5 years of experience in the IT industry. She has been part of many software process improvement projects, spread across boundaries. She has strong quality, project management and process consulting and management skills that contributed to winning teams and successful projects. She displays confidence and has strong communication skills and has the rich experience of working with customers and distributed teams across the globe and culture.
