Better Software - November 2007 - (Page 21)

n the six years since the Agile Manifesto was published, a wide variety of organizations have implemented agile project management and software development practices. However, far fewer have taken the step vital to unleashing the power of agile methods—namely, changing their performance management systems. All too often, an agile team’s success is determined by traditional measures, or worse, the team’s adaptability and agility is restricted by measuring and rewarding the wrong things. I once worked with a project manager whose team’s results were considered by the organization to be a failure. He had been given two hours to create his “project plan,” and of course, when the actual work was more extensive than he had forecast, the schedule slipped—but the expectations didn’t. Subsequent independent analysis of this project put it in the “above average” category when compared to industry norms for productivity index and scheduled response. This is one example of using the wrong metric to measure team performance. In order to achieve truly agile, innovative organizations, a change in our approach to performance management systems is necessary. The adaptive performance management system (APMS) is one such system. APMS is divided into two parts: the project performance management system, which focuses on outcomes that generate customer value, and the team performance management system, which focuses on informational metrics that teams can use to improve. Change is defined in the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition as “to cause to be different; to give a completely different form or appearance to.” Adapt means “to make suitable to or fit for a specific use or situation.” There is no goal inherent in change; as the bumper sticker says, “Stuff Happens.” Adaptation, on the other hand, is directed toward a goal. Change is mindless; adaptation is mindful. Adaptation can be considered a mindful response to change. It is responding to change in order to meet an established goal within certain constraints or boundaries. Adaptation is a natural response to our environment. Our business environment changes constantly, and so we should measure our response to those changes—our adaptability—to meet our goals. Our traditional project management and budgeting performance management systems were designed to measure conformance to plan (or budget), not adaptability. These systems need to change—not just at the project management level but throughout the organization. I Adaptive Performance—Outcomes and Outputs In a recent Business-IT Strategies Resource Center Executive Update, Cutter Consortium senior consultant Helen Pukszta writes: I recently asked a colleague whether he would prefer to deliver a project somewhat late and over budget but rich with business benefits or one that was on time and under budget but of scant value to the business. He thought it was a tough call, and then went for the on-time scenario. Delivering on time and within budget are part of his IT department’s performance metrics. Chasing after the elusive business value, over which he thought he had little control anyway, is not. If we are to benefit from agile methods and become truly agile, innovative organizations, then, as this story indicates, we will have to alter our performance management systems. Having a “system” that leads managers and others into valuing “conformance to plan” while delivering “scant business value” will seriously impede agility—and ultimately, success—in both projects and the entire enterprise. APMS addresses this need for a new approach by looking at two “systems”: one set of measurements oriented to outcomes—the business value created—and another set of measurements oriented to outputs—productivity, cost, and so on. The difference www.StickyMinds.com 21 NOVEMBER 2007 BETTER SOFTWARE http://www.StickyMinds.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Better Software - November 2007

Better Software - November 2007 Contents MarkYour Calendar Technically Speaking What’s Happening @StickyMinds.com Code Craft Test Connection Management Chronicles The Measure of a Management System Behind the Scenes A Story About User Stories and Test-Driven Development Product Announcements The Last Word Ad Index

Better Software - November 2007

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