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What’s New PODS Products &
Services Library Presentations
& Papers Related Sites Events History Clients |
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OXFORD SOFTWARE ENGINEERING |
What's New? |
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As well as funded work and tool support we have several internal
projects. This page lists some of our activities and interests. Contact us at
info@osel.co.uk if you would like to know
more about these.
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April
2008 BCS SPIN SG Gradual
Process Improvement using Agile Retrospectives Tuesday 20 May 2008 Speaker: Rachel Davies - Rachel provides consultancy and coaching teams in agile software development. She has been applying agile approaches since 2000 and has experience of a range of agile methods including XP, SCRUM, Lean and DSDM. Rachel is a well-known presenter at and organizer of industry conferences and a long serving director of non-profit Agile Alliance. Venue: BCS London Office Time: 18:00 - 20:00 Meeting Format: Presentation and discussion afterwards Attendance: Free Sustenance: Sandwiches and refreshments provided from 18:00, with 18.30 start. Registration: Delegates must register, please send notification to: Mandy Bauer mandy.bauer@hq.bcs.org.uk or Clifford Shelley shelley@osel.netkonect.co.uk (Dietary requirements: Please notify Mandy Bauer) Full details of how to get to the BCS London office can be found here: http://www.epsg.org.uk/locations/bcsss-guide.html courtesy of the BCS Electronic Publishing group (these are by far the best location instructions I
have seen anywhere). Note: Delegates need to be BCS members. The BCS has a
special offer open until the 30 April 2008 where SPIN members can join
the BCS free of charge. If non-BCS members wish to take advantage of this
offer, then please contact Clifford Shelley so that he can register you as a
SPIN member with the BCS. For further information, please consult ‘Joining a
Group’ on the SPIN website: http://www.bcs.org/server.php?show=nav.7057. |
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February 2008
BCS SPIN SG CMMI and Metrics, 19 February 2008 This is free event with
limited numbers, so it is on a first come first serve basis. The details are: Title: CMMI
and Metrics (A review of the application of measurement for CMMI) Date: Tuesday
19 February 2008 Speaker: Dr
Clifford Shelley Venue: BCS
London Office Time: 18:00
- 20:00 Meeting Format: Presentation and discussion afterwards Attendance: Free Sustenance: Sandwiches
and refreshments provided from 18:00, with 18.30 start. Registration: Delegates
must register, please send notification to: Mandy Bauer mailto:mandy.bauer@hq.bcs.org.uk or Clifford Shelley mailto:shelley@osel.netkonect.co.uk (Dietary requirements:
Please notify Mandy Bauer) Full details of how to get
to the BCS London office can be found here: http://www.epsg.org.uk/locations/bcsss-guide.html courtesy of the BCS
Electronic Publishing group (these are by the best location instructions I
have seen anywhere) As you are probably aware
there has not been too much activity within the group for some time. In the
past we have held full day meeting and charged for attendance, but recently
it has proved hard to get enough attendee to make this worth while. So we
have decided on a change of format, we are still looking for a lively debate
and will value your input into the future of the group. We would also like to draw
your attention to another event being run by the Young Professionals Group,
details are here: |
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August 2007
Introduction to CMMI v1.2 Oxford October 2007… Marilyn Bush is presenting an SEI licensed ‘Introduction to CMMI v1.2’ course
in October on the 10th to 12th, in Oxford. Marilyn is one of the contributors
to the original S/W CMM and one of the most experienced and insightful CMMI
assessors and trainers; if you are planning to attend an Intro to CMMI course
this is the one. Course and booking details are here. |
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2 August 2007
The next SPIN meeting
is on 14 August at the BCS’s London Offices. Visit http://www.bcs.org/server.php?show=nav.9416
for details and a booking form
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July 2007
Smart Decision Making Tom Gilb’s annual symposium in London was concerned with ‘smart decision making’ this
year. My talk
concerned the anatomy of decisions, and looking at decision dysfunction (why
organizations force smart people to make dumb decisions). A paper was also
presented. |
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29 March 2007
Another new training course for 2007…
Formal Technical Reviews: From Inspection
to Walkthrough: A one
day workshop that presents the principles and practice of Formal Technical
Reviews (FTRs). Participants will be able to plan what and when to review and
how to perform reviews, in line with industry best practice, to reduce
project risks and improve software quality to the required level. Call or
email for details.
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29 March 2007
The UK Software Metrics
Association is issuing a call for papers for their autumn conference: The |
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16 January 2007
Two pieces of work are nearing completion. We have a GQM procedure that
we would like independently reviewed – based in the GQM course it presents
GQM as a practical tool for use by individuals or teams, taking measurement
from initial needs through to validation of measurement data. Supported by
models and templates we think this takes the best of the GQM ideas and
presents it in a useful and practical package useable by anyone. The other
piece of work is handbook of software reviews. Again aimed at individuals and
teams looking for practical advice this handbook shows how to perform reviews
for best effect, managing the insidious ‘email review’ and ‘expert review’
problems. |
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16 January 2007
It is time to get the British Software Process Improvement Network (SPIN)
functioning again. SPIN is a BCS specialist group for software people looking
for better ways of working from both management and technical perspectives.
If you have an interesting software process improvement, and, particularly,
if you have ideas for SPIN – how it could be more effective, have ideas about
what you would like from it, or would like to help the SPIN group then get in
touch with Clifford Shelley using the email contact above. |
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15 January 2007
The UK Software Measurement Association is beginning to think about
the next measurement conference this autumn. If you have ideas for a theme
let us know. (I would like the theme to be measurement in other disciplines –
other areas struggle with measurement too, and some have come up with useful
ideas the software community could use. I’d also like to see some attention
paid to measurement in the small. Too much attention is given to ‘measurement
programmes’ with little new, useful or successful.) |
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24 October 2006
Just back from the UK Software Measurement Association
(UKSMA) conference. Good material but the pace of development for software
measurement needs to accelerate: the world is changing and approaches to
software measurement need to keep up. OSEL’s paper on enhancing the
inspection process to recognize design excellence – not just defects - was well received. Here are the paper and slides. |
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12 September 2006
New training courses for 2006 and 2007…
Four new courses are being completed for delivery in late
2006 / early 2007. These courses
have been designed to meet the needs of software developers and managers
working to meet changing business conditions, or respond sensibly to the
increasing pressures to conform to new governance models and standards. The
courses are: -
TCM: The Innovation Management Tool. A half day workshop introducing and
using the people and process oriented methods that makes PDCA and continuous
process improvement a practical reality. -
Goal/Question/Metric.
Measurements are increasingly required to demonstrate the value and integrity
of software development, but defining and using software measures is
notorious for it expense and ineffectiveness. This half day course distils
the learning from the best software measurement methods and makes software
measurement quick, simple and effective. -
Six Sigma for Software Developers. A one
day workshop specifically for software developers and managers that gives and
overview of the six sigma approach and then selects and describes the tools
that work best in software organizations. -
Lean Software Development. An intensive one day workshop
introducing software developers to the ideas of lean software development and
describing the thinking tools that reduce timescales and cut through waste. We will be posting more details of these courses in due course. If you
would like to find out more now please email us at info@osel.co.uk
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28 July 2006
The UK SPIN group
should be reforming again soon. At a meeting yesterday a provisional
programme of meetings was discussed. Dates are 25 September, 4 December, 26
February ’07, and 21 March ’07 with topics covering process improvement
failure modes, off shoring, and managing change. The meetings will be held in London at the BCS Offices in
Southampton Street. The folk at
Lamri are offering to help so expect SPIN to start presenting a more
interesting and professional face to the world. If you want to know what process
improvement is really like, and where its heading (without the spin – so to
speak), or would like to present a paper do get in touch – either here or
email Andrew Griffiths at Lamri.
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8 June 2006
Developed from the note below this draft paper discusses the ‘opposite of a defect’ and why it matters. I submitted this to Eurostar with no luck but the perceptive people at UKSMA have asked me to present it (a little more developed) this autumn. I’ll have copies with me at the SEPG in Amsterdam next week. I’m keen to hear comments on these ideas - especially if its been developed elsewhere already. |
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1 February 2006
Peter Leeson is running
the popular three day ‘Introduction to the CMMI’ course in April in Milton
Keynes:
Course
Description This
three-day course introduces systems and software engineering managers and
practitioners, appraisal team members, and engineering process group (e.g.,
SEPG, EPG) members to Capability Maturity Model® Integration
(CMMI) fundamental concepts. CMMI models are tools that help organizations
improve their ability to develop and maintain quality products and services.
CMMI models are an integration of best practices from proven
discipline-specific process improvement models, including the CMM®
for Software, EIA 731, and the Integrated Product Development CMM. Participant cost is £1000.00 (plus VAT) per person.
This includes the training material, a light lunch on site and the registration
with the SEI. A non-refundable deposit of £100.00 is required upon
registration. Full payment is required by first day of workshop. Contact Q:PIT for details. |
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6 January 2006
The excellent BCS Quality SiG (North West) is having a process modelling and definition seminar on 26 January. Details here. |
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4 January 2006 – happy new year!The BCS’s SPIN group is planning their first meeting of the new year on 23 February at the BCS offices at Southampton St. London. The topic is metrics. The speakers are: Grant Rule, Rob Radcliff, Graham Thomas and Norman Fenton. Go to http://www.spin.bcs.org/events.htm for further details (in the near future). Alternatively email me at the address above. |
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December 2005
Here is a paper
describing an elaboration of the review process usually encountered. Three
stage formal reviews are not new, but not well known either. They are usually
encountered in engineering and defence organizations – they deserve to be
better known. |
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16 June 2005What’s the opposite of a defect? Identifying the mirror images of software defects may be useful
for improving software development and development processes:
The data of primary interest
from software inspections is defect data. Analysed with care it can provide
information about the software, and the projects and processes that produced
it. The value of defect data to software engineering is not surprising.
Defect data - whether as defect
counts or of measures of deviations from a norm - is also the primary source
of information for process control and revision in production engineering. However there
is a difference. Like manufacturing defects, software defects give rise to
rework, delay, increased cost, system failures and customer dissatisfaction,
but the uniformity, consistency and conformance to standard, so valued in
manufacturing’s essentially replication processes, are not the only criteria
by which software is judged: software development is design; and, as in
manufacturing design, excellence is the driver, not uniformity. Excellence is
not assessed solely by the number of defects. A good design will have a
certain number of defects, but an excellent design is not defined by fewer.
There is something else. Whatever this is it isn’t assessed by quality
control. But software quality control performed early in the development
cycle, particularly inspections, is not quality control alone. It is an aware
process performed by people that, as well as recognizing defects, may also
recognize excellence: ingenious solutions to difficult problems; prior
solutions; opportunities, and the elimination of complexity. This is
recognized as one of the additional benefits of software inspections but does
not appear to be formally managed or measured. In fact current practice may
actively obstruct the capture of this information. Discussion of design options
is discouraged, the focus to being fixed on detecting defects alone. This may
be a reflection of the origins of inspection as a hardware defect detection
technique, used to improve consistency and uniformity. Software
inspections can become even more valuable when adapted for use in a design
process; when they are supplemented by a requirement to recognize,
acknowledge and record those rare points of excellence that surprise and
please (and give rise to the occasional twinge of envy). Like defects these
points should be recorded, counted and analysed. Similar counts
and analyses of ingenuity could identify the nature and perhaps sources of
excellence. (There doesn’t appear to be useable antonym for defect.) The
analysis of points of excellence (undefects? proeffects? profects perhaps?)
would be similar to that of defects but, unlike defects, the emphasis would
be an amplifying or reusing them to produce ‘profective’ products and
processes. The removal of defects is a major contributor to the delivery of high
quality software, but is bounded by the lower limit of zero defects; the
amplification of excellence, by dissemination of profects, has no limit.
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3 June 2005Many thanks to Jaap Bloem
who, in response to the defect analysis paper, pointed to the work of Professor Chris
Verhoef who has been using elegant graphical techniques to
reveal insights from unpromising looking software data. Professor Verhoef’s
paper 'Quantifying SPI' is a
model of the use of graphical techniques to analyse complex software data.
The techniques are notable for their simplicity and power. These approaches
really should be distinguished from the complex, obscuring, and often
inappropriate statistical analyses that so much software data is subject to.
(It’s tempting to add a ‘G’ for ‘Graphics’ to Basili’s GQM giving GQMGTuTu - with the second G directed by Tukey
and guided by Tufte.)
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13 May 2005Here is the draft
of a paper about analysing software defect data I will be presenting later
this year. Your comments would be welcome. It suggests that SPC techniques are not a useful as might
be thought and that simpler defect analysis techniques can do more and open
up opportunities for improvement. It also proposes using software inspections
for more than identifying defects.
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3 May 2005Download an evaluation
copy of PODS v1.9 for Lotus Notes (R5 and later) with full functionality:
defect tracker, change index, risk register, action tracker, test logger and
much more! The 814k zip file
contains complete PODS, the PODS manual, and installation notes. Available on
the PODS page.
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18 April 2005Unexpected validation
for the rpi approach to process improvement (see www.osel.co.uk/rpi/rpi.htm): The
emphasis with rpi is on problem solving – ‘if you aren’t solving a problem
question what you are doing’, and ‘upstreaming’ (T - 1). These are recommendations from the ‘theory of
constraints’ (Goldratt, Theory of Constraints) which, in a nutshell, suggests
that improvement work be focussed on removing bottlenecks. Optimisation in
other areas does nothing but increase queues at the bottlenecks. This is
precisely what we have been learning and promoting with rpi. Nice to know
we’re getting it right.
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6 April 2005We are planning two
public courses later in the year:
Rapid Process Improvement. A one day tutorial on the use
of the RPI toolset, Central London, 8 September 2005, £285.
An Introduction to CMMI – Staged and
Continuous,
A three day
training course, Central London, 20-22 September 2005, £745.
Details of these
courses will be posted on our events page in due course. If you would like
details now please do email us.
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24 March 2005This is an observation
that I’m not aware of having been made before. I’ve noticed that those
organizations making progress in software process improvement - whether or
not it is measured in terms of conformance to standard, CMM Levels perhaps,
or improved performance - tend to be using two software process
models; the operational model and the reference model. The operational model
is the description of how work is performed, and may be an established
lifecycle model or an acquired and tailored commercial model, RUP, say, or
even a toolset. The reference model is used to direct and guide the
development of the operational model - in many cases this is CMM(I) -
although it can be something else, including models used by others as
operational models. The value appears to be in the models complementing each
other; the operational model being an explicit and coherent framework and
tools to support working practice, and an interpretation of the reference
model; the reference model providing direction and validation to the
operational. Where this occurs it appears to have happened quite
unconsciously, and contrasts with organizations where the new improved way of
working (whatever it may be) is introduced as both the operational and
reference model, overwriting existing practices, with predictable
consequences. This two model approach is implied in CMM(I)’s OPD where architectures
and lifecycles reside, but the relationship between these and the CMM(I)
itself, especially with respect to effectiveness of SPI, appears obscure, and
tends to be ignored when the ‘implementation’ of CMM(I) is discussed. (I have
never liked the term CMM(I) implementation – maybe this is why.) Has this
operational/reference, two model approach been noticed or reported elsewhere?
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7 March 2005I’ve been pointed to this and found it referenced in
the lean software development book – see library. It’s not exactly an easy
read but it may just open a door to understanding software processes a little
better. S/w development is intimately connected to software management which
is ‘difficult’. Professor Koskela’s paper may shed some light on this.
Distinguishing service models from project models as alternatives for
software and systems development (see the RPI slides) is not popular; the
project being taken as the default regardless of its appropriateness. This
paper may help justify non project oriented software management approaches.
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28 February 2005Thinking about the CMM
again it occurred to me that you hear little about the many different ways it
can be used for process improvement. Here are some suggestions:
1.
Use the CMM (or CMMI) to tell you what
not to try.
This was how we originally used it. When the CMM first appeared we were
undertaking ambitious and diverse process improvement efforts, in particular
software measurement. Some things worked others didn’t. The CMM made it very
clear for the first time that some things come first and others, dependent on
them, come later. Use the CMM to understand your capability and make that
better – don’t launch process improvements to become more mature, use
it to become more effective and more efficient. Work to be a really good
<whatever level you are, even L1> organization and understand your
organization and measure the effect of your work before even thinking about
changing level.
2.
Start at the top. Look to Levels 4 and 5 for
toolsets for improvement and not as distant maturity levels. The tools described
at levels 4 and 5 can be used (carefully and locally) whatever the your
‘official’ maturity rating. (A TQM organization not developing software, or
just starting software development would be level 1, but equipped with the L4
and 5 processes to make it more effective – why not try it too.)
3.
Think of the maturity levels not as
levels but as types:
project oriented, process oriented, TQM oriented…. Some organizations are
intrinsically project oriented, others process oriented. An organization may
be a really good intrinsically L2 type organization, or it could be naturally
L3, but with holes. Which? Don’t spoil the good L2 organization by making it
mimic a L3 organization, but the ventilated organization could really benefit
by a drive to patch the holes. Trying to be the wrong type of organization,
process oriented when project oriented, or visa versa, is like wearing shoes
on the wrong feet, uncomfortable and unhelpful. Decide what type of
organization you are and work to be really good at that. Don’t be a ‘cargo
cult’ organization.
4.
Put the levels and process areas to
one side and look at the really important features of the CMM, the common
features. The
common features describe all the process areas at all the levels in the s/w CMM.
Why? - because they are the key
to understanding, managing and improving processes. Invest in understanding
and putting in place your own common features and you will be unable to stop
improvements in performance. (The common features persist in CMMI, but tend
to be overshadowed by the model’s size and complexity.)
If you have found good
ways of using the CMM - beyond formal assessment, ‘gap
analysis’ then attempting to be the next level (or two) up by <scheduled
date> - let us know and we can add them to the list.
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17 January 2005Peter
Leeson is running a three day ‘Introduction to the CMMI’ course in March 29 -
31, from 9.00 to 5.00 in Milton Keynes, in the UK. This course fulfils a prerequisite requirement for any
course requiring an official SEI Introductory CMMI course. Email us at info@osel.co.uk or call on 01993 700878 for
more details. The SEI Introduction to CMMI®
This three-day course introduces systems and
software engineering managers and practitioners, appraisal team members, and
engineering process group (e.g., SEPG, EPG) members to Capability Maturity
Model Integration (CMMI) fundamental concepts. CMMI models are tools that
help organizations improve their ability to develop and maintain quality
products and services. CMMI models are an integration of best practices from
proven discipline-specific process improvement models, including the CMM for
Software, EIA 731 and the Integrated Product Development CMM. In response to community requests, this course is
an upgrade to the existing Introduction to CMMI, Staged Representation and
Continuous Representation courses, incorporating concepts from both. The
course also includes improvements to slides, exercises, and other course
materials identified in other change requests submitted by the community. The course is composed of lectures and class exercises with ample opportunity for participant questions and discussions. After attending the course, participants will be able to describe the components of CMMI models and their relationships, discuss the process areas in CMMI models, and are able to locate relevant information in the model. |
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7 December 2004Just received this
from the British Computer Society…
Following an exploratory
meeting yesterday (25 November), a proposal is being developed for the
formation of a BCS Open Source Specialist Group. Subject to approval of its
formation by the Specialist Groups' Executive Committee, this SG will have
a wide remit and will also include health/informatics. If any member is interested in being a member of this
group (and especially if anyone would be interested
in serving on an interim Committee to get the group up and running), please
contact Peter Murray, Chair, BCS HI Nursing SG, by 15 December on
peter@open-nurse.info Regards John Stephens Specialist Groups' Officer BCS 1 Sanford Street
SWINDON SN1 1HJ e-mail:
jstephens@hq.bcs.org.uk Tel (direct): 01793 417631 |
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6 December 2004We have added a
dedicated RPI page where we will
be trialing access to the RPI toolset assets prior to moving them across the
SPIN website in March 2005. If you want something on the page that is not
available yet email us for it, but take a look at the RPI slides - below - to make sure you really do
want it first.
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2 December 2004The US Sarbanes Oxley
Act seems to have the potential to stir things up in the software process
community. The requirements imposed by this act may trigger increased
management interest in visibility and accountability in software development
and support - and that can’t be bad.
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(4 November 2004The web site has been
given a tidy up by a visitor to the office. Eleanor Shelley has been here on
a ‘go to work’ day and has been making herself useful by conducting some
usability tests on PODS and editing some of our web pages.)
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October 2004
We have drafted a procedure called ‘Process Workshop’. It
has been developed to provide a simple, template procedure to put in place
changes to working practices and engage developers and managers in process
improvement. Its value is as an explicit and teachable process that can be
used by everyone and ‘officially’ recognized and measured. It encourages
consensus building and provides publicity for small, well scoped
changes. This is in contrast to TCM, a tool for larger scale process
improvements used for identifying and agreeing the problem and then
formulating the fix. Comments on the PW draft documents would be very welcome - procedure.pdf, procedure diagram.pdf. It
would be useful to us to know if you already do something similar, or if this
would be useful to you. Notes on errors and omissions, except typos, also
welcome. |
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October 2004
I’ve just been sent
this - radice.pdf. It is a fascinating case study on the
use and value of software inspections by Ron Radice (see book reviews). I’m
not too sure if I should be posting this paper here - note it is copyrighted
– but it does include links to the author’s web site.
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September 2004
We have been
contributing to the SPICE (Structured Process Improvement for Construction Enterprises)
since its inception. SPICE is a model for process improvement, inspired by
the SEI’s CMM, intended for the construction industry. SPICE III is now
preparing to launch the Level 3 definition. See www.scri.salford.ac.uk
or email us for details
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September 2004
Don’t forget the UKSMA
conference in September - http://www.uksma.co.uk/ – we will be there
speaking on Six Sigma ( paper slides ) and
presenting the Rapid Process Improvement (RPI) tutorial ( slides ).
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July 2004
Just returned from the SCRUM course. SCRUM is a ‘wrapper’ for agile software development, or perhaps more accurately, an agile wrapper for software development. It’s a deceptively simple set of ideas - 30 day ‘sprints’ to develop and deliver workable code of value to the business – with daily team meetings (scrums) during sprints to k |
