There's a lot to be done - how will we do it all AND adopt a new process?
Rolling out a new process to your projects is like a rocket reaching escape velocity - you need to build up enough momentum to escape the gravitational pull: getting enough people together to support the new process and commit themselves to not going back to their old way of working.
Our experience tells us that when organisations take on UML, often in tandem with one of the heavyweight proprietary methodologies, they get bogged down or flounder under the weight of new things they have to learn.
Taking on a new process in the pressured environment of a live project causes a great deal of tension. Typically, teams are faced with four problems at once: understanding the new modelling concepts and techniques, planning and estimating with the new development process, mastering new software tools (such as the CASE tool) and last but not least the problem of identifying and defining the business requirements. There may be lots of documentation describing the modelling techniques, the new process and the tools but not enough time to read and assimilate it all.
Coaching is essential to overcome the project's natural tendency to fall back into old ways - it gives the project team hands-on support from someone who already understands how to apply the approach successfully.
Formal training is useful to establish the basic principles and a shared vocabulary. Formal training is a great way to get everyone thinking in the same way. We have developed a number of training courses that we can use to establish a base level of skill - but don't expect people to come out of the class room ready to fly a solo mission to Mars.
Rolling out the approach across an organisation requires that you nurture the skills of the people who are learning the techniques. Give them the opportunity to learn and then move them from one project to another to maximise the utilisation and further development of those skills.
You can find out more here:These links and resources will tell you more about our approach and the techniques we use.
If you are interested in talking to us about application development, and how your organisation could do it better, please your details and we will do our best to help
A well planned and well resourced mentoring and coaching support group is vital to acheive lasting success. Training courses only cover the basics, they are just to get started, and do not fully prepare people for the dificult judgements that they have to make on real projects.
