T14 6/29/2006 1:30 PM P ROCESS I MPROVEMENT - C AN I M AKE A D - PDF document

BIO PRESENTATION T14 6/29/2006 1:30 PM P ROCESS I MPROVEMENT - C AN I M AKE A D IFFERENCE ? Stephanie Penland SAS Institute Inc Better Software Conference June 26 – 29, 2006 Las Vegas, NV USA

Stephanie Penland As a strong advocate for effective testing processes, Stephanie Penland has helped numerous organizations establish best practices, improve testing efforts, organize process realignments, as well as implement CMM level compliancy. Whether it’s starting a QA department from the ground up, introducing automation, or just bringing in fresh new ideas, Stephanie’s expertise in the field has helped organizations within industries such as Healthcare, Financial, Education, Manufacturing, Insurance, Operational Risk, and most recently Retail, become more aware of the need of establishing a well-rounded QA and process oriented environment. She’s recently stepped out onto the speaking circuit, sharing her experiences as well as helping others better understand the need for strong quality practices as well as flexible, yet documented and repeatable processes to be in place.

Welcome to Process Improvement - Can I make a difference?

Process Improvement – Can I make a difference? • 3 Guidelines • Typical Pitfalls and Mistakes • Sample Process Improvement Plan

Guideline #1: FOCUS – Keep It Simple Pick 1 or 2 areas to improve at one time. Too many improvements at once =

Guideline #2: Communicate Plan • Make plan easily accessible to everyone Keep plan in a centralized location – allow participants to contribute

Guideline #3: Show Your Results • Before/After • What constitutes success?

Pitfalls and Mistakes 1. Trying to improve too many processes at once 2. Getting wrong people involved 3. Lack of progress reports/status updates 4. Lack of communication 5. Not maintaining new process(es)

Suggestions to Avoid Pitfalls and Mistakes 1. Trying to improve too many areas at once Guideline 1- Keep it simple! Reminder Select 1-2 areas out of the big picture to focus on.

Suggestions to Avoid Pitfalls and Mistakes 2. Getting the wrong people involved • Send out surveys • Ask questions – Do you know who would be a good contact for <xyz>? • Search resume database if available • Hire a consultant with domain experience

Suggestions to Avoid Pitfalls and Mistakes 3. Lack of Progress/Status Updates Guidelines #2 & #3 - Communicate and Show Results Reminder • Status meetings (no more than 15 mins.) • Weekly communication bulletins (email) • Add progress reports in centralized location

Suggestions to Avoid Pitfalls and Mistakes 4. Lack of Communication Use collaborative sites such as Sharepoint services, wiki’s Websites (intra/internet)

Suggestions to Avoid Pitfalls and Mistakes 5. Not maintaining processes after implementation (Depends on what processes were implemented) • Ensure Management support • Low overhead, not cumbersome to follow • Well documented – so that new employees know what to follow

Sample Process Improvement Plan 1. What Process Do You Wish to Improve?

Sample Process Improvement Plan 2. Responsibilities A. Facilitator(s) B. Sponsor(s) C. Who’s signatures are required D. Participants E. Contributing Areas (dept, divisions, etc)

Sample Process Improvement Plan 3. How Will You Measure and Display: • Success(s) • Results

Sample Process Improvement Plan 4. What Risks Are Involved? • By Not Improving These Processes? • By Improving These Processes?

Sample Process Improvement Plan 5. What Are The Potential Obstacles? Examples: • Lack of interest • Lack of Available Resources • Lack of Domain Knowledge • “Old Timers” set in their ways – Fear change • Lack of Funding

Sample Process Improvement Plan 6. Maintainability How will you maintain these processes?

Sample Process Improvement Plan 7. Communication – How Will You Communicate: • Needs & Requests • Milestones • Progress • Changes

Sample Process Improvement Plan 8. Documentation – How Will You Document Process Improvements?