PMI (the Project Management Institute) has recently introduced new content into it's curriculum....the Process Owner and Process Manager.  The distinction between these two roles seems to originate from ServiceNow's influence.

In small organizations the same person wears both hats, but in larger organizations these two roles may be split between two people.  Basically the Process Owner is a senior person responsible for "working on" the process, to improve it, while the Process Manager "works in" the process to execute it with efficiency.  A description of each role follows:

Job Description for Process Owner:

Process Owner's are responsible for the end-to-end oversight of a particular business process within an organization. Their main responsibilities include designing, implementing, monitoring, and continuously improving the process to ensure it meets the organization's goals and objectives. Process owners also ensure that the process is compliant with regulatory requirements and industry standards. They work closely with cross-functional teams to identify areas for improvement and implement changes that increase efficiency, reduce costs, and enhance quality. Other key responsibilities of a process owner include:

• Developing and maintaining process documentation, including standard operating procedures (SOPs), process flowcharts, and process metrics.
• Monitoring process performance using key performance indicators (KPIs) and other metrics, and identifying areas for improvement. (Note, both roles include this bullet point as it is an ongoing common point of review and discussion.)
• Leading process improvement initiatives, including process re-engineering and process automation.
• Collaborating with other process owners to ensure that processes are integrated and aligned across the organization.
• Communicating process changes to stakeholders, including senior management, process users, and customers.
• Providing training and support to process users to ensure that they understand and follow the process.

Job Description for Process Manager:

Process managers are responsible for the day-to-day management of a particular business process within an organization. They ensure that the process is executed efficiently and effectively, and that process users comply with the process requirements. Process managers work closely with process owners and cross-functional teams to identify areas for improvement and implement changes that increase efficiency, reduce costs, and enhance quality. Other key responsibilities of a process manager include:

• Ensuring that the process is executed in compliance with regulatory requirements and industry standards.
• Monitoring process performance using KPIs and other metrics, and identifying areas for improvement. (Note, both roles include this bullet point as it is an ongoing common point of review and discussion.)
• Providing training and support to process users to ensure that they understand and follow the process.
• Identifying and addressing process issues and bottlenecks that impact process performance.
• Collaborating with other process managers and process owners to ensure that processes are integrated and aligned across the organization.
• Communicating process changes to stakeholders, including senior management, process users, and customers.
• Developing and maintaining process documentation, including SOPs, process flowcharts, and process metrics.

Overall, while both roles are involved in managing and improving business processes, the process owner has a more strategic and high-level focus, while the process manager has a more operational and hands-on focus. The process owner is responsible for setting the direction of the process, while the process manager is responsible for executing the process according to the owner's direction. The process owner is more involved in initiating and leading process improvement initiatives, while the process manager is more involved in implementing and monitoring process changes on a day-to-day basis.

The Hidden Factory is everything your group does over again because it didn't go right the first time around.

This ranges from re-doing a failed multi-year project, to re-pushing a production release which had some minor issues the first time around. Sometimes these activities are called "Fire Fighting."

Most groups I talk to tell me that about 35% of their teams efforts are lost to this problem.

Someone must pay for this, and it's very expensive.  Higher prices, lower wages, and lower shareholder dividends are one way to quantify the hidden factory.  In addition, the opportunity cost of not being able to reach your project monetization goals 33% faster means you left money and customers on the table.

The Stable Framework™ is a performance management framework for IT designed to give IT departments the tools needed to tame this wild Hidden Factory beast and bring the fire-fighting down to nearly zero, where it should be.

Read more about it here

Mike Berry

There are many project management tools and software available to help you plan, manage, and execute projects effectively. Here are some of the key project management tools and software:

1. Project management software: Project management software provides a centralized platform for managing project tasks, timelines, budgets, resources, and communications. Some popular project management software includes Asana, Trello, Basecamp, Jira, and Microsoft Project.

2. Gantt chart software: Gantt chart software allows you to create visual timelines that show the progress of tasks and the overall project. This can help you track dependencies, identify critical path tasks, and manage timelines effectively. Some popular Gantt chart software includes TeamGantt, GanttPRO, and Wrike.

3. Collaboration software: Collaboration software provides a platform for team members to communicate and collaborate on project tasks, documents, and files. Some popular collaboration software includes Microsoft Teams, Slack, Discord, and Google Workspace.

4. Time tracking software: Time tracking software allows you to track how much time team members spend on project tasks, which can help with resource planning, billing, and project management. Some popular time tracking software includes Harvest, Toggl, and RescueTime.

5. Risk management software: Risk management software allows you to identify, assess, and manage project risks. This can help you proactively mitigate risks and minimize their impact on the project. Some popular risk management software includes Riskalyze, RiskyProject, and any tool that will provide a Risk Matrix.

6. Agile software: Agile software provides a platform for managing agile projects and workflows, including Scrum, Kanban, and Lean methodologies. Some popular agile software includes Atlassian's Jira Software, and Targetprocess.

These are just a few examples of the project management tools and software available to help you manage projects effectively. The best tools and software for your project will depend on your specific needs, budget, and team structure.

There are several project management methodologies and practices to choose from, and the best approach depends on the specific needs and goals of the project. Here are some of the most popular project management methodologies and practices:

1. Agile: Agile is a flexible, iterative approach to project management that emphasizes collaboration, adaptability, and delivering value to the customer. Agile methodologies include Scrum, Kanban, and Lean.
   
   
2. Waterfall: Waterfall is a linear, sequential approach to project management that involves completing each phase of the project before moving on to the next. It's a more traditional approach and is useful for projects where the requirements are well-defined and unlikely to change.
   
   
3. Stable: The Stable Framework™ is an Operational Excellence model for project management and operations that can be combined with Agile, or can be performed stand-alone.
   
   
4. RINCE2: PRINCE2 is a project management methodology that provides a structured approach to managing projects, including defined roles and responsibilities, a focus on the business case, and a step-by-step approach to project delivery.
   
   
5. PMI's PMBOK: The Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) is a framework developed by the Project Management Institute (PMI) that provides guidelines for managing projects across a range of industries and project types.
   
   
6. OPPM: The One Page Project Manager is a spreadsheet-based approach to Project Management.
   
   
7. VI Sigma: Six Sigma is a data-driven methodology that focuses on improving processes and reducing defects in products and services. It's often used in manufacturing and other industries where quality control is critical.
   
   

In addition to these methodologies, there are several project management practices that can help ensure project success, including:

• Defining clear project objectives and deliverables
• Establishing effective communication channels and regular project status updates
• Assigning roles and responsibilities to team members
• Developing a comprehensive project plan and schedule
• Identifying and managing risks throughout the project
• Monitoring and controlling the project's progress against the plan

Ultimately, the best project management methodology and practices will depend on the specific needs and goals of your project. It's important to assess the unique requirements of the project and choose the approach that's best suited to meet those needs.

The term "Gherkin" is associated with Agile user stories because it is the name of a specific format for writing user stories that was introduced by the Cucumber testing framework. Cucumber is a popular open-source tool for Behavior-Driven Development (BDD), which is a software development methodology that emphasizes collaboration between developers, testers, and business stakeholders. The actual name is credited to Dan North, the creator of BDD, in a May 2006 blog post.

The Gherkin syntax is a way of writing user stories in a structured format that can be easily understood and shared by all team members, including non-technical stakeholders. The Gherkin syntax uses a simple language that is designed to be readable by both technical and non-technical people. It consists of a set of keywords, such as "Given", "When", and "Then", that describe the steps of a user story.

The Gherkin syntax is named after the small pickled cucumber, which is a reference to the idea of "pickling" or preserving the requirements of a user story in a structured, easy-to-understand format. The name was chosen to reflect the simplicity and ease of use of the syntax.

The Gherkin syntax has become popular in the Agile development community because it provides a standardized format for writing user stories that can be easily understood and shared by all team members. It can also be used to automate acceptance testing, as the steps of a user story can be mapped to test cases that verify that the software meets the requirements specified in the user story.

The software development life-cycle (SDLC) is the process of planning, designing, building, testing, and deploying software. There are various models for the SDLC, each with their own advantages and disadvantages. Here are some of the most common models:

1. Waterfall model: The waterfall model is a linear, sequential approach to software development, where each stage is completed before the next one begins. The stages include requirements gathering, design, implementation, testing, and maintenance. This model works well for projects with well-defined and stable requirements, but can be inflexible and slow to respond to changing requirements.

2. Agile model: The agile model is an iterative and incremental approach to software development, where software is developed in short cycles called sprints. The stages include planning, requirements gathering, design, implementation, testing, and deployment, and the process is repeated in each sprint. This model works well for projects with evolving requirements and a need for flexibility, but can be challenging for teams that are new to agile methodologies.

3. Spiral model: The spiral model is a risk-driven approach to software development, where risks are identified and addressed in each stage of the SDLC. The stages include planning, risk analysis, design, implementation, testing, and deployment, and the process is repeated in a spiral fashion as risks are identified and addressed. This model works well for projects with high levels of complexity and uncertainty, but can be time-consuming and expensive.

4. V model: The V model is a variant of the waterfall model that emphasizes testing and verification throughout the SDLC. The stages include requirements gathering, design, implementation, testing, and maintenance, and the testing process runs in parallel with the development process. This model works well for projects with a strong emphasis on testing and verification, but can be inflexible and slow to respond to changing requirements.

5. DevOps model: The DevOps model is a collaborative approach to software development that emphasizes the integration of development and operations teams. The stages include planning, development, testing, deployment, and monitoring, and the process is highly automated to enable rapid and frequent releases. This model works well for projects with a need for rapid release cycles and a high degree of automation, but can be challenging for teams that are new to DevOps methodologies.

Each of these models has its own strengths and weaknesses, and the choice of model will depend on the specific requirements of the project, the experience and preferences of the team, and the organizational culture. Successful software development requires careful planning, effective communication, and a willingness to adapt to changing requirements and circumstances.

Recently while coaching Agile to a large client in the Salt Lake City area one of the developers on one of the teams asked me why an Agile team should decompose features into one or two day units of work.  It seems, he said, the particular unit of work he was considering could not be broken down into anything smaller than 4 days.

This is a common question for groups first exposed to Agile.   Decomposing features into one or two day tasks can be challenging at first.  Here are several reasons why it is a good practice:

1. Breaking down features and large tasks into one or two day units of work forces the Agile team member to really understand the nature of the tasks.  Ambiguity is the enemy of success and large units of work really are ambiguous.

2. Smaller units of work limit the amount of risk that a particular task can adversely impact a schedule that was estimated incorrectly.

3. Decomposing work into many one or two day tasks gives the team member a win every one or two days.   They and their teammates will enjoy a sense of accomplishment more frequently, helping team morale.

4. Decomposing work in to one or two day tasks creates more transparency and precision so the team can account for completed work more accurately.  This many not be noticeable for one single work item but imagine the effect if the entire team kept work items at a non-decomposed level...too much ambiguity.

5.  Some teams I encounter hold stand-up meeting less frequently than daily.  This is a mistake.  Stand-up meetings should be held daily.  When I drill down and ask why, I typically hear that the team is reporting on the same work item the whole week.  Further questioning reveals they are not decomposing work into one or two day tasks.  When they start decomposing work into one or two day tasks then they have something new to report each day, and the stand-up meetings become more helpful.

Mike J. Berry Red Rock Research

The Project Management Institute created the PMI-ACP (Agile Certified Practitioner) in 2011 to establish credentials for someone who has been adequately trained with how to implement the Scrum Framework.  Scrum was one of the original Agile methodologies and remains by far the most popular today.

The PMI-ACP is a combination of everything you'd learn in a Certified Scrum Master class, and everything you'd lear in a Certified Product Owner class, along with advanced Risk Management techniques, some Lean concepts applicable to software development, and a few extra accessories that help Scrum scale up for larger projects, and larger group sizes.

In addition, PMI requires at least nine months of actual experience working with a Scrum team before they will aware the credential.

If you are an HR Professional, rest assured your candidate presenting with a PMI-ACP certification is slightly better equipped than one with a Scrum Master, or Product Owner, or both.

Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP) will be the designation of the new PMI Agile credential.  PMI has decided to recognize the prevalence and effectiveness of Agile practices within the project management community and has constructed a tangible foundation of requirements and guidelines for establishing what constitutes an Agile framework.  Perhaps we'll soon finally see an Aglie BOK?

Key dates for the PMI-ACP are as follows:

• May 2011- PMI is now accepting and reviewing applications for the PMI-ACP.

• Sep 2011 -The PMI-ACP examination will be available.

• Oct-Dec 2011 - The first PMI-ACP certifications will be awarded to successful pilot candidates

I attended an excellent presentation hosted by the Northern Utah PMI Chapter, featuring Mike Sandberg, Novell's Chief Business Analysts.  Mike spoke to a room of well over 200 folks about the CBAP certification.  This is the Certified Business Analysis Professional credential that us now coming of age.Mike talked about his own experience discovering the CBAP community and about the successes and issues involved with adopting the framework.

Specifically, Mike spoke about how the PMP and CBAP roles work together.  He talked about some challenges regarding turf and terminology that sometimes befall newer groups.

Someone in the audience asked Mike about how CBAP fits in with Agile.  Mike explained that this is a common question and that the business analyst would be most suited for the Agile Product Owner role. This se to make the most sense to me, and to the others present.

Mike J. Berry www.RedRockResearch.com