Objective

Objective of this workshop is to explore the landscape of Process models currently in use in the Software Industry and provide an experiential outlook as to which models are better suited for what type of software context (E.g. Service vs. Product, Small / medium vs large, - Enterprise applications vs Embedded applications, generic versus Industry-specific etc.). It also provides an outlook as to how these Process models are poised to / should evolve to cater to the emerging Software Industry needs.

Audience

This workshop is expected to bring together Process Model experts who not only have an in-depth knowledge on various process models, but also, have learnt a number of lessons by implementing them in the Industry.
The attendees are expected to learn from the Expert sessions and are also expected to contribute with their experience during the break-out sessions. The findings are expected to influence the thinking and road-map for the future under the leadership of BSPIN.

Workshop Structure

Participation and Contribution

While the participation is open to all it is anticipated that a large number will be through nomination from the various Software Organizations. The participants are expected to contribute heavily with their knowledge and experience not only to influence the current state of affairs but also, the future.

Apart from contribution, the participants will have ample opportunities to learn from the Expert sessions as well as by listening to the experiences of their peers in the Industry.

Workshop Organizers

Satyendra Kumar
Senior Vice President & Group Head – Quality, Technology Tools & Reuse function
Infosys Technologies Ltd

Satyendra Kumar joined Infosys in September 2000 and is a member of the Management Council. His responsibilities are to ensure an improvement culture across Infosys and subsidiaries, through well defined processes & measurements in all areas - Engineering, Management & support.

Prior to joining Infosys, Kumar was Head of Quality at IMR Global (US company) from 1998-2000. He has also served as Deputy Chief Executive for Tata Quality Management Services from 1995 to 1998 where he was required to support more than 100 companies in the Tata Group, a well-known industrial house in India. Kumar has consulted on processes to many national and international companies as an independent consultant. He has vast experience in using various Quality Management models /techniques like ISO9000, MBNQA, EFQM, CMM / CMMI and Six Sigma. He has also worked with various private & public sector companies as an IT professional.

Satyendra Kumar has a post graduate degree in Electronics from Delhi University.

He is member of

1. CII National committee on ‘ Services quality ‘
2. BIS National committee LTD-33 on ‘ Software systems’
3. UGC / NAC National committee on ‘ higher education assessment’ from 2003-07
4. Member of Board on QuEST international forum, USA – a forum of Telecom companies from 2006-08
5. Jury member on Wisconsin State Award, USA from 2007-08

Tiltle : Alignment and Integration through MBNQA (Baldrige award)

Talk Abstract

MBNQA can be used by companies to become customer focussed and  align strategically . This talk would

additionally focus on the experience on using this model  to harmonise multiple other standards,

techniques and models such as ISO, CMMI, 6sigma and many others. The model also helps in streamlining

various improvement initiatives across the company resulting in process, people and technology integration.

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Kannan Veerraraghavan
Vice President, Corporate Quality and Infosec, HCL Technologies Limited

Kannan is a Vice President , Corporate Quality and Infosec with HCL Technologies Ltd and is responsible for designing and implementation of quality systems across its development centers globally. Kannan heads Quality and Infosec division consisting of 360 members, with a focus on Consulting (internal and external), Operations, Quality Business Strategies and Quality Business Management office. He is responsible for implementation of six sigma program and is also responsible for a host of quality certifications like ISO 9000, CMM®, CMMi®, BS15000, BS7799, ISO 27001, ISO20000, ISO13485, AS9100, TL9000 etc. He has over 25 years of experience in the software industry in various positions. His last assignment was with KPMG where he established the Software Process Improvement business Unit and built the practice for over 11 years as a Partner and Executive Director.
Kannan has specialized in computer programming, systems design and project management from Thiagarajar College of Engineering and on Software Process Life Cycle and Improvement from Software Engineering Institute, Carnegie Mellon University. He is a trained DBA in Informix, a Qualified Lead Assessor from Neville-Clarke, UK (1993), with specialization in Information Technology, a Lead Auditor for Tick-IT Program of IRCA. – Apex Quality International(UK) Ltd. England (1996), an Assessor for Software Process Improvement and Capability dEtermination (SPICE) of European Software Institute, UK. (1996), Authorized Lead Assessor for CMM Based Assessment for Internal Process Improvement (CBA-IPI) from Software Engineering Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, USA, ID No:99 00496-A , a CMM-I® SCAMPI® Lead Appraiser – SEI, CMU Lead Appraiser ID No.0100028-00 and a SEI Authorized Instructor for Introduction to the Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMi) courses – SEI ID: 168. He is also a Leader Auditor for ISO 27001 standard.

Process Models –  Common themes, differences and possibilities for  Integration

Kannan V.

Talk Abstract

Unlike Engineering or Process industries, IT Industry can still be considered young and hence the processes governing them are not as stable as other industries.  The intangible nature of the IT products adds to its complexity.  Standards and models evolve along with the industry and stabilize in synchronization with the maturity level of processes of an Industry.

In line with this evolution, IT industry has multiple models and standards to define its processes.  The quagmire of standards and models poses a great challenge to IT industries in establishing comprehensive processes to be followed.  IT industry is forced to define its processes as a multi layered management system with each layer addressing a specific need of strata of its stakeholders.

It needs to architect its processes at:

• At user level
• At process level
• At models/standards level
• At customer’s level
• Domain level

This complex structure leads to a feeling among the users that processes are overhead due to its vastness and adds more complexity than yielding consistency in meeting the business / project objectives.

Additionally IT industry is forced to adopt multiple standards due to demographic compulsions.  For an example, the industry needs to adopt ISO 9000 standards to cater to the needs of European customers and necessarily need to adopt CMMI to satisfy its American customers. It needs to follow a separate mode like ISO 27001 for its security practices, additional standards like secured application development, OHSAS, SA8000, SAS70…… it is an ever growing list. To cap it we have multiple domain standards to be adopted to meet the needs of the customer of such specific domains like ISO 13485, AS9100, ISO 16949, TL 9000………..

Developing a single process framework addressing the needs of all such standards is the most difficult task as each has its own needs and direction.  Having multiple process frameworks to address the unique nature of the standards being adopted scripts a failure as practioners are not impressed with the effort put in to satisfy the requirements of such multiple frameworks and the commensurate benefits that they would reap.

In case of the customer, they demand that the vendors satisfy the whole lot without even assessing the real need for such adoption based on the services that are sought from a vendor and they use it primarily to shortlist the bidders.  Many a time an IT vendor is forced to adopt a standard/model, though the scope of its business may not be warranting the complete adoption of the standard/model but purely to satisfy the pre-conditions of a bid.

The time has come to look at the need for having a single process model / standard that comprehensively addresses the essential element and enables the IT organizations to attain process maturity, achieve consistent quality in the deliverables, optimize enabling faster, quicker and cheaper.

This presentation will take a look at the landscape of models, common themes between models, differences between models and opportunities for integration.

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Vishweshwar Hegde

Vishu has over 24 years of experience in the field of IT. He started his career with Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) and worked with them for 7 years on the Avionics System of Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) in System Design, Software Development, Project Management and System Integration roles. Subsequently he worked in Motorola India & Singapore for 8 years heading the Quality Function. He was part of the startup team of Motorola Software Center in India. He was a key lead in taking Motorola center in India to CMM Level 5 maturity – the first commercial organization in the world to achieve that software process maturity. Then he was placed at Motorola Singapore on a technology transfer mission to bring up Motorola centers in Singapore, Japan, Korea, and China to higher software maturity. As part of this assignment he worked on end to end Product life cycle processes from Product conceptualization to Product retirement including Sales, Marketing, Engineering, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Distribution, Service areas. Subsequently when it started, he joined MindTree as part of the core Leadership team & heading the Quality Function and was with them for 9 years. He led MindTree to PCMM Level 5 and CMMI Level 5 maturity practices. He played a key role in organization business model, strategy planning, organization design and capability development areas. He has Consulted with multiple Companies in US, Europe and Japan to improve their organization capabilities, structures & systems. Vishu has vast experience in working with Product as well as Service Companies; Embedded Systems as well as Enterprise Systems; Delivery Excellence, Operational Excellence & Business Excellence models. Vishu is currently a Partner with PM Power Consulting, a strategy and delivery management consulting organization based at Bangalore.

Vishu holds an Engineering degree in Electronics & Communication from Mysore University. He is a SEI Lead Assessor from Motorola, is a Certified Quality Analyst from Quality Assurance Institute USA. He is part of the Advisory Group to Bangalore Software Process Improvement Network (BSPIN) and is a core member of NASSCOM Quality Forum.

"New Paradigms for the Knowledge Era" – Talk Abstract

 Most of the current Quality & Process Models and Management Frameworks are the outcomes of 200+ years of Industrial Era experiences. Industrial economy dealt with the challenges of mass production, mechanization, global distribution logistics of materials & goods and a leadership & management approach to handle these challenges. Thus emerged the frameworks of ISO, Six Sigma, TQM, CMM etc. As the world is transitioning more into knowledge driven economies, there are questions on the adequacy, relevance & shortfalls of the current models/frameworks. IT industry, being in the forefront of knowledge economy, is creation intensive (as against mass-production intensive), people-centric (as against machine-centric) and knowledge-driven. Because of this shift in the context, though the fundamental philosophies of TQM are still valid, there is a need for shift in the mindset and application of these models/frameworks. This session deliberates on re-looking at the contemporary models/frameworks in the light of the emergent knowledge era and bringing thought-triggers for the future transformations. Who else is better positioned to co-create the new paradigms for knowledge era, than the Indian IT professionals who have worked with most of the global companies and used & experienced almost all the industry standards & models? Welcome to the future.

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Raju R - Profile

Raju has around 17 years of experience with an exclusive focus on Quality and Business Excellence in the last 14 years. He has authored and implemented systems, methodologies and processes for software/IT services & product companies. He has hands-on experience in CMMi, SW CMM, ISO 9001, ISO 14000, TL 9000 & Six Sigma, Lean and Customer Centricity implementation, assessment and improvement. He has enabled the business units to meet & exceed their Business Goals through Innovative Business Models, Optimization Techniques like Six Sigma, Lean and Balanced Score Cards. He has also provided consultancy services for European clients on Process Assessments, Process Implementation and Improvement through Metrics Definition and Analysis.

Raju has been heading the quality function for large business units in companies like Ericsson and Wipro. Currently he heads Mission Quality for the Technology Vertical at Wipro. He also heads Managed Services COE, Agile COE and New Process Architecture & Automation for the entire Wipro IT Business.  

Raju is a:

·         Certified Six Sigma Lead Black Belt for DMAIC and DMADV Methodologies

·         Qualified Lead Assessor (ISO 9001)

·         Certified Lean Facilitator

·         Certified Customer Centricity Facilitator

Raju has a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering (B.E.,) from Madurai Kamaraj University and a Master’s degree in Software Systems (M.S.,) from Birla Institute of Technology (BITS), Pilani. He has completed a Master’s degree in  Business Administration (MBA) from Symbiosis University, Pune.

Title: Lean experiences at Wipro

Abstract:

The talk will cover experiences of Lean at Wipro including Lean introduction & implementation journey, Lean vs Six Sigma, Lean tenets and benefits seen, case studies of applying Lean in various domains and functions. The talk will also cover some of the future thoughts on Lean implementation.

Speaker: George M, TechMahindra Limited

Experiences in a large scale Agile implementation

Abstract of the talk:

The dynamic and highly competitive nature of today’s business environment requires an organization to be flexible and quick in responding to a customer’s needs. Many organizations are turning to Agile approaches and principles in addressing this need. At the same time the organization may also need to ensure that it has reasonably well defined and predictable processes addressing the requirements of models such as CMMI and ISO 9000, both from an internal process improvement perspective, as well as, to be able to compete and bid in certain kinds of project situations.

While CMMI brings a top down governance & 'process' approach Agile approaches bring in a bottom up methods approach with self-managed and empowered teams & individuals. Software production being people intensive, Agile integrates the human aspects stronger than other approaches.

While harnessing this balance and complementary aspects between Agile and other models has been challenging, it has been observed in some organizations that the right mix of the models and diligent implementation has yielded the better results for an organization.

This talk will focus on the experiences of a large software services organization in implementing the Agile Scrum approach for their largest customer, while making sure that the traditional Software Engineering models (CMMI, ISO) co-existed ensuring benefits are leveraged from an organizational perspective.

The talk will also highlight challenges faced typically by system integrators / outsourcing partners in implementing Agile practices including getting over the initial learning curve, subtle changes in management practices, customer expectations and initial hurdles while marrying with other models.