Critical Information for Change Agents

THE ROLE & FOCUS

OF AN

ENGINEERING PROCESS

GROUP (EPG)

Avoid the pitfalls of poorly implemented process improvement and achieve effective results through the use of an Engineering Process Group (EPG) (or SEPG** for Software organizations).

An EPG is an internal group of engineers and managers established to help the organization improve.

This audio file contains a discussion of the most important roles EPGs play and how they accomplish meaningful process improvement within an organization.

** This audio was originally created for software engineers. The techniques apply to any EPG.

• The EPG as a service organization.
• Is authority needed to be an EPG?
• The roles EPG people play:
   - Solving organization-wide and project-level problems.
• Establishing working groups.
• Working with projects to adopt new practices.
• Selecting project teams.
• Treating process frameworks (e.g., CMMI, ISO9001) as toolboxes.
• The EPG as a coach.
• The appropriate size of an EPG.
• Creating a process database - overview.
• Measuring an EPG.
• Activities EPGs should avoid - lessons learned.
• Process documentation.
• Life cycle characteristics at Maturity Level 2.
• Process definition example.
• Process tailoring.
• Using old processes.
• Successful EPG activities.
  

MAKING CHANGE

HAPPEN -

A 10-PIECE TOOL BOX

Learn techniques for implementing organizational change.

Understand why people do what they do.

Learn how to determine what individuals need in the organization.

Understand why people currently resist your ideas.

Make your improvement program more compelling.

• The selling aspect of getting people to change.
• Individuals want to be understood first and then have their problems solved.
• People only behave to gain pleasure and avoid pain.
• If there is a big enough why, people will decide to change in a heart beat.
• Motivation requires leverage.
• Events lead to beliefs. Beliefs combined with values lead to behaviors.
• People are always looking for a better emotional state.
• Information x focus = current reality.
• Reinforcement will condition a new behavior long-term.
• Any process can be accelerated by modeling someone who can do it already.