Stay True to Your Process
Continuing to read The Handbook of Program Management, Dr. James T. Brown, McGraw Hill. Came across a concept that ties all the process discussion together.
Brown suggests to avoid spending money on consultants and assessment (although both he and we are consultants) answer the following three questions:
- Do we have a process?
- Do we follow the process to accomplish the work?
- Do we improve the process?
Do you act with integrality and do what your process documentation says you should? If you answer "yes" to all three questions, you have organizations with integrity – accountability and discipline. If your organization is not acting with integrity, you have a program (project) management issue.
So when it is said "individuals and interactions OVER processes and tools" it's difficult to see how this can be done IF the process you are following is present in any form.
- Isn't SCRUM a process?
- Isn't XP a process?
- Don't these software development processes have strict sets of steps and, roles, and interactions with the people performing the process?
If you are doing Scrum you are following the process and the process comes first. Would the Scrum Master be willing to have an individual subvert the Scrum process for some perceived benefit to the project? Probably not. The Scrum Master would have the conversation about adhering to the process and possibly making process improvements, but first let's adhere to the process.
