Authored by George Zack, President Two Harbors Consulting
– As we have set for the question, “can the frameworks you utilize for business process improvement be leveraged for your personal life,” we will now start to explore that in detail. In this series of posts, I will work through each of the elements of a what the Capability Maturity Model (CMMI) considers a managed or defined process. The goal of this series is to provoke thought how the elements of such generic practices are not only applicable to business, but can have bearing on your personal life. By tying these practices to you personally, I believe it will drive a greater understanding in how they are to be applied in the business setting.
The seventh generic practice (GP2.7) is “identify and involve relevant stakeholders.” The model specifically elaborates here to state that this is to “establish and maintain the expected involvement of relevant stakeholders during the execution of the process. ” More specifically the model states, “Involve stakeholders appropriately in activities such as the following:
- Planning
- Decisions
- Commitments
- Communications
- Coordination
- Reviews
- Appraisals
- Requirements definitions
- Resolution of problems and issues”
Last summer I decided to do the Leadville Trail 100 mile run. This was the culminating event of a process – a process of becoming a high altitude mountain ultra runner. Unlike many other races I run, this one allows a runner to utilize a pacer (in the second half of the race) and encourages a runner to have a crew to support them throughout the race. So the process of executing the race naturally required for me to coordinate with stakeholders. The process of training for this event of course also required coordination of stakeholders (my family in particular), but on race day I needed to have pacers and a crew lined up with clear expectations defined. This meant I needed to have these “stakeholders” tied on with where to meet me and when, what I was expecting them to do at these points in terms of nutrition, gear, and how to assess the race situation. Failing to manage my stakeholders could mean I could arrive at an aid station and not get warm clothing or a head lamp for the overnight haul, or be unable to change my shoes and socks like I wanted after a river crossing.
In the business setting, we may formally document our stakeholder identification with a RACI matrix, or in a project plan. The goal is the same as our personal process development – have we identified those that are key to getting work done, or have some sort of related accountability, or just need to be informed. In fact, being clear on this has set up for this classic “chicken and pigs” conversation in many agile transformation conversations.
Other personal process development examples:
- My daughter is considering various colleges to continue her higher education. I am a stakeholder as my wife and I are the primary financial contributors.
- My son is working through his Boy Scout Eagle project. He has to manage communications to and from the benefactor (what does that church he is working with want? At what cost and quality?), his volunteer workers (when will they get there to do the work on the project, what will they need), the Scout Council (they want to be aware of the total volunteer hours), and of course us as his parents.
Who are the stakeholders you are identifying for your personal process development? How are you identifying them? How have you communicated with them what your expectations are? Do you have any stories to share where a stakeholder was not appropriately identified?
