At the workplace my project has been selected for CMMi Audit. I was never so busy in my career doing the most boring tasks I ever did. I don’t despise process, but I am strongly of the opinion that any software development process should help the development team to improve their work. And I can’t think of better people than the members of the team to decide how they want things to be done.
But not so in large bureaucratic organizations, they need to have a well defined process for things that does not mean anything to the business of software development. Most of the process are organized around Trust or rather the lack of it. What if somebody puts in malicious code ? What if the code moved into the development server is not the one the developer has given for review. Make the people enter forms in triplicate, have checklists for each and every action at each and every stage of the lifecycle.
Another thing that comes to my mind is the ego associated with the higher management when it comes to audit. Any gaps found in the process is taken very seriously only because its causes the department head some embarrassment.
A process should be followed only if its helps the development team in delivering a good quality product and not because someone said so or its defined in the CMMi practices. Only then the development team would be following those processes.
Filed under: cubicle, everything else , audit, CMMi, process, work, workplace
