Running Head: ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE PLAN PROPOSAL FOR
REENGINEERING THE SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS
Organizational Change Plan Proposal for Reengineering the Software Development
Process
Joseph C Thomas
Regent University School of Leadership Studies
LEAD612 Organizational Modification Strategies
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Organizational Change Plan
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Organizational Change Plan
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Introduction
Summary of Problem. This is a proposal for developing an organizational change plan to transform the current software development processes in use by the Software Engineering organization within Information Technology Services. The company recognizes the need to raise the performance level of the Software Engineering organization to improve the quality, effectiveness, and efficiency of its software development process. Fowler and Rifkin (1990) of the Software Engineering Institute state that improving the process of software systems development and maintenance is the most reliable way to improve product quality (p. 3). If consistent and reliable software development processes based on generally accepted industry standards are established, then the company expects to improve customer satisfaction and realize substantial savings by delivering the right product on time with minimal defects.
Proposed Solution. To achieve these objectives, the organizational change plan will address the steps necessary to launch an effort intended to achieve and sustain Capability
Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) Maturity Levels 2 and 3 (Capability Maturity Model, 2002) for key areas of the software development process. This change plan will not provide prescriptive remedies for specific software development processes; rather, it will identify the processes necessary to begin the establishment of standardized processes for software development and their continuous improvement. That is, the change plan will not describe how to do a particular stage in the software development life cycle (like analysis, design, programming, or testing). The change plan will describe how to establish processes around determining the most effective ways for the Software Engineering organization to develop software based upon its current technological directions, skills and competencies, and best practices. Organizational Change Plan
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Benefits. Although difficult to quantify objectively, benefits of successfully implementing this change plan include higher customer satisfaction and business success due to delivering software that meets the real needs of the business. Benefits also include lower costs due to fewer trial and error attempts to deliver what the business really needs and reduced defect rates. These benefits plan can be achieved cost effectively by augmenting key Software
Engineering organization staff members with experts experienced in CMMI implementation.
This approach will minimize expenditures on outside consulting while leveraging the expertise and company experience of existing staff and preparing them to operate and perpetuate the
CMMI continuous improvement process.
Scope of Proposal. This balance of this proposal outlines the services to be provided, the general approach, resulting deliverables, and time frame for development of the change plan.
Proposed Solution
Services Provided. Under the terms of this proposal, key Software Engineering staff members working with CMMI experienced consultants will form a team to develop the change plan. This team will use the results of an assessment of current Software Engineering operations to help prepare the change plan. The change plan will consist of a written document in conjunction with an executive presentation of its contents. The knowledge and expertise the change plan team will develop an overall statement of recommended changes that includes a description of the recommended change process. Additionally, a set of detailed recommendations including an outline the general steps of the change
