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Practices & processes dimension

1 - Reactive

Description​

  • There's minimal consistency across teams, leading to siloed efforts, misalignments, redundant work.
  • **Standard processes are either non-existent or inconsistently applied.
  • Inconsistencies are prevalent across teams in terms of coding practices, repositories structure, and development processes.
  • Dependencies and integrations are typically challenging due to the lack of consistency.

Improvement focus​

  • Begin documenting current practices, processes, and tools, at the Tribe level, in a common format (Quality Strategy tool - QP, QA, QC).
  • Encourage teams to share and communicate about their processes, practices and tools.
  • Create a baseline understanding of core processes at the Tribe level among teams and tribe members.
** Some of the core processes at tribe level are: onboarding, software development, CI/CD, documentation, retrospectives, vendor integration, quality strategy, defect/risk triaging, tracking and management.

2 - Managed

Description​

  • Most core processes (**) are set up formally, although they might still be in their infancy and adherence might vary across teams.
  • Some documentation and basic management control (*2, 3) are established, but there may still be significant variations in adoption, quality, and efficiency.
  • Basic guidelines for repos structure (*7) are set, but not all teams align.

Improvement focus​

  • Establish a central team or committee to oversee and guide the standardization efforts.
  • Identify gaps in the Quality Strategy and begin to prioritize and address them.

3 - Defined

Description​

  • A robust Quality Strategy, covering the entire SDLC, is in place and regularly updated at the tribe/project level.
  • Core practices and processes are documented, maintained, and followed across teams in a way that ensures consistency.
  • Process improvements are made based on a clear understanding of the existing practices and processes.
  • Repositories are well-organized, with defined standards that all teams adhere to.

Improvement focus​

  • Establish a central team or committee to oversee and guide the standardization efforts.
  • Identify gaps in the Quality Strategy and begin to prioritize and address them.

4 - Measured

Description​

  • The entire tribe operates with a high degree of cohesion, with fully integrated practices and processes across teams.
  • There's a focus on continuous improvement, and decisions are made based on data and empirical evidence. This ensures that processes are not only consistent but also optimized for efficiency and quality.
  • All teams have a clear and consistent view of the full SDLC, ensuring smooth and evidence-based transitions between stages.
  • Any deviations from standards, including repository structures and coding practices, are exceptions rather than the norm.

Improvement focus​

  • Share quantitative insights with all teams to foster a culture of data-driven decision-making.
  • Foster a culture of continuous improvement with regular retrospectives and feedback loops.

5 - Optimized

Description​

  • The tribe has reached a stage of self-optimization, constantly iterating on their practices and processes based on data-driven insights. These are flexible and can be adapted to emerging technologies or changes in organizational goals.
  • Consistency across teams and repositories is achieved, and deviations are rare and swiftly addressed.
  • Consistency across teams is achieved not just in practices but also in mindset, with everyone aligned towards shared goals of quality and efficiency.

Improvement focus​

  • Expand influence by mentoring or guiding other teams or tribes.

Guiding questions​

  1. Are we staying focused on delivering value, or are we being sidetracked by "nice-to-haves"?
  2. What are the tribe’s practices related to identifying, assessing, and mitigating risks throughout the software development lifecycle? This includes not only technical risks but also project, operational, and business risks.
  3. How does the tribe identify, track, prioritize, resolve, automate, and monitor trends of defects?
  4. What are the tribe’s practices related to integrating quality (Quality Strategy) and security (secure coding practices, vulnerability assessments, regular security audits, etc) practices into the development process?
  5. What are the tribe’s practices related to onboarding tribe members more efficiently?
  6. What are the tribe’s practices for CI/CD?
  7. What are the tribe’s practices for organizing all the repositories in a consistent way?