TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT COUNCIL

Goldilocks and the Three Bears: Two Case Studies of Optimal Development Processes for Startups (and large companies too)

How much process is just right for a rapidly scaling software development organization?

* Too much process can stifle creativity and slow down development resulting in products that miss the market.

* Too little process often results in changing definition, team confusion and resource misalignment, resulting in delays in time to market.

In a little over 90 days a product development process was implemented in a startup organization of approximately 100 people that resulted in programs that beat their schedule estimates. This was achieved by a philosophy of "inch wide, mile deep' implementation of only three key elements that if implemented well are necessary and sufficient to drive fast cycle time: Simplified Product Definition, Consensus driven cross functional Schedule, and Concept Management Review. And a single management metric - Behavioral Change - which supports the implementation of this methodology so one tangibly can see the behavioral change.

Nothing else. Nada.

The presentation will describe the case study of the implementation of these best practices, how the organization actually liked and leveraged the process, and the beneficial impact of the results. But this work is not just for start-ups - a contrast will be provided of a successful implementation of the same methodology for an organization of 6,000 engineers.

Specific examples of the metrics and deliverables will be presented, and attendees will gain knowledge that they can immediately begin implementing in their companies.