The NDIA CMMI 9th Technology Conference and User Group is coming up next month (Nov. 16-19, 2009) in Denver, Colorado. If you can get past the extremely long name, it could be a worthwhile place to go if you want to learn more about the CMMI. And, to hear industry experts. Or me.
Maybe they chose their presenters by using a dart-throwing monkey, because somehow they chose me to give not one, not two, but THREE talks there! One of these will be about my company's process improvement efforts using the CMMI for Services as a model. Because you, the public, demand it --- or perhaps because I'm too lazy to write a real blog entry right now -- here's an abstract of the presentation I'm working on at this very moment:
The CEO of a small consulting company invites you to listen to how practical and creative application of the CMMI for Services (CMMI-SVC) has measurably improved his organization’s bottom line.
In January 2009, Leading Edge Process Consultants began applying portions of the CMMI for Services to its business. Instead of pursuing a maturity level rating, though, we’ve been obsessed with using the CMMI-SVC for real process improvement. Because we lack the time and money required for a highly formal, comprehensive, internal improvement initiative, we’ve adopted a more flexible (and yes, sometimes “agile”) approach. Our simple but effective strategy has been to (1) decide on an area of our business that most needs improvement, (2) address that area by using relevant portions of the CMMI-SVC as a guide, and (3) repeat as needed. This approach has successfully mitigated the risk of biting off more than our limited resources can chew, and has virtually guaranteed that that our process improvement effort has bottom-line relevance. Although much work remains to be done, we’ve already realized sizable gains.
During this presentation, we’ll discuss some of the keys to our success so far: creative selection of the services most in need of improvement; just-in-time process improvement and as-we-go process documentation; laser-beam focus on our biggest problem areas; emphasis on capability level 1; and success measured by net income rather than maturity level attainment.
Attendees will walk away with an understanding of how practical, creative application of the CMMI for Services (CMMI-SVC) has been used to generate real business value in a small consulting company.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Measureable Net Income Gains with CMMI-SVC
My last blog post was April 1 -- no fooling. By my count, it's been over half-a-year since then -- a stunningly long gap, exceeding the slightly more famous missing 18 1/2 minutes on the Watergate tapes by several orders of magnitude. Sure, you thought the blog was dead; from time to time I've even thought the same thing. But now, like a zombie kitten, the blog emerges from the dead! So, the big question that both of my readers out there might have is --- why? Why the gap? Laziness? Lack of discipline? Too much time playing Guitar Hero? Umm... yes. But other than that?
Success.
I say that cautiously, because I don't want to come across as big-headed, and I also don't want to jinx it. But... the CMMI for Services has been working for me -- phenomenally. So much so that with the increase in business, I simply haven't had the time to blog! Sure, I can tell you about the CMMI best practices I've implemented in my company -- and I probably will, in future blog entries. Instead, at least for this zombie/phoenix entry, let's focus on results. Specifically:
Now, do I honestly attribute all of our income gain to the CMMI? Well, probably not. Some of it may simply be normal business growth; after all, last year was our first full year in business.
On the other hand, we grew as the economy tanked. Something happened, other than simply "momentum." As I resurrect this blog, I'll tell you about it, and I'll try really hard to not wait six more months until my next entry! In fact, next week's entry will give you the 30,000 foot overview of what we've done.
(Wait a second... did I just commit to another blog entry next week!!? Gulp.)
Success.
I say that cautiously, because I don't want to come across as big-headed, and I also don't want to jinx it. But... the CMMI for Services has been working for me -- phenomenally. So much so that with the increase in business, I simply haven't had the time to blog! Sure, I can tell you about the CMMI best practices I've implemented in my company -- and I probably will, in future blog entries. Instead, at least for this zombie/phoenix entry, let's focus on results. Specifically:
- My company's net income through September 30 of this year is about seven times what it was all of last year.
Now, do I honestly attribute all of our income gain to the CMMI? Well, probably not. Some of it may simply be normal business growth; after all, last year was our first full year in business.
On the other hand, we grew as the economy tanked. Something happened, other than simply "momentum." As I resurrect this blog, I'll tell you about it, and I'll try really hard to not wait six more months until my next entry! In fact, next week's entry will give you the 30,000 foot overview of what we've done.
(Wait a second... did I just commit to another blog entry next week!!? Gulp.)
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Rolling Stones Announce CMMI for Services Initiative
LONDON, U.K. April 1, 2009. Rock legends The Rolling Stones will be adopting the new CMMI for Services as a best practices framework for the group's entertainment and music composition efforts, a spokesperson announced today.
The Capability Maturity Model Integration for Services, affectionately nicknamed CMMI-SVC, was released in February 2009 by the Software Engineering Institute (SEI). The announcement of a CMMI initiative by the self-described "world's greatest rock and roll band" immediately sent shock waves through the music industry. Although Madonna denounced the news as "a desperate effort to remain relevant" not unlike her own attempts, teen pop sensations The Jonas Brothers simply asked "Rolling who?"
When queried about his unexpected attraction to the CMMI, lead singer Mick Jagger cited his experience with other models, notably ex-wives Bianca Jagger and Jerry Hall. In fact, most music critics agree that the Stones' best work was indeed produced in a "multi-model" environment.
In a statement issued earlier today, the band reached out to its potentially befuddled fanbase. "We'd like our fans to realize that this is a legitimate improvement effort, not a simple box-checking exercise. The internet rumors that a misguided application of Process and Product Quality Assurance may result in changing the title of "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" to "(I Can't Get Any) Satisfaction" are completely unfounded. However, we must say this: anything produced during the disco era could indeed be subject to re-engineering, including the lyrics "oooh oooh oooh oooh oooh oooh oooh, oooh oooh oooh oooh oooh oooh oooh, gonna miss you."
Keith Richards, Mick's longtime band-mate and collaborator, has already been credited with applying Strategic Service Management principles to extend his "brand" to the highly successful Pirates of the Caribbean movie franchise. Speaking through a translator, it sounded like Keith might also have said "I can see where Risk Management or Incident Resolution and Prevention might have resulted in much less jail time during our more experimental days. Like Mick, I've embraced more than my share of models. This is certainly not the slimmest one, but we're in it for the long haul and I think it's here to stay."
What's next for the band? Mick explained, "Keith and I are both 65, so you might say we've already attained a certain 'maturity level.' We're now looking at process areas like Service Continuity so we can keep reliably selling out stadiums, even when we're out there with our walkers and canes. I'm a big Cleveland fan and Keith loves Detroit, so we'd love to rock a Browns-Lions Super Bowl someday!"
Browns? Lions? Super Bowl? Obviously, these guys plan to be around awhile.
(Happy April 1st from www.CmmiTraining.com!)
CMMI is a registered trademark of Carnegie Mellon University.
The Capability Maturity Model Integration for Services, affectionately nicknamed CMMI-SVC, was released in February 2009 by the Software Engineering Institute (SEI). The announcement of a CMMI initiative by the self-described "world's greatest rock and roll band" immediately sent shock waves through the music industry. Although Madonna denounced the news as "a desperate effort to remain relevant" not unlike her own attempts, teen pop sensations The Jonas Brothers simply asked "Rolling who?"
When queried about his unexpected attraction to the CMMI, lead singer Mick Jagger cited his experience with other models, notably ex-wives Bianca Jagger and Jerry Hall. In fact, most music critics agree that the Stones' best work was indeed produced in a "multi-model" environment.
In a statement issued earlier today, the band reached out to its potentially befuddled fanbase. "We'd like our fans to realize that this is a legitimate improvement effort, not a simple box-checking exercise. The internet rumors that a misguided application of Process and Product Quality Assurance may result in changing the title of "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" to "(I Can't Get Any) Satisfaction" are completely unfounded. However, we must say this: anything produced during the disco era could indeed be subject to re-engineering, including the lyrics "oooh oooh oooh oooh oooh oooh oooh, oooh oooh oooh oooh oooh oooh oooh, gonna miss you."
Keith Richards, Mick's longtime band-mate and collaborator, has already been credited with applying Strategic Service Management principles to extend his "brand" to the highly successful Pirates of the Caribbean movie franchise. Speaking through a translator, it sounded like Keith might also have said "I can see where Risk Management or Incident Resolution and Prevention might have resulted in much less jail time during our more experimental days. Like Mick, I've embraced more than my share of models. This is certainly not the slimmest one, but we're in it for the long haul and I think it's here to stay."
What's next for the band? Mick explained, "Keith and I are both 65, so you might say we've already attained a certain 'maturity level.' We're now looking at process areas like Service Continuity so we can keep reliably selling out stadiums, even when we're out there with our walkers and canes. I'm a big Cleveland fan and Keith loves Detroit, so we'd love to rock a Browns-Lions Super Bowl someday!"
Browns? Lions? Super Bowl? Obviously, these guys plan to be around awhile.
(Happy April 1st from www.CmmiTraining.com!)
CMMI is a registered trademark of Carnegie Mellon University.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
What If Simon Cowell Reviewed My New Website?
[CMMI-SVC Service System Development, SP 3.4 Validate the Service System]
Simon Cowell of American Idol fame offers candid -- often stinging -- critiques of Idol-wanna-be performances. Witness these Cowell-generated gems:
What if Simon had been a member of my Validation Team -- the team that provided me feedback on CmmiTraining.com as it was being developed?
"Validation" was an integral part of my development process (see CMMI-SVC Service System Development, SP 3.4 Validate the Service System), and I depended heavily on comments like these to make sure I was developing a site that would be compelling and usable by its target audience.
This means I had to develop a knack for "translating" the Validation Team's comments into what they really meant. Of course, they would never actually say what they really meant -- at least, not as directly as Simon might -- because they're my friends and they might not want to criticize my "baby." But, for my site to improve, I knew I had to to strip their feedback down to its bare essence.
What Simon Would Have Said: "This part is just plain stupid."
What My Team Said: "...radial buttons slightly larger than needed."
What Simon Would Have Said: "It looks as though you're designing a control panel for a nuclear power plant."
What My Team Said: "...looks sloppy"
What Simon Would Have Said: "...looks sloppy"
Simon Cowell of American Idol fame offers candid -- often stinging -- critiques of Idol-wanna-be performances. Witness these Cowell-generated gems:
- "Not in a billion years... there are only so many words I can drag out of my vocabulary to say how awful that was."
- "You have just invented a new form of torture."
- "I assume there was no mirror in your dressing room tonight."
- "You actually sing like a train going off the rails..."
What if Simon had been a member of my Validation Team -- the team that provided me feedback on CmmiTraining.com as it was being developed?
"Validation" was an integral part of my development process (see CMMI-SVC Service System Development, SP 3.4 Validate the Service System), and I depended heavily on comments like these to make sure I was developing a site that would be compelling and usable by its target audience.
This means I had to develop a knack for "translating" the Validation Team's comments into what they really meant. Of course, they would never actually say what they really meant -- at least, not as directly as Simon might -- because they're my friends and they might not want to criticize my "baby." But, for my site to improve, I knew I had to to strip their feedback down to its bare essence.
So, here are some of my Validation Team's actual quotes, along with my translations into "Simon-speak":
What My Team Said: "Visually it seems awkward..."
What Simon Would Have Said: "There are people in this world who design websites for a living. You're obviously not one of them."
What My Team Said: "I'm not sure how I feel about the layout of the Courses screen."
What Simon Would Have Said: "I hate the layout of the Courses screen."
What My Team Said: "Use bullets and a little more white space. Less words if you can."
What Simon Would Have Said: "You write as though you're being paid by the word ...by a very cheap magazine."
What My Team Said: "May need to evaluate your color/font/size choices."
What Simon Would Have Said: "You're colorblind, aren't you? That would explain a lot."
What My Team Said: I appreciate the concept."What Simon Would Have Said: "This part is just plain stupid."
What My Team Said: "...radial buttons slightly larger than needed."
What Simon Would Have Said: "It looks as though you're designing a control panel for a nuclear power plant."
What My Team Said: "...looks sloppy"
What Simon Would Have Said: "...looks sloppy"
SPECIAL ADDENDUM: I just received an e-mail on this entry from one of my former students (Dave from California). I present it here because it's funnier than what I just wrote above:
Simon called it a self indulgent load of rubbish and the whole crowd boooo-ed
Paula thought the colors were beautiful and nearly wept in her cough medicine induced high.
Randy thought you rocked it Dawg! And your site is on the way to stardom. You’re the next American (CMMI) Idol!!!!
Sunday, March 15, 2009
CmmiTraining.com Goes Live!
Our new corporate website, CmmiTraining.com, is now ready for the world. Here's the press release that's getting distributed throughout the web tomorrow.
Leading Edge Process Consultants LLC, an authorized partner of the Software Engineering Institute (SEI), has introduced a website focused exclusively on CMMI training.
Vienna, Va. (PRWEB) March 16, 2009 -- Leading Edge Process Consultants LLC launched a new website today at CmmiTraining.com.
"We acquired the domain name last month," said founder and CEO Mr. Bill Smith. "We believe it highlights one of our core competencies in the strongest and most direct way possible. With this new site, we hope to provide people with information on their CMMI training alternatives - whether they get that training from us, or from another SEI Partner. Of course, we hope they choose us."
Leading Edge offers a regular schedule of public CMMI training classes at its training center in the Washington, D.C., suburb of Reston, Virginia. The company also conducts private CMMI training deliveries at corporate locations coast-to-coast. In addition to functioning as corporate CEO, Mr. Smith personally delivers all of the company's training. As an SEI-Authorized CMMI instructor, he has taught the three-day SEI Introduction to CMMI to over 500 students, including onsite deliveries at four of the nation's six largest defense contractors.
Leading Edge has also added new CMMI courses to their company catalog for 2009. "We're really excited about the new CMMI for Services that the SEI released just a few weeks ago," stated Smith. "I'm pumped about delivering the Services class next month." Leading Edge will be offering the SEI Services Supplement for CMMI on both a public and private basis starting in April. Leading Edge also plans to introduce its own one-day CMMI class this fall.
For additional information on CMMI training, contact Bill Smith.
About Leading Edge Process Consultants:
Leading Edge Process Consultants LLC is a small process improvement consulting firm headquartered in Vienna, Virginia. As an official SEI Partner, Leading Edge is authorized to provide services including CMMI training, appraisals, and consulting. Leading Edge has become especially known throughout the industry for its engaging delivery of award-winning CMMI training.
Contact:
Mr. Bill Smith, CEO
Leading Edge Process Consultants LLC
571-490-3229
http://www.CmmiTraining.com
Leading Edge Launches New CMMI Training Website
Leading Edge Process Consultants LLC, an authorized partner of the Software Engineering Institute (SEI), has introduced a website focused exclusively on CMMI training.
Vienna, Va. (PRWEB) March 16, 2009 -- Leading Edge Process Consultants LLC launched a new website today at CmmiTraining.com.
"We acquired the domain name last month," said founder and CEO Mr. Bill Smith. "We believe it highlights one of our core competencies in the strongest and most direct way possible. With this new site, we hope to provide people with information on their CMMI training alternatives - whether they get that training from us, or from another SEI Partner. Of course, we hope they choose us."
Leading Edge offers a regular schedule of public CMMI training classes at its training center in the Washington, D.C., suburb of Reston, Virginia. The company also conducts private CMMI training deliveries at corporate locations coast-to-coast. In addition to functioning as corporate CEO, Mr. Smith personally delivers all of the company's training. As an SEI-Authorized CMMI instructor, he has taught the three-day SEI Introduction to CMMI to over 500 students, including onsite deliveries at four of the nation's six largest defense contractors.
Leading Edge has also added new CMMI courses to their company catalog for 2009. "We're really excited about the new CMMI for Services that the SEI released just a few weeks ago," stated Smith. "I'm pumped about delivering the Services class next month." Leading Edge will be offering the SEI Services Supplement for CMMI on both a public and private basis starting in April. Leading Edge also plans to introduce its own one-day CMMI class this fall.
For additional information on CMMI training, contact Bill Smith.
About Leading Edge Process Consultants:
Leading Edge Process Consultants LLC is a small process improvement consulting firm headquartered in Vienna, Virginia. As an official SEI Partner, Leading Edge is authorized to provide services including CMMI training, appraisals, and consulting. Leading Edge has become especially known throughout the industry for its engaging delivery of award-winning CMMI training.
Contact:
Mr. Bill Smith, CEO
Leading Edge Process Consultants LLC
571-490-3229
http://www.CmmiTraining.com
Friday, February 27, 2009
Validation: Making Sure My Website Rocks
Last year I read a book called "Why Software Sucks" by David S. Platt. As you can tell from the title itself, Mr. Platt can get away with a writing style that some other people -- like me, representing an SEI Partner organization -- simply can't.
Mr. Platt is not too bashful to say things like this: "Listen, Microsoft - how many times have I said it in this book? Your. User. Is. Not. You. All the spin in the world won't make a bad product good or even mediocre."
Whoa!
The premise of the book is that "...the skill of talking with the logical, error-free, stupid chip is completely different from the skill of talking with the irrational, error-prone, intelligent human. But the guy who's good at the former is automatically assumed to be good at the latter. He's usually not, and he almost never realizes that he's not. That's what causes programmer's user interface designs to suck..."
Enter "validation." No, folks, we're not talking about free parking in designated garages. We're talking about "confirmation that the product or service, as provided (or as it will be provided), will fulfill its intended use." [CMMI-SVC glossary]
This activity is so critical in systems development that CMMI-DEV has an entire process area named after it! And indeed, if I were a "development shop," I'd unquestionably give it my undivided attention for projects like pulling together my new corporate website.
The reality, however, is that I I don't make my living building websites. A full-scale CMMI-DEV approach to validation for an organization of my size, with my business objectives, for a potentially "one-off" website, might be excessive.
Instead, let's look at validation from the CMMI-SVC perspective. I am, after all, a service organization. Per my last Diary entry, my new website is simply one component within a larger "service system" that I'm developing. So, take a look at the PA appropriately named Service System Development (SSD). In it, you'll find the following: SP 3.4 Validate the service system to ensure that it is suitable for use in the intended delivery environment and meets stakeholder expectations.
This is exactly what I'm doing right now with my site, as it's being developed. Re-read those words after the comma, people, because they're pretty important. If I wait until the end to do all my validation, it'll be too late. Changes at that point would be cumbersome at best, and maybe even impossible. And in all likelihood I'd end up with a site that looks like this, or even more menacingly, this.
Who's actually doing this "validation"? Well, I'm certainly not doing it myself. Whether you take it literally or simply metaphorically, drinking your own bathwater is usually not a good idea. Instead, I've recruited five people to help -- three of my former CMMI students and two business associates. Together, they're a reasonable stand-in for the website's target audience -- students wanting to take a CMMI course, and managers looking to approve their students' attendance or to bring a class onsite.
Please say hello to:
In an upcoming entry I may actually say a bit more about what exactly it is that they're doing. Right now, though, I really must cut this entry short. I need to get back to addressing the issues they're finding.
Mr. Platt is not too bashful to say things like this: "Listen, Microsoft - how many times have I said it in this book? Your. User. Is. Not. You. All the spin in the world won't make a bad product good or even mediocre."
Whoa!
The premise of the book is that "...the skill of talking with the logical, error-free, stupid chip is completely different from the skill of talking with the irrational, error-prone, intelligent human. But the guy who's good at the former is automatically assumed to be good at the latter. He's usually not, and he almost never realizes that he's not. That's what causes programmer's user interface designs to suck..."
Enter "validation." No, folks, we're not talking about free parking in designated garages. We're talking about "confirmation that the product or service, as provided (or as it will be provided), will fulfill its intended use." [CMMI-SVC glossary]
This activity is so critical in systems development that CMMI-DEV has an entire process area named after it! And indeed, if I were a "development shop," I'd unquestionably give it my undivided attention for projects like pulling together my new corporate website.
The reality, however, is that I I don't make my living building websites. A full-scale CMMI-DEV approach to validation for an organization of my size, with my business objectives, for a potentially "one-off" website, might be excessive.
Instead, let's look at validation from the CMMI-SVC perspective. I am, after all, a service organization. Per my last Diary entry, my new website is simply one component within a larger "service system" that I'm developing. So, take a look at the PA appropriately named Service System Development (SSD). In it, you'll find the following: SP 3.4 Validate the service system to ensure that it is suitable for use in the intended delivery environment and meets stakeholder expectations.
This is exactly what I'm doing right now with my site, as it's being developed. Re-read those words after the comma, people, because they're pretty important. If I wait until the end to do all my validation, it'll be too late. Changes at that point would be cumbersome at best, and maybe even impossible. And in all likelihood I'd end up with a site that looks like this, or even more menacingly, this.
Who's actually doing this "validation"? Well, I'm certainly not doing it myself. Whether you take it literally or simply metaphorically, drinking your own bathwater is usually not a good idea. Instead, I've recruited five people to help -- three of my former CMMI students and two business associates. Together, they're a reasonable stand-in for the website's target audience -- students wanting to take a CMMI course, and managers looking to approve their students' attendance or to bring a class onsite.
Please say hello to:
- DCU99 - Probably the only Lead Appraiser for CMMI-DEV and SVC that is an Environmental Engineer
- G.O.A.T. - A quality and process improvement professional with a sense of humor
- MeasurementLead - Measurement lead for a leading systems integrator
- SmilingCG - Quality manager for a small IT consulting firm based in the DC area
- QC-Dave - Project manager for a west coast IT consulting firm.
In an upcoming entry I may actually say a bit more about what exactly it is that they're doing. Right now, though, I really must cut this entry short. I need to get back to addressing the issues they're finding.
Monday, February 23, 2009
A Catchy Name for Service System Component 2.2
Look, I'll be the first to admit that my company name is a bit looooong. Leading Edge Process Consultants LLC doesn't exactly roll off anyone's tongue, including mine. This isn't usually a huge problem for me, although it has forced me to attend at least one industry conference wearing a name badge introducing me as the CEO of Leading Edge Process Consulta. (Mildly irritating, perhaps... but not nearly as disturbing as the photo I referenced in my last blog entry.)
What I can't live with is domain name confusion. What's my company URL? www.leadingedgeprocessconsultants.com? No, I long ago decided that would be ridiculously lengthy. www.leadingedge.com? No, already taken. (But do visit them if you need "24/7 Real Time Monitoring" -- and who among us doesn't? -- or if you want to see a cute redhead looking like she'd just love to chat with you.)
Anyway, my corporate domain name is www.leadingedgeprocess.com. Nice, perhaps, but does it make you want to run into the street and shout it out to the world? (If so, send me a resume ASAP. I could use a good PR person.)
Thus began my search for another domain name. I'm still keeping my corporate domain name, mind you. I just wanted something easier to remember and connect to what it is that I actually do. And the thing I've done lots of in the past several years is CMMI training. It makes sense, then, that I had my eyes on www.CmmiTraining.com for a while. The hurdle involved here was the little detail that somebody else already owned it. Oops, problem there! Well, everybody has their price. After a bit of negotiation --- my initial offer was $750, their counter was $7500 plus my firstborn child --- the domain name finally became mine. (Connor, please make sure to write home!)
Of course, it's just a URL. There's no website there, yet.
(At this point, a reasonable reader might wonder if this post has anything to do with the CMMI for Services. Yes, I think. In my last post I mentioned that my "marketing" system -- once fully developed -- will have 14 "service system components." One of these, Number 2, is "My Websites." This breaks down further into 2.1 www.LeadingEdgeProcess.com, 2.2 www.CmmiTraining.com, and 2.3 which I can't mention until later this year. Okay, wake up!)
So, I now own www.CmmiTraining.com. This weekend I put up a "splash page" on the site, just so people who go there will at least see something. I've even taken a calculated risk by announcing the site's target completion date right there on the page -- March 16, 2009. (Last year, when I focused way too much on doing and not nearly enough on planning, I would not have been so bold. Thank you so much, Project Planning SG 1: Estimates of project planning parameters are established and maintained! See my blog post "An Agile Approach to Project Planning Saves the Month of February.")
Now, back to building service system component 2.2...
What I can't live with is domain name confusion. What's my company URL? www.leadingedgeprocessconsultants.com? No, I long ago decided that would be ridiculously lengthy. www.leadingedge.com? No, already taken. (But do visit them if you need "24/7 Real Time Monitoring" -- and who among us doesn't? -- or if you want to see a cute redhead looking like she'd just love to chat with you.)
Anyway, my corporate domain name is www.leadingedgeprocess.com. Nice, perhaps, but does it make you want to run into the street and shout it out to the world? (If so, send me a resume ASAP. I could use a good PR person.)
Thus began my search for another domain name. I'm still keeping my corporate domain name, mind you. I just wanted something easier to remember and connect to what it is that I actually do. And the thing I've done lots of in the past several years is CMMI training. It makes sense, then, that I had my eyes on www.CmmiTraining.com for a while. The hurdle involved here was the little detail that somebody else already owned it. Oops, problem there! Well, everybody has their price. After a bit of negotiation --- my initial offer was $750, their counter was $7500 plus my firstborn child --- the domain name finally became mine. (Connor, please make sure to write home!)
Of course, it's just a URL. There's no website there, yet.
(At this point, a reasonable reader might wonder if this post has anything to do with the CMMI for Services. Yes, I think. In my last post I mentioned that my "marketing" system -- once fully developed -- will have 14 "service system components." One of these, Number 2, is "My Websites." This breaks down further into 2.1 www.LeadingEdgeProcess.com, 2.2 www.CmmiTraining.com, and 2.3 which I can't mention until later this year. Okay, wake up!)
So, I now own www.CmmiTraining.com. This weekend I put up a "splash page" on the site, just so people who go there will at least see something. I've even taken a calculated risk by announcing the site's target completion date right there on the page -- March 16, 2009. (Last year, when I focused way too much on doing and not nearly enough on planning, I would not have been so bold. Thank you so much, Project Planning SG 1: Estimates of project planning parameters are established and maintained! See my blog post "An Agile Approach to Project Planning Saves the Month of February.")
Now, back to building service system component 2.2...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
