But What the Bleep Is a "Project"?

Now that I've decided to apply the principles embodied by the CMMI-SVC's Project Planning process area (and maybe a few others), I have an immediate problem.

Specifically... for my organization... as it stands right now... what is a "project"? In particular, what "project" in my organization should be the focus of my initial improvement efforts?

First, let's open the book. The CMMI defines a project as "...a managed set of interrelated resources that delivers one or more products or services to a customer or end user..." and even goes on to say that "...a project can be composed of projects."

By that definition, my entire organization could be considered a "project" -- I'm just not sure how useful that would be to me. (Let's walk before we run!)

I can restrict my scope a bit by looking at two key business activities I already have in mind for the next two or three months:

1. Teach public CMMI classes (CMMI-DEV, CMMI-SVC) in April. (This is a "given," since the classes are already scheduled.)
   
2. Fill those classes, cost-effectively

Selecting which of these to improve upon is a no-brainer. I've taught the CMMI over 30 times, first while working for another company and then on my own. My students seem to enjoy themselves, so there's very little organizational "pain" involved with the training delivery process itself. What I'm still learning to do is to fill public classes cost-effectively. (I've had as many as 19 people in a class, but my promotional costs reduced my profit to... well, let's just say it's been a bit more painful than I'd like.)

I'm therefore defining my initial "project" of interest to be:

• Cost-effectively fill my 2009 public classes.

Of course, I'll need solid operational definitions of "cost-effectively" and "fill," which will by necessity be proprietary. (Sorry!) I'll also need a name for this project. Rather than invent a spiffy new moniker, I'll be a bit more mundane and simply call it what it is:

• Marketing

So, am I really about to apply the CMMI to marketing? At least, for the next month or two? Ummm... I guess so!!

(Surprised? Join the club... I'll be interested to see where this actually leads. This is like live TV, folks -- anything can happen!)