Professional Development Day
PMI Honolulu - May 3, 2006
Project Front-End Loading with
Facilitated Joint Application Development
(JAD) Techniques
Walter A. Viali, CSQA, PMP
PMO To Go LLC
Walter A. Viali
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Over 32 years in Information Technology
“Retired” from Texaco Inc. in 1999 after 25 years
Co-founder and Principal Consultant for PMO To Go LLC
Certified Software Quality Analyst (CSQA)
Certified Project Management Professional (PMP)
Certified Project Management Instructor
Member of the faculty of the Project Management Program for the
Bauer College Business (University of Houston)
JAD Session Leader with over 4,000 hours of planning and
project facilitation experience
SEI CMM and PMI OPM3 knowledge and assessment experience
Implemented several Project Management Office (PMO)
organizations
Experience in Strategic Business and IT Planning
Past President of the Houston Chapter of the Society for Software
Quality (SSQ) and of the Texas Application Process User Group
Sr. Vice President, External Operations, PMI Houston Chapter
Consulting with major companies on Process Improvement, Project
Management, PMO implementation, Strategic Planning, JAD
facilitation
What is Joint Application Development (JAD)?
JAD is a structured meeting, conducted by a neutral
facilitator, designed to extract high-quality
information from the meeting participants, using a
compressed timeframe and a workshop environment to
enhance the process.
JAD strongly complements, but does not replace,
analytical methodologies.
What’s the big deal?
The Standish Group
1994 Chaos Report
 17% of projects succeed
 31% of projects fail
 52% of projects are challenged
– Cost and/or schedule performance
 $78 billion dollars total project waste
(against $250 billion in project spending)
The Standish Group
2003 Chaos Report
 34% of projects succeed (100% improvement
over 1994)
 15% of projects fail (down from 31% in 1994)
 51% of projects are challenged
 $55 billion dollars total project waste (against
$255 billion in project spending)
– $38 billion in lost dollars for US projects in 2002
– $17 billion in cost overruns
SUCCESS CRITERIA
POINTS
1. User Involvement
2. Executive Management Support
3. Clear Statement of Requirements
4. Proper Planning
5. Realistic Expectations
6. Smaller Project Milestones
7. Competent Staff
8. Ownership
9. Clear Vision & Objectives
10. Hard-Working, Focused Staff
19
16
15
11
10
9
8
6
3
3
?
TOTAL 100
"We know why projects fail, we know how to prevent their
failure -- so why do they still fail?”
Martin Cobb
Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat
Ottawa, Canada
What can we do about all this?
CIO Priorities
Top 10 Management Issues
(1999-2004)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Business/IT Fusion
Demonstrating Business Value
IT Skills (Recruit, Retain, Reskill)
Y2K Clean-up/Contingencies in 2000
"Sourcing" Management
IT Governance
Process/Project Management
M&A IT Integration
Knowledge Management
IT Organization
Gartner Group - November 16, 1998
They go hand in hand...
1. Align Business and Information Technology
2. Adopt the Software Engineering Institute’s
Capability Maturity Models (SEI CMM/CMMI) to
improve the organization’s processes!
3. Benchmark internally and externally
4. Improve people skills in Process and Project
Management!
5. Use Joint Application Development!
Align Business and IT
 Define Business Strategies
 Derive IT Strategies from the Business Strategies
 Make Strategic Planning a regularly scheduled event
 Derive Programs and Projects from the IT
Strategies
 Establish PMOs to manage Programs and Projects
 Staff PMOs with skilled resources who can educate
and coach users and IT personnel
 Acquire and gradually implement credible methods,
techniques and tools that Business and IT personnel
can use
Why the SEI CMM (and CMMI)?
Software Engineering Institute’s Capability Maturity Model
CAPABILITY MATURITY MODEL
L5
L4
L3
L2
L1
Optimizing
- Continuous Improvement
Managed
- Focus on QA and QC Measures
Defined
- Process Management Focus
Repeatable
- Project Management Focus
Initial
- Ad hoc, Informal,Hero Driven
Software
Engineering
Institute
1991
OBSERVED SEI CMM BENEFITS
Maturity
Level
Calendar
Months
Person
Months
Defects Defects
Found Shipped
Total Cost
1
29.8
593.5
1348
61
$ 5,440,000
2
18.5
143
328
12
$1,311,000
Reuse! 3
15.2
79.5
182
7
$728,000
4
12.5
42.8
97
5
$392,000
5
9.0
16
37
1
$146,000
Estimated impact for 200,000 LOC Software Project
(from Sematech publication ‘Communique”)
Application Development Practices
"Software Capability Evaluations (based on
SEI's Capability Maturity Model) will be
used to qualify all IT contractors on U.S.
Federal Government projects by year end
2001 (0.8 Probability); however, widespread
year 2000 damage will push regulated AD
into the private sector, starting with
applications that have public health and
safety implications."
Gartner Group - November 16, 1998
Benchmark internally and externally
 Establish a Project Office to avoid “industrial
tourism”
 Share Best Practices within the multitude of
I.T. groups in a single company
 Identify and reward the most effective set of
Best Practices
 Benchmark with external organizations
 Improve the I.T. processes with the SEI CMM
and the SEI CMMI
Project Office Models
 Repository Model (1)
– source of information on project methodology and
standards
– limited to one major project (such as SAP implementation)
 Repository-Coach Model (2)
– coordinates sharing of best practices across business
functions
 Repository-Coach-Manager Model (3)
– direct management of projects and project managers
– responsible for process and project management
optimization through maturity models
– responsible for the strategic planning process and project
portfolio management
The PMO Business Cycle…
Strategic
Business
Planning
Project
Management
Office
Strategic
IT
Planning
Business
Process
Reengineering
Project
Portfolio
Management
Maturity
Models
Projects
People Skills:
What about Certification?
Some of the available programs...
1. The Quality Assurance Institute
- Certified Software Quality Analyst (CSQA)
- Certified Software Test Engineer (CSTE)
2. The Project Management Institute
- Certified Project Management Professional (PMP)
… can create the necessary awareness, at all levels, for
improving Process and Project Management practices
Is Project Management
Certification Worth It?
 By 2004, 70 percent of successful projects will have
certified project managers, while 90 percent of failed
projects will not (0.7 probability).
 By 2002, employees with Project Management
Professional (PMP) certification will receive salaries 20
percent higher than those of project managers without
PMP certification (0.7 probability).
 By 2002, leading-edge project management outsource
vendors will have at least one out of five contracted
staff team members who are PMP-certified (0.7
probability).
Gartner Group - November 16, 1999
Benefits of Project Management
Certification
 Consistent Project Management approach within the
organization and improved interface mechanisms
with all customers, i.e. speaking the same language
 Certification requires continuing education in the
Project Management field, which leads to more
effective Project Managers over time
 Project Management Certification thoroughly
supports the findings and recommendations of most
benchmarking efforts
 Combination of Project and Process Management
has the potential of reducing project development
costs by 30% a year (Gartner Group)
The overall objective
Improve I.T. Process and Project
Management.
Generate in people a desire to
improve their environment.
Get the job done faster and
cheaper!
Get the job done faster and cheaper!
Since 1980, facilitation has been used
for every aspect of business and
community development, from strategic
planning to detailed process design.
Why JAD works!
Communication tools
Structured techniques
Defined roles
Structured agendas
An effective process
Focus on people, not
technology
Communication tools
Group Dynamics
Facilitation
Visual Aids
Concentrated Exchanges
Consensus-based
Decisions
Structured Techniques
Brainstorming
Basic Iteration
Data Flow Diagramming
Data and Object
Modeling
Process Design
Object Modeling (UML)
Planning Models
Defined Roles
Session Leader
Scribe
Executive Sponsor
Project Manager
Participants
Observers
Structured Agendas
The Standard JAD Agenda
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Introduction
Review Purpose, Scope, Objectives
Ground Rules
Executive Sponsor Kickoff
I.T. Perspective
[ Session Approach ]
Review Issues
Review Design
Evaluate Workshop
The Power of JAD in Project
Lifecycle Management
Strategic
Business Planning
Detailed
Requirements
Business
Process Improvement /
Reengineering
Creating Project
Management Plans
Strategic
I.T. Planning
Walkthroughs and
Peer Reviews
I.T. Project
Portfolios
Creating Acceptance
Test Plan
Project Scope
Definition
Structured Agendas
A few JAD Session Approaches
 Strategic Business Planning Approach
 Business Reengineering Approach
 Business Systems Planning Approach
 Project Scope Definition
 Project Requirements Definition
 Information Modeling
 Project Management
Structured Agendas
Strategic Business Planning
 Define Vision and Mission of
activity
 Define Guiding Principles
 Analyze current situation
 Analyze competitive situation
 Define Objectives and Goals
 Develop Business Strategies
 Define Critical Success Factors
 Design Programs and Resources
 Describe support Organization
 Define follow-on activities
Structured Agendas
Business Reengineering Approach
 Phase I - Vision
– Customer requirements
– Management Vision
 Phase II - “What” Phase
– Functional Model
– Information Model
 Phase III - “How” Phase
– Conceptual Design
– Organization Design
– Detailed Design
Structured Agendas
Business Systems Planning
 Review Vision and Mission of the activity
 Review business strategies and CSFs
 For each business strategy:
– Define new automation requirements
Entities and Processes
– Describe constraints to the new requirements
Schedules, cost, resources
 Prioritize the new requirements
Structured Agendas
Project Scope Definition
 Define System Objectives
 Define Major Outputs
 Define Major Inputs
 Identify System Events
- Context Diagram
 Information Analysis
- Entity Relationship Model
 Major System Functions
- Essential or Zero-level Diagram
 Confirm System Objectives
A Snapshot…
Context Diagram
Zero-Level Data Flow Diagram
With high-level Entity Model
Lower-Level Data Flow Diagrams
With detailed Entity Relationship Diagrams
Structured Agendas
Project Scope & Requirements Definition
Data Flow
Customer
Data Flow
Operations
System
Data Flow
Data Flow
Marketing
Customer
Context Diagram
Structured Agendas
Project Scope & Requirements Definition
Customer
Supp DB
Data Flow
Data Flow
4.0
2.0
Data Flow
Marketing
3.0
Data Flow
Data Flow
Cust DB
Data Flow
Data Flow
Data Flow
Data Flow
1.0
Customer
Zero-Level Data Flow Diagram
Project Detailed Requirements
Session Approach
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Select System Function from Scoping Session
List and Define Steps in the System Function
Develop Data Flow Diagram
Define Outputs
Define Inputs
Develop Entity Relationship Model
Define Security and Privacy Requirements
Define Environment Requirements
Define Computer Resource Requirements
Structured Agendas
Project Scope & Requirements Definition
Customer
Supp DB
Data Flow
Data Flow
4.0
2.0
Data Flow
Marketing
3.0
Data Flow
Data Flow
Cust DB
Data Flow
Data Flow
Data Flow
Data Flow
1.0
Customer
Zero-Level Data Flow Diagram
Structured Agendas
Project Scope & Requirements Definition
Customer
Data Flow
1.3
Data Flow
Prod DB
Data Flow
1.1
Data Flow
Cust DB
Operations
Data Flow
Supp DB
Data Flow
Data Flow
1.4
Data Flow
Data Flow
1.2
Data Flow
Marketing
Lower-Level Data Flow Diagram
Level-Two Data Flow Diagram
Mini-spec for 1.1
1.
2.
3.
4.
Supplier Mgt.
Delete Vendor Transaction
Delete
Vendor
Update
Confirmation
Delete
Vendor
Entry
1.1
Read Delete Vendor
Transaction
Validate Vendor Existence
Delete Vendor
Generate Delete Vendor
Update Confirmation
Delete
Vendor
Update
Add
Vendor
Update
Confirmation
Add Vendor Transaction
Add
New
Vendor
1.2
Add
Vendor
Update
Supplier Mgt.
Change
Vendor
Update
Change Vendor
Transaction
Change
Vendor
Update
Confirmation
Change
Vendor
Info
1.3
Vendor Master
Supplier Mgt.
Product Update Transaction
Product Update
Confirmation
Update
Product
Info
1.4
Product Update
UML Diagrams and Use Cases can also be employed
Product Master
Level-Two Data Flow Diagram
Data Store and Data Flow Definitions 1.0
Supplier Mgt.
Delete Vendor Transaction
Delete
Vendor
Update
Confirmation
Delete
Vendor
Entry
1.1
Data Stores and I/O =
Item a
+ Item b
+ Item c
+ Item d
+ etc.
Delete
Vendor
Update
Add
Vendor
Update
Confirmation
Supplier Mgt.
Add Vendor Transaction
Add
New
Vendor
1.2
Add
Vendor
Update
Change
Vendor
Update
Change Vendor
Transaction
Change
Vendor
Update
Confirmation
Change
Vendor
Info
1.3
Vendor Master
Supplier Mgt.
Product Update Transaction
Product Update
Confirmation
Update
Product
Info
1.4
Product Update
Product Master
Attributed Data Model for 1.0 DFD
Vendor =
Number
+ Name
+ Address
+ Contact
+ Etc.
Is Provided by
Is Associated with
Vendor
Provides
Is Associated with
Is Associated to
Is Associated with
Is Contained on
Product
Contains
Order
Is Associated with
- Zero
- One
- Many
Is Associated with
Contract
States
Price
Is Stated on
Structured Agendas
Project Planning
 Describe Current Situation
 Define Success Measures
 Define Project Strategy
 Define the Project Tasks
 Identify Roles and Responsibilities
 Build a Precedence/Dependency Chart
 Review the Plan
 Next Steps
Structured Agendas
Project Planning
 Identify Work Breakdown Structure
 Identify Content of each Deliverable
 Perform Risk Analysis
 Develop Contingency Plans and Priorities
based on Risk Analysis
 Produce Gantt Chart
 Produce Critical Path Diagram
Structured Agendas
Acceptance Testing
 Establish Baseline
– Review existing process and procedures
– Define testing requirements
– Apply lessons learned
 Testing Process
– Goals and objectives
– Review/define testing levels
 unit, systems, acceptance criteria
– Review/define testing workflow and guidelines
 Develop Test Plan
– who, what, when
 Define Roles and Responsibilities
– Develop RASI chart
 Test Environment
– Review physical environment
Structured Agendas
Walkthroughs/Peer Reviews
 Objectives and Requirements
– establish baseline for evaluation of system
components
 Step through the System
– For each system function/sets of requirements:
verify data requirements
verify functional requirements
 Next Steps
– document results/action items
An effective process
Review and
Resolve
Preparation
Workshop
An effective process
Preparation
 Scope Management
 Interview
 Commitment
 Risk Assessment
 JAD Sessions Plan
 Prepare Users
 Logistics
An effective process
Preparation - Logistics
Session
Leader
Scribe
Participants
Observers
An effective process
Workshop
Unique environment
Combines skills of Session Leader
and Participants
Produces complete information
An effective process
Review and Resolve
Review session documentation
Resolve issues
Post-process evaluations
Follow-up surveys
Focus on people, not technology
Participants have a stake in the
development project or effort at
hand.
JAD brings people together in an
effort to eliminate barriers and
make the participants work as a
team.
Requirements for Success
 Commitment from customer and I.T.
management
 Well-trained facilitator with technical
skills and lots of facilitation experience
 Availability and commitment of proper
resources
 Proper application of the concepts and
structure of the process
So, why do we need JAD?
JAD is a breakthrough technique
essential for:
 Improving communication throughout the
company
 Improving the image of Information
Technology
 Integrating the customers in automation
decisions
 Disseminating the use of enhanced process
and project management approaches
Improving communication
throughout the company
 People talking to other people!
 No misunderstood user requirements
 Executives welcome an effective and
quick solution to Strategic Planning (as
opposed to lengthy studies)
 We still need the business strategies to
model the information needs and actually
achieve business alignment
Improving the image of
Information Technology
Using JAD for strategic business
planning and business reengineering is
still viewed by customers as an
endeavor which goes beyond the
perceived mission of I.T.
Improving the image of
Information Technology
Gaining credibility and visibility
 JAD session leaders are viewed as
impartial solution providers
 Business customers and I.T.
professionals will typically accept the
recommendations of the JAD session
leaders
 “For each additional foot of credibility,
introduce another inch of more
disciplined practices”
Integrating the customers in
automation decisions
Customers are asked to make their
own decisions about information
system strategies and application
development issues. I.T. is viewed
as a problem solver.
Disseminating the use of
enhanced process and project
management approaches
JAD session leaders:
– understand process and project management
– are trained in group dynamics, structured
analysis and design, data modeling
– can become effective facilitators for
strategic planning and business reengineering
efforts
– should be primary candidates in Project
Office staffing endeavors
A final word on real benefits
 On a major tax project, JAD sessions generated six
months worth of project documentation in 14.5 days
 Major refinery identified and prioritized 24 new
information systems in 2 days
 JAD brought together participants from several
locations to develop specifications for a project that
had been on the drawing board for 10+ years
 Alignment of business strategies and I.T. strategies
identified need for a major reporting project tied to
a new business initiative about to be launched
Lessons Learned
Benefits of JAD
The Bottom Line
JAD is the most effective technique
we have found in over 35 years
when it comes to project scope
definition.
Not using JAD takes away from an
organization’s ability to be the best
it can be in truly understanding
customer requirements.
Professional Development Day
PMI Honolulu - May 3, 2006
Project Front-End Loading with
Facilitated Joint Application Development
(JAD) Techniques
Walter A. Viali, CSQA, PMP
PMO To Go LLC