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 Process
Disintegration Antipattern occurs in a process intensive organisation.
Dr R Srinivasan writes that it is caused by people and not because
of loopholes or the nature of processes followed in software development
We
have seen in an earlier article that every software development
organisation should have the right type of process to undertake
and execute a project. Adopting a good process methodology leads
to successful software development because it provides very important
umbrella activities that ensure high quality. Unfortunately, in
some organisations, there is misconception among members of project
teams that the process is actually an overhead during the developmental
cycle of the project. On the other hand, the process should also
be viewed as a tool like others that help developers to improve
their productivity.
It
has also been observed that software tools, like the mechanical
ones, can also be misused. According to William Brown, processes
may be made to inflict pain, anguish and even mortal wounds on others
by intentionally preventing steps that would lead to success. If
such a situation happens, it is a clear indication of the onset
of Process Disintegration Antipattern, which will definitely ruin
the enthusiasm and success of unsuspecting software professionals
in the organisation. Experts in software development illustrate
that this kind of antipattern is likely to be observed in a process
intensive organisation.
 The
question is that if this situation arises, what will be the adverse
affect on project development and management? Because of process
disintegration, the organisation will now try to focus more on intensifying
the implementation of the process properly through thorough reviewing
procedures and necessary corrective action. This will make the entire
team, including the manager, to concentrate and spend more time
on the processes than the core of the project development. A situation
where the process becomes the project! The manager will be under
tension to see that there is minimal non-conformities identified
in each review so that he can proceed towards the next phase of
the project. The situation will be aggravated more, tending towards
even the failure of the process, if a project manager or project
leader does not have adequate experience. Everyone in the team and
in the organisation will develop a tendency to blame each other.
Experts
like Hays McCormick and Scott Thomas say that in this situation,
the top management in the organisation dictate their own processes
and because of its ad hoc nature, things will not be right in the
project development. The project will become leaderless with nobody
coming forward to undertake necessary steps to make the situation
risk-free and successful. If many projects in that organisation
have the same pattern, it is surely towards doomsday—the only
hope for the organisation will be to refactor the entire organisation!
Generally
speaking, an organisation having the following aspects may be prone
to Process Disintegration Antipattern: Excessive use of standards
and checklists, excessive focus on processes rather than on project
development, inexperienced project manager or project leader, tendency
of not taking risks in the project development, team members are
either not aware or do not give importance to the deadlines and
deliverables, too much dependency on the consultants rather than
the team members and the manager, etc. It may also be because of
the reason that a state of apathy has overcome the organisation
where the business processes are given far more importance than
resources responsible for the process. In very rare cases it is
possible that the senior management dictates an unreasonable deadline
due to some business pressures.
Looking
at the above reasons for the Process Disintegration Antipattern,
it is clear that it is primarily caused by people and not because
of the loopholes or nature of the processes which have to be followed
in software development. Hays McCormick says, “As process advocates
in a seemingly process-resistant world, we are often faced with
the dilemma of just how to handle situations in which a group of
professionals are determined to pull defeat from the jaws of victory,
and all in the name of principle.” The process will disintegrate,
if it is wrongly understood that it is a burden or overhead by the
team. So the best-refactored solution for this antipattern is to
be found in people and technology.
To be continued ...
(The
author is Chief Technology Officer, iCMG, Bangalore. He can be contacted
at r.srinivasan@icmg.nu)
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PEOPLE
