What does a good process look like?

There are certain characteristics that maturity processes share. Does your process have these?

When asked "What does a good process look like?", the typical answer is:

* It produces high quality.

* It minimizes expenses.

* It has a short cycle time.

* It meets customer expectations.

Well, these are all good answers and they are all correct. We can measure these. We can report these. We can improve these. However, these are goals/objectives for the process. These are LAGGING indicators to measure a process. These do NOT tell you if the process has reached its full potential. But, as the traits of a process mature, these measurable indicators move in the proper direction.

"Process measures improve as Process Maturity evolves.”

So, what are the traits of a good process?

If the measures of a process are lagging indicators, then there must be other leading activities that makes a process mature. These traits can be seen in: Leadership Engagement; Expectation Setting; Measurement Usage; Methods Definition, and Resource Capabilities. These are the leading traits of a mature process. And, as these characteristics grow, the involvement, understanding, and capabilities of the process improve. #LeadingIndicators

Over the next few posts, I'll outline in more detail the Process Maturity Model and these critical characteristics. We will also discuss why processes and which processes need to evolve to become world-class. #ProcessMaturity