There are almost as many documented development processes as there are programming languages. The selection and implementation of a development process is usually a subjective activity done by the founders of a startup or the management team of an established company.
I have found that there is no such thing as a development process which fits all circumstances. The process, like any tool, should be uniquely selected for how well it fits into the objectives of the project and the nature of the people who will be following it. Rarely is this done well.
There are two areas where Cadent can help with the development process:
Development Process Selection and Implementation
Before a project is started, some thought as to what development process will be followed should be given. It is very common to hear the phrase "we are a startup and don't have time to waste on process planning" from new companies (though I have heard this even from a 4 year-old company). The problem with this is that new arrivals to the project find it difficult to come up to speed because little thought has been given to having a cohesive plan on how everyone can work together towards a common goal.
- Interviewing current employees to get a feeling as to what processes they are familiar and comfortable with. It is important that everyone buys into the process and knowing what experience is present helps in selecting a process which is universally adopted.
- Interviewing the founders/managers to understand the objectives for the project including the time critical nature of the work. This has a very big impact on what approach needs to be taken.
- Separate out the "religion" from the "reality" of the development process. Too many "process zealots" proclaim their process as universal. That tends not to be the case and their process ends up being the "flavour of the day" (remember the huge push for ISO 9000 compliance everywhere...now we have Agile development). We will outline the pros/cons of any process objectively thereby removing the religious zeal from the selection process.
- Help to ensure the process facilitates development rather than gets in the way (i.e. no TPS reports ala "Office Space").
Development Process Audit
With regards to a process which is already in place, Cadent can audit the process:
- Interviewing employees to determine if the process is getting in the way or is helping. This also determines acceptance.
- Interview managers to see if the process supports the objectives set down for the project/product/service.
- Examine the process to see if it is properly deployed. A process can look good on paper but be very poorly implemented.
- Provide some fine-tuning tips where things can be improved upon.