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IST 617 Assignment 3 – Student Choice #1 Oct 25, 2010 Choice #3: Design a Motivational Information Innovation
Motivating Strategic Practice Development with a Capability Maturity Model Approach
Leo de Sousa
Abstract This paper describes the use of a motivational information model (Capability Maturity Model -
CMM) as an innovative way to help plan, mature, assess and motivate the creation of a process.
Topics covered are (a) Background (including Definitions), (b), Description of the Model, (c)
Construction of the Model, (d) Applicability of the Model and (e) Discussion of Motivational
Theories that support the model. The use of this model has proved to be effective in several
disciplines and organizations. After reading this paper, the reader should be able to create and
use a “Strategic Practice Capability Maturity Model” in their organizations to plan, assess and
motivate practitioners to develop a strategic practice.
Definitions Capability Maturity Model (CMM): CMM was developed by the SEI at Carnegie Mellon
University in Pittsburgh http://www.sei.cmu.edu/cmm/. A Five Level Model to guide and assess
the maturity of a process.
Strategic Practice (SP): a best practice discipline that can be applied horizontally across an
organization. Examples: Project Management, IT Security, Enterprise Architecture, Risk
Management, Business Continuity, Performance Management, Facility and Space Planning,
Strategic Planning, etc
IST 617 Assignment 3 – Student Choice #1 Oct 25, 2010 Choice #3: Design a Motivational Information Innovation
Strategic Practitioner: a person designated to build, grow and promote a Strategic Practice like
Project Management, IT Security, Enterprise Architecture, Risk Management, Business
Continuity, Performance Management, Facility and Space Planning, Strategic Planning, etc
Background In April 2005, I was tasked to create an Enterprise Architecture strategic practice at the British
Columbia Institute of Technology. We just reorganized our Information Technology Services
department and created a Strategic Practices team. The mission of the Strategic Practice team
was to deliver horizontal best practice services like Project Management, IT Security, Business
Analysis and Enterprise Architecture. At the suggestion of my Associate Director, Dave
Cresswell, I investigated the possibility of using the Carnegie Mellon University Software
Engineering Institute Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) methodology (see
http://www.sei.cmu.edu/cmmi/index.cfm). Capability Maturity Model Integration is:
“… a process improvement approach that provides organizations with the essential
elements of effective processes that ultimately improve their performance. CMMI can be
used to guide process improvement across a project, a division, or an entire organization.
It helps integrate traditionally separate organizational functions, set process improvement
goals and priorities, provide guidance for quality processes, and provide a point of
reference for appraising current processes.”
Since we did not have an existing Enterprise Architecture (EA) practice, I chose to take the
model and adapt it to create a plan for building the EA practice. It took many iterations and
consultation with colleagues and senior IT leadership to be able to publish the first EA CMM
IST 617 Assignment 3 – Student Choice #1 Oct 25, 2010 Choice #3: Design a Motivational Information Innovation
plan. The end result of this collaborative process was the creation of a CMM plan for Enterprise
Architecture. I use the CMM to grow and mature our EA practice. The success of this approach
led us to apply it to help other Strategic Practitioners to build CMMs for Project Management,
Business Analysis and IT Security. I began a blog in 2007 called Enterprise Architecture in
Higher Education (http://leodesousa.ca) and wrote about our work with Capability Maturity
Models in Enterprise Architecture. You can find my posts at http://leodesousa.ca/?s=cmm.
These CMM posts are the most popular from readers and requests for templates on my blog.
Forrester.com analyst Gene Leganza interviewed me in 2009 and wrote a blog post about the
value of our approach - http://blogs.forrester.com/gene_leganza/09-09-10-
babies_bath_water_and_enterprise_architecture_maturity_models. Over the past few years, I
have sent copies of our templates to over 100 people from around the globe to review and use in
their organizations.
A surprising side effect of this artefact is its motivational properties for the strategic practitioner.
The CMM acts as a “project/program plan” or “roadmap” to progress to a higher level of practice
maturity. I found exploring a new practice, especially one that I really knew nothing about, a bit
overwhelming. When I though more about it, the capability of Enterprise Architecture to impact
our entire organization added more stress to ensure we did this right. Taking a disciplined and
collaborative approach to develop the CMM made a significant increased my comfort and
competence level and decreased my stress level. Interestingly, this course is my first serious
exposure to motivational theories and I now have a context to understand why the CMM
approach has been so successful. As I read Edward Deci’s book “Why We Do What We Do”, I
found much of what he explores in Part One “The Importance of Autonomy and Competence”
directly related to the successes we encountered by taking a Capability Maturity Model
IST 617 Assignment 3 – Student Choice #1 Oct 25, 2010 Choice #3: Design a Motivational Information Innovation
approach. Specifically, Deci’s chapters on the need for Personal Autonomy, and Engaging the
World with a Sense of Competence confirm our approach to building and using the Capability
Maturity Model. An article by Tosti and O’Brien on the Top Ten On-the-Job Reinforcers and
Mumford’s Needs for Job Satisfaction also support the use of the Strategic Practice CMM.
Description of the Model The Capability Maturity Model can be seen as a holistic approach to understand the maturity of a
process or practice. The model has 5 levels of maturity starting at Level 1 - Initial and maturing
to the highest level, Level 5 - Optimized. (See Figure 1)
Figure 1: Generic CMM Model
© 2007 BCIT IT Services
CMM – Capability Maturity Models
Val
ue
Time
Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Level 5 Level #
Descript.
Attributes• General
awareness of discipline &/ormethods
• Some early &isolatedattemps
Level 1 + ……
• Definition of semantics andprocesstargets
• Where youwant to be
Level 2 + ……
• Processes aretested, tuned,and systemized
• Systemicapproach to discipline &/ormethodology
Level 3 + ……
• Integrated intobroader areasof practice
• Recognized opportunitiesto applydiscipline &/ormethodology
Level 4 + ……
• Discipline is optimized for effectivenessand efficacy
• Consistent application of Best Practices
• Operates as a“Centre of Excellence”
ProcessOptimized
ProcessManaged
ProcessRepeatable
ProcessDefined
InitialAwareness
Capability Maturity Model Levels
• Level 5: Optimizing - Continuously targeting improvements required to meet business objectives
IST 617 Assignment 3 – Student Choice #1 Oct 25, 2010 Choice #3: Design a Motivational Information Innovation
• Level 4: Quantitatively Managed - Predictable results, knowledge of factors causing variance and reuse
• Level 3: Defined - Meeting cost and functionality targets as well as improved quality
• Level 2: Repeatable - Meeting schedule and reduced turnover resulting from less overtime
• Level 1: Initial - No benefits: Inconsistency, schedule and budget overruns, and defective applications
Construction of the Model Our approach to building the model allows for the strategic practitioner to develop and
communicate their approach. This approach develops the strategic practitioner’s personal
autonomy and is in alignment with deCharms (Deci p.30) – people strive for personal causation;
to be the origin of their own behaviour. There are 8 steps to build a strategic practice capability
maturity model (CMM):
1. Identify and define 5 stages of maturity for the practice
• Process Levels:
• Level 1=Informal
• Level 2=Development
• Level 3=Defined
• Level 4=Managed
• Level 5=Optimized
2. List Attributes that describe each maturity level
3. Develop Attribute Descriptions for further clarification of what the outcomes are
IST 617 Assignment 3 – Student Choice #1 Oct 25, 2010 Choice #3: Design a Motivational Information Innovation
4. Review with stakeholders particularly management, peers and client community to
confirm that the roadmap described for maturing the practice meets expectations (see
Figure 2)
5. Create a spreadsheet to record the CMM process levels, attributes and descriptions (see
Figure 3)
6. Evaluate and score each Attribute within each process level
• I used a simple scale of: 0 = not started, 0.5 = underway, 1 = complete
7. Total scores for each level to determine CMM level and total EA Maturity score
8. Publish and review regularly (annually at a minimum)
Figure 2: Completed Enterprise Architecture CMM Model
© 2007 BCIT IT Services
CMM – Enterprise Architecture
Time
Val
ue
Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Level 5
EA ProcessOptimized
EA ProcessManaged
EA ProcessDefined
EA ProcessDevelopment
EA ProcessInformal
• EA ad hoc • EA docs & stds
created locally• Tech Reqmts
determinestrategy
• No IT ServiceCulture
Level 1 + ……• Implements
Zachman• EA Guiding
Principles• EA Roles • Explicit links
to BCITstrategy
• EA ArtifactDevelopment
• EA DocsCentralized
Level 2 + ……• EA Guiding
PrinciplesPublished
• EA Roles Integ.• EA Process
Communicate• EA Manages
Artifacts• Senior Mgmt
support and endorse EA
• Explicit EAgovernancefor BCIT IT purchasesbased on stds
Level 3 + ……• EA GP & Stdsrecognizedinstitutionally
• BCIT Capital Plan adjustedbased on EA
• Senior Mgmtinvolved in EA review
• Domain Arch.Manage docs
• Explicitgovernancefor managingIT purchasevariances
• All planned ITpurchasesgoverned byEA standards
Level 4 + ……• EA integrated
in BCIT • EA Standards
& Waiversimprove EA
• EA metrics supportevery decisionmaker at BCIT
• Explicit governance ofIT purchasesusing EA Stds& Waivers
• TechnologyInvestmentsOptimized with EA
Attributes
Descript.
Level #
IST 617 Assignment 3 – Student Choice #1 Oct 25, 2010 Choice #3: Design a Motivational Information Innovation
Figure 3: Enterprise Architecture CMM in MS Excel
Applicability of the Model Now that the model is built, we will explore its applicability. As a reminder the Strategic
Practice CMM:
• Describes the maturity of a process
• Creates a roadmap for maturing a process
• Communicates a plan to clients of the process
• Motivates the strategic practitioner
IST 617 Assignment 3 – Student Choice #1 Oct 25, 2010 Choice #3: Design a Motivational Information Innovation
Using the CMM as a roadmap to mature a process answers the question “What should I do
next?” It also provides guidance to the strategic practitioner about where to focus their efforts
“Where should I focus next?” The tool can be used as a performance development tool by
managers of the strategic practitioners to help support and develop their careers.
Describes the maturity of a process
• Introducing a new strategic practice requires a plan and a roadmap
• Strategic Practitioner needs a way to communicate their process to stakeholders
• Published the Strategic Practice CMM within a department and to the client community
Measurement Attributes
• Easy to assess if complete or not
• Simple scoring system – no weighting for more complex attributes
• Updated as attributes are complete – clearly shows progress which is a positive
motivation factor
• Reviewed annually to account for changes in strategy
Communication
• The CMM is the roadmap for the process maturation
• Clients (internally and externally) can see where the practice is going and provide
feedback (hopefully constructive) to the strategic practitioner
Motivation
• The CMM is clear and provides the strategic practitioner with a roadmap to mature their
practice
IST 617 Assignment 3 – Student Choice #1 Oct 25, 2010 Choice #3: Design a Motivational Information Innovation
• The CMM is reviewed annually (at a minimum) so that strategic practitioner can
celebrate successes of completed attributes in a level.
• Ideally, when the strategic practitioner completes an attribute, they should update their
CMM. This scoring approach tangibly demonstrates the competence of the strategic
practitioner
• If the strategic practitioner becomes overwhelmed with all the work they need to do, a
manager can refer them back to their CMM roadmap as the agreed upon action plan and
this reduces the stress on the strategic practitioner
Measuring Value and Assessing Maturity
The next set of steps will help the strategic practitioner measure the maturity and value delivered
by their Strategic Practice. The example used below is the development of an Enterprise
Architecture practice. You will see all 5 levels with their attributes. Completed attributes are
shaded green, underway attributes are shaded yellow and planned attributes have no shading.
IST 617 Assignment 3 – Student Choice #1 Oct 25, 2010 Choice #3: Design a Motivational Information Innovation
Figure 4: Measuring the Value – Level 1
© 2007 BCIT IT Services
Measuring the Value – Level 1
Level 1 – EA Process Informal
EA ad hoc for architecture domainsArchitecture planning/implementation donein silos
EA documents and standards created locallyLack of an integrated architecture,
standardized
Technology requirements determineimplementation strategy
Technology decisions are based on existingvendor requirements
Lack of IT Service Culture Firefighting or reactive mode
Business needs do not drive technologyadoption Minimal links to business strategy
Possible Score:5 Actual Score:5
Figure 5: Measuring the Value – Level 2
© 2007 BCIT IT Services
Measuring the Value – Level 2
Level 2 – EA Process Development
Adopt EA Framework Selected Zachman Framework
EA Guiding Principles and Standards Developed
Create EA guiding principles for making technology decisions
EA roles and responsibilities developed
Articulated roles in various governance groups and responsibilities for architecture changes
Explicit links to BCIT Strategy IT Projects support a strategic initiative
EA Artifact DevelopmentCreate and publish documents and standards
based on guiding principles
EA documents centralizedCreated a web place with doc repository and
blog
Possible Score: 6 Actual Score: 6
IST 617 Assignment 3 – Student Choice #1 Oct 25, 2010 Choice #3: Design a Motivational Information Innovation
Figure 6: Measuring the Value – Level 3
© 2007 BCIT IT Services
Measuring the Value – Level 3Level 3 – EA Process Defined
EA Guiding Principles and Standards PublishedPublish EA guiding principles for making technology decisions
EA roles integrated into IT Services processes EA Approval in PM and ChgM
EA Process Communicated Make EA presentations internally and externally
Enterprise Architect Manages DocumentsEnterprise Architect responsible for evolving documents
Senior Mgmt support and endorse EA Senior Mgmt make decisions using EA principles
Explicit EA governance for IT Services technology purchases based on standards
IT Services will ensure technology purchases from their budget meet EA standards
Define and Capture EA Metrics Publish current EA metrics and identify target metrics
Build EA Documents Domain Architects develop current state documents
Possible Score: 8 Actual Score: 5.5
Figure 7: Measuring the Value – Level 4
© 2007 BCIT IT Services
Measuring the Value – Level 4
Level 4 – EA Process Managed
EA Guiding Principles and Standards Embedded into Institutional Culture
Clients leverage EA documents to plan and implement technology
BCIT Capital Plan adjusted based on EA principles Operational Planning and Budget Requests rely on EA
Senior Mgmt understand and use EASenior Mgmt present institutional strategy (internal & external) using EA
Domain Architects Manage Documents Domain Architects responsible for currency of documents
Deviations from EA Standards require an Approved WaiverIT Services Mgmt must approve a deviation from EA standards
Explicit EA governance for all BCIT technology purchases based on standards
IT Services will ensure BCIT technology purchases meet EA standards
Conduct EA Metric Gap Analysis Generate projects that move EA to target metric
Possible Score: 7 Actual Score: 1.5
IST 617 Assignment 3 – Student Choice #1 Oct 25, 2010 Choice #3: Design a Motivational Information Innovation
Figure 8: Measuring the Value – Level 5
© 2007 BCIT IT Services
Measuring the Value – Level 5
Level 5 – EA Process Optimized
EA integrated into the education, research and business of BCIT EA Documents used by every decision maker
Explicit governance of technology purchases using EA standards & waivers
Senior Mgmt must approve a deviation from EA standards
EA metrics are the authoritative source to improve BCIT using technology
Senior Mgmt use EA dashboard to understand current and projected technology needs
EA drives Strategic and Operational Budget Planning
Budgets are approved based on EA identified needs instead of a bidding process
Technology investments optimized by adhering to Institutional EA process
No unplanned technology investments made at BCIT
Possible Score: 5 Actual Score: 0.5
IST 617 Assignment 3 – Student Choice #1 Oct 25, 2010 Choice #3: Design a Motivational Information Innovation
Now that each level has been scored a summary of the process maturity can be communicated.
Figure 9: Measuring the Value – Summary
© 2007 BCIT IT Services
Measuring the Value – Where are we?
EnterpriseArchitectureCMM Summary 1 2 3 4 5 T
ota
l
To
tal
as of March 2008 Pla
n
Act
ual
Pla
n
Act
ual
Pla
n
Act
ual
Pla
n
Act
ual
Pla
n
Act
ual
Pla
n
Act
ual
EnterpriseArchitecture 5 5 6 6 8 5.5 7 1.5 5 0.5 31 18.5
IST 617 Assignment 3 – Student Choice #1 Oct 25, 2010 Choice #3: Design a Motivational Information Innovation
Examples of Other Strategic Practice Capability Maturity Models – Figures 10-12
© 2007 BCIT IT Services
CMM – Project Management
Time
Val
ue
Level #
Descript.
Attributes
Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Level 5
CentreOf
Excellence
ProjectControl
ResourceControl
ProcessControl
ProjectGuidance
• Identifies and developstemplates & processes
• Recommendsmetrics
• Investigates best practices
• Proposes governance &structure
Level 1 + ……• Implements processes
• Develops andprovides
training to staff• Managesprocesses
• Providesguidance todept. PM’s
• Reviewsprocess effect-iveness and
adjusts/adapts
Level 2 + ……• Small Team offocused PM’s
• PM’s allocatedout to resourceprojects
• Requires somematrix mgnt
• Integrates central PM’swith other departmental PM’s for crosstraining
• Increases standardizationin process & Methodology
Level 3 + ……• Formalize the Office of PM
• PMO is a Sr.member of the department
• Participates instrategic planning
• Has tactical &strategicplanning staffas part of portfolio
• Involved in making projectselections as part of the governance ofIT.
Level 4 + ……• Continuouslyseeking improvements
• Take process& methodologyout to other areas of the institute
• Participates atan Institutionallevel
• Adds value to other Institutedepartmentsby sharing processes and methodology
• Finds ways toapply skills to strategic valueof BCIT
FutureValueSPCMMMature
IST 617 Assignment 3 – Student Choice #1 Oct 25, 2010 Choice #3: Design a Motivational Information Innovation
© 2007 BCIT IT Services
CMM – Business Architecture
Time
Val
ue
Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Level 5 Level #
Descript.
Attributes
BA ProcessOptimized
BA ProcessManaged
BA ProcessRepeatable
BA ProcessDefined
BA ProcessInitial
Awareness
• BA investigatead hoc characteristics
• BA documentsand models current process
• support client base within current capacityand availableinfrastructure
Level 1 + ……• Implements BAframework
• Identify proposed BAprocess
• BA document“what is or has worked in the past”
• ID root causes• Prepare “Bus-iness require-ments” doc’nt.
Level 2 + ……• BA Processes communicated
• Solutiondevelopment
• BA documentsvision & scope
• Model the As-Isstate
• BA collaborateswith client and PM to set priority & effort
• BA creates a ‘quantified’ process impr’vtarget state.
Level 3 + ……• BA creates & documents ‘usecases’
• BA baseline &metricsdocumented
• BA facilitatesmodeling future state with clients
• PM directly involved in BA review
• BA capturesreq. policies &procedures
• BA identifies resource &training needs
Level 4 + ……• BA innovates
and pro-actively seeks process imprv.
• BA & processimprovement becomeinherent in all business design
• BA method’gycontinuouslyimproved
• BA & ProcessImprovement metrics std’zedand measured at an orgn’l level
FutureValueSPCMMMature
© 2007 BCIT IT Services
CMM – IT Security
Time
Val
ue
Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Level 5 Level #
Descript.
Attributes
Sec ProcessProactive
Sec ProcessPreventative
Sec ProcessReactive
Sec ProcessMonitoring
Sec ProcessNot
Coordinated
• Sec Risks notconsidered
• No Awarenessof sec incidents
• No Coord. Security Plan
• Lack of policies• No training plan
Level 1 + ……• App Owners
set security• System based
monitoring• Create Base
Network Arch• Sec Docs
stored locally• Training as
Requested
Level 2 + ……• Reactive RiskAssessment
• Common Log& Forensics
• NW Arch chgsafter incident
• Reactive ProcCreation
• Reactive Training
Level 3 + ……• Perform Vuln.
Assessments• ITS Incident
Response Team• Formal Ent.
Security Arch• Coord policy,
procs & stds• Create Security
Website &Presentations
Level 4 + ……• BCIT Sec Risks Mitigated
• BCIT IncidentResponse Team
• BCIT SecurityArchitectureImplemented
• TrainingBCIT inbest securitypractices proactively
FutureValueSPCMMMature
IST 617 Assignment 3 – Student Choice #1 Oct 25, 2010 Choice #3: Design a Motivational Information Innovation
Measuring the Value of a Team of Strategic Practitioners
We used this cumulative scoresheet to demonstrate the combined maturity of all our Strategic
Practices and therefore the maturity of our Strategic Practice group to bring value to our
organization.
Figure 13: Measuring the Value – Summary of Several Strategic Practices
© 2007 BCIT IT Services
Measuring the Value
FutureValueSPCMMMature
Strategic Practices CMM Summary 1 2 3 4 5 Total
as of March 2007 Plan Actual Plan Actual Plan Actual Plan Actual Plan Actual Plan Actual
Business Architecture 5 5 4 2.5 8 4.5 6 2.5 4 0 27 14.5
Business Continuity
Enterprise Architecture 5 5 6 6 8 5.5 7 1 5 0.5 31 18
Project Management
Security 5 5 5 5 5 4.5 5 2.5 5 0 25 17
Total 15 15 15 13.5 21 14.5 18 6 14 0.5 83 49.5
Discussion of Motivational Theories There are several motivational theories that support the use of this model to help motivate
strategic practitioners to create and develop their strategic practices. As I read Edward Deci’s
book “Why We Do What We Do”, I found much of what he explores in Part One “The
Importance of Autonomy and Competence” directly related to the successes we encountered by
IST 617 Assignment 3 – Student Choice #1 Oct 25, 2010 Choice #3: Design a Motivational Information Innovation
taking a Capability Maturity Model approach. Specifically, Deci’s chapters on the need for
Personal Autonomy and Engaging the World with a Sense of Competence confirm our approach
to building and using the Capability Maturity Model. Next, I will use Tosti and O’Brien’s Ten
Types of Job Reinforcers Taxonomy to analyze the Strategic Practice Capability Maturity
Model. Finally, I will use Mumford’s Needs to demonstrate why the Strategic Practice
Capability Maturity Model works as a motivational model.
Personal Autonomy
Deci’s book, chapter 3 contains many ideas about personal autonomy. I found that several ideas
directly relate to the success of using a Capability Maturity Model approach. Deci writes about
the intrinsic need for people to feel like they have some control on the work they do. (Deci p.30)
My manager asked me to create and communicate a CMM for Enterprise Architecture. This
allowed me to be in control of the work I was assigned to and made it feel like it was my own.
Intrinsic motivation and autonomy are esteem needs as defined by Maslow and can be as strong
as Maslow’s physiological needs. Giving people a choice on how to accomplish a goal makes all
the difference in their feelings of autonomy and motivation. (Deci p.34) The final idea in the
chapter explores Autonomy support which is the opposite of control. This means taking the
person’s perspective by encouraging self initiation, experimentation and responsibility. (Deci
p.42) By encouraging a collaborative process for building the CMM, we respect the
contributions of individuals to a common goal. deCharms’ model of “plan-choose-act-take
responsibility” fits very well with our approach of using the Strategic Practice CMM and directly
supports personal causation. (Deci p.30)
IST 617 Assignment 3 – Student Choice #1 Oct 25, 2010 Choice #3: Design a Motivational Information Innovation
Sense of Competence
In chapter 5 of Deci’s book, he explores the theme of competence. He provides a term that is
new to me – instrumentalities. Deci defines instrumentalities as linkages between people’s
behavior and their desired outcomes. (Deci p.57) By putting linkages into the system of work,
instrumentalities can motivate people’s achievement. The Capability Maturity Model is such an
instrumentality. It provides a clear linkage of what the Strategic Practitioner must accomplish in
order to mature the practice they are tasked to implement. This is not the full picture because
instrumentalities are not enough to ensure a high level of productive involvement. (Dec p.63)
People need to have a level of confidence in their skills in order to be successful. Deci
references the work of James Connell and Ellen Skinner; people need to have both the strategies
and capacities for attaining desired outcomes. (Deci p.64) The Capability Maturity Model
provides both strategies and capacities for the Strategic Practitioner. When working on a multi-
year process to develop and implement a strategic practice, it is very easy to lose focus on the
end goals. I use the model to re-focus my efforts in such situations for myself and other strategic
practitioners. I have a mantra I use with my team when they come to me for advice about
advancing their practice – “Look at your CMM”. It is amazing the difference in the person’s
attitude and motivation after we sit together and review their accomplishments with the CMM.
We start with what they have completed and turn that cell green in the model. Next we look at
what is underway and turn those cells yellow. Now instead of looking at black and white model,
there is a color coded indication of progress and accomplishment. Robert White wrote about
“The Concept of Competence”. He argues that the people desire to feel competent in their
environment and should be thought of as a fundamental human need. (Deci p.65). By building
their Strategic Practice CMM, confirming its contents with their manager and peers, the Strategic
IST 617 Assignment 3 – Student Choice #1 Oct 25, 2010 Choice #3: Design a Motivational Information Innovation
Practitioner develops a strong sense of the challenges they face and their capability to
competently tackle them.
Tosti and O’Brien – Ten Types of On the Job Reinforcers
Tosti and O’Brien published a short article in the NSPI Journal in 1978 listing a taxonomy of
On-the-Job Reinforcers. The table below describes each reinforcer and how the Strategic
Practice CMM relates to it.
Analysis of Strategic Practice CMM using Tosti and O’Brien (1978)
Reinforcer Type Reinforcer Description Strategic Practice CMM - Benefits Recognition Praise, awards, certification of
accomplishment, formal public acknowledgement, etc
Model can be published for management, peers and customers to see accomplishments
Tangible Rewards Cash bonuses, commissions profit sharing, etc
Strategic Practitioner can be measured on the achievements recorded in the CMM and depending on the organization receive rewards. In our organization, an intermediate systems analyst used the CMM as evidence of working at a senior level and had their job reclassified to a senior level with increased pay.
Job Tasks Assignment of new duties, vertical redesign of present job, opportunity for advanced training, etc
The Strategic Practice CMM is fundamentally a model to help build a new practice. It inherently captures the activities required to implement a new practice.
Job Responsibilities Opportunity for more self management, more power to decide/implement, more frequent participation in decision making, given the opportunity to select goals and targets, etc
This is almost a perfect fit for the Strategic Practice CMM approach. Please referring to the building the model section of this paper.
Status Indicators Invitation to “high level” meetings, a new title, placed in a special category, etc
Another good fit. I wrote another blog post on what a Strategic Practitioner is http://leodesousa.ca/2010/02/enterprise-architects-what-attributes-do-you-look-for/
Incentive Feedback Increased knowledge of quantitative outputs, graphs of progress, receiving knowledge of individual performance, etc
The Strategic Practice CMM directly provided this reinforcer by providing a method to measure and show value. Refer to the Measuring Value section of this paper.
IST 617 Assignment 3 – Student Choice #1 Oct 25, 2010 Choice #3: Design a Motivational Information Innovation
Personal Activities Doing “screw off” behaviors at work, etc
Not applicable to the Strategic Practice CMM
Social Activities Talking with fellow employees, “Shooting the breeze” with the boss, etc
The Strategic Practitioner can use the CMM as a discussion tool to gather feedback and communicate direction to colleagues and management.
Relief from Adversive Policies or Procedures
Exempt from time clocks, company policies, etc
Not applicable to the Strategic Practice CMM
Relief from Adversive Work Environment
Better lighting, office, location etc
Not applicable to the Strategic Practice CMM
Mumford’s Needs for Job Satisfaction
Mumford (1991) wrote about five employee needs (Chen 2010):
• Knowledge - need to fully use skills and learn new things;
• Psychological - need for recognition, status, responsibility, and advancement;
• Support/control/efficiency - need for support staff, a fair pay structure, and
encouragement from supervisors;
• Task - need to use a variety of skills, have autonomy, and get feedback;
• Ethical/moral, need for fair treatment and communication about important decisions
The Strategic Practice Capability Maturity Model addresses 4 of Mumford’s Needs. The model
does not address ethical and moral needs although it does contribute to communication about
important decisions. The task need is addressed by allowing the Strategic Practitioner to build
their model and articulate the attributes of each level of maturity. This implies the Strategic
Practitioner has the autonomy to use a variety of skills and techniques. The support need is
satisfied by using the Strategic Practice CMM to communicate the direction (e.g. roadmap) for
the maturation of a practice with colleagues and management. The psychological need can be
fulfilled by using the model to show progress towards a goal by measuring progress. Positive
progress provides a manager the option to reward and acknowledge the Strategic Practitioner.
IST 617 Assignment 3 – Student Choice #1 Oct 25, 2010 Choice #3: Design a Motivational Information Innovation
Addressing the knowledge need is why we created the model. When a person is faced with
doing something new, particularly when the task is large and requires a long time to implement,
the Strategic Practice Capability Maturity Model provides a roadmap with incremental steps to
ensure success.
Conclusions We decided to adapt the Carnegie Mellon Software Engineering Institute Capability Maturity
Model Integration methodology and used it to develop a plan and roadmap to mature the
creation of an Enterprise Architecture Strategic Practice at the British Columbia Institute of
Technology. In the years since we created this approach, it has been applied to other
Strategic Practices like Project Management, Business Architecture and IT Security. Based
on the comments and requests for more detailed information about our approach, we believe
this technique has broad applicability in many disciplines and organizations. A primary
contributor to the success of this approach is the motivational aspects of allowing a Strategic
practitioner to:
• Describe the maturity of their Strategic Practice using levels and attributes
• Plan and creates a roadmap for incrementally maturing a process
• Communicate a plan to management, colleagues and clients of the Strategic
Practice
• Motivates the Strategic Practitioner to develop and mature their Strategic Practice
by providing a vehicle for personal autonomy, sense of competence, on-the-job
reinforcers and a focus for job needs of knowledge, psychological, support and
tasks
IST 617 Assignment 3 – Student Choice #1 Oct 25, 2010 Choice #3: Design a Motivational Information Innovation
References Carnegie Mellon University, Software Engineering Institute (2010). Capability Maturity Model Integration. http://www.sei.cmu.edu/cmmi/ Chen, Gina Marie (2010). Mumford’s Needs. Motivation at a Glance. IST 617 Course Assignment, iSchool, Syracuse University de Sousa, Leo (2007). Enterprise Architecture in Higher Education. http://leodesousa.ca/?s=cmm Deci, Edward L. (1995). Why We Do What We Do: Understanding Self Motivation. Penguin Books Hodges, Charles B. (2004). Designing to Motivate: Motivational Techniques to Incorporate into E-Learning Experiences. The Journal of Interactive Online Learning. Volume 2, Number 3. http://www.ncolr.org/jiol/issues/showissue.cfm?volID=2&IssueID=8 Leganza, Gene (2009). Babies, Bath Water, And Enterprise Architecture Maturity Models. Forrester.com. http://blogs.forrester.com/gene_leganza/09-09-10-babies_bath_water_and_enterprise_architecture_maturity_models Struebel, Ute. (2008). CMMi meets ITIL. Presented at the 2008 European SEPG https://bscw.sei.cmu.edu/pub/bscw.cgi/d689601/Streubel%20three%20cases%20ITIL%20and%20CMMI-SVC%20B.pdf
Sun, Rui and Shi, Jintao (2010). Research on Capability Maturity Model for Organizational Innovation Management: Focus on Intellectual Capital. http://www.seiofbluemountain.com/upload/product/200911/2007qyczhy3z3a3.pdf Tosti, Donald T. and O’Brien, Anne T. (1978). Ten Types of On-the-Job Reinforcers: A Taxonomy. National Society for Performance and Instruction Journal.