"Choose your model" means now is a good time to select one of the existing process models (preferably one of the proven ones) upon which you can structure the process program you're about to build. For most people in the field of technology development, this means ISO 9001:2000, Capability Maturity Model Integration, or Six Sigma. In coming activities, you and your team members are going to begin looking at the organization from a process design perspective: looking at what process areas to address, deciding what process components to build, and choosing
how to build them. If you know a model that will work for you, you'll want to begin tailoring your decisions to that framework so that it and what you build will fit well together. That's the gist of "Choose your model."
Of course, you don't have to choose a process model at all. You don't need to look at ISO, CMMI, Six Sigma, or any of the others in order to create a good process program for your shop. You might decide to create a purely customized process approach,
one you build based solely on internal parameters. If that's the course you'd like to go with, go right ahead.
I don't mean that facetiously. I am a firm believer in the three programs I present in this book, and I am a vocal advocate of their use in technology shops of all kinds. But I'm also the first to say that a big part of process success comes from the program's ability to serve your organization well. And if a purely custom approach gets you there, then you've met the spirit of process improvement embedded in ISO, CMMI, and Six Sigma.
Most people working in process improvement today, usually working on highly visible process initiatives, are likely to draw on one of these three established models. But there's a Fire-Ready-Aim issue here I'd like to mention here, and it comes not with how the choice is made, but rather when it's made.
Choosing a process model can be the step where many people begin their process programs. I attend a lot of trade shows, seminars, and symposiums on quality management and process improvement, and invariably I'm approached by someone who says, "We know we need a program, but we're torn between Six Sigma and ISO 9000. Which one do you think is right for us?" Or, "Our systems managers say CMMI is the right way to go, but we've got a couple people in-house now who have already used ISO at previous jobs. So doesn't it make sense to go with a known quantity?" I also hear this, "The CIO says we have to be CMMI Level 2 by next year or no performance bonuses."