Brief explanation of the goals of the project:

Traditionally, Convergys allowed its numerous development projects to select their own Configuration Management (CM) solution and to develop the processes needed to manage their CM environment. In 2003, Convergys decided it needed a consistent CM environment across all projects. The company initiated the WMCM (Work Management Configuration Management) project to select a single corporate CM solution, to develop techniques and scripts to use with the tool, to provide CM mechanisms, and to roll the solution out across the enterprise.

New projects no longer have to select a CM solution or negotiate pricing or contracts. These new projects can accelerate their CM preparation by using scripts provided in the WMCM product. As these teams begin to implement the target CM solution, the WMCM project team provides consulting on tool usage and the WMCM scripts. Users can make their own scripts available to other teams by sharing them with the WMCM team. A standard CM environment reduces the learning curve for resources allocated to new project teams.

• Convergys was able to negotiate a deep discount from the vendor by purchasing licenses of the target solution in bulk.
• The bulk purchase was cost-effective as Convergys avoided the cost of individual purchases for each project.
• Convergys now has a company-standard CM solution, so new projects don’t need to struggle with selecting a CM solution or the pricing and contract negotiations for that solution.
• There is an in-house Subject Matter Expert (SME) team for the CM solution, obviating the need for the vendor's consulting and training services.
• The WMCM product provides scripting to promote best practices and re-use, while minimizing the learning curve and start-up for new projects.
• The WMCM product provides solution add-ons, which individual teams might not have the time or resources to produce (e.g. robust web interfaces).
• The WMCM product allows teams to contribute to the CM environment, enabling the organization to take advantage of CM scripts that have been previously developed.
• The WMCM project team provides consulting for projects implementing the new CM environment.
• The WMCM project enables a user community to share ideas and resolve issues related to the CM solution.
• Individuals moving between teams are more productive as they don't need to learn a new environment.

• In November 2003, Telelogic SYNERGY™/CM was selected as the target CM solution. At the same time, Convergys signed an agreement with Telelogic to purchase a block of licenses.
• In February 2004, a four-man WMCM team was formed.
• The WMCM product has created one major release (WMCM 1.0), 5 minor releases (1.1 – 1.5), and several maintenance releases.
• There are at least 11 project teams using Telelogic SYNERGY/CM and WMCM.
• At least 5 project teams will convert in the near future, and more teams are slated to convert at some point.
• Connections to other mission critical systems has been integrated into WMCM.
• The web interface enables teams to perform tasks they could not with the vendor product.
• As a result of these successes, executive management is on board with the solution and committed to rolling it out across our division. There is an interest in expanding it beyond our division.
• Convergys is achieving its internal and executive goals by streamlining projects, enhancing administration, and increasing productivity. While this is tangible, it has not been measured.
• The WMCM project is mission critical, as it conforms to the executive directive to reduce costs through vendor and product consolidation.

Convergys has an executive directive to reduce costs by consolidating vendors and software products. Establishing Telelogic SYNERGY/CM as the target CM solution helped us meet this directive. Creating the WMCM team, a central shareable resource, further addressed this directive as the WMCM team helps projects adapt Telelogic SYNERGY/CM to their needs.

• Telelogic SYNERGY/CM provides task-based management of software objects, which Convergys felt is critical to successful project management.
• The WMCM team created an extensive portal with information related to the WMCM project, the WMCM product, and Telelogic SYNERGY/CM, including all vendor documentation.
• The WMCM team created a web page which gives users access to additional SYNERGY/CM functionality.
• The WMCM team created various command line scripts.
• The WMCM team regularly consults with teams preparing to use and already using SYNERGY/CM.

• Both the files and their metadata can be viewed and accessed from Telelogic SYNERGY/CM via a web interface.
• Users can specify a URL to any file within the SYNERGY/CM database, enabling the inclusion of hyperlinks to documentation in Web pages and Word documents.
• SYNERGY/CM uses the concept of tasks to aggregate separate but related file changes. With SYNERGY/CM, developers operate in terms of logical changes, tasks, rather than individual file versions - they still edit files, but modifications are aggregated into tasks.
• Using the Command Like Interface (CLI) , users can set up a connection to WMS. WMS can then be configured to work with your particular instance of SYNERGY/CM.
• A WMS ITEM must be created to define work. Then, SYNERGY/CM tasks must be associated with a WMS ITEM before work can begin.

• The internal sponsors were the governance board who regulate software purchases and the selection of target tools. Also, the executives in our division sponsored the search for members and the subsequent creation of the WMCM team. The skeptics were those using competing CM tools, but in reality, there was little resistance.

• Individuals from the various divisions were included on the team selecting a candidate CM solution. Monthly WMCM user group meetings are held for users to provide feedback on current features and wishes for new features. The WMCM team openly solicits questions and offers support for problems.

• Selection of the target CM solution – resolved by involving individuals from the various divisions, and by using a spreadsheet to list and weight selection criteria (including requirements for the solution), and scoring each solution against the criteria.
• Project conversions – resolved by keeping the old solution operational for some time after conversion to retrieve old history, alleviating the need to convert data. The WMCM team was also available to answer questions, and to provide training and support. This sometimes included daily calls with projects transitioning to the new CM solution.
• User mistakes with the tool – resolved by developing a “best practices” document, several FAQs, and providing other information to users via a WMCM web portal. And, by advising users to avoid certain common mistakes.

• No, the goals did not change.

• Scrum methodology was used to organize projects, to reinforce teamwork and to improve communication within the project.
• TWiki was used to manage all project information, both for our customers (the project teams) externally, and internally for our team.
• php was used to developed the web pages.
• perl was used to write the scripts so they would (mostly) port between Windows and Unix.
• XML was used to send data to/from WMS.
• WMS wrote a threaded listener to manage the requests from all the SYNERGY/CM installations.
• Citrix© was used to solve some performance problems from remote sites.

• Scrum methodology was used.
• Convergys met in a “scrum” every day for approximately 15 minutes to discuss each individual’s progress and plans.
• Convergys did not have formal “sprints” but, in effect, produced releases like sprints.
• Each release contained a set of product backlog items.
• See www.controlchaos.com