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Borromean White Paper

Escalation, A Joint Effort

September 2009

Escalation, A Joint Effort

Eric van Gasteren Escalation is a very generic term. A common interpretation is: To make something bigger in a bad way. A specific practice of the Quality Assurance process in the CMMI is to ensure resolution of non-compliance issues. This practice contains the concept of escalation. Does that mean that the CMMI encourages to make noncompliances bigger in a bad way? No. Unless BIG stands for Business Improvement Guarantee and BAD for Bold And Decisive.

Escalation is done in a timely fashion. It is important that issues are raised to the next level quickly enough to enable a timely decision, and that they do not linger on with further impact on the project. Also important is the timeframe before a next escalation step is due. Although the person escalating the issue should try to resolve it first, enough time should be available to escalate and follow up. The escalation path is clear and agreed upon. It must be defined to whom issues should be raised. To set early expectations about how issues will be raised to avoid that anyone feels that someone is going over their head. This involves hierarchical management as well as horizontal (e.g. in a matrix organisation). As a rule of thumb, more than 3 escalation levels should be avoided.

What are we talking about?

Escalation is also the phenomenon of something getting more intense step by step. Essentially it is the issue itself that is escalated In the end all these principles are while it is the search for its resolution that is getting more intense. equally important and if even one of Or should I say ... should be getting more intense? All too often them is not implemented adequately, escalation leads to opponents fighting rather than a team chances are that you end up with an searching for the best solution. escalator to nowhere.

The purpose of escalation

E.g. A project should always strive to make decisions and address issues at the project level. However, when an issue cannot be resolved, the issue should be presented to a higher management level. A defined escalation process ensures that issues are raised soon enough to prevent impacts or embarrassments to the project. It ensures that appropriate parties are informed and involved in critical decision making. And it ensures that ownership and responsibility is taken by stakeholders who are empowered to take decisions. That is the meaning of escalation from a QA perspective.

How to escalate?
An escalation process always involves a number of people. Escalation is most effective when people join hands and make a concerted attempt to strive for a satisfactory resolution. Keeping the goal in mind that escalation is meant to quickly and adequately resolve issues, any higher level management is best served with the issue being presented in a balanced way.

In the classical example of a QA Officer who detects a noncompliance and cannot resolve it with the project manager, it is of utmost importance that both parties together prepare the escalation. On one hand it should be explained why the non-compliance is there Key principles of escalation in the first place (there may be a good reason why the project All project members are empowered to escalate. Escalation manager cannot follow the process), and on the other hand it should should not be seen as a failure. Neither of a project manager or the be explained why a resolution is needed (there may be serious risks person raising the issue, nor as a personal attack or as a privilege of involved for which the project manager is not in control). a QA Officer. It is an enabling factor to ensure that every effort is The Resolution made to minimise the impact of issues on the project outcomes. When is an escalation considered to be closed? A resolution can Escalation triggers are defined. After working according to the come in different forms, here are some of the most common ways to defined process an escalation may be initiated when there are resolve an issue: issues that have a tangible impact on successful project execution or there is a high risk to business operations. Because issues come The initially agreed upon objective has been achieved with different degrees of severity, criteria must exist that describe under what conditions an escalation should be initiated. Triggers A mutually accountable decision has been made that the must also be defined for taking the escalated issue to the next level. issue cannot and will not be resolved Escalation is managed. It is not sufficient to escalate an issue without a suggested action plan or scenarios for decision making. The person who escalates must also monitor the progress of the resolution. After all, if not adequately resolved, further escalation may be required. An important aspect of escalation management is clear communication to all affected parties. Escalated issues are documented. To avoid different perceptions and false expectations, it is important that escalated issues are recorded with details like the next action to be taken, responsible person, a due date, the expected outcome and the consequences if the issue is not resolved. Verbal escalation must always receive documented follow-up. The issue has been reviewed and agreement has been reached to downgrade the severity level A monitoring period has elapsed without issue recurring An agreement is reached that the issue is resolved

Who has the final decision? Usually the highest level representative. Anything else? you may ask. An organization striving for continuous improvement will regularly perform a root cause analysis on escalated issues to identify any changes required in standard operating procedures in order to achieve long term benefits. This ensures that ongoing improvements are integrated and that over time a more stable and efficient development environment evolves.

eric.van.gasteren@borromeangroup.com

www.borromeangroup.com