Find and eliminate points of friction between tools with the EEE check

There are many excellent tools for systems engineering. But few cover all activities. And none of them that I know of really solves all aspects well. In other words, there are tool breaks somewhere, and these are the places where things get stuck most often.

At the Embedded World 2019 Tim Weilkiens and Andreas Willert EEE check, which helps to solve this problem.

EEE stands for "Engineering Efficiency Empowerment", and the concept is presented on the dedicated website eee-check.com explained in English. The following is a brief summary in German.

Four steps to defuse points of friction

The concept is actually simple, and corresponds to common sense, combined with a bit of systematics. But such approaches can be pleasingly effective. Here are the four steps of the EEE Check:

The first step is to take stock. We start by analyzing the processes. The central question is: Which stakeholders do we have and which tools do they use for which purpose?

This information can be plotted in a matrix, which can then look like the image in the article. There you can see red and blue arrows, in this case for processes and configuration management. However, there can also be other relationships. We have to be pragmatic and document what we need for our analysis.

The table can now be used to systematically check all transitions from one tool to another. Are there any bottlenecks? Is information lost? Or is everything running smoothly? This step ensures that we are using our energy in the right place.

Once we have identified the bottlenecks, we need to examine them more closely. To do this, the method provides a representation with swimlanes. Each swimlane now corresponds to resources that must be accessible across all tools. It is also necessary to articulate the goal for this process step. This may lead to a path being found that achieves the goal in a completely different but better way.

Once the analysis has been completed, the bottleneck must be removed. The analysis is the basis for implementation. What this actually looks like varies from case to case. Perhaps it can be automated using a script, or perhaps only a small adjustment to the data structures is sufficient. Perhaps another tool is more suitable in the long term.

The tool zoo

It will often become apparent in step 1 that different tools are used for the same work. There is an obvious temptation to put a stop to this uncontrolled growth. And that is certainly the right thing to do - but only in moderation. And it is not necessarily advisable to force employees to use certain tools.

Instead, the EEE Check suggests carefully maintaining the tool landscape. To do this, it makes sense to create and (importantly!) maintain a simple table. This table lists a process step in each row and a tool in each column. You can then enter (and color-code) whether the tool is mandatory, recommended, tolerated or prohibited for this process step.

With this table, IT clearly signals which direction is desirable and for which tools no support can be expected, even if the use is tolerated.

Conclusion

The EEE Check is a lightweight, pragmatic, practical tool to ensure that users use the right tools, that these can be used effectively and that the IT landscape can be maintained and further developed in the long term. The investment in implementing the EEE Check on a regular basis should quickly pay for itself.

Image source: EEE check