Beyond the Peak: Sustaining World-Class Performance

Beyond the Peak: Sustaining World-Class Performance in High-Performing Organizations

Achieving a high level of performance is challenging—but sustaining it year after year is even harder. Like keeping off those same 10 pounds, it’s much easier to focus on attaining a goal than to sustain it. So how do organizations maintain that intensity once they’ve “met their goal?”

This session features a panel of experts who have been directly involved in shaping high-maturity practices and who continue to advise organizations seeking to achieve and sustain excellence. They will respond to a set of prepared questions that highlight insights from across industries, addressing topics such as:

• How high-maturity organizations handle disruptions—such as leadership changes, reorganizations, or shifting priorities—without losing the ground they’ve gained
• Practices that make it easier to weather setbacks without derailing performance
• The most important advice for organizations that want to sustain high maturity for the long haul

The discussion will be guided by these focused questions, with a brief opportunity for additional input from participants. Attendees will gain practical strategies for avoiding backsliding, keeping leaders and teams engaged, navigating disruptions, and using data and culture to maintain world-class performance.

About the Presenters

Brian Gallagher is an ISACA Certified High Maturity Lead Appraiser with over 30 years of experience applying advanced systems, software engineering, and program management methodologies to help organizations solve their most challenging problems and achieve business and mission success. Brian is the owner and principal consultant at BG Solutions and Services LLC, a veteran-owned small business, and is an adjunct professor at the University of Arkansas and the University of Maryland Global Campus. Brian earned a PhD in Systems Engineering through Colorado State University and an MS in Computer Science/ Software Engineering through Florida Institute of Technology. He is a retired Air Force officer and served as Senior Vice President of Operational Excellence at CACI; Executive Director of Engineering and Mission Assurance at Northrop Grumman; and Executive Director at the Software Engineering Institute, Carnegie Mellon University.

Steve Moulder is a program analyst and CMMI subject matter expert, as well as a CMMI Process Engineer Advisor. He has 47 years of experience in the information technology industry with multiple major corporations, and approximately 25 years of experience with CMMI. Steve has helped multiple development organizations to achieve CMMI-DEV Maturity Levels 4 and 5, the highest process maturity level possible in the industry, as well as two services organizations to achieve CMMI-SVC Maturity Level 4. In addition, Steve consults with IT infrastructure organizations, helping them to improve processes and performance using the ITIL framework. Steve is an ASQ Certified Six Sigma Black Belt, ASQ Certified Manager of Quality/Organizational Excellence, Professional Scrum Master 1, Certified SAFe 6 Practitioner, and is certified in ITIL foundations in IT service management. Steve has also served as an adjunct instructor of math at Ivy Tech State College.

Lynn Penn is president of Performance and Methods (P&M) Consulting, LLC, where she consults with organizations, focusing on enhancement, institutionalization, and optimization of business operations.

As a director at Lockheed Martin Corporation, Information Systems & Global Solutions (IS&GS), Lynn oversaw policies and process command media, process compliance via audits, and process improvement activities. She developed and managed compliance to multiple process methodologies including CMMI-DEV, CMMI-SVC, RMM, Lean Six Sigma, Agile, ISO 9001/AS9100, ISO 20000, and ISO 27001.

Capability Maturity Model (CMM) involvement began with SW-CMM and progressed to the current CMMI version 3.0. She has participated in multiple formal SPAs, CBA IPIs, assessments using the Acquisition Model, risk evaluations, and supported multiple software capability evaluations per versions 1, 2, and 3. She has supported multiple assessments using People CMM, RMM, previous versions of CMMI-DEV, CMMI-SVC, DMM, and current CMMI V3.0. She was a member of the CMMI V2.0 Core Team and continues to lead CMMI reviews and pilots. She is currently a Lead Appraiser with the Medical Device Discovery Appraisal Program.

Lynn has a BS in mathematics from Villanova University, and has done graduate studies in computer science and management information systems. She is a certified ISO 9000 internal auditor at Lockheed Martin. She is also a Certified Green Belt and Black Belt in Six Sigma and Lean techniques.

She has published the book CMMI and Six Sigma: Partners in Process Improvement.