What's in a Policy?

This post is part gripe part informative.

Let's start with the gripe (it's also informative).

Two of my kids go to a pre-school with the following inclement weather policy:
(Only the names of the places have been edited. Otherwise, this is verbatim.)

INCLEMENT WEATHER PROCEDURE

1. Our policy is based on [B] County School Announcements. We do not make specific [OurSchool] Announcements.


2. If [B] County Schools are closed due to inclement weather, our school will follow the same procedure.


3. If public schools are opening one hour late, we will open on time. There will be no before school care.


4. If public schools open 2 hours late, we will open at 10:00 AM. There will be no before-school care. The morning session will end at 12 Noon.


5. If public schools open more than 2 hours late, we will open at 12 Noon for extended day children.


6. If [B] County closes early, we will also close.


7. If inclement weather develops while the children are in school, it may be advisable to close school early. Listen to your radio for [B] County closing announcements. Parents concerned about inclement weather should pick up their children as soon as possible. Working parents are responsible for making arrangements to have their children picked up on time.


8. Our facility is air-conditioned in cases of extreme heat.

Inclement Weather Procedure
Please read carefully.
There have been changes to our policy.

Notice anything strange?

How about they don't know the difference between a Policy and a Procedure. (Don't even get me started on where "process" fits into this!)

How about the problem that what their "policy" boils-down to are:
a) we don't have a policy,
b) we follow what the County does,
c) except when we don't.

In reality, how this "policy" plays out is this: If/when (and it *has* happened) that our kids' school decides to not follow the County's lead, they have no reliable way of notifying parents. They expect us to either call them, monitor email, or just show up. The issue with calling them is that they've got about 100 families of kids at their school. Not like 20 in a daycare.

Here's another problem. Today, public schools were closed for Primary Elections (our County uses the public schools as voting locations), and, there was inclement weather. How exactly was the policy going to work today?!?!

Don't think I haven't brought this to their attention from the very first time the first of my kids attended that school. Of course, I was ignored by the school administration. To say that my concerns were "dismissed" as insignificant details would be giving them too much credit for even comprehending why my observation was even an issue.

So, here's the "informative" part of the post.
And, the "agile" connection.

A policy is little more than a charter for doing something. When it comes to processes and process improvement, the policy gives "teeth" from upper leadership to the performance of the processes by projects. Existence of policies for doing a process are the first indication that processes are being worked into the fabric of an organization. In CMMI, being worked into the fabric of an organization is called "institutionalization" and is carried out by performing the Generic Practices. Since "being worked into the fabric of an organization" is about making an impact on the organization's culture, I like to call this aspect of process implementation, acculturation.

Here are some other hints and tips for policies:

• They don't include processes or procedures, though they may reference them for clarification, edification, or example.


• They could easily be replaced with a "charter" if that works better for your organization.


• They shouldn't be so weak as to be rendered obsolete or useless under the strain of simple integrity (read: "smell") tests.


• Someone should care whether the policy is followed because having the policy ought to be essential in helping the organization and its stakeholders make decisions and be predictable.


• Policies should be clear about what's expected of people's conduct and performance (which makes them *not* the same a vision or mission statements -- if it reads like one of those, it's not a policy).


• They can actually be carried out, and you know when they aren't, and when not it's either very unusual, or, someone's not gonna be happy.


• Suggest a certain priority of activities, and when in doubt or when conflict arises, the policy should help sort through it, or at least let those operating under the policy know when they're in unchartered territory so they can seek leadership input.
  And, most importantly,


• Policies set expectations, not steps, not work-flows, not checklists.

In agile organizations, or in "traditional" organizations looking to become "agile", look to policy to ensuring minimal 'prescriptiveness' or, respectively, a source of unnecessary limitations, restrictions and undue 'proceduralizing'.

In our experience, our kids' school isn't alone in having intractable policies. Only, when our kids' school ran into me, they were up against someone who actually thought having a "policy" meant something.

Silly me.