Tuesday, December 4, 2007

why CMMI?


HELP! I'm looking for excellent examples of CMMP and SEP (formerly SEMP) to tailor quickly and improve our documentation and processes within an informations systems acquisition or development environment.

We have been tasked to achieve a CMMI Level 3 capability and maturity. This is a crucial directive in our environment that consists of high turnover and little process or tribal knowledge combined with products that have 5-10 years lifecycles of development and maintenance. Its a recipe for disaster.

We are constantly in the state of crisis with little control over the architecture and development of concepts. Every component is devised as a bandage with emergency funds and bypasses any systems-level architecture to ensure ideal integration and solid solutions. It puts the acquisition control in the hands of vendors who are forced to take charge of the design and solution without regard to the over-arching system.

We want to take the control back and own the system and decide when and how to spend our money!

Our first step in increasing our capability is to perform a gap analysis and determine where we are currently operating. We used a CMMI SCAMPI class B assessment internally. The results were positive, but concluded that we could not even pass a Level 2 maturity.

Rather than shoot for a fully optimized, continuous improving department right out of the gates, we will learn to walk before we run. Let's bring our processes up from the Level 1 Initial to the Level 2 Managed maturity.


http://www.itworldcanada.com/a/News/a545cbb5-78fa-4043-86fa-8d46518c3a49.html


http://online-books-library.blogspot.com/2007/12/cmmir-assessments-motivating-positive.html
From SEI:
18% of projects are considered failures, 53% of projects are considered challenged (only 29% of completed projects are considered a success)
Average percent of time overrun: 84% (average project is completed at almost twice the original schedule)
Average percent of cost overrun: 56% (average project is completed at slightly over 11/2 times the original budgeted cost)
Most common scenario in the software industry is still: over budget, over time, and with fewer features than planned
(Source: Standish Group – CHAOS Report 2004)

Cost Reduction 20%
Schedule Shortening 37%
Productivity Increase 62%
Quality Increase 50%
Customer Satisfaction Increase 14%
Return on Investment 4.7 : 1

Source: Software Engineering Institute, December 15, 2005. Based on data provided by 21 companies at various CMMI maturity levels (3 through 5) See: http://www.sei.cmu.edu/cmmi/results.html


CMMI is a collection of best practices for development and management of products throughout the lifecycle based on experiences from the community.

It’s a Risk Mitigation Strategy, but it is not a process.

From the ORGANIZATIONAL point of view:
CMMI can help achieve business goals by delivering
Consistent, predictable process performance to improve profitability
Improved product quality that will result in less rework and more satisfied clients
Credentials to enter markets where CMMI is a barrier to entry
Innovation delivered through continuous process improvement
From the INDIVIDUAL point of view:
CMMI can help you become a better analyst, developer, or manager
CMMI can help you better balance work-life requirements through schedule predictability and reduced rework


CMMI compliance in a nutshell means the following:
The engagement has a set of plans, based on an organizational set of standard processes, which describe “HOW” the activities of the engagement will be performed.
These plans describe processes which consist of the best practices articulated in the CMMI as specific practices.
The engagement team performs the processes as described in the plans with the assistance of institutionalization features articulated in the CMMI as generic practices (Policy, Plan, Responsibility Assignment, Training, etc).
An engagement Process and Product Quality Assurance (PPQA) function reviews the performed activities for consistency with the established plans.
At Maturity Levels 4 and 5, detailed metrics are captured for the key subprocesses of the engagement and quantitative techniques are used to maintain and improve stable process performance and quality objectives

Become a better buyer with CMMI-ACQ
By: Rafael RuffoloComputerWorld Canada (03 Dec 2007)
The Carnegie Mellon Software Engineering Institute (SEI) has unveiled a new set of best practices for IT acquisition and supply chain management that it hopes will change the way businesses acquire their IT software and services.
Blogs.ITWorldCanada.com
Shane Schick: Babes, bikinis and the IT buyer
The Capability Maturity Model Integration for Acquisition (CMMI-ACQ) aims to help people in the acquisition process. It provides a model to manage the process of acquiring IT products and services, and developing a common language between those parties, with the ultimate goal of IT projects being delivered on time and on budget.
The CMMI-ACQ guidelines are geared toward technology professionals in sectors such as government, transportation, finance, health care and the entertainment. But, according to Paul Nielsen, director and CEO at the SEI, the role of software-based systems and services is not limited to those fields.

According to Ralph Szygenda, group vice-president and CIO at General Motors, implementing the CMMI-ACQ model has resulted in improved software development, acquisition, integration, and most importantly, predictability in those areas. GM uses it to handle the more than 15,000 IT professionals the car maker employs worldwide. For instance, CMMI-ACQ would outline how and where the company would get its packaged software applications.

“In choosing a select group of vendors, we’ve standardized the legal stuff and that’s all behind us now. So we focus on the IT content and value, rather than the T’s and C’s with these vendors.”

The bottom line rationale
Szygenda said it saves time on both sides of the equation because it standardizes the interactions between an IT services vendor (in GM’s case, Cap Gemini and HP), which allows for a more efficient process.
Szygenda said prior to implementing the system, GM was “buying more than we were building but didn’t have the processes in place, or the acquisition standards in place.” Historically, GM would direct its IT providers every day.

CMMI Presentation (SPAWAR)

Tricare Health

CMMP- Configuration Management Master Plan
SEP / SEMP - Systems Engineering Plan
CMMI - Capability Maturity Model Integrated
SCAMPI - Standardized CMMI Assessment Method for Process Improvement

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Hi, Just a short note here on the CMMI certification. A company does not and can not get a CMMI certification. The campany will be rated a certain maturity of capability level. Reinier -- ReinierOlivier.

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