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CMMI Maturity 3 Appraisal Process

Q. We are planning to go to CMMI 3 level certification. I recently joined in my company. Please tell me the necessary processes and steps. Ans:- First of all, just to be clear, there is no such thing as “CMMI 3 level certification.” An organization is appraised to the CMMI using the SCAMPI A appraisal method to determine either the organization’s Maturity Level or the Capability Level of the organization’s processes. The result of the SCAMPI A is not a certification, but simply a rating of the current Maturity Level or Capability Level. Has your company already achieved Maturity Level 2? Has your company hired a CMMI consultant? Has your company hired an SEI-authorized SCAMPI Lead Appraiser? Has an SEI-authorized instructor provided the SEI Introduction to CMMI class to your company? If the answer to all of these questions is NO, then hire a CMMI consultant and a Lead Appraiser. The Lead Appraiser cannot provide the CMMI consulting. Most Lead Appraisers are also authorized CMMI instructors, so the next step is to train your process group and any people who might be an appraisal team member on the CMMI. Perform a Class C appraisal (gap analysis) to identify where you need to focus your CMMI implementation efforts. Use the findings from the Class C to write a process improvement plan, and use the plan to monitor and control your CMMI implementation efforts. Implement CMMI Maturity Level 2 FIRST. Once you have established the firm project management foundation of Maturity Level 2, and then consider implementing Maturity Level 3. If you try to implement both Maturity Level 2 and Maturity Level 3 at the same time, you will encounter difficulties. There is a huge difference between managing projects at Maturity Level 2 and managing projects at Maturity Level 3. Once you feel comfortable that you have addressed all of the findings from the Class C and you have had several project cycles to institutionalize the documented processes, then consult with your Lead Appraiser to determine if your organization is ready to conduct benchmarking SCAMPI A appraisal. There will be more training (appraisal team and PIIDs) and activities leading up to the SCAMPI A, but your Lead Appraiser will tell you exactly what you will need to do to prepare for the appraisal.  (Jul 4, 2009 | post #1)

Business News

What are Capability Levels in CMMI?

Capability levels of the continuous representation focus on maturing the organization’s ability to perform, control, and improve its performance in a process area Capability levels provide a recommended order for approaching process improvement within each process areaA capability level consists of related specific and generic practices for a process area that, when performed, increase the capability of the organization in that process area and enhance the organization’s overall process capability  (Jul 4, 2009 | post #1)

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What is the impact when company not doing proper Configuration Management?

What you’ll see: Baseline system can’t be produced when needed. Rework during test because components are not what was expected. Complete inventory of system components unavailable when needed - Causes wasted time to find parts and specs and interfaces. Uncontrolled changes that lead to uncontrolled rework. Why Should You Care? Because… Not knowing what is in the product leads to embarrassing discussions with customers. Inability to rebuild/revisit a previous baseline wastes money and resources during maintenance. Not being able to verify that the product tested is the product delivered costs you time, effort, and customer confidence. If you don’t know what’s in or out of the product, you don’t know what you don’t know!  (Jul 4, 2009 | post #1)

Business News

Where to start CMMI implementation?

We can start CMMI Implementation depending on the organizational need. Once an organization starts growing in size, it starts feeling the need for effective processes and the use of processes by the people. This is the point of introspection - and the organization starts looking for some model. The question is Which Model. CMMI is one of the best suited and well researched model to be used for institutionalizing the best practices for software engineering body of knowledge - which means requirements management, project management, design, coding, testing, delivery and maintenance etc. You can start CMMI Implementation from today. However, it would be a good idea to plan the roadmap for the CMMI Journey from launch to successful implementation to successful assessment to successful sustenance of the system post assessment. It also good to find out what are our organizational goals that we would like to achieve while implementing CMMI Process Areas. My sugggestion would be to develop a detailed roadmap, explain what is expected from each stakeholder - management, coordinators, practitioners, project managers, project leaders, programmers, etc - and then begin the process. Good luck.  (Jul 4, 2009 | post #1)

Business News

What tool should we use for our Process Asset Library?

The best criteria for the success of a process asset library is its user acceptability. Is it inviting enough to attract users for browsing it? Is it friendly enough to give maximum information through minimum clicks? Is it having the characteristic of one document flowing into the other or one data leading to other?My suggestion would be to evaluate the tools on the basis of the criteria as identified in the questions above. Some more criteria can be discovered after brain-storming. A formal DAR will give a solution.My impression is - after all this – you will be inspired enough to develop a customized tool for yourself.I may not name any specific tool as you can easily get their names by some web-surfing. However, make sure that you do not start getting driven by tool formalism and start thinking the way tool makes you think.  (Jul 4, 2009 | post #1)

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What is the impact when organisation not doing proper Requirement Management?

What you’ll see: High levels of re-work throughout the project.Requiremen ts accepted by staff from any source they deem to be authoritative“Gall oping” requirements creep. Inability to “prove” that the product meets the approved requirements. Why Should You Care? Because… Lack of agreement among stakeholders as to what are the “real” requirements increases time and cost to complete the project.You’re highly likely to deliver an incorrect or incomplete product.Revisiting requirements changes over and over is a waste of resource highly visible to the customer  (Jul 4, 2009 | post #1)

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What is the impact when the organization not doing proper Project Monitoring?

What you’ll see Crisis management. High rework levels throughout the project. Lots of time spent in meetings trying to “discover” project status rather than reporting on it. Data needed for management decisions is unavailable when needed. Actions that should have been taken early on aren’t discovered. until it’s too late Why Should You Care? Because… If you don’t know what’s going on, corrective action can’t be taken early when it’s least expensive. Lack of management insight/oversight makes project results highly unpredictable, even later in the project. If your confidence in the status you give to your customer is low, they probably perceive that!  (Jul 4, 2009 | post #1)

Business News

What are the implementation risks faced during CMMI Implementation?

There are many risks that are encountered. It will depend on organization’s size, culture and type of work.Some common risks encountered are:In general, most of the people, and even PMs feign ignorance, despite repeated and focused trainings. There is immense lack of attitude as well as knowledge in understanding the processes. People holding responsible positions have very little inclination towards unlearning and relearning the ways of implementing the processes. There is lack of Leadership at PM Level. Sometimes there is lack of accountability at PM Level. There is lack of communication from the Sr. Management, in clear terms, about the consequences of not implementing processes. Training process is weak and there in no follow-through on training. There is lack of availability of real data. Metrics Reports cannot be reliable if they are not based on correct data. Project data is back-calculated to meet the goals rather than going the proper way. And in this way, the organization is trapped into the vicious circle of incorrect data.  (Jul 4, 2009 | post #1)

Business News

What is the impact when the organization not doing proper planning?

What you’ll see… Poor estimates that lead to cost and schedule overruns. Unable to discover deviations from undocumented plans. Resources aren’t available / applied when needed. Unable to meet commitments. Why Should You Care? Because… Customers don’t trust suppliers who waste their resources — loss of future businessNo lessons learned for future projects means making the same mistakes on multiple projects. Unhappy customers, employees, and stockholders means a short life for the business. If you fail to plan then you plan to fail!  (Jul 4, 2009 | post #1)