CAPABILITY MATURITY MODEL INTEGRATION (CMM- I)

Organizations today are operating in a business scenario where competition dictates them to build their processes to deliver products better, faster and cheaper. Also, while most organizations are looking at outsourcing parts of their operations, many others are into integration of parts (either built in-house or acquired) to create the final product. To add to the complexity of product development and maintenance; many organizations are resorting to software business also. Organizations that were not typically software companies-such as financial institutions, car manufacturers, airplane manufacturers, and insurance companies-find that much of their business relies on software. Software creates the competitive edge for them. The problems these organizations address today involve both software and systems engineering. More and more, these disciplines are becoming a critical part of their business. In essence, these organizations are product developers that need a way to manage an integrated approach to their software and systems engineering as part of reaching their business objectives.

In order to build a climate of integrating and leveraging the benefits of software and systems engineering, Organizations adopt 'Capability Maturity Models' (CMMs) to focus on improving processes within the organization. They contain the essential elements of effective processes for one or more disciplines and describe an evolutionary improvement path from ad hoc, immature processes to disciplined, mature processes with improved quality and effectiveness.

Six Sigma Alchemy (P) Ltd (SSA) helps organizations to assess the current maturity of their systems in terms of technology and software; and devise a suitable roadmap for higher excellence.

The first Capability Maturity Model was designed by the Software Engineering Institute (SEI) for software organizations. Since 1991, CMMs have been developed for a myriad of disciplines. Some of the most notable include models for systems engineering, software engineering, software acquisition, workforce management and development, and integrated product and process development.

The current Model is the Capability Maturity Model® Integration or CMMI. The CMM Integration project was formed to sort out the problem of using multiple CMMs. The CMMI Product Team's mission was to combine three source models:

	The Capability Maturity Model for Software (SW-CMM)
	The Systems Engineering Capability Model (SECM)
	The Integrated Product Development Capability Maturity Model

CMM-I consists of best practices that address product development and maintenance. It addresses practices that cover the product's life cycle from conception through delivery and maintenance. There is an emphasis on both systems engineering and software engineering and the integration necessary to build and maintain the total product.

CMMI allows users to select the model representation that best suits their business objectives. The flexibility built into every CMMI model supports both staged and continuous approaches to process improvement with common terminology, architecture, and appraisal methods.

Although the initial focus of CMMI was on product and service engineering, CMMI was designed for other disciplines as well, thereby supporting enterprise-wide process improvement.

CMMI Objectives

The initial objective (represented in version 1.1 of the CMMI Product Suite) was to integrate three specific process-improvement models: software, systems engineering, and integrated product development.

This integration was intended to reduce the cost of implementing multidiscipline model-based process improvement by:

	Eliminating inconsistencies.
	Reducing duplication.
	Increasing clarity and understanding.
	Providing common terminology.
	Providing consistent style.
	Establishing uniform construction rules.
	Maintaining common components.
	Assuring consistency with ISO/IEC 15504.
	Being sensitive to the implications for legacy efforts.

The longer-term objective was to lay a foundation for the later addition of other disciplines (such as supplier sourcing, manufacturing, acquisition, or safety and security) to CMMI.

To facilitate both current and future model integration, the CMMI Team created an automated, extensible framework that can house model components, training material components, and appraisal materials. Defined rules govern the potential addition of more disciplines into this framework.

BENEFITS or MEETING BUSINESS OBJECTIVES through CMM-I

CMMI makes a significant impact on your organization and on the achievement of your business objectives. CMMI helps the organizations to meet the following objectives:

Produce quality products or services. The process-improvement concept in CMMI models evolved out of the Deming, Juran, and Crosby quality paradigm: Quality products are a result of quality processes. CMMI has a strong focus on quality-related activities including requirements management, quality assurance, verification, and validation.

Create value for the stockholders. Mature organizations are more likely to make better cost and revenue estimates than those with less maturity, and then perform in line with those estimates. CMMI supports quality products, predictable schedules, and effective measurement to support management in making accurate and defensible forecasts. This process maturity can guard against project performance problems that could weaken the value of the organization in the eyes of investors.

Be an employer of choice. Watts Humphrey has said, "Quality work is not done by accident; it is done only by skilled and motivated people." CMMI emphasizes training, both in disciplines and in process. Experience has shown that organizations with mature processes have far less turnover than immature organizations.

Enhance customer satisfaction. Meeting cost and schedule targets with high-quality products that are validated against customer needs is a good formula for customer satisfaction. CMMI addresses all of these ingredients through its emphasis on planning, monitoring, and measuring, and the improved predictability that comes with more capable processes.

Increase market share. Market share is a result of many factors, including quality products and services, name identification, pricing, and image. Clearly, customer satisfaction is a central factor, and in a marketplace, having satisfied customers can be contagious. Customers like to deal with suppliers who have a reputation for meeting their commitments. CMMI improves estimation and lowers process variability to enable better, more accurate bids that are demonstrably achievable. It also contributes to meeting essential quality goals.

Implement cost savings and best practices. Processes that are documented, measured, and continuously improved are perfect candidates for becoming best practices, resulting in cost savings for the organization. CMMI encourages measurement as a managerial tool. By using the historical data collected to support schedule estimation, an organization can identify and widely deploy practices that work, and eliminate those that don't.

Gain an industry-wide recognition for excellence. The best way to develop a reputation for excellence is to consistently perform well on projects, delivering quality products and services within cost and schedule parameters. Having processes that conform to CMMI requirements can enhance that reputation. The results of CMMI appraisals can be compared across a company, a corporation, or an industry. Many organizations proudly advertise their CMMI-defined maturity rating alongside their ISO 9000 registration.