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2008. I explained to them early in 2007 the fundamentals of what CMMI level
3 meant and the importance of documenting their processes.
One of the first tasks I recommended was to capture the organization's cur-
rent “as-is” process before attempting to make any changes. I like to be able
to guide the “as-is” process capture effort so I can remind those writing the
“as-is” processes what they should be thinking about and including in the
process descriptions. In the case of NANO, the Director had directed each
group within his organization to document their own processes. He felt each
group that reported to him needed to be responsible for its own processes.
6.8 Gap Analysis Findings at NANO
Early in 2008 when I was called in to conduct the gap analysis, I found that
the processes they had written the previous year were deficient with respect
to key CMMI level 3 process characteristics. The best way to explain this
deficiency is to start with a discussion of the CMMI Generic Practices.
Generic Practices in the CMMI often don't get the attention they deserve,
and are commonly misunderstood. Let us start this discussion with a com-
monly held myth.
A Commonly Held Myth about the CMMI Generic Practices
MYTH
The Generic Practices in the CMMI are not Specific, which means
there is nothing Specific we need to do to achieve them.
This philosophy was reflected in how NANO had written their processes,
and how those processes had been executed. As the organization grew, those
same processes began to break down.
6.9 Example of a Generic Practice
As an example, Generic Practice 2.7 states:
Identify and involve relevant stakeholders of the [fill in relevant process
area] process as planned.
