Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
9.21 Revisiting CMMI Level 4/5 Practices and Their
Relationship to Agility
MYTH
The higher CMMI level practices are theoretical and too far a field
from real projects to have real value that can help a project in a timely way.
This myth is the result not of the CMMI practices themselves, but the way
many organizations have chosen to implement them. I have made the point
often in this topic that the CMMI is a reference model that helps us under-
stand what to do. But it doesn't mandate “how” or “when.” Agile and lean
techniques provide effective “how-to
”
techniques that can work with the
CMMI.
In Chapter 3, I provided an example of
gathering, analyzing, and acting
on data
in a timely fashion, leading to an effective solution through the procurement
case study at LACM. In this chapter, we see a similar case study on the golf
improvement project where
gathering, analyzing
,
and acting
in a timely way
proves key to real process improvement.
The CMMI level 4/5 practices can help move your skill level from Shu to Ha,
and you have to move from Shu to Ha if you want to get better.
MYTH
Consistency is achieved by doing the same thing over and over.
Consistency is actually achieved through
continuous small changes
addressing
specific weaknesses that never end…
