Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
INSIGHT
Yo u h a v e a c h o i c e w h e r e t o s t a r t a p r o c e s s i m p r o v e m e n t e f f o r t
when using the CMMI Model.
2.4 Where Many Organizations Wrongly Start When
Using the CMMI Model
Often, organizations start their process improvement effort when using the
CMMI model at a level 2 process area such as Project Planning (PP). Unfortu-
nately, this creates more work in the long run for a number of reasons. First,
when organizations start at level 2 without first giving some thought to level
3, they often end up reworking what was done at level 2.
Second, most organizations don't have an unlimited process improvement
budget so they have to make decisions how to spend their limited resources.
By starting your effort at the level 3 Organizational Process Focus (OPF) SP 1.1,
you can create powerful criteria to aid process improvement related decisions
right from the start.
OPF SP 1.1—“Establish and maintain the description of the process needs and
objectives for the organization.”
2.5 How the CMMI Model Is Often Used, and Options
Not Well Understood
To d a y, m a n y o rg a n i z a t i o n s i n s e a rc h o f a c e r t a i n C M M I l e v e l r a t i n g j u s t g o o u t
and implement every practice expected at that level and don't think about
how much money they should be investing in each area first. Unfortunately,
many of these organizations don't know they have options within the model
that allow them to make intelligent decisions related to how they spend their
process improvement dollars based on their business objectives. An example
of a choice you have is the data you decide to collect when doing peer reviews.
To h e l p m a k e a g o o d d e c i s i o n h e re , a s k y o u r s e l f t h e f o l l o w i n g t w o q u e s t i o n s :
• Who is going to use this data if we collect it?
• How does this data relate to our business objectives?
