Yule Love Your CMMI Training

This holiday party is really roaring down the track!

What started as an innocent request at Santa’s knee (“All I want for Christmas is a successful CMMI program”) has evolved into a full blown celebration of adopting one of the CMMI’s 12 Generic Practices (GPs) each day.

As you know, the GPs are foundational to the success of any or all of the process you deploy. So we figured, what better gift than to help you make these GPs your own?

So let’s stand back and take in the scene.

The previous CMMI Consultant is napping in the bathtub. The Project Manager is dancing on the couch with a process work-plan in each hand. The Quality Assurance Manager and the CFO have teamed up to eat their way through an entire plate of Christmas cookies, while a bunch of engineers are huddled in the corner challenging each other as to who can bench-press the most Dungeons and Dragons books.  Ah, tradition!

And then there’s us, the undaunted carolers. We’re putting on our coats, bracing ourselves with another shot of Mrs. Appraiser’s egg-nog, and stepping back out into the cold because …

It’s the 12 Days of CMMI, installment #5. Full voices now!

“On the fifth day of Christmas, my boss she gave to me:

FIVE DAYS IN CLASS!
four new assignments,
three new compliers,
two process plans,
and a box with a shiny policy.” 

Generic Practice 2.5 – Train People

The fifth GP guides us to train the people performing or supporting the process.

In other words, if Santa expects (there's that pesky GP2.1 again!) his Project Manager-elves to be efficient at estimating and planning, he needs to train them on estimating and planning.  If not, those proud elves, who are loath to admit they don't know how to do something will ACTUALLY TRY TO DO SOMETHING!  Oh no!

If he’s going to plan for (GP2.2 - ding!) his QA-elves to run process and product quality assurance, he needs to train them on running process and product quality assurance.

If he’s going to provide resources (GP2.3 - bada bing!) for his BA-elves to trace requirements and run JAD workshops, he needs to train them on performing requirement traceability and running JAD workshops.

And if he’s going to assign responsibility (GP2.4---Voilà) to his elf-engineers to perform peer reviews, he needs to train them to perform peer reviews.

Then he needs to mentor them and give them encouragement and support.

This might be what you’d expect from the North Pole. But not here in North America, oh no. Here, the idea of needing training is considered a weakness by too many Scrooge-like bosses. Engineers are trained by being thrown into the fire and learning on the job. They're trained like MEN!  They get put on a project and they learn as they go - if they're brave enough to ask.

Oh no Tiny Tim, you need to pull yourself by your bootstraps.  Thats right.  Bah-humbug!

GP2.5 requires different behaviors from executives. And most executives see the value, once they see the numbers. Training increases productivity early in the tenure of someone’s employment. Where it takes an average engineer about a year to get up to speed in terms of productivity with peers, this GP helps them get up to speed in a matter of weeks.

Santa has 15 different CMMI training courses that he provides to his elves, that are related to CMMI, Scrum, or general process improvement.  With real life examples, lessons and proven techniques, class participants take away – and retain – valuable information to be used on the job, immediately.

Then instead of worrying about what they're supposed to do, our happy elves just have fun DOING IT!  As one old elf put it - can't we just make some toys now?

Be like Santa. Apply agile methods to continuous improvement, and be rapid, flexible, and able to meet the needs of he good little boys and girls of the world quicker than your competition might be.  And believe me, if Santa doesn't come through, someones Mom and Dad will!

And while you're at it, have another Christmas cookie.

Like this blog? Forward to your nearest software or engineering exec! 

Jeff Dalton is a Certified SCAMPI Lead Appraiser, Certified CMMI Instructor, author, and consultant with years of real-world experience with the CMMI in all types of organizations. Jeff has taught thousands of students in CMMI trainings and has received an aggregate satisfaction score of 4.97 out of 5 from his students.


Learn more about CMMI Adoption at www.broadswordsolutions.com.

Won’t You Guide My CMMI Plan Tonight?

Well, the egg-nog has been flowing for 4 days in a row, and your previous CMMI Consultant is napping in the bathtup (his loss!), but the rest of us are still going strong. So let’s keep celebrating the 12 Days of CMMI!


As you know if you’ve been following our merry band of Christmas carolers on 
Ask the CMMI Appraiser" lately, the “12 Days of CMMI” started when an executive wrote in that all he wants for Christmas is a successful CMMI program.


I knew I could help him out, sure, but I didn't want to deprive him the real joy of the season, which is the opportunity to help his company with techniques that make them a great company, using CMMI as one of their tools.  In other words, the journey is far more important than the destination, so why stiff the guy?  He's been good this year and he deserves a shiny new toy.


“You know?” said Mrs. Appraiser as she warmed up my cocoa, “What this nice young man REALLY needs is the gift of the 12 Generic Practices - screw the pear tree!”

The Generic Practices (GPs) are what I consider the most important part of the CMMI and I wish they were called the "Very Important Practices" instead of the "generic practices."  Who would care?  Why are GPs so important? Because poor implementation of the GPs will ALWAYS lead to spectacular failure.


Remember process debt, filling out painful forms, nasty QA audits, and useless process? You can avoid them with the GPs.


Given that there are 12 of them, and given that Mrs. Appraiser makes a mean egg-nog, well, I started singing "The 12 Days of CMMI" to the tune of "The Twelve Days of Christmas" and dancing around in my red Santa Suit (the missus really likes me in that).


OK, maybe that's too much information.


So fill your mug, fill your heart, and fill-in for that passed-out consultant by joining us in song:


“On the fourth day of Christmas, my boss she gave to me:


four new assignments,
three new compliers,
two process work-plans,
and a box with a shiny policy.”


Generic Practice 2.4 – Assign Responsibility


The fourth GP guides us to assign responsibility and authority for performing the process, developing the work products, and providing the services of the process.  Services?  huh?  It's OK, Hang in there.


Example, you say? Sure, let’s go back to Santa’s Workshop.


The fourth GP informs Santa that it is critical to assign responsibility for the elf-engineers to execute the processes associated with building toys for all the good boys and girls of the world.  Without that the little girl elfs would be maiking footballs and .... oh wait.  Stop.  Reverse that.  


Who leads a JAD workshop?  Who performs estimates?  An elf has GOT know!


Santa calmly spells it all out ahead of time. He says, “Elf-John is responsible for making baseball gloves, and Elf-Sarah is responsible for making aprons (I never said Santa was politically correct!),” and so on and so forth … assigning the elf that he expects to perform each process.  Expects?  Hmmm, sounds like GP2.1 to me.


If he didn’t do that, none of the elves would really know what they were supposed to do, and what they were responsible for. Elf-John would build a puppy that meowed.  Elf-Sarah would build a set of legos that repelled each other.  Defects would abound in Christmastown! oh noooooooo!  Think of all the crying children and angry parents!  IT WOULD BE THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS!


Some of you might be saying, “Such is life! Herding elves is what management is all about.”


I say otherwise.  I say it is a waste of time when I see management sending out an email to the entire team saying, “I want everybody to do this.” Then they wonder why nobody does it.


My favorite is: "Quality is everyone's job" or the even better: "you have to build quality into everything you do!"  What the *#$% does that mean?


That won’t fly in Santa’s Workshop.


Here's what will fly.  Focus on the fact that the CMMI is about the transformation of the culture of your company. It’s about improving and changing the way your company behaves, so that you build toys that are better than other workshops that are building similar, but inferior, toys.


Assign responsibility and authority, and you will be guiding your company like a sleigh through the night.  


After sampling Mrs. Appraiser's egg-nog, you've certainly got the right color nose for it.


Like this blog?  Forward to your nearest software or engineering exec!


Jeff Dalton is a Certified SCAMPI Lead Appraiser, Certified CMMI Instructor, Candidate SCAMPI Appraiser Observer, author, and consultant with years of real-world experience with the CMMI in all types of organizations. Jeff has taught thousands of students in CMMI trainings and has received an aggregate satisfaction score of 4.97 out of 5 from his students.


Learn more about CMMI Adoption at www.broadswordsolutions.com.

For the CMMI Program Team That Has Everything

Day Three!


If you’ve been following this blog for the past few days, you know about the engineering firm executive named Vincent who only wants one thing for Christmas: a successful CMMI program. (Here is the original Ask the CMMI Appraiser post.)


You also know that, as a Certified CMMI Lead Appraiser, I know enough to insist that the most important part of the CMMI are the Generic Practices, or "GPs".  I don't care if your going for CMMI Level 2 or CMMI Level 3 - the GPs will find you!


And you probably know that there are 12 GPs, which inspired me to draw a festive connection to the Twelve Days of Christmas, which caused us to drink a bunch of egg-nog, go outside, knock on our neighbors’ doors and make gigantic fools of ourselves yelling "ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS A SUCCESSFUL CMMI PROGRAM!"


We’re having so much fun, we’re going out caroling again. So come on … it’s the Twelve Days of CMMI, installment #3.

Sing along with me now: "On the third day of Christmas, my boss she gave to me, three new compilers, two process work-plans, and a box with a shiny policy ..."


Generic Practice 2.3 – Provide Resources


The third GP guides us to provide adequate resources for performing the process, developing the work products, and providing the services of the process.


In other words, give your team the presents – the tools and environmental resources – for the processes to be useful, so your team can be successful.  What a gift!


Here’s a timely example. Up here in the North Pole, elf-engineers may be employed full-time or part-time (do I need to pay for health insurance?).  They busy themselves building toys for the good little boys and girls.  A measurement group may even exist to support measurement activities across multiple gift-building projects in Santa's workshop.  


How many wooden cars will no kids want?  How many cheap flat-screens will all the dads want?  You know, that kind of stuff.


A warm and fuzzy picture for sure, but let’s consider the flip side. What if we don’t provide adequate resources?


That would be like Santa saying to his elves, “My policy is that you build toys out of wood, not plastic,” then not giving them access to wood.  Meanie.  I had a boss like that once.  He didn't have a beard though.


If Santa did that, he wouldn’t be performing this Generic Practice very well (and he would be a mean, nasty Santa), because, if he doesn’t give his elves the wood, he can’t expect them to adhere to the policy of building toys out of wood.  What a jerk!


Bring on the lumber, Santa!


This is important because, in software engineering, tools can be quite expensive. For example, let’s say you tell your team, “It’s my policy as a manager that you use these software tools, and that you assemble your team in a co-located fashion in a single room.” And then you don’t clear a single room for them to go work in.   arrggggg!


Not only have they failed to perform this practice, but you have wasted money on the tools.  I'm sure that has NEVER happened to you!


No white Christmas for you!  It's just cold, dark, and snowy.


Notice, this GP has nothing to do with how well the process is performed. There are measures around how well the process is being executed.  I talk about it in my CMMI Training class - GP 2.8 (you'll have to wait until the EIGHT day of Christmas for that one!).  This GP is concerned only with having management provide the resources so that the processes can be performed …


… so that all those deserving kids can have toys on Christmas.


Stay tuned!


Jeff Dalton is a Certified SCAMPI Lead Appraiser, Certified CMMI Instructor, author, and consultant with years of real-world experience with the CMMI in all types of organizations. Jeff has taught thousands of students in CMMI trainings and has received an aggregate satisfaction score of 4.97 out of 5 from his students.


Learn more about CMMI Adoption at www.broadswordsolutions.com.

Visions of CMMI Certification Dancing in Your Head?

An executive recently sent us his Christmas wish list (see last Ask the CMMI Appraiser post), with just one item on it.  The only thing he really wants for Christmas is a successful CMMI program.

He didn't say so, but I sensed that that fellow had visions of CMMI certification dancing in his head.  What he needs to understand, like all good little boys and girls around the world who want a successful CMMI program, is that the most important part of the CMMI are the Generic Practices, or "GPs".

Because there are 12 GPs, and because I am in such a holly-jolly mood, I figure, why not to adopt one GP for each of the Twelve Days of Christmas?
So here we go again with ... the Twelve Days of CMMI, part duex.

Sing along with me now: "On the second day of Christmas, my boss she gave to me, two process work-plans and a box with a shiny policy ..."

Generic Practice 2.2 - Plan the Process

The second GP guides us to establish and maintain the plan for performing the process.

This is another very pivotal GP in the model.  And it's the gift that keeps on giving!

We've already said that GP2.1 is about setting expectations.  With GP2.2, we develop an infrastructure where all processes we expect people to use are planned for.  The idea is that we can expect people to do things all we want, but unless it's also planned for, it ain't gonna happen.  

It's kind of like getting a gift in one box and the batteries in the other!

Let's unwrap this.  For example, suppose you've got a plan for performing the measurement and analysis process.  With GP2.2, you might include milestones and tasks for "M and A" (or "Manda" as I like to call her) in your project plan.

Here's another example.  Let's say you have a process that includes gathering requirements from your customer.  Part of your process includes writing those process requirements down, and part of your process includes getting a sign-off on them from your customer, and part of your process includes validating them.  Each project ensures that all of the appropriate steps are in the plan, and that they get scheduled and sequenced.

This may be news to a lot of executives.  Maybe the so-called CMMI consultant they have been working with has a heart that's two sizes too small.  They see no value in providing resources and assuring that actions are planned for. They insist it's "process debt."  Instead, they are like the Grinch who can't find a reindeer for his fake Santa Claus act, and decides to improvise.  He takes his dog Max, and he takes some black thread, and he ties a big crooked antler on the top of his head.

... and poor Max does a face-plant in the snow.

A better approach to adopting the CMMI is to remember the "reason for the season" - that is, why are we doing this in the first place?  The CMMI is not about getting a CMMI certificate or achieving a CMMI Maturity Level.  That would be the equivalent of stealing Christmas.  No, the CMMI is more like an ongoing celebration, a model for being joyful in the quest for becoming a great company.

So start establishing and maintaining the plan today.  And check back soon for the 3rd day of CMMI!

Jeff Dalton is a Certified SCAMPI Lead Appraiser, Certified CMMI Instructor, author and consultant with years of real-world experience with the CMMI in all types of organizations.  Jeff has taught thousands of students in CMMI trainings around the country and has received an aggregate satisfaction score of 4.97 out of 5 from his students.


Learn more about CMMI Adoption at www.broadswordsolutions.com.

All I want for Christmas is a successful CMMI program!

Jeff, I’m an executive in a mid-sized engineering firm, leading my first CMMI adoption project.  All I really want for Christmas is for it to be a success.  Can you give me some tips?

~ Vincent A.

Vincent, well, let me check my list . . . hold on, I'm checking it twice … Yes, I see you’ve been a good executive this year.  I’ll be happy to give you tips on how to be even better.

First, let’s be clear that the most important part of the CMMI, IMHO, are the Generic Practices (or GPs).  Aptly numbered for the season, there are 12 of them, and they are the responsibility of executives like you who are leading the CMMI effort.  So why not adopt one for each of the Twelve Days of Christmas?

Allow me to answer your question with a series of posts called … the Twelve Days of CMMI.  Warm up your vocal chords now....

Sing along with me now: “On the first day of Christmas, my boss he gave to to me, a box with a shiny policy..."

Generic Practice 2.1 – Establish an Organizational Policy

The first GP guides us to set organizational expectations for all practitioners for performing the processes.

Let’s unwrap that, shall we?

There are 22 process areas in the CMMI.  That’s 22 areas of study, so to speak.  Each one of those 22 areas has these 12 Generic Practices.  The reason they are called “generic” is because they are generic to everything.

Since there are 22 process areas, you as management, have to unambiguously set the expectation that all 22 of them (if that’s what you are doing), have to be used, followed, deployed, measured and evaluated.  

Now, let's not get crazy with all this egg nog.  You don't need 22 policies - just be sure the policies you DO have "cover" all of the process areas.  And when you're addressing CMMI level three, it gets a little more voluminous.

It may not seem obvious, but GP 2.1 is very pivotal to the success of your program (and your engineers).  It guides you to provide a clear and unambiguous setting of expectations by management that the employees will use the process as it has been written and defined.

The Grinch version is "if you want to work here you'll do it!"  But I prefer the good cheer version: "if you would like your job's to be easier, want to go home earlier to do a little christmas shopping, and have bette projects, here's what we need you to do."

Remember, Vincent, adopting the CMMI is 100% about solving business problems.  It’s not about documents.  But the more we use it, and the more we work with companies that are using the CMMI, the more we realize that this is a model that's about how great companies perform.

Too many CMMI Consultants don't get this.  They thinking it's about passing an audit.  All you get from this is some coal in a stinky stocking.

We like the nice, freshly wrapped gift of a great company!

Start setting expectations today.  And check back soon for the 2^nd Day of CMMI!

Jeff Dalton is a Certified SCAMPI Lead Appraiser, Certified CMMI Instructor,  author, and consultant with years of real-world experience with the CMMI in all types of organizations.  Jeff has taught thousands of students in CMMI trainings and has received an aggregate satisfaction score of 4.97 out of 5 from his students.

Learn more about CMMI Adoption at www.broadswordsolutions.com.

Who is speaking at SEPG 2012 this year?

Hi, Jeff – I don’t know if you remember me, but it was great to meet you at last year’s SEPG and hear your presentation.  This year, we’re sending more management, and I’m hoping to be able to introduce you to my boss.  Curious: will you be speaking at the conference again this year?

~ Jayla A.

Jayla,

Thank you for staying in touch, Jayla.  I do remember you, and am looking forward to reconnecting.  I’d be happy to meet more people from your excellent company!  It's going to be a great conference - as usual, the SEI is doing an awesome job at putting the show together.

To answer your question, yes, I’ve been selected to speak at the SEPG North America 2012 Conference on March 12-15, 2012 in Albuquerque, NM.  But the big news this year is … it’s not “just about Jeff”anymore!  Broadsword was honored by having not one … not two … but THREE senior CMMI consultants selected as speakers!

Our very own Julie Calfin and Laura Adkins will be joining me to deliver four presentations (including two trainings).

Some cool facts about the event:

• The review process was conducted anonymously, and speakers were selected based on expertise, not name or company affiliation.

• Some of the greatest speakers in our industry will be there.

• This is the 7^th consecutive year that Broadsword was selected to speak, but only the second time sending multiple speakers (and then only two of us!).

• Broadsword has become known for giving away hats, buttons and other popular prizes during their presentations – as well as timely information that helps companies improve their operational and engineering performance.  So c'mon by and get some swag . . . and learn a few new things you can use right away!

And some specifics on our presentations:

• Julie will be speaking about Organizational Change Management: The key differentiator for sustainable process improvement.  Julie is a world-class thought leader on OCM.  Not to be missed!

• Laura will be speaking about running successful process pilots.  Something she knows A LOT about!  Laura also helps us out with our CMMI Training classes.

• I will be speaking and delivering our famous"CMMI+Scrum Learning Experience" on the first day of the conference in a half-day format.  We've delivered this course to many of our CMMI Consulting clients - and they've all loved it.  Come by and see what all the hoopla is about!

• I will also be co-presenting with my good friends (and clients) from ADNET Systems about using the CMMI at NASA.  These guys are pretty cool!

I’m glad you got something out of my presentation last year, Jayla.  Thanks to enthusiastic participants like you, I’ve been voted a "Top Ten Speaker" at multiple SEPG conferences, and was keynote speaker at the International Conference on CMMI in Lima, Peru in 2010.  It’s always fun to be with people like you who get it.

See you in New Mexico!  

Jeff Dalton is a Certified SCAMPI Lead Appraiser, Certified CMMI Instructor, Candidate SCAMPI Appraiser Observer, author, and consultant with years of real-world experience with the CMMI in all types of organizations.  Jeff has taught thousands of students and has received an aggregate satisfaction score of 4.97 out of 5 from his students.

Learn more about CMMI Consultants at www.broadswordsolutions.com

It's time for our re-appraisal. What version of CMMIshould we use?

Hey Jeff,

We’re up for our second CMMI appraisal.  We want to know when CMMI v1.3 was released, and can we still use CMMI v1.2?

_ Blz

Hey, Blz,

I hope you have a jar of marmalade handy.  Because, as of today, CMMI v1.2 is toast.

Here’s what’s happened since your last appraisal:

·      CMMI v1.3 was released around this time last year by the good folks at the SEI.

·      SCAMPI v1.3 was released in March 2011.

·      CMMI v1.2, as of today, is toast.  Retired.  Kaput!

Soooooo.... that means three things:

·   

            You can no longer conduct a CMMI v1.2 appraisal. Well, you COULD conduct one, but it just would not be accepted by the SEI!  So if your CMMI Consultant tells you to do it, don't. If he does, you should "retire" him too!

·         You can now conduct your CMMI v1.3 Appraisal against SCAMPI v1.3 or SCAMPI v1.2 until March 2012.  Got a headache yet?

·         Then SCAMPI v1.2 will be toast, too.  After March 2012 everything will be in harmony - SCAMPI v1.3 and CMMI v1.3.  yayyyyyy!


    I've stopped teaching the CMMI v1.2 course in my CMMI Training classes already.  I don't think I've taught one since last December.

Got it?

Now get outta here, Blz.  With all this talk about toast and SCAMPI you’re making me hungry!

Jeff Dalton is a Certified SCAMPI Lead Appraiser, Certified CMMI Instructor, Candidate SCAMPI Appraiser Observer, author, and consultant with years of real-world experience with the CMMI in all types of organizations.  Jeff has taught thousands of students and has received an aggregate satisfaction score of 4.97 out of 5 from his students.

Learn more about CMMI Appraisals at www.broadswordsolutions.com

Can we be CMMI Level 3 without losing our agility?

Dear CMMI Appraiser, I’ve been enjoying your posts about Agile and CMMI.  I am the founder of an Agile organization that has grown to 40 people.  We aren’t about process at all, but I’d like to see us adopt more of a CMMI Level 3 mindset.  Our CMMI Consultant tells us we're pitiful and need help.  Can companies like ours become CMMI compliant without losing the flexibility and freedom that makes us who we are?  ~Louis

Louis,

Hmmm.  Not a very nice thing for your CMMI Consultant to say about you...isn't he the one supposed to be giving you help?  


Yes, companies like yours really can achieve great benefit from using both CMMI and Agile.  The combination allows you to exploit synergies that have the potential to dramatically improve business performance.

However, when you say you aren’t about process, I would challenge that.  If you are really using Agile techniques, you are, without a doubt ALL about process!  As I tell the attendees in my CMMI Training class,  that’s nothing to be ashamed of! It's ok, we all know :)  You should be proud that you’ve been able to stay flexible while incorporating useful processes like daily stand-ups, planning poker, and more.  A good CMMI Lead Appraiser should be able to recognize those things as useful to your organization and make some suggestions for making them even better.

The good news about CMMI is that it aligns very well with all of the major Agile methods.  And it can be used to make those things even better! For example, take a look at how the CMMI practices correspond with some of the more common agile techniques: 

This should help your organization start to move in a direction where you can use the CMMI to help improve and still be Agile and light-weight.  The truth is, not only can you be light and Agile, but you can still have choices that will meet the needs of each project.  Choices are what give you the freedom to be who you are, and to do it the right way for each given situation.  If you were to come to me for some CMMI Consulting I would offer you this same advice.

Many people mistakenly believe that, in order to adopt the CMMI, they need to adopt a culture of rigid compliance that kills your freedom.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  It's all about choices - something the SEI calls "tailoring."

At this point, Louis, adopting the CMMI in your Agile organization may be the adventure you are ready for.

Jeff Dalton is a Certified SCAMPI Lead Appraiser, Certified CMMI Instructor, Candidate SCAMPI Appraiser Observer, author, and consultant with years of real-world experience with the CMMI in all types of organizations.  Jeff has taught thousands of students and has received an aggregate satisfaction score of 4.97 out of 5 from his students.

Learn more about CMMI Appraisals at www.broadswordsolutions.com

What Process Areas should the SEPG be assessed on?

Dear Appraiser, 


In planning an SEPG review, I am including OPD, OPF, and OT Process Areas in scope.  Am I on the right track for an internal audit that is limited to the SEPG group covering only those 3 PA's?


I have a PPQA role in the organization and have been asked to do an internal SEPG review of a newly formed development group targeting a CMMI Appraisal at ML3 in 2012 ~Ingrid


Dear Ingrid,

When you say "SEPG" I am going to assume you mean "the people responsible for the process."  The SEPG is not strictly part of CMMI, but in my CMMI Training classes I spend a good deal of time talking about the role and types of people who should serve in this important group.  This group goes by many names (a little bit like Gandalf in Lord of the Rings), but usually focuses on the prioritization, approval, development, deployment, and monitoring of the set of techniques and processes used by your organization.

If you started 10 years ago, you must have a very mature SEPG with its own processes that are improved, maintained and monitored.  If you're close to being appraised at ML3, I'm sure you have ALL of that under control! ;)

As steward of the process, the SEPG (or EPG, EPI, SPEG, PIT, etc) performs and improves many of the practices in OPF, OPD, and sometimes even OT.  I say "many" because there are some that address process infrastructure (like "Process Asset Library" and "Measurement Repository") that are not practices at all.  And then there are some that are often performed by other people like "Deliver Training" in OT.  The SEI has done a decent job at spreading the wealth!

So OPD and OPF are good places to start.  Easy right?  

WAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIT!  Not so fast!

Depending on how it has been structured over the year, there are probably other practices to consider.  The CMMI Appraiser in me is asking "how about GP 2.8" for all of the Process Areas?"  Who is monitoring the process if not the SEPG?  How about GP2.9 and the aggregate data that's collected for compliance?  Who is looking after that.  Trending of metrics?  Reporting to management on process performance (GP2.10)?  How about managing improvement ideas (GP3.2) and managing tailoring guidelines (IPM)?  These are all things a CMMI Appraiser or CMMI Instructor will be on the lookout for.

Another way to think about it, as opposed to by Process Area, is to consider all of the things needed to maintain, monitor, and improve the process infrastructure - and that's what you need to be looking at.  If the SEPG doesn't do those things - who does?  As a CMMI Consultant I often spend more time working with the SEPG than I do working withe teams to develop the process!


Training could be a whole other ball game.  Sometimes the SEPG handles training - sometimes it's part of HR or another part of the company.  Just remember that, if the SEPG handles it, they need to be sure that a training "capability" is in place.  Another word for that is "infrastructure."  If they sanction "OJT" as their method that might work, if they actually DO have OJT training that has an infrastructure.  With your sized organization I would assume a more formal program that included strategic and tactical plans, materials, trained trainers, and well defined training for practitioners by role. If I were providing CMMI Consulting to you, this is exactly what I would recommend.


Should people be trained on CMMI?  A lot of people (including CMMI Lead Appraiser's that I know) say "no."  I used to think this also.  But the last few years, whenever I teach an "internal" CMMI course" I always hear that they wished they had sent more people to the class.  Maybe that's because I include a lot of additional material about making it real though.

One more thing - the SEPG doesn't get a free pass.  They ALSO have all of the GP's to consider.  How are they being monitored?  Do they follow their process?  Are they trained?

It's important work - but you sound like the right person for the job.  Good luck! 

Jeff Dalton is a Certified SCAMPI Lead Appraiser, Certified CMMI Instructor, Candidate SCAMPI Team Leader Observer, author, and consultant with years of real-world experience with the CMMI in all types of organizations.  Jeff has taught thousands of students and has received an aggregate satisfaction score of 4.97 out of 5 from his students.

Learn more about CMMI Appraisals at www.broadswordsolutions.com