How to Start Your CMMI Journey

1.       Make a clear Plan!

2.       Start with Basics: Form a Process Support Group / Team. Form another QA team, who can help you in the audit. In case of small organization, delivery people can also help in cross-project peer audit.

3.       Put Tool Set in Place 

• SVN

• CVS

• MS Project

• Sharepoint

• Timesheet tool

• PM Tool

4.   Training

Training is the key for success of any process implementation and its sustenance.

Training can be done at the multiple levels and for different topics. 

·         CMMI Basics

·         CMMI PA-wise sessions

·         CMMI Group-wise sessions:

o   Engineers

o   PM / PL

o   Senior Management

o   Reviewers Group

o   CM Group

·         ML-wise sessions

CMMI Implementation

How to start audits which ensure CMMI compliance:

·         Form QA team

·         If possible, involve delivery / project teams for cross-team audits

·         Start with ML2 PA / Practices

o   CM

o   Plan

o   MC

·         Select few key artifacts and documents:

o   Project Plan

o   Gantt Chart

o   CM Plan

o   QA Plan

o   Other Plans

 After above checks / compliance, pick up another related PA of ML3 e.g. Risk Management, ………..

CMMI Planning 

1. Identify Business Needs / Organizational Improvement Plan 

2. Understand Management's Expectations. Align your plan with management's expectations 

Example 1: 

Management's Expectations: To improve processes of selected areas / departments 

Possible Plan could be: Go for Capability Level-based CMMI Appraisal 

To be more precise, assume that company is into Testing Services, so major focus will be improve V&V and related processes 

In such case, QA team should focus more on the following PA- 

• V&V 

• Reviews 

• CM 

• PLAN 

• MC etc. etc. 

Of course, selection of PA shall again vary / based on the very specific requirements of the organization 

Example 2: 

Management's Expectations: To improve processes of selected areas / departments 

Possible Plan could be: Go for Capability Level-based CMMI Appraisal 

To be more precise, assume that company is into Design Services, so major focus will be improve TS / PI / V&V and related processes 

In such case, QA team should focus more on the following PA- 

2. 1. 1. 1. • TS 

            • PI

            • V&V 

            • Reviews 

            • CM 

            • PLAN 

            • MC etc. etc. 

Of course, selection of PA shall again vary / based on the very specific requirements of the organization 

3. Prepare an overall plan covering all the aspects of CMMI 

Team Formation Process & Training 

1. Once Organizational Objective are set and Process team is clear about the expectations, team formation process can start- 

   • • Identify team / resource requirements based on the organization's size and also timeline of the certifications 

     • Get an Organogram from the HR / Management team 

     • Form a Engineering Process Group (EPG) / Software Engineering Process Group (SEPG) / Process Improvement Team (PIT). Ensure that all unit's / department's representatives are there in the team. 

     • Form (as needed) a Process Action Team (PAT) / Process Implementation Team (PIT).Ensure that all unit's / department's representatives are there in the team. 

     • Form (as needed) a Cross-functional Assurance Team to check the process compliance. 

     • Form a Dedicated QA team / group which shall ensure support for Training, Facilitation and Audits 

2. Once team is formed including multiple teams / departments, required training should be planned 

3. After trainings, newly formed teams can start process definition, implementation, reviews / audits / checks and facilitation to project teams 

QMS Definition 

1. EPG / SEPG shall prepare a plan for new QMS / Process Definition 

2. Assign the procedure writing tasks to SMEs who are part of EPG / SEPG 

3. The number of procedures to be defined will depend upon the ML's target and scope 

   • Example 1: For CMMI ML3 - High Maturity Practices / Processes of CAR, MPM, GOV, SAM etc (e.g. PPM, Modeling etc.) will be out of scope.

   • Example 2: For Continuous representation: Only the selected PA's processes need to be defined 

4. Select a tool or portal to host the QMS which is assessible to all in the Organization

   • Tool / Portal can be purchased or developed in-house based upon the cost, schedule etc. 

   • Tool / Portal should have all the modules required for QMS Administration including Document Management, User Management, Access Control etc. 

   • Tool / Portal should be accessible to intranet and internet as well 

   • To protect IP / Content, procedures can be provided in read-only mode 

5. Tool / Portal should have High level View / Structure of QMS and linkage to related procedures.

QMS Release / Roll out: 

1. Once QMS is Defined, Reviewed / Approved, team can release QMS (Procedures, Guidelines, Forms & Templates) 

2. An Org-wide communication should be sent (including details of Procedures, Guidelines, Forms & Templates along with Version number and brief about the usability / applicability) 

3. EPG team should also plan for CMMI / QMS training for project teams  

QMS Implementation and Effectiveness Check 

1. After QMS release, team should be trained for implementation 

2. Implementation can be planned in phased manner for selected projects / teams / groups 

3. Effectiveness of QMS Implementation can be checked through Audits / Reviews:

   • Project Audit 

   • Process Audit 

   • Product Audit 

4. Audit reports (Consolidated) should be shared with Management on regular interval as a part of  Executive Review / Status Review 

QMS Improvements 

1. QMS Improvement is a continuous process / journey 

2. EPG team should set up a system to see regulars improvement suggestions / feedback from-

   • Project teams 

   • QA teams 

   • Audit teams 

   • Support Function teams 

   • Customers 

3. Improvement suggestions / feedback can be received through - 

   • Email 

   • Reports 

   • Online system 

   • Industry's best practices 

   • Leanings 

4. All the Improvement suggestions / feedback, will go through: 

   • Review 

   • Analysis 

   • Discussion 

   • Decision 

Once accepted- 

4. • Changes in QMS based on Improvement suggestions / feedback 

   • Piloting of changes done 

   • Implementation (only for piloted improvement suggestions / feedback) 

5. Tracking of all Improvement suggestions / feedback at the Org level and reporting to managment at the regualr interval 

External Audit / Appraisal / Assessments: 

1. Appraisal planning based on the availability of projects and compliance level 

2. Selection of Consultant / Auditor 

3. External Audit / Appraisal / Assessments Planning / Scheduling of:

   • Gap Analysis (as needed) 

   • Pre-audit 

4. Audit report discussion and closure of gaps / findings 

5. Preparation for final appraisal / assessment