White Paper

Roadmap to process maturity

Abstract
T h e m a j o r issues w he n tal ki ng or deal i ng wi th an I T
i nd us t r y is the d eliver y on pl anned ti m e and wi th i n
t he p l a n ned b ud g et. M oreov er, the ev er i ncrea si n g
n e e d o f the business worl d m agni fi es thes e prob l e m s
e v en m or e. Henc e, the re i s a need to ov ercome t h e se
e v er g r een p r o b lems for whi ch the Capabi l i ty Matu re
M o d el i s a solution. Thi s whi te paper des cri bes th e
p r o b l e m s link ed w ith i s s ues that IT i ndus tr y usu a l l y
f a ces a n d the so lutio n s to them us i ng CMMi .
Introduction
T h e m o u n ti n g b u si n e ss n e e d s a n d th e p o o r r e s pon s e
m e th o d s o f th e I T i n d u str y i s th e m a j o r p r oble m t h a t
m o st o f th e I T i n d u stri e s a re fa c i n g to d a y. I t n e e ds t o
b e re a l i z e d th a t th e b u si n e ss n e e d s a re goin g t o be
e ve r c h a n g i n g a n d th e I T i n d u str y n e e d t o c ope u p
w i th th e se d e m a n d s o n a d a y- to - d a y b a si s a s it s n e v e r
th e sa m e th i n g e ve r y ti m e.

Standing up to the mark!

One m an’s lo ss is a nother m an’s gai n. Thi s i s the th u m b
rul e i n the business worl d today. There i s cut th ro a t
co m p e t itio n w hic h is faced by mos t of the IT i nd u stri e s
wo r l d w i de. O n time and error free del i v erabl es i s th e
n e e d o f the hour. Q ual i ty cannot be com promise d fo r
t i m el y deliver y. A ll w e requi re to do i s to m ake su re th a t
we ar e :
• U s i ng the c o r r ec t approach
• Ap p lying the r ig ht s trategy
• U p g r a de their p r oces s es as per the current n e e d s
• I m p rovise qua lity
B u t a g a i n th e q u e sti o n s l i k e b e l o w a ri se –
• H o w d o w e k n o w th a t th e ste p s w e a re t a k in g a r e
a c tu a l l y h e l p i n g to a c h i e ve th e a b o ve re qu ir e me n t s
a n d b ri d g e th e g a p fo r a c h i e vi n g su p e ri or qu a lit y ?
• H o w d o w e m a k e su re th a t w e a re w a l kin g t owa r ds
th e g o a l a n d n o t a w a y fro m i t?
• A re w e d o i n g e n o u g h ?

SilverTouch Technologies Limited

© copyright 1992-2011 all rights reser ved. Property of SilverTouch Technologies Ltd.
Roadmap to process maturity
Working towards process maturity
D u e t o t h e hig h dema nd of qual i ty output the organ i z a ti o n s
h av e s t ar ted to ma k e a check on thei r proces se s a n d
q u ant i f y their outputs. Thi s i n tur n l eads to unde rsta n d
b e t t e r the p r o c esses and upgrade them as p e r th e
n e e d s of the busines s worl d. Thi s i s where the ro l e o f
CMMi structure
C M M I, sta ged, uses 5 l ev el s to des cri be the m atu ri ty o f th e o rg a n i z a ti o n .
Understanding the five levels
Level 1- Initial
P r o c e s ses a r e unpr edi ctabl e, poorl y control l ed an d re a c -
t i v e. T he p r o c ess p e rfor mance may not be s ta b l e a n d
Level 2- Managed
T h e m a na ged pr oc ess comes cl os er to achi evi n g th e
s p ec i f i c objec tives su ch as qual i ty, cos t, and s ch e d u l e.
A m a n ag ed pr oc ess is a perfor med proces s that i s a l so :
• P l a n ned a nd executed i n accordance wi th pol i c y
• E m plo ys sk illed peopl e
C M M i c o m e s i n to p l a y. C M M i i s a tra d e m a rk own e d by
S o ftw a re E n g i n e e ri n g I n sti tu te (S E I ) o f C a r n e gie Me llon
U n i ve rsi ty. T h e p u rp o se i s to h e l p o rg a n i z a ti o n t o impr ov e
th e d e ve l o p m e n t a n d m a i n te n a n c e p ro c e sse s f or bot h
p ro d u c ts a n d se r vi c e s.
m a y n o t m e e t sp e c i fi c o b j e c ti ve s su c h a s q u a lit y, c os t ,
a n d sc h e d u l e, b u t u se fu l w o rk c a n b e d o n e.
• A d e q u a te re so u rc e s a re a va i l a b l e
• C o n tro l l e d o u tp u ts a re p ro d u c e d
• S ta k e h o l d e rs a re i n vo l ve d
• T h e p ro c e ss i s re vi e w e d a n d e va l u a te d fo r a dh e r e n c e
to re q u i re m e n ts
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Roadmap to process maturity
Level 3- Defined
P r o c e s ses, sta nd a r ds, procedures, tool s, etc. are d e fi n e d
at t h e o r g a niza tio na l l ev el . P roj ect or l ocal tai l o ri n g i s
al l o w e d , ho w ever it mus t be bas ed on the organiz a ti o n ’s
Level 4- Quantitatively Managed
At t h i s level a ltho ug h the proces s es may produ c e p re -
d i c t a b l e r esults, the r es ul ts may be i ns uffi ci ent to a c h i e ve
Level 5- Optimizing
• M a t ur ity level 5 focus es conti nual l y on i m p ro vi n g
p r o c ess p er fo r ma nce through i ncremental an d i n n o-
v a t i v e p r o c ess a nd technol ogi cal i m prov em en ts.
• An or ga niza tion conti nual l y i mprov es i ts pro c e sse s
b as e d o n the q ua nti tati v e unders tandi ng of th e c o m -
m o n c a uses of vari ati on i nherent i n the proce sse s.
• T h e effec ts o f d e pl oy ed proces s i mprov eme n ts a re
Components of CMMi
• W i t hin ea c h of the 5 M aturi ty Lev el s, there are b a si c
f unc tio ns tha t need to be perfor m ed – the se a re
ca l l e d Pr o c ess A r e as (PAs ).
• Fo r Ma tur ity Leve l 2 there are 7 P roces s Are a s th a t
m ust be c omp letel y s ati s fi ed.
• Fo r Ma tur ity Level 3 there are 11 P roces s Are a s th a t
m ust be c omp letel y s ati s fi ed.
Benefits from CMMi
• I m p roved sc hedul e and budget predi ctabi l i ty
• I m p roved c yc le time
• I nc r ea sed pr oduc ti v i ty
• I m p roved qua lity (as m eas ured by defects )
se t o f sta n d a rd p ro c e sse s a n d d e fi n e d p e r th e or ga n iz a-
ti o n ’s ta i l o ri n g g u i d e l i n e s.
M a j o r p o rti o n s o f th e o rg a n i z a ti o n c a n n o t “ o pt ou t .”
th e e sta b l i sh e d o b j e c ti ve s
m e a su re d a n d e va l u a te d a g a i n st th e q u a n t it a t iv e pr o-
c e ss i m p ro ve m e n t o b j e c ti ve s.
• A t m a tu ri ty l e ve l 5 th e o rg a n i z a ti o n i n c on c e r n e d
w i th a d d re ssi n g c o m m o n c a u se s o f p ro c e s s v a r ia t ion
a n d c h a n g i n g th e p ro c e ss to i m p ro ve pr oc e s s pe r-
fo r m a n c e a n d to a c h i e ve th e e sta b l i sh e d qu a n t it a t iv e
p ro c e ss i m p ro ve m e n t o b j e c ti ve s.
• G i ve n th e i n te ra c ti o n s a n d o ve rl a p, i t b e come s mor e
e ffi c i e n t to w o rk th e M a tu ri ty L e ve l 2 a n d 3 is s u e s
c o n c u rre n tl y.
• W i th i n e a c h PA th e re a re G o a l s to b e a c h ie v e d a n d
w i th i n e a c h G o a l th e re a re Pra c ti c e s, w o r k pr odu c t s,
e tc. to b e fo l l o w e d th a t w i l l su p p o rt e a c h o f t h e G oa ls.
• I n c re a se d c u sto m e r sa ti sfa c ti o n
• I m p ro ve d e m p l o ye e m o ra l e
• I n c re a se d re tu r n o n i n ve stm e n t
• D e c re a se d c o st o f q u a l i ty
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Roadmap to process maturity
The myths involved
• T h o u g h CMMi is u s eful for proces s i mprov eme n t b u t
i t ha s a lo t of mi s concepti ons as s oci ated with i t. I t
s ho uld b e und er stood that CM M i i s not the a n sw e r
t o a ll the q uestions and we need to unders t a n d th e
m y t hs involved w ith the whol e concept of CMM i .
• E v e r y one should h a ve t h e kn o wle d g e of eac h
p r o cess: O ut of al l the proces s es that are b e i n g
f o l l ow ed in a n or gani zati on i t i s not neces s ar y th a t
e v er yone sho uld be i nv ol v ed i n al l the pro c e sse s
whi ch a r e not r ele v ant to thei r area/ s cope of w o rk .
I nv olving a n ind iv i dual i n al l the proces s es w i l l o n l y
cr e ate c onfusion and di s s ol v e the boundari es o f th e
d i f f er ent w or k ing areas.
• C M Mi proc esses are t o o d if f icu lt a n d co mplex:
T h e r ea son behin d thi s i s becaus e i t i s thou g h t th a t
C M Mi sets p r o c es s es, whereas, CMMi onl y h e l p s i n
u p d ating the pr oces s es whi ch are al ready a d a p te d
b y t he o r g a niza tion as per the current needs. I t g i ve s
p r o visions so tha t the organi zati on i ts el f can me a su re
t he c a pa b ility of its proces s es.
• C M Mi proc esses are o n ly f o r b ig org an iz a t ions :
E v en though initia l l y i t was onl y the l arger organ i z a ti o n s
who ha d a dopted to the CMMi m odel s i n a d d re ss
t hei r c o mplex iss ues but there i s no s tri nge n t l i n e
d r a wn w hic h c a n keep the s m al l organi zati on s fro m
t a ki n g the a d va ntages of thes e model s.
• O ne needs to inve st t oo mu ch o f t ime behind
t h e m: A ll the time that one needs to i nv es t i s to m a p
t he o r g a niza tio n’s proces s es wi th the requi r e m e n ts
o f t h e pr oc ess a reas of CM M i . The m ore the re i s a
s c o pe of impr ovement the m ore ti m e cons umi n g th e
who le exer c ise w oul d be. Howev er, the bene fi ts o u t
o f i t lik e the decreas ed tur naround ti m e, i n c re a se d
r et u r n o n investment, the decreas ed cos t to q u a l i ty
b al anc es the w ho le thi ng.
• T h e top lev el man a g emen t h as n o t h in g t o do
w i t h the proces se s: The s eni or manageme n t h a s
t he g r ea test r espons i bi l i ti es when adopti ng to th e
C M M i p ra c ti c e s. T h e y a re th e o n e s w h o wou ld be
stre a m l i n i n g th e w h o l e c h a n g e a n d h e n c e t h e ir
i n vo l ve m e n t i s th e m o st c ru c i a l o n e.
The ot her myt hs involved on C MM i ar e:
• I t c a n n o t b e u se d i f a n o rg a n i z a ti o n i s a l r e a dy u s in g
a n o th e r p ro c e ss i m p ro ve m e n t m o d e l
• E ve r yo n e n e e d s to b e tra i n e d o n e a c h p roc e s s
• T h e b a se l i n e d o c u m e n ts h a ve n o u se
• N e e d to m e a su re e a c h a n d e ve r y p ro c e ss a r e a
J u st l i k e e ve r y c o i n h a s tw o si d e s to i t si m ila r ly t h e r e
a re th e p ro s a n d c o n s o f a d a p ti n g to th e C MMi mode l.
H e n c e i t i s i m p o rta n t to k n o w e ve r y a sp e c t of C MMi
b e fo re a p p l yi n g i t a t th e o rg a n i z a ti o n l e ve l .
W h e n S i l ve r To u c h e n g a g e s i tse l f w i th a n y c lie n t f or
d e ve l o p i n g th e i r a p p l i c a ti o n s b a se d o n th e ir r e qu ir e d
sp e c i fi c a ti o n s, S i l ve r To u c h m a k e s su re t h a t t h e y
ta k e a n a p p ro a c h w h i c h w i l l p e rfe c tl y c o mplime n t t h e
re q u i re m e n ts o f th e C M M i m o d e l . A t th e s a me t ime
c a re i s ta k e n to i m p ro ve o n th e q u a l i ty a n d s a t is f y t h e
a c c e p ta n c e c ri te ri a o f th e c l i e n t w i th o n ti m e de liv e r y.
T h e ro o t c a u se a n a l ysi s i s d o n e to fi n d o u t t h e r e a s on s
b e h i n d th e i ssu e s p re va i l i n g a t th e o rg a n i z a ti on le v e l a n d
fi n d so l u ti o n s fo r re so l vi n g th e m . T h e l e a r n i n g f r om t h e
va ri o u s i m p ro ve m e n t e xe rc i se s i s m a i n ta i n e d f or f u t u r e
re fe re n c e. T h e a c ti vi ti e s fo r q u a n ti fyi n g th e w or k ou t pu t s
a re c a rri e d o u t w h i c h h e l p s i n re vi si n g th e or ga n iz a t ion
g o a l s i f n e e d e d . H e n c e, va ri o u s so ftw a re e n gin e e r in g
p ro c e ss g ro u p s a re d e vi se d fo r d o i n g th e a c t iv it ie s a s
m e n ti o n e d a b o ve. T h e se p ro c e ss a n d q u a l i ty i m pr ov e me n t
a c ti vi ti e s b e n e fi ts n o t o n l y o u r o rg a n i z a ti o n bu t a ls o t h e
c u sto m e rs w o rk i n g w i th u s.
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Roadmap to process maturity
Conclusion
At t h e end of the da y we s houl d be i n a pos i ti on to h a n d l e
t he cha nge tha t is brought about by the CMMi m o d e l .
To m o v e a hea d w e fi rs t need to unders tand wh e re w e
s t and and then p r o gres s further. Si l v er Touch’s w h o l e
e x p er i enc e of a d a ptin g the practi ces appl i cabl e fo r C M M i
l ev e l 5 h a s been b ene fi ci al and we bel i ev e that ad a p ti n g
to th e C M M i p ra c ti c e s h a s n o t o n l y h e l p e d i n impr ov is in g
q u a l i ty o u tp u t, re d u c e c o st to q u a l i ty a n d i n c r e a s e r e t u r n
to i n ve stm e n t b u t h a s a l so i m m e n se l y i n c r e a s e d t h e
c l i e n t sa ti sfa c ti o n . T h i s i n tu r n h a s h e l p e d u s t o ga in
b e tte r c l i e n t tru st a n d c u sto m e r d e l i g h t.
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 Roadmap to process maturity

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types of requirements that concer n our clients, thereby, leading to ser ve them precisely to their satisfaction.
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© copyr i ght 1992-2011 a ll r i g h ts r e se r v e d . Pr o p e r ty o f Si l v e r To u c h Te ch no lo g ies L t d .

I NDIA • U K • U SA • NE T HE RLAN D S • AUSTRALIA • F RAN CE • GERMAN Y

Thi s st at ement of work is pro p r i e ta r y o f Si l v e r To u c h Te c h n o l o g i e s L t d . an d co nt ain s t r ad e s ecr e t s and co n f id en t ial in f o r mat io n w h ich is s o lel y t h e
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