cmmi

Articles

Rugby Scrum Implementing Scrum (Agile) and CMMI Together

CMMI and Scrum are two commonly used frameworks we have seen groups struggle with when using them together. This article describes how these frameworks aren't really at odds with each other and explains how implementation is the key to using them together.

Neil Potter
A Framework to Establish People-related Best Practices

Usually I write about the impact of personality in process improvement. This month’s topic of standards and frameworks suggested that I discuss the impact of the SEI’s People Capability Maturity Model on issues related to managing your most important resources—people. Unfortunately, many organizations have failed to realize that managing and developing the right team is far more important than just the products and services that generate revenues. If you forget about your human resources, then you probably won’t be in business for very long. That said, many otherwise successful technology professionals find it difficult to successfully manage human resources. This article describes an excellent framework developed by the SEI to help you establish effective people-related best practices.

Leslie  Sachs's picture Leslie Sachs
Picking SCM Standards or Frameworks

There are many things to consider when picking an SCM standard or framework for your organization. Taking the time to explore compliance, politics, experience, and driving forces before making a selection will increase acceptance and smooth the transition.

Joe Townsend's picture Joe Townsend
What the Next Standard of CM Will Look Like

When will the ultimate software configuration management (CM) standard emerge? Although Joe Farah suspects that it may never happen, he recommends the next standard: one that will be very well defined, highly flexible, and will cater to agile development, automation, CMMI, and more.

Joe Farah's picture Joe Farah

Conference Presentations

CMMI® to Agile: Options and Consequences
Slideshow

If you long for greater agility in your process-oriented or CMMI world, this session is for you. Paul McMahon shares how organizations can integrate agile approaches with CMMI and its key process area requirements. He discusses the advantages and disadvantages of different approaches taken by two organizations-one a CMMI Level 3 and the other a Level 5-to embrace agile principles and practices. To ensure your organization doesn't jeopardize its CMMI compliance with agile methods, Paul shares an approach that uses techniques such as asking key questions to focus objectives, pruning your processes, using the CMMI less formally, and keeping your "must dos" packaged separately from guidelines. He describes and discusses examples of each technique. Learn why the two organizations took different approaches, why one achieved its goals, and why the other fell short.

Paul McMahon, PEM Systems
Agile Development Conference & Better Software Conference East 2011: Patterns of "Big" Scrum

Nationwide Insurance, one of the largest insurance companies in the United States, is the home of a next generation application development lifecycle fusing a lean software development framework with agile principles and techniques within a CMMI®-compliant methodology. Dustin Potts shares how Nationwide has leveraged the scalability of lean, the flexibility of agile, and the discipline of CMMI® to create a powerful enterprise solution for software development. He describes their Scrum and XP practices along with lean tools they employ such as kaizen, A3 thinking, and value stream mapping. Nationwide’s framework supports scalability, leading to problem solving and continuous improvement across dozens of teams. With its lean-agile practices, teams can confidently promise to deliver on-time every time, within budget, and with few defects.

Dan Rawsthorne, CollabNet
Improving Your CMMI Organization through Lean and Agile Techniques

The good news is that your organization has documented its processes and you've achieved a CMMI® rating. However, you are hearing complaints such as, "We need to increase our agility to respond more rapidly to customer needs" or "Why do our processes require work that adds little value to the product?" So, what can you do? Contrary to popular belief, the CMMI® and lean-agile techniques are not at odds-in fact, they complement each other. Paul McMahon explains how and why, and presents a wealth of proven techniques to improve your organization’s performance with lean-agile approaches and not jeopardize your CMMI® compliance. Learn specific agile and lean techniques that have helped others address the common process problems found in many organizations. Paul shares multiple case study experiences where his techniques have helped organizations achieve their performance goals within CMMI® guidelines.

Paul McMahon, PEM Systems
A CMMI® Success Story: What Happens in Guadalajara Doesn't Stay in Guadalajara

Can a group of software developers, located in Mexico, achieve CMMI® certification and set the standard for their larger U.S. parent company to follow? A software branch of Freescale Semiconductors Inc., located in Guadalajara, did exactly that. Developing the CMMI® processes and procedures that made business sense for a remote software group was tricky, but not as tricky as assuring that they aligned their practices with the parent company's processes and requirements. The months of work that led to this achievement were filled with high points-and big challenges. Jeff Fiebrich discusses the planning, budgeting, and implementation that contributed to their ultimately successful CMMI® certification. He addresses the collaboration between their parent company and the local government that was an essential part of this effort. And, most importantly, Jeff reveals the immediate impact of their certification on the entire company.

Jeff Fiebrich and Diego Garay, Freescale Semiconductors, Inc.

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