34 Capability Maturity Model II

R. Baskaran

 

CAPABILITY MATURITY MODEL

 

Capability Maturity Model is a method of assessment used to develop and refine the software development process used by organisations.

 

LEARNING OBJECTIVES 

 

•  To give the importance of regulation and standards.

•  To detail on the continuous Process Improvement

•  To indicate the various timeline measures

 

CMM STAGED REPRESENTATION – 5 MATURITY LEVELS 

Initial Level

 

The probability of producing quality software is low. It does not encompass management practices, documentation or evaluation. If reach quality, usually due to extreme efforts of a few people or to individual practices by a manager. At initial level the processes are unpredictable and respond to crises.

 

Repeatable Level 

 

Requirements management begins with the identification of project pre-requisites & assignment to the appropriate area. Project management begins with assigning responsibility, software development plan, implementation and analysis of project plan. Quality assurance begins with comparing actual progress on the project with the project plan. Software management begins with the collection of data, identification of elements of success and application to new projects. Quality of projects can be replicated.

 

Defined Level 

 

This level comprises of defining and implementing proven practices throughout the organization. Using these practices the productivity, efficiency and effectiveness are increased. Training groups are emerged in this level to provide organization-wide knowledge. It also involves the emergence of a group called the Software Engineering Process Group, which continues development of software processes.

 

Managed Level 

 

It involves increased management of software products and processes. Measurable goals are set for quality of software products and processes. Collection and analysis of data from all current projects are executed using software process database. Increased predictability and decreased risk due to improved standardized practices used throughout the organization.

 

Optimizing Level 

 

Continuous process improvement is done at this level. Proactive consideration of potential problems and weaknesses are done with the goal to prevent defects. Analysis of any defects or problem is done to make adjustments to prevent reoccurrence.

 

Behaviors at the Five Levels 

Disadvantages of CMM

  • Organisations focus too much on next level as the target, rather than improving processes.
  • CMM does not tell you how to achieve the goals, ‘what’ not ‘how’.
  • Does not help to recover from an emergency situation.

 

Success stories 

 

Some  companies  have  reached  level  5  according  to  the  CMM.  Boeings  Space Transportation Systems Software:

  • 140% increase in general productivity.
  • Elimination of defects prior to release increased from 94% to nearly 100%.
  • Early defect detections increased to 83% – knock on effect.

 

CAPABILITY MATURITY MODEL INTEGRATION (CMMI) 

 

Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) was developed in the late 90’s and it separates organisation functions described earlier. When using more than one variant of CMM there are problems in coordination and cooperation.  CMMI helps to solve these problems.

 

ITIL STRATEGY 

 

ITIL is a systematic approach to high quality IT service delivery. It documents the best practice for IT Service Management and provides common language with well-defined terms. ITIL was developed in 1980s by what is now the Office of Government Commerce. itSMF is also involved in maintaining best practice documentation in ITIL. itSMF is global, independent and not-for-profit.

 

Key Concepts 

  • Service – It delivers value to customer by facilitating outcomes customers want to achieve without ownership of the specific costs and risks. e.g. The HFS backup service means that you as Unit ITSS don’t have to care about how much tapes, disks or robots cost and you don’t have to worry if one of the HFS staff is off sick or leaves.
  • Service Level – It is measured and reported achievement against one or more service level targets. E.g. Red = 1 hour response 24/7, Amber = 4 hour response 8/5, Green = Next business day
  • Service Level Agreement – Service Level Agreement is written and negotiated agreement between Service Provider and Customer documenting agreed service levels and costs.
  • Configuration Management System (CMS) – It provides tools and databases to manage IT service provider’s configuration data. CMS contains Configuration Management Database (CMDB) and records hardware, software, documentation and anything else important to IT provision
  • Release – The collection of hardware, software, documentation, processes or other things require to implement one or more approved changes to IT Services
  • Incident – The unplanned interruption to an IT service or an unplanned reduction in its quality.
  • Work-around – Work around focuses on reducing or eliminating the impact of an incident without resolving it.
  • Problem – It is the unknown underlying cause of one or more incidents.

 

4 Ps of Service Management 

 

The 4 Ps of service management include the following:

  • People – skills, training, communication.
  • Processes – actions, activities, changes, goals.
  • Products – tools, monitor, measure, and improve.
  • Partners – specialist suppliers.

 

THE SERVICE LIFECYCLE

 

The service life cycle involves services strategy, design, transition, operation, continual service improvement.

  • Service Strategy
    • Strategy generation
    • Financial management
    • Service portfolio management
    • Demand management
  • Service Design
    • Capacity, Availability, Info Security Management
    • Service level & Supplier Management
  • Service Transition
    • Planning & Support
    • Release & Deployment
    • Asset & Configuration management
    • Change management
    • Knowledge Management
  • Service Operation
    • Problem & Incident management
    • Request fulfilment
    • Event & Access management
  • Continual Service Improvement
    • Service measurement & reporting
    • 7-step improvement process

 

Web Links

  • istqbexamcertification.com/what-is-cmm-capability-maturity-model-what-are-cmm-levels/
  • www.selectbs.com/process-maturity/what-is-the-capability-maturity-model
  • https://www.sei.cmu.edu/reports/93tr024.pdf

 

Supporting & Reference Materials

  • Roger S. Pressman, “Software Engineering: A Practitioner’s Approach”, Fifth Edition, McGraw Hill, 2001.
  • Pankaj Jalote, “An Integrated Approach to Software Engineering”, Second Edition, Narosa Publications, 2005.
  • Ian Sommerville, “Software Engineering”, Sixth Edition, Addison Wesley, 2000.
  • Pankaj Jalote, “CMM in Practice: Processes for executing software projects at infosys”, pearson 2011.