November 07, 2008, 9:55 AM — TEAM International provides a brief overview of Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) and tries to answer the question why it is better for IT outsourcing services buyers to partner with a CMMI appraised vendor.
What is CMMI?
Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) is a specific guidance derived from the Capability Maturity Model (CMM) methodology that has been developed by Software Engineering Institute (SEI) of Carnegie Mellon University from the late 1990s. Initially the methodology was designed as a tool to objectively measure the ability of government and military contractors to properly use their processes for effective performance of contracted software projects. CMM was fully funded by the US Air Force through the military research. In 1989 it was gradually adapted for commercial organizations’ certification.
SEI defines CMMI as a model providing “guidance to use when developing processesâ€. Based on this definition it becomes clear that the CMMI models are, in fact, not the processes, as misunderstood by many organizations, nor are they the process descriptions. They are guidelines that contain criteria of the processes’ quality assessment and methods of their improvement. The actual processes used within the organization depend on such factors as application domain, organization’s structure, size and many others. The process areas of a CMMI model do not map one to one with the processes used within the organization.
There are five CMMI levels:
Level 1 - Ad-Hoc: The processes are undefined and unstructured. There is chaos in each organization’s process area.
Level 2 – Managed: The processes are defined at the project level. The solutions are very reactive.
Level 3 - Defined: The processes are defined at the organizational level. It is one of the most important levels, since it suggests that the company has learnt how to put the processes to the project level and how to make them work in each certain case.
Level 4 - Quantitatively Managed: All the key processes are properly managed and controlled. The project metrics are gathered and analyzed.
Level 5 - Optimizing: The processes are improved based on the gathered metrics.
Key benefits of outsourcing to CMMI certified vendor
- Higher quality of a product due to constant quality control on each of the development steps
- Lower costs due to a more productive and efficient way of creating a product
- Better communication between client and vendor due to established rules and procedures
- Better visibility of the product life cycle and development activities due to better organized documentation
- Higher quality and lower costs due to use of the newest technologies and tools
What TEAM guaranties as a CMMI Level 3 outsourcing vendor
TEAM International Services, Inc. is CMMI Level 3 Certified since July 2008. This designation acknowledges the fact that we have adopted an institutionalized quality management system, confirmed by an accredited CMMI Certifier, to ensure we provide quality at any phase of service delivery. The high–quality service capability is conducted through the implementation of industry best practices with respect to and with consideration of specific conditions: legal and company policies, customer requirements regarding product, product components, and process of production, as well as selected/required software development lifecycle models.
Achievement of CMMI Level 3 attests to TEAM’s deep commitment to a customer-focused approach to business. Working closely with client needs and applying quality assured methods – including (but not limited to) requirements traceability, scientific project management approach (based on historical and current project data collected and analyzed), quality control during the entire project lifecycle (in the form of peer reviews, testing, and work product validation), systematic evaluations of defined and adopted processes – we have a superior capability to prevent defects and non-standard practices in our completed delivery.
CMMI Level 3 Certification is only a first step which TEAM has committed to take in the pursuit of better delivery and client satisfaction. While these endeavors are often costly, requiring time, money, and the dedication of support (i.e. non-billable) personnel, TEAM believes the resulting value-add to the quality of our work far exceeds any tangible costs associated with these efforts. We are proud of the steps which we have taken, and we are delighted with the opportunity to provide better client satisfaction as a result.
