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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
- Q: My company doesn't bid on Government contracts. Isn't a CMMI Rating only of value to an organization that does contract work for the federal government in the U.S.?
A: The fact is that if you are in business, you have processes. And in order to be as effective as you need them to be throughout the various cycles and changes in your business' life, they have to continually be managed and optimized. CMMI gives you the benefit of a tried and true framework with which to help you manage and optimize your existing processes while also showing you gaps in your existing process set where you might not have what you really need to help your staff maintain the high quality and predictability that you need to stay competitive in your marketplace as it changes and evolves over time. CMMI also guides your staff in the creation of your own best practices that will not only result in much higher visibility for your management team of the performance of your processes and of the operational aspects of your company as a whole but will also increase the overall effectiveness of each of your processes so that they provide maximum value to your organization.
CMMI, just like all other process improvement models, provides your staff with a series of tried and true best practices that have been established over time in many industries. Your staff can either use these best practices as they are or use them as a model or a starting point to know what characteristics their best practices should have. But best practices tell your staff WHAT they should do, NOT HOW or WHO should do it. So you are still free to design your processes in such a way to meet your business' unique needs.
If your company has no driving need to have a public CMMI Rating, don't make the appraisal results public, or use Class B or Class C SCAMPI Appraisals instead of more thorough and expensive CLASS A Appraisals (which are the ones that result in a rating). However, for your own internal use, SCAMPI A appraisals are still the best way to know how well your organization is doing against the standards established by the CMMI models you are using. - Q: What is the difference between a CMMI rating and CMMI Certification?
A: A CMMI Certification is only granted by the SEI to individuals who have met all of the training, experience and knowledge requirements set up by the SEI to be CMMI SCAMPI Lead Appraisers, CMMI High-Maturity SCAMPI Lead Appraisers, or trainers in some of the SEI's more technical licensed training courses like "IPPSS" and "DPPSS".
There is also a classification of SEI Authorized that is granted by the SEI to individuals who have demonstrated skill, knowledge and experience in teaching other, less technical, SEI licensed training courses like "Introduction to CMMI" or the "CMMI for Services Supplement" course. The SEI has stated that in the future, all SEI trainers will eventually be SEI Certification instead of being SEI Authorized.
A CMMI Rating, on the other hand, is what is achieved by an organization as the result of having a Certified CMMI SCAMPI Lead Appraiser and a team of SCAMPI Team Members who have each met all of the SEI's Appraisal Team Member qualifications perform an SEI sanctioned SCAMPI appraisal of the organization's processes. This rating is given in the form of either a single Maturity Level Rating ranging from 1 through 5 or in a series of one or more Capability Level Ratings ranging from 0 to 5. A CMMI Rating is recognized as being valid by the SEI for up to 3 years. However, there are certain contracting offices (both government and commercial) that do not recognize an organization's CMMI Rating for the whole three years. The thought here is that the contracting office wants a rating that is more recent than 3 years old in order to get a higher level of confidence that an organization that they are considering awarding a contract(s) to are still effectively using their processes and that they are still fully compliant with the CMMI standards.
- Q: We have very smart people who are very dedicated who are willing to work as long as it takes to get things done. Can't we save money by just having them read the CMMI Book and implement CMMI instead of hiring a qualified consultant before we have a SCAMPI Appraisal?
A: The answer to this question is yes you can, but you shouldn't! This is because there is a great deal of common misinterpretation of the information that is provided in the book. This misinterpetation has lead many organizations to implement processes that are not only not compliant with the CMMI model, but that are also not effective for their organization. This can often lead to failed process improvement initiatives and can even lead in extreme cases to failed companies.
Getting assistance and guidance from someone who has completed all of the training and demonstrated a working knowledge of the concepts and nuances of the CMMI model by passing all of tests that are required by the SEI to become a Certified or Authorized CMMI Trainer or better yet Certified SCAMPI Lead Appraiser will not only ensure better results when you have your SCAMPI Appraisal but will also help ensure that the processes that result from your process improvement initiative are effective and useful for your organization.
There are lots of processes that are compliant with the various requirements of the CMMI Model. However, not all of these processes can be effectively used within your unique organization. Each company has it's own culture, structure, personality, business goals and model. Each of these things should be considered when modifying the processes that you already use within your business to make them CMMI compliant without creating artificial hurdles your staff with have to overcome to do their work. PI-21's Certified CMMI experts not only meet all of the requirements that the SEI maintains in order to become Certified, but they also have the experience to know what compliant practices will work most effectively in various business environments, like your's. Your processes will not necessarily work for any other organization, even though they may be fully CMMI compliant and the other business is in the same markets that your business is in.
- Q: Why should I use a consultant from a licensed SEI CMMI Partner instead of a less expensive consultant from a firm that is not licensed and trained by the SEI?
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- Q: How much time and money does implementing CMMI cost?
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- Q: How long does it take to get to ML-2?
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- Q: What does it take to get to ML-3?
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- Q: How long is a CMMI Rating in effect?
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- Q: How do we know which and how many metrics we need to become CMMI compliant?
A: - Q: What is the best way to define realistic processes?
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- Q: Why are some SCAMPIs accepted by the SEI, but not by certain contracting offices?
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- Q: What is the difference between focus and non-focus projects for a SCAMPI appraisal?
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- Q: How many projects do we need for a SCAMPI appraisal?
A: - Q: Can we as an organization choose any projects we want to be focus and non-focus projects for a SCAMPI appraisal?
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- Q: How many of our staff and how much of their time is required to perform a SCAMPI appraisal?
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- Q: Why do we need to talk to practitioners during a SCAMPI when the PMs and / or the management team know everything that is going on in the organization?
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- Q: What is an Organizational Unit in terms of the CMMI SCAMPI appraisal?
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- Q: What can IPPSS teach me that other Six Sigma courses can’t?
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- Q: What can DPPSS teach me that other Six Sigma courses can’t?
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- Q: I've heard of the CMMI and have even picked up some of the jargon, but what does it really provide?
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- Q: How do I get started using the CMMI-DEV?
A: A recent study by the Software Engineering Institute found that 17 out of 20 process improvement initiatives fail. For an organisation with little or no experience of CMMI, understanding where to start can be a daunting task. ...
Either way, CMMI provides you and your staff with information that will help you ensure that the processes that are in use within your business are highly effective at keeping your business running smoothly and without too many unwelcome surprises for your senior management team.
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