SYSTEM/SOFTWARE PROCESS APPRAISALS
The quality of a product is only as good as the process used to develop and maintain it. Whether a development organization is competing in a marketplace or is trying to satisfy internal requirements, its development and maintenance processes are a critical success factor. Well-thought-out improvements to the process will significantly contribute to the organization's performance.
A process appraisal is a catalyst for initiating meaningful process improvement and can help your organization break through the barriers that constrain quality and productivity. It will allow you to establish and focus a process improvement program that will result in:
Increased customer satisfaction
Lower development and maintenance costs
Reduced cycle time
WHAT IS A PROCESS APPRAISAL?
A process appraisal is an objective self-appraisal of an organization's software or system development capability. We provide two assessment methodologies developed by the Software Engineering Institute (SEI): the Standard CMMI Appraisal Method for Process Improvement (SCAMPI) and the CMM-Based Appraisal for Internal Process Improvement (CBA-IPI) methods. Both are based on the SEI's widely-accepted models for process improvement: the Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) and the Capability Maturity Model (CMM), both of which characterize how a development organization matures, or improves, in its ability to develop software or systems (see figure) and serves as a framework for becoming a world-class producer of products.
Each appraisal is structured to ensure that aspects of systems or software development that are unique to your organization or industry are addressed. For example, an appraisal in a commercial development organization may examine the process for incorporating customer feedback in product design.
We conduct an appraisal as a collaborative effort, involving your organization's professionals in all appraisal activities so that all participants gain a common understanding of the current state-of-the-process and reach consensus on the critical process issues.
After conducting training in the applicable Maturity Model and the appraisal methodology, we will lead your appraisal team through an intense period of fact-finding, analysis and review of issues, and presentation of findings to senior management and participants.
SECI consultants are Authorized CBA-IPI and SCAMPI Lead Appraisers and have been providing SEI assessment services since 1990. The assessments are performed through an affiliated company, Process Strategies, Inc., an SEI Partner organization.
WHAT CAN YOU EXPECT FROM A SYSTEMS/SOFTWARE PROCESS APPRAISAL?
At the completion of an appraisal, you will have:
Objective findings that identify the strengths and weaknesses of the current development or maintenance process.
A profile of the current process relative to the CMMI or CMM.
An SEI maturity level rating.
A sound basis for developing a strategic improvement plan.
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