1

UNIT 7Staged Vs Continuous

RepresentationBoth CMMI representations contain the following model components.•Process Areas•Specific Goals•Specific Practices•Generic Goals•Generic practices

2

CMMI Model Representations

Process improvement can be approached from either the perspective of

• organisational maturity (pertains to a set of process areas)

• process area capability (pertains to a set of practices that map to a single process area)

Further, there is an equivalence between the approaches so that process area capability can be equated to organisational maturity.

3

CMMI Process Areas – Staged Representation

Requirements ManagementProject PlanningProject Monitoring & ControlMeasurement & AnalysisConfiguration ManagementProcess & Product QASupplier Agreement Management

Maturity Level 2(Managed)

Requirements DevelopmentTechnical SolutionProduct IntegrationVerificationValidationOrganisational Process FocusOrganisational Process DefinitionOrganisational TrainingIntegrated Project ManagementRisk ManagementIntegrated TeamingIntegrated Supplier ManagementDecision Analysis & ResolutionOrganisational Environment for Integration

Maturity Level 3(Defined)

Organisational Process PerformanceQuantitative Project Management

Maturity Level 4(Quantitatively Managed)

Organisational Performance ManagementCausal Analysis & Resolution

Maturity Level 5(Optimising)

4

Staged Representation

Provides a single rating of the maturity of an organisation’s processesPermits comparisons between organisations by the use of maturity levelsIn order for an organisation to be at a particular level of maturity it must have satisfied the goals of all the process areas associated with that level of maturity and all of the goals of the processes associated with any lesser levels of maturity.

5

Continuous Representation

Enables comparisons across and among organisations on a process area by process area basis.It is a process area which receives a capability rating.An organisation might have a number of process areas at different levels of capability

6

ML5

ML4

ML3

ML2

Initial: Failed to be at ML2

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

PA1PA2PA5PA19PA12

Continuous –Capability assigned to asingle process area or a set of process areas

Staged – Maturity assigned to the project or organisation

• Process area capability pertains to a set of practices relating to a single process area.

• Organisational maturity pertains to a set of process areas across an organisation.

7

Maturity levels provide a recommended order for approaching software process improvement. Maturity levels organise the process areas (each maturity level consists of a predefined set of process areas). Each maturity level stabilizes an important part of an organisation’s processes.

The maturity levels are measured by the achievement of the specific and generic goals that apply to each predefined set of process areas.

8

Maturity Levels

Initial: Failed to be at ML2

Defined

Managed

Quantitatively Managed

Optimizing

9

Maturity Level Characteristics

Failing to be at ML2Processes are chaotic. Success is largely dependent on the effort and skill of individuals (not on processes) who act as a driving force in the organisation. Projects often exceed budget and schedule.

Such an organisation can produce products and services that work but this is despite the lack of processes not because of them.

Tendency to over commit, abandon processes and not be able to repeat previous success.

10

Maturity Level Characteristics

Maturity Level 2: ManagedAn organisation has achieved all specific and generic goals of the group of maturity level 2 process areas. Projects now manage their requirements and ensure that processes are planned, performed, measured and controlled. The status of projects is now visible to management at defined points.

Stakeholders are involved and committed.

Success can be repeated because there is now a reliance on process as opposed to people.

11

Maturity Level Characteristics

Maturity Level 3: DefinedAn organisation has achieved all specific and generic goals of the group of maturity level 3 and level 2 process areas.

Processes are well characterised and understood and described in standards and procedures.

The organisation has established standard processes for consistency across the organisation and these can be tailored by projects in order to create ‘defined’ processes.

12

Maturity Level CharacteristicsMaturity Level 4: Quantitatively ManagedAn organisation has achieved all specific and generic goals of the group of maturity level 4, level 3 and level 2 process areas.

Crucial subprocesses (which contribute greatly to overall process performance) are controlled using statistical and other quantitative techniques. Quantitative objectives can therefore be set for these subprocesses. Special causes of process variation can be identified and corrected to prevent future occurrence.

Process performance is understood in statistical terms and managed accordingly.

13

Maturity Level Characteristics

Maturity Level 5: OptimizingAn organisation has achieved all specific and generic goals of the group of maturity level 5, level 4, level 3 and level 2 process areas.

Processes are continually improved based on a quantitative understanding of common causes of variation. Improvement is brought about by both incremental and innovative technological means.

Specific quantitative process improvement objectives for standard and defined processes are established and revised to reflect changing business objectives. These are used to gauge the success of any deployed improvement

14

InitialNot a CMMI Maturity level

Managed

Defined

Quantitatively Managed

Optimizing

The process is planned, performance is managed

The scope of application of the process descriptions, standards and procedures. At ML2 the procedures might be different in each instance of a process (in different projects) but at ML3 a projects procedures are tailored from standard organisation wideprocesses and are more detailed.

The predictability ofProcess performance isquantitative at ML4 butonly qualitative at ML3

At ML4 special causes of processes variation areaddressed. At ML 5 it is common causes which are of concern. ML 4 processes may produce predictable results without meeting objectives. ML 5 the mean of process performanceis moved in an attempt to meet objectives.

Distinctions

15

The staged model and the continuous model have generic practices in common. However, the staged model utilizes only those practices from GG2 and GG3. It does not utilize any practice of GG1.

How then are ML4 and ML5 possible?

16

Equivalent Staging

Equivalent staging allows a maturity level in the staged representation to be awarded from the designated capability of process areas in the continuous representation.

17

Requirements Management REQM ML2Measurement & Analysis MA ML2Project Monitoring and Control PMC ML2Project Planning PP ML2Process & Product Quality Assurance PPQA ML2Supplier Agreement Management SAM ML2Configuration Management CM ML2

Decision Analysis & Resolution DAR ML3Product Integration PI ML3Requirements Development RD ML3Technical Solution TS ML3Validation VAL ML3Verification VER ML3Organisational Process Definition OPD ML3Organisational Process Focus OPF ML3Integrated Project Management IPM ML3Organisational Training OT ML3Risk Management RSKM ML3

Organisational Process Performance OPP ML4Quantitative Project Management QPM ML4

Organisational Performance Man. OPM ML5Causal Analysis and Resolution CAR ML5

CL1 CL2 CL3 CL4 CL5

18

Interpretation of the diagramThe coloured areas in the CL columns indicate target profiles that are equivalent to maturity levels in the staged representation

• To be equivalent to maturity level 2 in a staged representation, the process areas to the left of green sector must have satisfied capability levels 1 and 2 in the continuous representation

• To be equivalent to maturity level 3 in a staged representation, the process areas to the left of green and blue sector must have satisfied capability levels 1, 2 and 3 in the continuous representation

19Initial

Managed

Defined

Quantitatively Managed

Optimizing

0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1

1.2

1.4

1.6

1.8

2

REQMMAPMCPPPPQASAMCM

StagedMaturity Levels

Maturity Level 2 Equivalence

The process areas of the staged maturity level 2 must be located in the continuous model and they must be evaluated to be at CL2

20

Interpretation of the diagramThe coloured areas in the CL columns indicate target profiles that are equivalent to maturity levels in the staged representation

• To be equivalent to maturity level 4 in a staged representation, the process areas to the left of green, blue and red sector must have satisfied capability levels 1, 2 and 3 in the continuous representation

• To be equivalent to maturity level 5 in a staged representation, all of the process areas must have satisfied capability levels 1, 2 and 3 in the continuous representation

21

Q&AQ. Why are ML4 and ML5 present in the Staged Representation but CL4 and CL5 are absent from the Continuous Representation? •It is the execution of OPP and QPM and their selective application to other process areas that brings about quantitative management.•It is the execution of CAR and OPM and their selective application to other process areas that brings about optimisation.•If CL4 and CL5 existed in the Continuous Representation (as they did in v1.2 of the model) it would imply that any and every process area could be quantitively managed and optimised. Since these concepts should only ever be selectively applied to other process areas, CL4 and CL5 have been removed in V1.3 of the model. This does not mean that the concepts of quantitative management and optimisation have disappeared. The execution of OPP, QPM, CAR and OPM will in effect bring about the same effect.•Consequently process areas in the staged representation and now the continuous representation can only be assessed up to Generic Goal 3. The higher level concepts of quantitative management and optimisation are present only through execution of OPP, QPM, CAR and OPM.

22

Table: Comparison of Capability and Maturity Levels

Level Continuous Representation Capability Levels

Staged Representation Maturity Levels

Level 0 Incomplete

Level 1 Performed Initial

Level 2 Managed Managed

Level 3 Defined Defined

Level 4 Quantitatively Managed

Level 5 Optimizing

Target & Achievement Profiles

23

DAR

PP

OPD

VAL

VER

CM

CapabilityLevel 1

CapabilityLevel 2

CapabilityLevel 3

PPQA