1. What is the purpose of the Capability Maturity Model Integration for Development v1.3
(CMMI-DEVv1.3)? (Your answer should include examples of companies that have used
CMMI-DEV). [5%]
The purpose of the CMMI-DEV is easy to find. It can be stated in a few sentences. You should
provide evidence of two or three companies that have used the CMMI for the purpose you have
stated and identify if they have achieved their objectives. 1 page maximum should be sufficient for
answering this.
2. There are two representations of the CMMI-DEV v1.3. Argo is a software company which
needs to decide which of the two representations it is going to use in its software process
improvement effort. What advice would you offer Argo in making this important decision?
(Your answer should include advice about how to make a formal decision and the precise
circumstances under which one representation is more appropriate than the other i.e. the
actual evaluation criteria to adopt). [20%]
Firstly think about what would constitute making a formal decision in a company. What process
might a company follow to make a formal decision? DAR describes this and it is outlined in the CMMI
Quick Reference guide on the module website as follows….
DECISION ANALYSIS AND RESOLUTION SUPPORT (ML3)
The purpose of Decision Analysis and Resolution (DAR) is to analyze possible decisions using a
formal evaluation process that evaluates identified alternatives against established criteria.
SG 1 Decisions are based on an evaluation of alternatives using established criteria.
SP 1.1 Establish and maintain guidelines to determine which issues are subject to a formal evaluation
process.
SP 1.2 Establish and maintain criteria for evaluating alternatives and the relative ranking of these
criteria.
SP 1.3 Identify alternative solutions to address issues.
SP 1.4 Select evaluation methods.
SP 1.5 Evaluate alternative solutions using established criteria and methods.
SP 1.6 Select solutions from alternatives based on evaluation criteria.
Very briefly describe what Argo should do for each of the Specific Practices of the DAR process
bearing in mind that the purpose of using DAR here is to make a decision about whether Argo should
use Staged or Continuous representation of CMMI
SP1.1 – What makes any decision serious enough to warrant a formal decision making approach.
SP1.2 - What criteria should Argo adopt to make the decision. This is where your knowledge of the
differences between the staged and continuous representations should be used to identify the kind
of criteria that Argo should adopt.
SP1.3 Surely you know what the alternatives are….Read the question!
SP1.4 This seems odd but for some criteria in some situations you might have to describe how you
evaluate the outcome. For example if one of your criteria was cost then you might need to suggest
how to evaluate cost…how would you calculate it.
SP1.5 Simply carry out the evaluation specified in SP1.4 on the solutions identified in SP1.3
SP1.6 Make your choice
You should write no more than 2 pages here….the main thing is that you illustrate your
understanding of the difference between staged and continuous representations and in what
circumstances Argo should pick one rather than the other. Don’t write too much on
DAR…concentrate on the criteria for SP1.2 this is the more important part of the answer.
3.
For the Continuous Representation of the CMMI-DEVv1.3 and for any Process Area of your
choice, describe how the Process Area evolves as it moves from Capability level 1 to
Capability Level 3. (Your answer should refer to examples of the execution of Specific
Practices). [25%]
Pick a process area from the CMMI-DEV. Any will do but maybe one with less SGs and SPs rather
than one with a lot. Pick a process area you have some familiarity with. The ones that come to mind
are RD, REQM, VER, VAL, DAR and CM but any will do. Familiarise yourself with its Specific Goals and
Specific Practices.
Now what would happen if your PA was at Capability Level 1. What would this mean? It would mean
that GG1 would have to be achieved by carrying out GP1.1 Try now to write some sentences about
what this entails for your PA. Sometimes it is useful to think about how your PA would fail to be at
Capability Level 1.
Now what would happen if your PA was at Capability Level 2. Yes…GG2 would have to be achieved
by performing GP2.1 to 2.10. You should write a few sentences for each of GP2.1 to 2.10 to suggest
what would happen to your chosen PA. For example GP 2.10 would simply mean that your PA would
be reviewed by senior management at regular planned times maybe for them to assess its
effectiveness. GP2.2 means that a plan would be created for your PA which would detail
actions/tasks to be carried out for each Specific Practice, schedule and resource. Can you think of
any actions that might need scheduling and resourced for any of the SPs of your chosen PA?
And so on….
GG3 is really about making your PA standard. How does GP3.1 and GP3.2 achieve this
standardisation and why is Gp3.2 concerned with measures?
Write no more than 4 pages to answer question 3.
4. For your chosen Process Area, describe the role of Organisational Process Performance (OPP)
and Quantitative Project Management (QPM) in the removal of special causes of variation.
[25%]
Describe what special causes of variation are. Give an example of a special cause of variation in the
context of your chosen PA.
You then need to study OPP and QPM. Take a look at them here…
ORGANIZATIONAL PROCESS PERFORMANCE PROCESS MANAGEMENT (ML4)
The purpose of Organizational Process Performance (OPP) is to establish and maintain a
quantitative understanding of the performance of selected processes in the organization’s set of
standard processes in support of achieving quality and process performance objectives, and to
provide process performance data, baselines, and models to quantitatively manage the
organization’s projects.
SG 1 Baselines and models, which characterize the expected process performance of the
organization’s set of standard processes, are established and maintained.
SP 1.1 Establish and maintain the organization’s quantitative objectives for quality and process
performance, which are traceable to business objectives.
SP 1.2 Select processes or subprocesses in the organization’s set of standard processes to be
included in the organization’s process performance analyses and maintain traceability to business
objectives.
SP 1.3 Establish and maintain definitions of measures to be included in the organization’s process
performance analyses.
SP 1.4 Analyze the performance of the selected processes, and establish and maintain the process
performance baselines.
SP 1.5 Establish and maintain process performance models for the organization’s set of standard
processes.
Focus on SP1.1, 1.2 and 1.3. Really all OPP is trying to do is to provide an understanding of what
quantitative objectives the organisation should set and then select from the standard processes of the
organisation those processes (or parts thereof) which are linked to our quantitative objectives.
Obviously you can only set quantitative objectives for processes which have measures associated
with them.
QUANTITATIVE PROJECT MANAGEMENT PROJECT MANAGEMENT (ML4)
The purpose of Quantitative Project Management (QPM) is to quantitatively manage the project
to achieve the project’s established quality and process performance objectives.
SG 1 Preparation for quantitative management is conducted.
SP 1.1 Establish and maintain the project’s quality and process performance objectives.
SP 1.2 Using statistical and other quantitative techniques, compose a defined process that enables
the project to achieve its quality and process performance objectives.
SP 1.3 Select subprocesses and attributes critical to evaluating performance and that help to achieve
the project’s quality and process performance objectives.
SP 1.4 Select measures and analytic techniques to be used in quantitative management.
SG 2 The project is quantitatively managed.
SP 2.1 Monitor the performance of selected subprocesses using statistical and other quantitative
techniques.
SP 2.2 Manage the project using statistical and other quantitative techniques to determine whether or
not the project’s objectives for quality and process performance will be satisfied.
SP 2.3 Perform root cause analysis of selected issues to address deficiencies in achieving the
project’s quality and process performance objectives.
QPM comes into its own whenever a project in the company wants to use your chosen PA. SP1.2
allows the project to select the PA and tailor it for the project. The other SPs of QPM busy
themselves with setting quantitative objectives for the PA within the project. SP1.4 selects the
techniques to be used in the removal of special causes of variation for given measures. SP2.1, 2.2
and 2.13 perform the removal of the special causes. You should discuss all of this. 3 page maximum.
5. For your chosen Process Area, describe the role of Organisational Performance Management
(OPM) and Causal Analysis and Resolution (CAR) in the removal of common causes of
variation. [25%]
Describe what common causes of variation are. Give an example of a common cause of variation in
the context of your chosen PA.
Once special causes are removed from the execution of your chosen PA in a project it is now
possible to address common causes of variation. The idea here is that your company can now set
about using the PA to meet business objectives. If the performance of the PA is not good enough to
meet business objectives even though special causes of variation mean it is stable then we should
concentrate on removing common causes of variation in order to optimise it….improve it to meet
the business objectives. OPP sets the objectives and then sees if the company can use the process to
meet the objectives.
ORGANIZATIONAL PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT PROCESS MANAGEMENT (ML5)
The purpose of Organizational Performance Management (OPM) is to proactively manage the
organization’s performance to meet its business objectives.
SG 1 The organization’s business performance is managed using statistical and other
quantitative techniques to understand process performance shortfalls and identify areas for
process improvement.
SP 1.1 Maintain business objectives based on an understanding of business strategies and actual
performance results.
SP 1.2 Analyze process performance data to determine the organization’s ability to meet identified
business objectives.
SP 1.3 Identify potential areas for improvement that could contribute to meeting business objectives.
SG 2 Improvements are proactively identified, evaluated using statistical and other
quantitative techniques, and selected for deployment based on their contribution to meeting
quality and process performance objectives.
SP 2.1 Elicit and categorize suggested improvements.
SP 2.2 Analyze suggested improvements for their possible impact on achieving the organization’s
quality and process performance objectives.
SP 2.3 Validate selected improvements.
SP 2.4 Select and implement improvements for deployment throughout the organization based on an
evaluation of costs, benefits and other factors.
SG 3 Measurable improvements to the organization’s processes and technologies are
deployed and evaluated using statistical and other quantitative techniques.
SP 3.1 Establish and maintain plans for deploying selected improvements.
SP 3.2 Manage the deployment of selected improvements.
SP 3.3 Evaluate the effects of deployed improvements on quality and process performance using
statistical and other quantitative techniques.
OPP SP2.4 picks improvements created in CAR.
CAR is responsible for identifying the cause of the defect and resolving it…suggesting a fix.CAR
implements the fix and then determines what effect this has had on improving the PA i.e. removing
the common cause (outcome).
3 page maximum
CAUSAL ANALYSIS AND RESOLUTION SUPPORT (ML5)
The purpose of Causal Analysis and Resolution (CAR) is to identify causes of selected outcomes
and take action to improve process performance.
SG 1 Root causes of selected outcomes are systematically determined.
SP 1.1 Select outcomes for analysis.
SP 1.2 Perform causal analysis of selected outcomes and propose actions to address them.
SG 2 Root causes of selected outcomes are systematically addressed.
SP 2.1 Implement selected action proposals developed in causal analysis.
SP 2.2 Evaluate the effect of implemented actions on process performance.
SP 2.3 Record causal analysis and resolution data for use across projects and the organization.