CMMI Survival Guide

by Suzanne Garcia and Richard Turner

Published 20 October 2006

The CMMI provides a framework for process improvement spanning the life cycle of a product or service, from conception through delivery and maintenance. Widely and beneficially adopted around the world, the size and apparent complexity of the framework have nonetheless been daunting to some organizations. That need not be so. With a proper guide to help navigate around unknown dangers, potential pitfalls, and false paths, you too, can realize substantial business value from a successful CMMI implementation. This book is such a guide, full of the real-life examples to ease your way, and written in a lighter style to ease your reading.

 

The CMMI® Survival Guide is an effective resource for multiple readerships. If you are just now considering a process improvement program, with the CMMI among your options, the authors' discussion of relevant issues will enhance your business case right from the start. If you have already decided to implement the CMMI, the authors' practical knowledge will help you make the most of your efforts. Even if you are well into a CMMI implementation, but are lost, stuck, or going around in circles, the authors' valuable advice will help you regain your direction.

 

If you work in a smaller or resource-strapped organization, you will particularly benefit from the authors' description of alternative paths to process improvement–approaches that are more incremental or agile, and less intensive, than you might imagine for a CMMI implementation. The authors draw on their extensive experience working with diverse organizations, and on the CMMI tools, techniques, and templates developed for those organizations.

 

Whatever your background or need, the CMMI® Survival Guide will help you survey the CMMI territory, consult possible road maps, learn from other CMMI explorers, weigh the benefits of hiring a living guide, and even consider whether the trip is right for you.


CMMI Distilled

by Dennis M Ahern, Aaron Clouse, and Richard Turner

Published 23 September 2003
CMMI® (Capability Maturity Model® Integration) is an integrated, extensible framework for improving process capability and quality across an organization. It has become a cornerstone in the implementation of continuous improvement for both industry and governments around the world. Rich in both detail and guidance for a wide set of organizational domains, the CMMI Product Suite continues to evolve and expand.

Updated for CMMI Version 1.2, this third edition of CMMI® Distilled again provides a concise and readable introduction to the model, as well as straightforward, no-nonsense information on integrated, continuous process improvement. The book now also includes practical advice on how to use CMMI in tandem with other approaches, including Six Sigma and Lean, as well as new and expanded guidance on preparing for, managing, and using appraisals.

Written so that readers unfamiliar with model-based process improvement will understand how to get started with CMMI, the book offers insights for those more experienced as well. It can help battle-scarred process improvement veterans, and experienced suppliers and acquirers of both systems and services, perform more effectively. CMMI® Distilled is especially appropriate for executives and managers who need to understand why continuous improvement is valuable, why CMMI is a tool of choice, and how to maximize the return on their efforts and investments. Engineers of all kinds (systems, hardware, software, and quality, as well as acquisition personnel and service providers) will find ideas on how to perform better.

The three authors, all involved with CMMI since its inception, bring a wealth of experience and knowledge to this book. They highlight the pitfalls and shortcuts that are all too often learned by costly experience, and they provide a context for understanding why the use of CMMI continues to grow around the world.