To set the stage, I must admit that as a high maturity lead appraiser I often hear questions regarding the relevancy of CMMI to Six Sigma (6sigma). Although it would be nice to have a simple reply to CMMI’s 6sigma relevancy, unfortunately, I do not.  In truth there really is no simple “Yes it is relevant” or “No it is not relevant” response. I should note here, that is where the title for this little series comes in… CMMI is, in fact, more or less relevant to 6sigma; it really is not a “yes” or “no” thing.

I guess that lets the cat out of the bag, doesn’t it?  You can stop reading here if all you want is my bottom line on the question; because I just provided it.  My hope is that you might remain curious enough to hear more on where things fit with each other and where they might not. It is doubtful that I will address all the “hits” or “misses”. In my series posts on this subject, I will, however, try to highlight some of the bigger boulders.

So that’s it for the teaser article.  “Watch this space for more” as I attempt to address the question of whether CMMI is relevant to SixSigma.

The SEI has recognized PEP, Inc. as an early adopter of the CMMI-SVC model, as a result of our work in support of training and use case development. Both PEP partners are now authorized by the SEI to provide the following services:

• Teach the one-day CMMI for Services supplement, designed to provide background on the new model to people who have already completed the three-day Introduction to the CMMI-DEV course, Version 1.2. (This training qualifies a person to be a Team Member on a CMMI-SVC SCAMPI team.)
• Lead SCAMPI appraisals (classes A, B, and C) using the CMMI-SVC model. (Note that, since the model is newly released, the SEI will not be accepting SCAMPI-A appraisal results against the CMMI-SVC model until September, 2009.)

(Please also note that a new three-day Introduction to the CMMI-SVC course, one that will not address the Development model, is now under development at the SEI. PEP is supporting the development of this course, and plans to make it available to clients once it is released by the SEI.)

This new model will be especially valuable for organizations that perform both engineering development and services delivery. These organizations will now be able to expand the coverage of their CMMI-based process improvement activities to include their service delivery activities. It will also allow new organizations, ones that provide services but perform little or no engineering development, to gain the benefits of CMMI-based process improvement. The increases in delivered quality, in work efficiency, and in effort predictability that have been realized by development groups for many years will now be available to service delivery groups as well.

For more information on the CMMI-SVC model, and how it can help improve the performance of your organization, please contact PEP.

Please note that PEP does not offer this course in a public setting. We limit this course to client site offerings.

Overview:

The Capability Maturity Model® Integration ( CMMI®) project has produced a model that contains the essential elements of effective processes, which permit multiple disciplines to be supported together in a context of both process improvement and assessment. The CMMI is designed specifically for organizations interested in improving processes in Engineering disciplines. The current model representations include both Staged and Continuous representations.

Your organization can use either or both CMMI model representations to set process improvement objectives and priorities; to improve processes; and to provide guidance for ensuring stable, capable, and mature processes. In this way, CMMI can serve as a guide for organizational improvement.

Description:

The Introduction to the CMMI® is an intensive three day course that acquaints participants with the CMMI model, with specific emphasis on either the Staged or Continuous representations as chosen by the client. (There are different versions of the course for each representation.) Each course was developed specifically by the SEI as a prerequisite for serving as a team member on a Standard CMMI Assessment Method for Process Improvement (SCAMPI^sm) appraisal team.

This course provides an introductory understanding of the architecture of the selected representation, as well as the scope and intent of the specific process areas within the model. The course consists of lectures, discussions, and class exercises designed to prepare participants to understand the content of the selected model and apply that content in a process improvement or appraisal environment.

Topics include:

• Introduction, Logistics, and Overview
• Fundamentals of Process Improvement
• Overview of the CMMI-DEV
• Summary

Benefits:

Upon successful completion of this course, the student will:

• Receive the official SEI certificate of attendance
• Have a deeper understanding of the terminology, structure, and contents of the CMMI model chosen as the focus of the course
• Be able to use the chosen CMMI model as a member of an process improvement team
• Be able to use the chosen CMMI model as a member of a SCAMPI assessment team
• Be able to attend the Intermediate Concepts of the CMMI Models course, which is a pre-requisite for attending both SCAMPI Lead Assessor training and Introduction to the CMMI Instructor training

Judah Mogilensky

Process Enhancement Partners, Inc. is one the oldest and most enduring SEI transition partner firms. We are headquartered in Franktown, Colorado with a major consulting office located in Silver Spring Maryland. PEP provides SEI licensed services in the areas of:

• SCAMPI Appraisals (all variants)
• Intro to CMMI-DEV & CMMI-SVC (SEI official offerings)
• Six Sigma
• Managing Technological Change
• and more…

Please review our site materials for additional details!