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As difficult as it is to buy the right software, you’d think they’d call it hardware. You need to be an expert in how to buy software. You need to know how to write a software specification. For every business there are many problems or needs that can be addressed. Technology will only be able to solve certain problems. For every one of those there are many technologies that will work. For every technology there are many more products or solutions of that technology. And, for every product or solution there are that many more vendors. How do you know if the vendor you picked is even going to have a product, a technology or a solution that can solve your problem and that it's the right problem to solve with technology? First you need to figure out which business problems need to be solved. Then you need to narrow down which of those business problems can be solved with technology. After that you need to determine which technologies are the right ones to apply to solve those problems. Only then can you identify the technology product or solution to address those needs. Don't even think about talking to a developer or vendor until you've done these steps. CMMI can be applied to small companies and in agile development environments and methods.You can achieve a CMMI level rating even though you use XP (Extreme Programming) or another Agile Development approach or method.Looking for help implementing CMMI? Need someone who will understand that 'your're different?' Looking for discipline in a lightweight environment? Entinex understands and can help you achieve your process objectives.Software development isn't manufacturing. So why do people keep trying to use manufacturing methods on software? Manufacturing QA doesn't work in software which is why so much software QA is so painful. Entinex has the solution. Don't let obsolete thinking about software processes intimidate you out of pursuing a CMMI level rating. Old-style thinking about software processes have not kept up with the times, but Entinex has. Entinex understands that you're in business not for the process but to make money selling software products, solutions, and services. Let Entinex help you achieve your process goals without breaking your bank or rhythm.
CMMI can be applied to small companies and in agile development environments and methods. You can achieve a CMMI level rating even though you use XP (Extreme Programming) or another Agile Development approach or method. Looking for help implementing CMMI? Need someone who will understand that 'your're different?' Looking for discipline in a lightweight environment? Entinex understands and can help you achieve your process objectives. Processes are fueled by people. People hate heavy-handed (bad) processes. Too many process are bad. Entinex can help you fit your processes to the CMMI.

Two Key Challenges to Implementing CMMI

 Modern software needs QA processes that more closely fitted to each project, are dynamically adapting to the project and making development cheaper, better, and faster on every subsequent project; that truly add business value to the QA process. On time working product is a must. Processes must reflect the demands of the customer -- first and foremost. Processes must be adaptive and scalable to handle exceptions. NEED: Process that are matched to project objectives before the project gets under way and get into the detail of the standards and methods so that when the standards are followed they automatically generate the necessary 'proof' of process compliance. DON’T NEED: Processes that simply create automated markers and flags, INSTEAD: approaches that enmesh metrics and data generation into the development process so that the successful output of the process is only possible if the process was properly followed. In a well integrated project generating the data QA needs would merely be a report that runs every so often querying certain tables and build repositories. A QA program at this level of abstraction is infinitely scalable to any project, as long as there’s the will to cooperate for the purposes of benefiting the business.
Software development isn't manufacturing. So why do people keep trying to use manufacturing methods on software? Manufacturing QA doesn't work in software which is why so much software QA is so painful. Entinex has the solution. Don't let obsolete thinking about software processes intimidate you out of pursuing a CMMI level rating. Old-style thinking about software processes have not kept up with the times, but Entinex has. We understand that you're in business not for the process but to make money selling software products, solutions, and services. Let us help you achieve your process goals without breaking your bank or development rhythm. Entinex helps small or agile software developers achieve high level ratings of CMMI.
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©2003, by Hillel Glazer, Entinex, Inc.

The CMMI (Capability Maturity Model - Integration) is a government-funded set of best practices mostly used for software development.  By following these practices, government purchasers and software developers alike can gain better insight into and control over software projects, thus improving the product’s quality and matching the cost and schedule more closely with estimates.  So, in order to develop software for the government, developers are required to implement the CMMI best practices.  However, the large number of unsuccessful and/or painful CMMI implementations has proved this implementation easier said than done.

Let’s take a look at two points that often make implementing the CMMI a challenge:

  1. Unlike many typical government standards, the CMMI doesn’t tell the user "how" to satisfy the criteria, and
  2. Many people who attempt to implement CMMI have a hard time separating the development details from the management practices.

The first challenge above results from the CMMI being a "descriptive" and not a "prescriptive" standard.  This means it describes the end result (what to accomplish) but does not prescribe the method of getting there (how to do it).  Most government contractors have come to expect that standards not only lay out the performance requirements, but also exactly how to fulfill those requirements.  Not so with the CMMI.

Think of it as though your doctor tells you to "get into shape" but doesn’t give you any idea of how "out of shape" you are, what nutrition or exercise regimen to follow, or exactly what is unhealthy about the way you are now.  Imagine you’ve only been shown a picture of what "in shape" looks like, and you’re told, "Become like that." Not much help, is it?  But that’s pretty much how the CMMI comes across -- especially compared to how it used to be throughout decades of prescriptive government standards explicitly directing government contractors in both what to do and how to do it.

The lack of "prescription" in the CMMI was on purpose.  While it causes a lot of headaches to many organizations implementing CMMI, this lack of "how" in the CMMI allows each company to create its own approach-based on what works best for it.  The CMMI is a set of processes, described in terms of general and specific activities.  Because of the many ways in which an organization can carry out those activities, each process can (and ought to) be unique to each individual company.

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Did you know that your technology project has an 80% chance of failing? Do you know what to do to improve those odds? Do you know what to ask your software developer or vendor to make sure they know what to do so that the project you're paying them to do doesn't fail?
Would you like your software estimates to improve? Would you like to have predictability and consistency in your software projects? Wouldn't it be nice if you could forecast your capacity for new work and your sales effort? Wouldn't better estimats result in happier clients?

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