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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.

What Is CMMI and Why Should You Care?
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©2003, by Hillel Glazer, Entinex, Inc.

Seeking the stability -- and, thanks to the increased spending on Defense and Homeland Security, the opportunity -- of government work, many software companies are facing a rude surprise called the "CMMI."

What is CMMI?

CMMI stands for "Capability Maturity Model - Integration."  It’s used to help make business management decisions about how software is developed.  The CMMI focuses on the managerial aspects of software development.  Whereas a software development model is a way for programmers to code, test, deploy and build on their software, a software management model is a way for software projects to plan, organize and identify what needs to get done to run the project.  It’s a business management model used to gain insight into and control over the development, so you can predict and adjust project activities towards success.

Why did it come about?

In the 1980s a Standish Group study found that over 30% of all large software projects failed to be delivered, and, of the remaining, nearly 80% failed to come in on time and budget.  These figures, in fact, account for the evidence that smaller companies' success rates were nearly twice as high as the success rates of larger companies.  The research also indicated that most of the money in software development was spent on fixing buggy software, rather than on the initial development.  In effect, only about 16% of all software projects surveyed were delivered on time, on budget and with the expected functionality, with most of it being developed by smaller companies.

To beat these odds, and to lower the overall cost of buying software, the Department of Defense (who arguably spent the most money on custom-developed software) funded the Software Engineering Institute (SEI) at Carnegie Mellon University to find ways to help defense contractors build software more economically.

The SEI defined a "successful project" in terms of a project's ability to meet cost, schedule and quality objectives.  "Quality" was defined as how many post-delivery corrections, fixes and upgrades were required before the product finally did what the customers expected.  "Failed projects" were those that were cancelled or significantly overran cost, schedule or quality expectations.  Instead of focusing on the mistakes, overruns and what not to do, the SEI focused on what the successful projects had in common.  The result became the Capability Maturity Model for software, or CMM.

Subsequent to the original release of the CMM, maturity models for other aspects of managing technical projects were created.  In late 2001, the CMMI was released which integrated all the models.  The CMMI also included changes to the basic structure of the CMM which made the model more effective and more broadly applicable to companies that might have found the original models too rigid.

Today, the CMM/CMMI are the de facto standard for software management throughout the Federal government and is internationally recognized as a very powerful business tool and competitive differentiator.

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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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