High Maturity Practises in CMMI V2.0

CMMI V2.0 treats high maturity practises in a somewhat different manner.

The practice areas have practises distributed across capability levels, running from level 1 to level 5.

Practises at capability levels 4 and 5 cutting across the various practice areas would together constitute what can be called as high maturity practises in CMMI V2.0.

As explained in a previous post titled CMMI V2.0 - Some Interesting Observations (https://business-process-improvement-blog.blogspot.in/2018/04/cmmi-v20-some-interesting-observations.html):

• There are two practice areas that have all the 5 capability levels - CAUSAL ANALYSIS AND RESOLUTION (CAR) and MANAGING PERFORMANCE AND MEASUREMENT (MPM).
• And there are four practice areas that have 4 capability levels - SUPPLER AND AGREEMENT MANAGEMENT (SAM),  PLANNING (PLAN), PROCESS MANAGEMENT (PCM) and GOVERNANCE (GOV)

So the study of high maturity practises in CMMI v2.0 is essentially a close study of the capability level 4 and 5 practises of the following practice areas:

• CAUSAL ANALYSIS AND RESOLUTION (CAR)
• MANAGING PERFORMANCE AND MEASUREMENT (MPM)
• SUPPLER AND AGREEMENT MANAGEMENT (SAM)
• PLANNING (PLAN)
• PROCESS MANAGEMENT (PCM)
• GOVERNANCE (GOV)

CMMI V2.0 Appraisals - Some Important Changes Over CMMI V1.3

CMMI V2.0 appraisal method has also been released along with the CMMI V2.0 model.

Some interesting observations related to CMMI V2.0 model have been captured in an earlier post titled CMMI V2.0 - Some Interesting Observations (https://business-process-improvement-blog.blogspot.in/2018/04/cmmi-v20-some-interesting-observations.html)

The CMMI V2.0 appraisal method definition document (MDD) contains the details of appraisal method to be used while performing CMMI appraisals going ahead.

Here are some important points related to CMMI V2.0 appraisals:

• In CMMI V2.0 three types of appraisal methods have been made available - benchmark, sustainment and evaluation
• Benchmark appraisal
• Like SCAMPI A in V1.3 (actually replaces SCAMPI A) or re-certification audit in ISO standards
• Results in a maturity level rating valid for three years
• Sustainment appraisal
• Like SCAMPI A equivalent in V1.3 or surveillance audit in ISO standards
• Appraisal performed on one-third of the scope of the benchmark appraisal
• Results in extending the maturity level rating of a benchmark appraisal for another two years
• Evaluation appraisal
• Like SCAMPI B/C or equivalent in V1.3 (replaces SCAMPI B/C) or gap analysis in a general sense
• Does not result in any maturity level rating
• Intended for use by organizations against any scope both in terms of scope of organization and scope of CMMI V2.0 model
• Projects in appraisal scope will be selected based on  statistically-validated random sampling using random sample generator system (goes live in October 2018)
• This will help remove any bias from sample selection
• This change is a very significant one and will certainly make things tougher for many organizations
• However, if an organization has implemented the CMMI model in the right way, there is really no need to worry!
• Appraisals against CMMI V2.0 model using CMMI V2.0 appraisal method will start getting accepted from January 2019
• The random sample generator system is supposed to go live before that
• Appraisals against CMMI V1.3 model using CMMI V1.3 appraisal model will stop getting accepted after 1 April 2020
• After that only appraisals against CMMI V2.0 model using CMMI V2.0 appraisal method will be considered valid
• An organization can undergo maximum three consecutive sustainment appraisals before it is mandatorily required to undergo another benchmark (re)appraisal
• CMMI appraisals will follow a 9 year repetitive cycle similar to the 3 year repetitive cycle followed in the case of ISO certifications.
• ISO certification cycle starts with a (re)certification audit followed typically by two surveillance audits at the end of year 1 and year 2 respectively and then another (re)certification audit  at the end of year 3. The audit cycle repeats as per the above rhytm.
• CMMI appraisal cycle will start with a (re)benchmark appraisal followed by three sustainment appraisals at the end of year 3, year 5 and year 7 respectively and then another (re)benchmark appraisal at the end of year 9. The appraisal cycle repeats as per the above rhytm.
• Period of validity of a maturity level rating resulting from a CMMI V1.3 appraisal is not allowed to be extended using sustainment appraisal
• Hence upgrading to CMMI V2.0 appraisal method at the earliest is highly recommended from cost optimization point of view

CMMI V2.0 - Some Interesting Observations

CMMI V2.0 was released on March 28, 2018. V2.0 is the next release of V1.3 and would replace it completely after the sunset period gets over on March 31, 2020.

At the first glance, and on a cursory walkthrough of CMMI V2.0, here are some interesting observations on V2.0:

• The structure of the framework has changed.
• At the first layer, there are "Categories". There are 4 categories - Doing, Managing, Enabling and Improving.
• At the second layer, there are "Capability Areas". There are 9 capability areas spread across the four "Categories".
• At the third layer, there are "Practice Areas". There are 20 practice areas in all in CMMI V2.0.
• At the fourth layer, there are "Capability Levels". There are 5 capability levels. Not every practice has all the five capability levels. 
• In fact, there are just two practice areas that have all the 5 capability levels - CAUSAL ANALYSIS AND RESOLUTION (CAR) and MANAGING PERFORMANCE AND MEASUREMENT (MPM).
• And there are four practice areas that have 4 capability levels - SUPPLER AND AGREEMENT MANAGEMENT (SAM),  PLANNING (PLAN), PROCESS MANAGEMENT (PCM) and GOVERNANCE (GOV)
• There is just one practice area that has only 2 capability levels - CONFIGURATION MANAGEMENT (CM).
• Remaining (thirteen) practice areas have 3 capability levels.
• At the fifth and the final layer, there are "Practises", These practises, effectively speaking, constitute the CMMI V2.0 requirements. There are 198 practises in all spread across the 20 practice areas.
• Estimation has become a full-fledged and separate practice area. It used be a part of "Project Planning" process area in CMMI V1.3.
• Not only that, the work flow for estimation is clearly laid down in the model - Scope the work, Estimate the size, Estimate the effort using size, Estimate the time/schedule, Estimate the cost and record the rationale/assumptions throughout the above work flow.
• There is no longer any ambiguity in V2.0 around the need for sizing unlike in V1.3 where it was implied by the specific practice "Establish and maintain estimates of work product and task"
• In measurement related practises in V2.0, there is now an explicit practice related to "Data Quality". This was always important and was implicitly included in V1.3 as a note but with Data Management Maturity (DMM) coming into picture, this has acquired increased significance.
• The practises at level 4 (in whichever practice areas they appear) seem to focus on using data/metrics to manage the related activity. In a similar manner, the practises at level 5 (in whichever practice areas they appear) seem to focus on using data/metrics to improve the related activity.
• The twist in the tale is that though level 5 appears in only two practice areas - CAUSAL ANALYSIS AND RESOLUTION (CAR) and MANAGING PERFORMANCE AND MEASUREMENT (MPM) - however, both of these are so generic that they apply to every other practice area and virtually every activity that happens in any project!
• The above has a fundamental, deep and direct connect with how an organization can achieve sustained success? There is essentially a very simple two-step approach:
• What is step 1? Plan things very well. And how can this be taken care of? Follow practises similar to what would be expected in an area like MANAGING PERFORMANCE AND MEASUREMENT (MPM) .
• What is step 2? In case things don't go as per plan, analyze and address the underlying reasons in a permanent manner, so that those reasons are forever addressed. And how can this be taken care of? Follow practises similar to what would be expected in an area like CAUSAL ANALYSIS AND RESOLUTION (CAR).
• A schematic structure of CMMI V2.0 is given below. It shows the "Categories", "Capability Areas", "Practice Areas", "Capability Levels" and number of "Practises" at each capability level that appears for a specific practice area.