CMMI and Six Sigma Partners in Process Improvement

by Siviy, Jeannine M.; Penn, M. Lynn; Stoddard, Robert W.

• ISBN13: 9780321516084
• ISBN10: 0321516087
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2007-12-18
• Publisher: Addison-Wesley Professional

Summary

"In this book, I have found answers to key questions and misconceptions about the relationship between Six Sigma and the Capability Maturity Model Integration [CMMI]....Among my key takeaways is that the relationship between Six Sigma and CMMI exemplifies one of the principles of S4/IEE: CMMI provides process infrastructure that is needed to support a successful Six Sigma strategy." -Forrest W. Breyfogle III, CEO, Smarter Solutions, Inc. "Finally, a book that bridges the software and hardware process tool set. To date, there have been hardware and software engineers who for one reason or another have not communicated their process methods. And so, myths formed that convinced the hardware community that CMMI was only for software and likewise convinced the software community that Six Sigma was only for hardware. It is both refreshing and thought provoking to dispel these myths." -Jack Ferguson, Manager, SEI Appraisal Program, Software Engineering Institute CMMI and Six Sigma represent two of the best-known process improvement initiatives. Both are designed to enhance work quality and thereby produce business advantages for an organization. It's a misconception that the two are in competition and cannot be implemented simultaneously. Practitioners originally trained in either CMMI or Six Sigma are now finding that the two initiatives work remarkably well together in the pursuit of their common goal. CMMIreg; and Six Sigma: Partners in Process Improvementfocuses on the synergistic, rather than competitive, implementation of CMMI and Six Sigma-with synergy translating to "faster, better, cheaper" achievement of mission success. Topics range from formation of the value proposition to specific implementation tactics. The authors illustrate how not taking advantage of what both initiatives have to offer puts an organization at risk of sinking time, energy, and money into "inventing" a solution that already exists. Along the way they debunk a few myths about Six Sigma applications in software. While the authors concentrate on the interoperability of Six Sigma and CMMI, they also recognize that organizations rarely implement only these two initiatives. Accordingly, the discussion turns to the emerging realm of "multimodel" process improvement and strategies and tactics that transcend models to help organizations effectively knit together a single unified internal process standard. Whether you work in the defense industry, for a commercial organization, or for a government agency-wherever quality and efficiency matter-you'll find this book to be a valuable resource for bridging process issues across domains and building an improvement strategy that succeeds.

Author Biography

Jeannine M. Siviy is the Deputy Director for the Dynamic Systems Program of the Software Engineering Institute (SEI), a Kodak-certified Six Sigma Black Belt, and a leading researcher in the application of Six Sigma to software process improvement. M. Lynn Penn is Director of Program Process Management at Lockheed Martin Information Systems and Global Services (IS&GS), where she oversees policies and process command media, process compliance via audits, and process improvement activities. She is a Lockheed-certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt. Robert W. Stoddard is a Senior Member of the Technical Staff at the SEI, a Motorola-certified Six Sigma Master Black Belt, and President and CEO of Six Sigma IDS, LLC.

Table of Contents

List of Figures	p. xiii
List of Tables	p. xvii
Foreword	p. xix
Foreword	p. xxi
Preface	p. xxiii
Introduction	p. 1
CMMI Overview	p. 5
CMMI at a Glance	p. 6
Adoption and Deployment	p. 15
Benefits	p. 16
CMMI Adoption Myths	p. 17
Summary	p. 18
Six Sigma Overview	p. 19
Six Sigma at a Glance	p. 21
Deployment	p. 35
Applying Six Sigma to Software	p. 37
Six Sigma Myths	p. 39
Example Benefits	p. 43
Summary	p. 44
Multimodel Process Improvement: The Value Proposition	p. 45
Six Sigma as a Strategic Enabler: An Investigation	p. 47
Summary	p. 52
Two Case Studies	p. 55
Case Study: Lockheed Martin Integrated Systems & Solutions	p. 55
Case Study: Motorola	p. 75
Summary	p. 88
Integrating the CMMI and Six Sigma: Strategies	p. 91
Sequencing Scenarios	p. 91
Joint Implementation Strategies	p. 93
Considerations for Staged and Continuous CMMI Representations	p. 97
Considerations for Joint Deployment	p. 100
Summary	p. 105
Integrating the CMMI and Six Sigma: Design Connections	p. 107
CMMI Process Areas and Six Sigma Frameworks	p. 107
CMMI Process Areas and the Six Sigma Toolkit of Analytical Methods	p. 112
CMMI Project Management Process Areas and Six Sigma Project Management	p. 112
CMMI Process Outputs as Inputs to Six Sigma and Vice Versa	p. 113
Summary	p. 114
Multimodel Process Improvement: The General Case	p. 115
Depiction of the Process of Process Improvement	p. 116
Mission Translation and Project Portfolio Management	p. 123
Model Selection and Strategy	p. 134
Solution Implementation: Process Architecture and Design	p. 139
Summary	p. 146
Sustainment: Your Improvement Project Portfolio	p. 147
Product Quality Improvement	p. 149
Cost and Schedule Performance Improvement	p. 158
Definition and Design of the Decision Analysis Process	p. 172
IT Operations: Value Stream Mapping with IT Tools	p. 176
Performance Modeling and Simulation	p. 181
Summary	p. 188
Summary and Final Remarks	p. 189
DMAIC Roadmap Guidance Questions	p. 193
DMAIC and CMMI Specific Goals and Generic Practices	p. 197
CMMI Process Areas and the Six Sigma Toolkit	p. 199
"Six Sigma as an Enabler" Research Project: Full Report	p. 203
"Six Sigma as an Enabler" Research Project: Findings, Inferences, Hypotheses	p. 215
Overview of Frequently Used Six Sigma Analytical Methods	p. 227
Measurement Practices	p. 251
Transition Practices	p. 261
Organizational Change Management	p. 267
References	p. 271
Additional Resources	p. 283
Acronyms	p. 299
About the Authors	p. 309
Index	p. 315
Table of Contents provided by Publisher. All Rights Reserved.

Excerpts

Why Did We Write This Book? Over the past several years, we have fielded an increasing number of questions about how to apply Six Sigma in software and, more specifically, how to apply it in the context of the SEI Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI). Often, the questions revolve around perceived competition between the two initiatives. Other frequently asked questions have related to case studies, examples of statistical tools in use, tailored training, and measurement infrastructure. Questions have come from organizations already implementing CMMI or Six Sigma as well as those implementing both and also those not yet implementing either. They have come from the defense industry, government agencies, commercial industry, consultants, and academia. Until now, our primary approach for widespread sharing of information has been conference presentations, tutorials, and panels. The original intent of this book is to be a companion guide to such speaking engagements-primarily Jeannine's and Lynn's-to capture the commentary that is never evident from viewing slides downloaded from the Internet and to further explain the underlying research and practice. Our text focuses on the synergistic, rather than competitive, implementation of CMMI and Six Sigma, with "synergy" translating to "better, faster, cheaper" achievement of mission success. Topics range from value proposition to tactics. We point out how not taking advantage of what both initiatives have to offer runs the risk of an organization sinking time and energy into inventing something that already exists. Along the way, we try to debunk a few myths about Six Sigma applications in software. While this book concentrates on the interoperability of Six Sigma and CMMI, we recognize that organizations rarely implement only these two initiatives. Accordingly, we have included a discussion of the more general case of multimodel process improvement-an area of emerging research. We offer an overall process for multimodel process improvement, noting strategies and practices that transcend the models, and enable organizations to make informed decisions about how to effectively knit them together into a unified, single internal process standard. With the increasing pervasiveness of software in our society, we believe that the pressure from senior management to optimize the software portion of the business is going to escalate and that the interest in "better, faster, cheaper" and obsessively mission-focused software process improvement will grow considerably in coming years. The strategies and tactics we offer for an integrated approach to process improvement serve this purpose and mitigate the risks of "programs of the month," competing initiatives, resource conflicts, funding conflicts, and other issues that plague process improvement groups. All this having been said, there is no such thing as a "silver bullet" answer. What we offer in this book is a framework for reasoning about the task at hand and information to help readers formulate their own strategies and tactical plans. Who Is the Audience for This Book? We wrote this book primarily for people in process improvement roles, as well as the managers and technical staff with whom they frequently interact. For process improvement personnel-including engineering process improvement group leads and members; measurement working group members; Six Sigma Black Belts, Master Black Belts, and Champions-the book supports strategic and tactical decision making about initiative adoption and joint, synergistic implementation. It also provides information, in the form of both facts and ideas, that can be used to gain sponsorship and buy-in for joint initiative implementation. For technical management-including program, project, engineering, and line managers-the book also serves decision making. For this group, however, the value is more stra