Documentation vs. Evidence
A conversation I've now had a number of times, including on the Agile v. CMMI panel at SEPG deserves special mention.
The appraisal process for CMMI which looks to see that an organization has a process improvement program in place (called "SCAMPI") doesn't explicitly require "documents" as artifacts. Neither does CMMI itself.
What is required is "evidence".
Evidence is not always documentation.
One enabler of CMMI in Agile/agile environments is this distinction. I expect to write more about the SCAMPI process soon enough.
posted by Hillel @ 12:25
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Although I agree that an agile development team could create a set a processes that passes CMMI, I do not think that a team within an established CMMI environment can effectively adopt agile development processes. Though this may sound cynical, I find that it is true.
I've worked for several organizations with different accreditations: CMM, ISO, and CMMI. In all of these set ups, the process group was an entity independent of the development group. The processes as defined are document heavy, though, it is permitted for any project to customize the hundreds of pages of process description and submit that to the steering committee for immediate inaction. No project I have ever worked on had the resources to create the documentation needed to tailor the process.
I wish for the best, but I fear that the CMMI orthodxy will merely chew up agile development and spit out the well-documented and approved bones.
the process group was an entity independent of the development group. The processes as defined are document heavy
Therein lies the problem.
This is a great (albeit unfortunate) example of "process overlay". Processes that were designed independently of the development activities.
The solution to this issue is to design processes as a reflection of the development practices, not as a separate entity. Since most groups don't take the time to do this, you end up with what you've described.
There are companies that are already using CMMI for their process management looking towards Agile practices. You might be right that a majority would need to re-tool their process implementation such that Agile and CMMI will play nicely together.
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