Hi,
One of our CAETE students who works for Northrup Grumman (NG) sent in the following comment related to Software Process Improvement and the Capability Maturity Model:
"Just to make sure the Lockheed guy doesn't steal all the thunder, Mission
Systems (the sector of NG I work for) is CMMI 5. Your (and the student's
comments) about not being able to fix a typo with out going through all the
processes is absolutely correct, and it is very burdening. The difference (as
I see it) between 4 and 5 is that even the processes are governed by processes.
I work on a large program, but we are a sub-contractor to a prime that shall
remain nameless. We started trying to follow the CMMI 5 requirements from the beginning, but they quickly became a HUGE burden since the prime is (at best) operating at CMMI 3, but with very immature processes. Thus, many programs tailor their processes and CMMI levels depending on the project's needs and phase of the program."
So, in some situations, you may be in a development organization that is operating at one level of process maturity and dealing with an external organization that is operating at a lower level of process maturity. This can lead to having to deal with scheduling, communication, and other problems that result when the external organization is unable to meet the quality standards of your own organization.
Thanks for sending in the comment and my apologies for forgetting to discuss it in lecture when talking about software process improvement!