Created: Thursday, 06 August 2015 12:19
One of the largest transportation companies in the world, let’s call it TransCo for anonymity, is using CMMI to guide its PMO (Project Management Office) best practice.
Is CMMI not just for software development? There are actually 3 constellations of CMMI, the CMMI for Development, the CMMI for Acquisition and the CMMI for Services. These three models have 16 core process areas that are common across them. The process areas have general applicability, they are common across any process driven domain. The process areas used are each described briefly below.
- Project Management/Work Management: The purpose of Project Planning/Work Planning is to establish and maintain plans that define project/work activities.
- Project Monitoring and Control/Work Monitoring and Control: The purpose of Project Monitoring and Control/Work Monitoring and Control is to provide an understanding of the project’s progress/work units progress so that appropriate corrective actions can be taken when the project’s/work unit’s performance deviates significantly from the plan.
- Measurement and Analysis: The purpose of Measurement and Analysis is to develop and sustain a measurement capability used to support management information needs.
- Organizational Process Focus: The purpose of Organizational Process Focus is to plan, implement, and deploy organizational process improvements based on a thorough understanding of current strengths and weaknesses of the organization’s processes and process assets.
- Organizational Process Definition: The purpose of Organizational Process Definition is to establish and maintain a usable set of organizational process assets, work environment standards, and rules and guidelines for teams.
- Risk Management: The purpose of Risk Management (RSKM) is to identify potential problems before they occur so that risk handling activities can be planned and invoked as needed across the life of the product or project to mitigate adverse impacts on achieving objectives.
The above 6 process areas each are defined in terms of one, two or three goals that is to be achieved within the process areas, and each goal is supported by generic and specific practices. These practices are the best practices that can be found in the CMMI models and is very much relevant to implementing a successful PMO (Project Management Office) that is continually improved. Practices suitable for small organisations, but just as much for Multi-Billion Dollar PMOs.