ASK Services: Standard CMMI^® Appraisal Method for Process Improvement (SCAMPI^SM)

Standard CMMI^® Appraisal Method for Process Improvement (SCAMPI^SM) is a suite of three classes of appraisals of an organization's engineering processes (Clases A, B and C).

SCAMPI^SM Class A involves a very detailed investigation of the organizaiton's development processes for the purpose of identifying either the organization’s maturity level or its capability level for the various Process Areas. An appraisal may be done to provide the information that is needed to plan a process improvement effort, or it may be done to rate an organization at a certain maturity level after a successful process improvement effort.

An SEI-authorized Lead Appraisor will lead a team that is composed mostly of the organization's personnel through a rigorous week-long investigation of every aspect of the organization’s development processes. The results of this appaisal are:

• A formal rating:
  • The rating may be a Maturity Level (relative to the Staged representation of the CMMI) that is recognized in the industry as indicating a specific development capability. Government or other customers sometimes require the achievement of certain Maturity Levels of their software contractors.
  • The rating may be a Capability Level (relative to the Continuous representation of the CMMI) for each Process Area examined in the appraisal. This rating is used to quantify the capabilities of specific process areas without concern for the levels that are defined in the staged representation of the CMMI.
• A detailed findings report that identifies the strengths and weaknesses of the organization’s development processes. The findings include:
  • Specific practices that contributed to achieving the specified Maturity or Capability Level,
  • Specific practices that contributed to not achieving a higher Maturity or Capability Level, and
  • Practices that need attention, even though they did not prevent the achievement of a Maturity or Capability Level.
• Recommendations for process improvement. These recommendations become a starting point as your organization decides how to move forward.

SCAMPI Class A provides a tremendous amount of information at a significant cost (in both consulting and employee time). For some organizations, Class B or C appraisals may be more appropriate. For those who can afford a full assessment, the benefits are outstanding.

ASK Process collaborates with SEI Partners that are licensed to perform a Software Engineering Institute SCAMPI. An SEI-authorized lead appaisor will lead a SCAMPI Class A, B or C of your organization's development processes under that SEI Partner's license agreement with the Software Engineering Institute.

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