CMMI-ACQ: Guidelines for Improving the Acquisition of Products and Services

CMMI-ACQ® (Capability Maturity Model® Integration for Acquisition) describes best practices for the successful acquisition of products and services. Providing a practical framework for improving acquisition processes, CMMI-ACQ addresses the growing trend in business and government for organizations to purchase or outsource required products and services as an alternative to in-house development or resource allocation.   Modeled after CMMI®, Second Edition, which documented CMMI for Development, this book is the definitive reference for the current release of CMMI for Acquisition (version 1.2). In addition to the entire CMMI-ACQ model, the book includes tips, hints, cross-references, and other author notes to help you understand, apply, and find more information about the content of the acquisition process areas. The authors also have added two chapters to illustrate the application of CMMI-ACQ in industry (a case study from General Motors) and government. Whether you are new to CMMI models or are already familiar with one or more of them, you will find this book an essential resource for managing your acquisition processes and improving your overall performance.   The book is divided into three parts.   Part One introduces CMMI-ACQ in the broad context of CMMI models, including essential concepts and useful background. It then describes and shows the relationships among all the components of the CMMI-ACQ process areas, and explains paths to the adoption and use of the model for process improvement and benchmarking. Finally, two separate chapters describe special acquisition needs in a government environment and real experiences with CMMI-ACQ from industry.   Part Two first describes generic goals and generic practices, and then, in twenty-two sections, details each of the CMMI-ACQ process areas, including specific goals, specific practices, and examples. These process areas are organized alphabetically by process area acronym to facilitate quick reference.   Part Three provides several useful references, including sources for further information about CMMI and CMMI-ACQ, acronym definitions, a glossary of terms, and an index.

Table of Contents:
Foreword: A Commercial Perspective xi Foreword: A Government Perspective xv Preface xvii Acknowledgments xxv   Part One: About CMMI for Acquisition 1   Chapter 1: Introduction 3 About Capability Maturity Models 5 Evolution of CMMI 7 CMMI Framework Architecture 8 CMMI for Acquisition 9   Chapter 2: Process Area Components 11 Required, Expected, and Informative Components 11 Components Associated with Part Two 13 Supporting Informative Components 17 Numbering Scheme 19 Typographical Conventions 19   Chapter 3: Tying It All Together 23 Understanding Levels 23 Structures of the Continuous and Staged Representations 25 Understanding Capability Levels 27 Understanding Maturity Levels 30 Process Areas 35 Equivalent Staging 38   Chapter 4: Relationships among Process Areas 43 Project Processes 44 Organizational Processes 49 Support Processes 50 High Maturity Processes 52   Chapter 5: Using CMMI Models 55 Adopting CMMI 55 Your Process Improvement Program 56 Selections That Influence Your Program 56 CMMI Models 57 Using CMMI Appraisals 58 Appraisal Requirements for CMMI 58 SCAMPI Appraisal Methods 59 Appraisal Considerations 59 CMMI-Related Training 61   Chapter 6: Using CMMI-ACQ in Government 63 Critical Issues in Government Acquisition 63 Acquisition Strategy: Planning for Success 70 Agreements: They Are Not Just with Suppliers 75 Acquisition Verification: The Challenges 77 Interoperable Acquisition 81 Transition to Operations: Delivering Value 84 CMMI: The Heart of the U.S. Air Force’s Systems Engineering Assessment Model 86 Acquisition Improvement: Identifying and Removing Process Constraints 90   Chapter 7: Using CMMI-ACQ in Industry: General Motors Case Study 97 Executive Summary 97 Overview of General Motors 100 Overview of GM Information Systems & Services (IS&S) 101 IS&S Factory Structure 104 System Delivery Factory: An Acquisition Organization 105 Governance of the System Development Factory 107 Aligning the GM System Delivery Process to CMMI-ACQ 108 Realizing Value from the CMMI-ACQ at GM 113 GM to CMMI-ACQ Practice Mapping 129 Managing Process Deployment and Change 129 Integrated Tools Enable High-Performance Acquisition 132 Conducting Appraisals to Drive Change 133 Aligning Supplier Relationships 134 Future Actions 135 Summary 136   Part Two: Generic Goals and Generic Practices, and the Process Areas 137   Generic Goals and Generic Practices 139 Agreement Management 165 Acquisition Requirements Development 173 Acquisition Technical Management 187 Acquisition Validation 199 Acquisition Verification 207 Causal Analysis and Resolution 217 Configuration Management 227 Decision Analysis and Resolution 239 Integrated Project Management 249 Measurement and Analysis 267 Organizational Innovation and Deployment 285 Organizational Process Definition 301 Organizational Process Focus 315 Organizational Process Performance 329 Organizational Training 341 Project Monitoring and Control 353 Project Planning 367 Process and Product Quality Assurance 397 Quantitative Project Management 405 Requirements Management 425 Risk Management 433 Solicitation and Supplier Agreement Development 451   Part Three: The Appendices and Glossary 469 Appendix A: References 471 Appendix B: Acronyms 475 Appendix C: Project Participants 479 Appendix D: Glossary 485   Book Contributors 511   Index 519

About the Author :
Brian P. Gallagher is director of ISR Mission Systems Engineering within the ISR Systems Division, Mission Systems Sector, Northrop Grumman. He was previously director of the Software Engineering Institute (SEI) Acquisition Program.   Mike Phillips is program manager for CMMI at the SEI. In that position he leads the CMMI Product Suite evolution for the SEI. He was a senior acquisition professional in the military before joining the SEI.   Dr. Karen J. Richter is a research analyst and senior project leader at the Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA), a research and development “think tank” for the Department of Defense. She has served on the CMMI Configuration Control Board and the CMMI Steering Group.   Sandy Shrum is a senior writer/editor at the SEI. She has been with the SEI since 1995 and has been a member of the CMMI Development Team since the CMMI project’s inception in 1998.