ActioNews: ActioNet’s Commitment to Process Improvement Continues

by Michele E. Hoopes, PMP, Director of Enterprise Services

In October 2004, ActioNet’s Enterprise Software Development Division started down the migration path from SW-CMM^® level 3 to CMMI^® SE/SW Maturity level 3. What we learned is that CMMI^® is quite different from CMM^® and we had to revisit ALL of our documented procedures and implement quite a few new ones as well! The key differences we noted between the models included:

• Business goals needed to be defined to align with our processes and measurements,
  Planning, training, and tracking resources from a project AND organization level must now be accommodated, and
• Generic goals outline the concept of institutionalization; a defined and managed process.

The above items proved to be quite challenging. In order for the procedures to be institutionalized, it meant that all employees (within the organization) must eat, breathe, and sleep these procedures. In addition, there were now two (2) required Appraisals (SCAMPI^SM "B" and "A") that had to be performed. We had to ensure that prior to going through these, that we were far enough along in the projects to show objective evidence. This was no small feat, but with great satisfaction, ActioNet achieved their goal of successfully migrating to CMMI^® SE/SW Maturity Level 3 on July 15, 2005.

This migration opened our eyes to the following:

• ActioNet’s culture is very accepting to change, and
• Some of our CMMI^® procedures touched on some of our “back-office” procedures such as training, purchasing, and HR.

We realized that we needed to address the overlap. In addition, we need to take advantage of the fact that our culture is proactive and receptive to change. With this in mind and to keep the momentum going, we are walking down the ISO 9001:2000 path, an internationally recognized standard for quality management.

This next phase of ActioNet’s process improvement will prove to be all-encompassing. ISO 9001 touches on all employees and every contract location. It focuses on quality, executive commitment, management procedures, back office procedures, and how all of this is communicated, documented, and measured. This is truly an exciting time at ActioNet!

Because of the overlap of some of the CMMI^® and ISO 9001 procedures, great effort is being made to keep our existing CMMI^® procedures while moving forward. All new procedures and modifications requests are being managed by our Process Enhancement Group (PEG). All software, configuration, and process enhancement requests are submitted, routed, analyzed, and documented through Change Tracker™, our internal change management application. This provides an excellent mechanism for tracking, measuring, and performing trends analysis.

With CMMI^® implemented, we have standardized, repeatable procedures in place that have a direct impact on our ability to provide quality software products and services. Once we get ISO 9001 fully implemented (final assessment is planned for Spring 2006), we will have an enterprise-wide quality management system in place.

Here are ActioNet, we believe in continuous process improvement and we practice what we preach. We are making ActioNet a well-oiled machine so that our customers know without a doubt, that they will receive the same quality products and services across the board. Change is good, commitment to change is better, and having a culture that accepts this proves to be the greatest asset of all.

CMMI^® is registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office by Carnegie Mellon University.
SCAMPI^SM is a service mark of Carnegie Mellon University.