Monday, October 4, 2010

We provide Project Management Services. Which model should we use - CMMI-DEV or CMMI-SVC?




We are a relatively small company of approximately 100 employees providing program management support services for government agencies. Our services include program and project management, including planning, financial management, risk management, etc. Our contracts usually also include delivery of specific documents as part of that support. We are discussing whether we should use CMMI-SVC or CMMI-DEV. Is there a good resource to help us decide which constellation is the better fit for our company as we try to decide whether to implement CMMI?



You didn't say which Maturity Level you were hoping for (2,3,4,5), but the DEV and SVC models are almost identical for ML2 (SVC has one additional PA: Service Delivery). We have many clients who provide project/program management services and use the CMMI-DEV ML2 very effectively. ML2 is focused on project and program management, so the differences between the two are small.

Going with the DEV model gives you the benefit of a huge body of knowledge and experience, with proven methods and techniques. SVC is only a year old, so that just doesn't exist.

ML2 in the DEV model includes Project Planning, Project Monitoring (this includes risks), PPQA, Configuration Management, and so on. These are core to project management. So that is probably a good initial target for you.

If you run projects, then the DEV models is slightly more appropriate. If you provide staff on a staff augmentation basis, then SVC might have a slight edge for you.

My advice would be to go with the DEV model for ML2, and if you wanted some of the advanced PAs then get a Capability Level Three in RSKM and IPM.

Good luck!




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