Through the blog, I talk about frameworks and maturity models. The are a mixed bag, like any business strategy or tactic. Some view them as a panacea; others a fad. The Capability Maturity Model (CMM) is one of those concepts that has stayed around for a while. I talked about some of this a few posts back. (Note, I don't always email my posts. If you are subscribed, then you might want to scan to see if any of them are of interest.)

CMM has two facets: Maturity and Capability. The former is a holistic approach to organizational improvement. The latter allows for tailoring. It also has fewer levels (3 instead of 5). Using this, I came up with what are fairly obvious bits of CMM that help indicate whether a program is operating effectively. Each process area shares the same "General Goals" and "General Practices," and on top of those layer their specific ones. I have used what follows to positive effect when I had senior support; which is a unicorn.

I hold that the Roman Legion was successful, not because it had heroes, but because it killed heroes.

What follows is a cataloging of the six process areas that I have used for organizational change:

Organizational Process Definition
Organizational Training (are they trained to follow the process)
Risk Management
Organizational Process Focus (managed process improvement)
Organizational Process Performance (objective assessment)
Organizational Performance Measurement (are you meeting business objectives)
General Goals & Practices

Organizational Process Definition

Establish and maintain a useable set of organizational process assets and work environment standards. Document what you do and maintain the tools you use to do it. This is about defining and documenting your process and projects, and tailoring. (details)

Goal: General goals & practices
SG 1 Establish Organizational Process Assets
- SP 1.1 Establish Standard Processes
- SP 1.2 Establish Lifecycle Model Descriptions
- SP 1.3 Establish Tailoring Criteria and Guidelines
- SP 1.4 Establish the Organization's Measurement Repository
- SP 1.5 Establish the Organization's Process Asset Library
- SP 1.6 Establish Work Environment Standards
- SP 1.7 Establish Rules and Guidelines for Teams

Organizational Training

Um, train your people in your processes. (details)

SG 1 Establish an Organizational Training Capability
- SP 1.1 Establish Strategic Training Needs
- SP 1.2 Determine Which Training Needs Are the Responsibility of the Organization
- SP 1.3 Establish an Organizational Training Tactical Plan
- SP 1.4 Establish a Training Capability
SG 2 Provide Training
- SP 2.1 Deliver Training
- SP 2.2 Establish Training Records
- SP 2.3 Assess Training Effectiveness

Risk Management

As a project manager, this seems obvious, but that's because its central to any project. We are looking for problems...but I also think opportunities should be identified, categorized and prioritized so an organization can position itself. (details)

Goal: General goals & practices
SG 1 Prepare for Risk Management
- SP 1.1 Determine Risk Sources and Categories
- SP 1.2 Define Risk Parameters
- SP 1.3 Establish a Risk Management Strategy
SG 2 Identify and Analyze Risks
- SP 2.1 Identify Risks
- SP 2.2 Evaluate, Categorize, and Prioritize Risks
SG 3 Mitigate Risks
- SP 3.1 Develop Risk Mitigation Plans
- SP 3.2 Implement Risk Mitigation Plans

Operational Process Focus

Plans, implements and deploys organizational process improvements based on a through understanding of current strengths and weaknesses of the organizations processes and process assets. (details)

Goal: General goals & practices
SG 1 Determine Process Improvement Opportunities
- SP 1.1 Establish Organizational Process Needs
- SP 1.2 Appraise the Organization's Processes
- SP 1.3 Identify the Organization's Process Improvements
SG 2 Plan and Implement Process Improvements
- SP 2.1 Establish Process Action Plans
- SP 2.2 Implement Process Action Plans
SG 3 Deploy Organizational Process Assets and Incorporate Experiences
- SP 3.1 Deploy Organizational Process Assets
- SP 3.2 Deploy Standard Processes
- SP 3.3 Monitor the Implementation
- SP 3.4 Incorporate Experiences into Organizational Process Assets

Organizational Process Performance

Track how well you are performing using quantitative measures. (details)

SG 1 Establish Performance Baselines and Models
- SP 1.1 Establish Quality and Process Performance Objectives (where do you want to be)
- SP 1.2 Select Processes (what you will measure)
- SP 1.3 Establish Process Performance Measures (how you will measure)
- SP 1.4 Establish Process Performance Baselines (where are you now)
- SP 1.5 Establish Process Performance Models

Organizational Performance Measurement

Proactively manage the organization's performance to meet its business objectives.
SG 1 Manage Business Performance

- SP 1.1 Maintain Business Objectives
- SP 1.2 Analyze Process Performance Data
- SP 1.3 Identify Potential Areas for Improvement
SG 2 Select Improvements
- SP 2.1 Elicit Suggested Improvements
- SP 2.2 Analyze Suggested Improvements
- SP 2.3 Validate Improvements
- SP 2.4 Select and Implement Improvements for Deployment
SG 3 Deploy Improvements
- SP 3.1 Plan the Deployment
- SP 3.2 Manage the Deployment
- SP 3.3 Evaluate Improvement Effects

General Goals & Practices

Generic goals and practices are a part of every process area. (details)

GG 1 Achieve Specific Goals
- GP 1.1 Perform Specific Practices (everything above per process area)
GG 2 Institutionalize a Managed Process
- GP 2.1 Establish an Organizational Policy
- GP 2.2 Plan the Process
- GP 2.3 Provide Resources
- GP 2.4 Assign Responsibility
- GP 2.5 Train People
- GP 2.6 Control Work Products
- GP 2.7 Identify and Involve Relevant Stakeholders
- GP 2.8 Monitor and Control the Process
- GP 2.9 Objectively Evaluate Adherence
- GP 2.10 Review Status with Higher Level Management
GG 3 Institutionalize a Defined Process
- GP 3.1 Establish a Defined Process
- GP 3.2 Collect Process Related Experiences

--
Ben
In tenebra solus sto