Monday, January 12, 2015

Can we use an agile approach to adopting CMMI?

Hey CMMI Appraiser, we are a CMMI L2 scientific, engineering, and technology applications company. We’re looking for an organizational performance improvement program that aligns with the way we do things. Can we use an agile approach to implementing the CMMI? ~ Bill B.

Bill, yes, you can. Agile and CMMI can and do work very well together.  To clarify something quickly though: CMMI is a framework for improving whatever it is you need to do. It isn't really something you “implement.” But you absolutely can (and SHOULD) use agile methods to design and deploy the processes and behaviors that you need to be a great company. Using agile and CMMI together gives you a “best of both worlds” approach to that noble goal.


Several years ago, we pioneered “agileCMMI,” an iterative and incremental method for designing and deploying process solutions. With agileCMMI, we helped organizations take a “Scrum-like” approach to understanding the CMMI framework, and apply it to whatever they were working on.

CMMI improves the teams that are using Scrum (or any other technique, for that matter) because, in the case of Scrum, you have a minimalist approach to developing products in an iterative and incremental way. But Scrum does not cover everything required to drive performance, organization-wide. Many such best-practices exist within the CMMI.

So whether your goals are to successfully deliver software, achieve a CMMI Maturity Level, or get on the path to becoming a great company, the agileCMMI approach helps your organization improve incrementally and in a lightweight, useful way -- and reach your goals in a brave new world.

If you would like more information about using CMMI to strengthen agile, Bill, you are invited to participate in our upcoming Webinar: “Agile Resiliency – Scaling Agile so that It Thrives and Survives,” February 12, 2015 @ noon EST.


Like this blog? Forward to your nearest engineering or software exec!

Jeff Dalton is a Certified SCAMPI Lead Appraiser, Certified CMMI Instructor, author, and consultant with years of real-world experience with the CMMI in all types of organizations. Jeff has taught thousands of students in CMMI trainings and has received an aggregate satisfaction score of 4.97 out of 5 from his students.

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