Higher CMM levels attained by QA certified software developers

[Abstract]: This paper addresses the question: is higher capability maturity associated with adoption of Quality Assurance (QA) certification? To assess the extent of adoption of third-party QA certification by Australian software developers, a survey of 1,000 software developers was recently conducted. The questionnaire also included an assessment of their capability maturity based on the capability maturity model (CMM). Cynics who criticise the value of QA certification may be surprised by the strong association found between adoption of QA certification and capability maturity

Higher capability maturity dynamics of UK construction organisations

This paper attempts to identify the dynamics of the CMM (Capability Maturity Model) higher capability maturity level characteristics within the UK construction context from a theoretical perspective. Firstly, this paper follows a literature survey and a synthesis to identify the nature of CMM higher capability maturity level dynamics and its specific attachments to the software industry. Based on this synthesis, this paper presents a model to mimic the likely higher capability maturity dynamics of the UK construction industry

Identifying higher capability maturity KPAs of construction organisations; Model refinement through expert interviews

Process improvement has been identified as a mechanism of achieving the much needed performance improvements within the construction industry. Despite the concerns of being an industry with unique characteristics, construction has borrowed some process improvement principles from other industries such as software. However, while process capability maturity has been identified as an important aspect of process improvements in many disciplines construction shows a clear research gap in that area. Among the few capability maturity based process improvement initiatives within the construction industry, there is a clear necessity to investigate what are the higher capability maturity level dynamics of construction process improvements. Addressing this requirement, this paper discusses a model to identify construction higher capability maturity

Using a maturity model to move student engagement practices beyond the generational approach

This paper proposes that the generational approach to conceptualising first year student learning behaviour, while it has made a very useful contribution to understanding that behaviour, can be expanded upon. The generational approach has an explicit focus on student behaviour and it is suggested that a capability maturity model interpretation may provide a complementary extension of that as it allows an assessment of institutional capability to initiate, plan, manage and evaluate institutional student engagement practices. The development of a Student Engagement, Success and Retention Maturity Model (SESR-MM) is discussed along with Australasian FYE generational data and Australian SESR-MM data

Identification of key process areas in the production on an e-capability maturity model for UK construction organisations

Uptake of e-procurement by construction organisations has been slow (Martin, 2008). Positive e-business achievements in other industries, point towards the potential for the construction industry to accomplish similar results. Since the Modernising Government White paper set targets through best value indicator BV157 for implementation in the public sector, Government has supported many initiatives encouraging e-procurement. These are based on documented efficiency and cost savings (Knudsen, 2003; Minahan and Degan, 2001; McIntosh and Sloan, 2001; Martin, 2008). However, Martin (2003, 2008) demonstrates only a modest increase in the uptake of e-procurement in the UK construction industry. Alshawi et al (2004) identified the significance of possessing a model to sustain the embedment of any business process within an organisation. Saleh and Alshawi (2005) describe a number of model types used to gauge maturity in an organisation. One of these models is the capability maturity model. Paulk et al (1993) released the Software Capability Maturity Model (CMM) in 1991. Since then many CMM’s have evolved. This paper reports on how a CMM based on Drivers and Barriers to e-procurement identified in Eadie et al (2009) can be developed to gauge the maturity of an organisation in relation to e-procurement. This paper presents details of a research project which used factor analysis to produce a set of Key Process Areas (KPA) from the drivers and barriers identified in Eadie et al (2009). These KPAs were then subjected to a mapping process linking them to maturity levels to develop a CMM to analyse the e-procurement capability of construction organisations. The mapping will be reported in a later paper. This termed as e-readiness of organisations will indicate the current state of a construction organisation in terms of its readiness to carry out e-procurement. The paper describes in detail the identification of the KPA’s

Towards a business analytics capability maturity model

Business analytics (BA) systems are an important strategic investment for many organisations and can potentially contribute significantly to firm performance. Establishing strong BA capabilities is currently one of the major concerns of chief information officers. This research project aims to develop a BA capability maturity model (BACMM). The BACMM will help organisations to scope and evaluate their BA initiatives. This research-in-progress paper describes the current BACMM, relates it to existing capability maturity models and explains its theoretical base. It also discusses the design science research approach being used to develop the BACMM and provides details of further work within the research project. Finally, the paper concludes with a discussion of how the BACMM might be used in practice.<br /

Maturity Models as a Tool for Benefits-Driven Change: A Qualitative Investigation of ten Organisations

If Information Technology (IT) is to deliver change with clear benefits a complex mix of organizational resources (i.e. the IT capability), need to be mobilized. Improving IT capability is essential but often challenging for organizations. Maturity models are used to assist change management for IT capability improvement, but there has been limited research on how they are used and their efficacy in different organizational contexts. This paper addresses this gap through exploring the experiences of ten organizations who used the IT Capability Maturity Framework (IT-CMF), to help them address the challenge of gaining benefits from IT. Key topics are: motivations for using a maturity model; change management actions and improvements; success factors; barriers to success. The data was collected through qualitative interviews and interpreted through a benefits-driven change management approach. This analysis provides key insights into the context and challenges of using maturity models for IT capability improvements, and suggests that capability improvement will to some extent address the ‘knowing-doing gap’ highlighted with respect to maturity model implementation

A Scrum-based approach to CMMI maturity level 2 in Web Development environments

Scrum has become one of the most popular agile methodologies, either alone or combined with other agile practices. Besides, CMMI (Capability Maturity Model Integration) is accepted as a suitable model to measure the maturity of the organizations when developing or acquiring software. Although these two approaches are often considered antagonist, the use of an agile approach to reach certain CMMI maturity levels may result beneficial to organizations that develop Web systems, since they would take the advantages of both approaches. In Web community, this union may be very interesting, because agile approaches fits with the special needs of Web development, and they could be a useful tool for companies getting a certain grade of maturity. This work analyzes the goals of CMMI maturity level 2 and the feasibility of achieving them using the practices proposed by Scrum, trying to assess whether the use of this methodology is suitable for meeting the CMMI generic and specific goals or not. Finally, and based on this analysis, this paper raises a possible extension of Scrum, based on agile techniques, to accommodate the CMMI maturity level 2.Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia TIN2010-20057-C03-02Junta de Andalucía TIC-578

Identifying Factors Contributing Towards Information Security Maturity in an Organization

Information security capability maturity (ISCM) is a journey towards accurate alignment of business and security objectives, security systems, processes, and tasks integrated with business-enabled IT systems, security enabled organizational culture and decision making, and measurements and continuous improvements of controls and governance comprising security policies, processes, operating procedures, tasks, monitoring, and reporting. Information security capability maturity may be achieved in five levels: performing but ad-hoc, managed, defined, quantitatively governed, and optimized. These five levels need to be achieved in the capability areas of information integrity, information systems assurance, business enablement, security processes, security program management, competency of security team, security consciousness in employees, and security leadership. These areas of capabilities lead to achievement of technology trustworthiness of security controls, integrated security, and security guardianship throughout the enterprise, which are primary capability domains for achieving maturity of information security capability in an organization. There are many factors influencing the areas of capabilities and the capability domains for achieving information security capability maturity. However, there is little existing study done on identifying the factors that contribute to achievement of the highest level of information security capability maturity (optimized) in an organization. This research was designed to contribute to this area of research gap by identifying the factors contributing to the areas of capabilities for achieving the highest level of information security capability maturity. The factors were grouped under the eight capability areas and the three capability domains in the form of an initial structural construct. This research was designed to collect data on all the factors using an online structured questionnaire and analyzing the reliability and validity of the initial structural construct following the methods of principal components analysis (PCA), Cronbach Alpha reliability analysis, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and structural equation modeling. A number of multivariate statistical tests were conducted on the data collected regarding the factors to achieve an optimal model reflecting statistical significance, reliability, and validity. The research was conducted in four phases: expert panel and pilot study (first phase), principal component analysis (PCA) and reliability analysis (RA) of the factor scales (second phase), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) using LISREL (third phase), and structural equation modeling (SEM) using LISREL (fourth phase). The final model subsequent to completing the four phases reflected acceptance or rejection of the eleven hypotheses defined in the initial structural construct of this study. The final optimized model was obtained with the most significant factors loading on the capability areas of information integrity, information security assurance, business enablement, security process maturity, security program management, competency of security team, security conscious employees, and security leadership, including the most significant factors loading the three capability domains of security technology trustworthiness, security integration, and security guardianship. All the eleven hypotheses were accepted as part of the optimal structural construct of the final model. The model provides a complex integrated framework of information security maturity requiring multi-functional advancements and maturity in processes, people, and technology, and organized security program management and communications fully integrated with the business programs and communications. Information security maturity is concluded as a complex function of multiple maturity programs in an organization leading to organized governance structures, multiple maturity programs, leadership, security consciousness, and risk-aware culture of employees