TABLE OF CONTENTS This chapter presents two viewpoints concerning implementing the CMMI within a small organization. A small organization is defined as an organization with 20 or fewer technical personnel developing systems. In a small organization, it is not uncommon for a project to consist of three people. One individual may serve as the project manager, developer, and tester; another individual may serve as a coder, tester, and database administrator; and the third individual may serve as a part-time quality assurance representative. The project may only last from three to six weeks.
A point-counterpoint approach is presented to discuss the pros and cons associated with various issues and their operational impacts. The reader should be somewhat familiar with both the CMMI effort and the previous models developed by the Software Engineering Institute (SEI).
The authors of this book do not make any claims as to these arguments. We believe the readers should be able to make up their own minds.
Before continuing, let us discuss some basic terms to avoid any confusion later.
There seems to be no real agreement as to what systems engineering really is. The Systems Engineering Capability Maturity Model, version 1.1, states that "Systems Engineering is the selective application of scientific and engineering efforts to:
Transform operational need into descriptions of the system configuration which best satisfies operational need according to measures of effectiveness
Integrate related technical parameters and ensure compatibility of all physical, functional, and technical program interfaces in a manner that optimizes total...
