The starting point for a CMMI process improvement project consists of two parts:

1. Things the organization already has in place.

2. Things the organization does not have in place and needs or wants.

The organization must have information on both aspects to form an accurate picture of the starting point for process improvement and an accurate starting point is critical to developing realistic plans. Finding out what the organization already has in place is addressed in the following section, What the Organization Already Has. Figuring out what it needs follows that in the section, What the Organization Needs or Wants (but Does Not Have).

Here s some bad news: Understanding an organization s true, real, or exact starting point for process improvement is not possible. The accuracy of the starting point is relative to the best information that can be gathered at a point in time. The accuracy of the information you gather is a function of how much money and time the organization can spend in gathering it and the skills and expertise applied to that discovery. Your characterization of the organization s process capability or organizational maturity changes with time, not only because the processes and their implementation are constantly changing, but also because you are perpetually discovering things about the organization that change the original characterization. Inferences or assumptions made based on things observed last year turn out to be false in the light of newly discovered information this year. (The information was...