2 Overview of the Project Management Maturity Model 2.1 The Software Engineering Institute Capability Maturity Model ® Beginning as early as 1986 the Software Engineering Institute (SEI), which is affiliated with Carnegie Mellon University, began developing a process maturity framework for software development [1]. With financial support from the Department of Defense this early effort resulted in the publication of the Capa- bility Maturity Model ® (CMM ® ) [2] in 1991. This is a lengthy foundation chapter in which the detailed description of the five-level maturity model is presented and applied to each of the 39 processes that define the project management body of knowledge (PMBOK). These descriptions provide the content for the survey that will be used to meas - ure process and practice maturity. Maturity assessment will be the basis for a continuous improvement program for project management processes. 2.1.1 Purpose The purpose of the CMM ® is to provide organizations with a guide for estab - lishing process improvement programs for software development. The guide can be used both as a foundation for establishing tools and as input to creating a maturity questionnaire for process improvement. 19 2.1.2 Structure The CMM ® defines five levels of maturity: initial, repeatable, defined, managed, and optimizing, which are briefly described below. 2.1.2.1 Initial The process is ad hoc. There may be a few defined processes. Some software engineers bring tools and templates they may have learned elsewhere but other - wise successful software development is largely dependent upon heroic efforts. 2.1.2.2 Repeatable Processes are established and put in place for use across software development projects. Process use is recommended but not required. For some large or critical mission projects the use of these standard processes is often required. 2.1.2.3 Defined Processes are standardized and documented. There is a standard software devel- opment process that all projects must use. Training and support are available through a PSO. 2.1.2.4 Managed Project progress against plan is monitored, reported, and controlled. Decisions regarding software development projects are made with reference to organiza- tional considerations. Project management decisions are integrated into other business processes. 2.1.2.5 Optimizing Project performance is fed back into the process itself to enable a continuous quality improvement program. Best practices and lessons learned are input to the improvement program. 2.1.3 Application It turns out that the CMM ® is quite robust and has application beyond software engineering, for which it was originally developed. There are two areas of appli - cation that it has spawned. They are the People Capability Maturity Model ® (P-CMM) and the Project Management Maturity Model (PMMM). They are described below. 2.1.3.1 People Capability Maturity Model ® The P-CMM ® is a five-level model patterned after the five levels of the CMM ® . Except for level 1, each level is comprised of a number of process areas as listed in Table 2.1 and described below. 20 Project Management Process Improvement Staffing (2) Level 2 staffing activities include the assignment of qualified individuals to tasks based on the degree to which their skills align with the requirements of the task to which they are being assigned. Obviously then there must be a formal selec - tion process in place to assure a fair and equitable evaluation and assignment of each individual. In addition to the initial assignment decision, the selection process should also include procedures for moving people to new positions within the same or different assignments. Communication and Coordination (2) The focus of this level 2 process is open and timely communications across organizational units. This includes coordination of activities across units that are dependent upon one another for the effective and efficient completion of these activities. Overview of the Project Management Maturity Model 21 Table 2.1 Levels of the People Capability Maturity Model ® Level 1 Initial No processes defined at this level Level 2 Managed Staffing Communication and coordination Work environment Performance management Training and development Compensation Level 3 Defined Competency analysis Workforce planning Competency development Career development Competency-based practices Workgroup development Participatory culture Level 4 Predictable Competency integration Empowered workgroups Competency-based assets Quantitative performance management Organizational capability management Mentoring Level 5 Optimizing Continuous capability improvement Organizational performance alignment Continuous workforce innovation Work Environment (2) This process includes both the provision of both the resources needed to com - plete assigned tasks as well as the environment in which those tasks are under - taken. The monitoring and provision of this environment is a management responsibility. Performance Management (2) The focus of this level 2 process is the establishment of ways to measure performance of the individual and the processes they use to do their work. The ultimate management goal is the improvement of both forms of performance. Training and Development (2) This process involves providing the training needed to close any gaps that exist between the skills possessed by the team members and the skills required of the team members in order to meet their assigned responsibilities. Compensation (2) Compensation requires an organization-level strategy to assure fair and equita- ble compensation for an individual’s contribution and value to the organiza- tion. Having such a strategy in place gives some impetus to skill development and better alignment of the individual to the needs of the team. Competency Analysis (3) This level 3 process identifies the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to meet expectations for the organization’s business activities. The process includes a provision for measuring, storing, and maintaining the individual’s knowledge, skills, and abilities so that the organization’s capabilities in each competency area can be accurately assessed. Workforce Planning (3) Based on the above competency analysis and the demand for workforce skills to meet the organization’s current and future needs, a plan is developed to meet those needs. The plan assures that the required workforce skill profile will be available when needed. Competency Development (3) Competency development flows from the previous two processes. Competency analysis identifies the current skill and competency profile of the workforce. Workforce planning defines the current and future skill and competency needs of the workforce. Competency development is the planning of the training and development needs and the execution of that plan. 22 Project Management Process Improvement Career Development (3) This process focuses on the development of individual plans to facilitate the definition and achievement of career goals for each individual. The process includes a monitoring capability as well. The plan identifies the career progres - sion that will lead to the career goal and a method of updating that plan. Competency-Based Practices (3) This is an integrative process. It coordinates the output of the previous processes at the managed level to assure that workforce activities support the attainment of organizational goals. Workgroup Development (3) In the context of this book this process applies to team formation and deploy - ment. Teams are formed based on the collective skills and competencies needed to successfully meet the client’s requirements. Participatory Culture (3) This process forges the members into a high-performance team. Such team activities as decision making and problem solving result from the creation of this participatory culture. Competency Integration (4) This level 4 process integrates the processes that were defined at level 3. It recog- nizes and establishes the interdependencies that exist between skills and compe- tencies as evidenced within the work activities that utilize these competencies and skills. Empowered Workgroups (4) This process involves delegating responsibility and authority of the workgroup to carry out the tasks in their work activity. The workgroup becomes an entity that management interfaces with through training and other management inter - face activities. Empowered workgroups have total responsibility for the success of their work activities. This includes recruiting, selection, performance moni - toring and management, training, development, and compensation. Competency-Based Assets (4) This process focuses on sharing best practices among work groups. It encom - passes not only the collection and storing of best practices but also mechanisms for sharing those best practices. Best practices include templates, tools, and other artifacts that are developed during the course of work activities that will have value to other work groups. Overview of the Project Management Maturity Model 23 Quantitative Performance Management (4) The workgroup prioritizes the competency-based processes that relate to the successful achievement of their workgroup objectives. Performance baselines are established and workgroup performance is measured against those baselines. Any performance variances that are significant lead to corrective actions. Organizational Capability Management (4) The focus of this process is on the quantification and management of each workforce’s capability in the performance of the processes that are critical to its unit’s objectives. These capabilities are measured, analyzed, and managed. The results are used to adjust organizational competencies to improve results. Mentoring (4) The focus of mentoring is the transference of competencies and skills to the workforce from the more experienced to the less experienced. Mentoring focuses on the knowledge, skills, and process abilities as well as on deployment. A pro- gram of mentor selection and training is implemented. Continuous Capability Improvement (5) This level 5 process focuses on establishing the infrastructure upon which indi- viduals will have the foundation to improve their ability to perform skill and competency-based processes. Training at the individual level and integration of individual skills and competencies are undertaken to improve the performance of work groups. Organizational Performance Alignment (5) This process deals with organizational efforts to align the skills and competen - cies of individuals and work groups to meet organizational performance and business goals. The alignment efforts involve analyses of competency capabilities with competency requirements. Continuous Workforce Innovation (5) This process focuses on the continuous improvement of workforce practices by identifying and integrating individual and workgroup practices across the organization. It is basically a best practices discovery and integration effort. 2.1.3.2 The Project Management Maturity Model The other major adaptation of the CMM ® is to project management maturity. The PMMM adapts the five-level CMM ® to the process and practice of project management. Since the PMMM is the major focus of this book, I have devoted an entire section to the discussion of its structure. As we will see, it provides a validated foundation for the improvement of both the process of project 24 Project Management Process Improvement management and practice of using and adopting that process. It is my belief that the organization can have an exemplary project management process in place, but if the adoption of that process is lacking, the accomplishments are reflected only on paper and not in performance. The major thrust of this book is to improve the process and at the same time assure that the gap between the process and the practice of the process is managed. Maturity level targets will be established for both process and practice. The improvement program will be designed to realize those targets. 2.2 The Project Management Maturity Model The CMM ® first refers to project management at level 2, where the focus is on repeatability, and hence begins the definition of standards for project manage - ment. The PMMM takes these standards to the next level of development by defining a separate model for the process and practice of project management. This model parallels the CMM ® as described below. 2.2.1 Level 1: Initial Process This level can almost be renamed the “Do it yourself” or “Do it your own way” level. There are no standards and project management processes are ad hoc. There may be an awareness of practices followed by other projects, but their use is entirely at the discretion of the project manager. This does not mean that projects will necessarily fail or be subject to poor management. In fact, for a given project the practice of project management is largely dependent upon the process knowledge possessed and practiced by the team members. It may be very poor. On the other hand, there may be excellent practices but they are known only within the team itself. There is no organized way to share these best practices outside the team. Because of the ad hoc nature of this type of project management, these best practices may not travel very well. That is, they may not be very useful to other teams who are practicing project management their own way. Management may well be aware that there are project management processes and standards but there is no evidence that any movements have been made to establish them in this organization. There are a few characteristics of level 1 maturity that apply regardless of the process: • There is no defined and documented process in place. • Project managers and teams act in an ad hoc manner when process activities are needed. • Processes and practices may be taken from prior experiences or knowl - edge possessed by one of the team members. Overview of the Project Management Maturity Model 25 2.2.2 Level 2: Structured Process At level 2 a number of project management processes exist within the organiza - tion and most are documented. However, there is no requirement that projects use these practices. Project teams will use these processes when it suits their needs even though management encourages their use. Status reporting of project progress against plans is ad hoc and not consistent across projects. There are a few characteristics of level 2 maturity that apply regardless of the process: • There are defined and documented processes in place for team use. • Project managers and teams use the defined processes at their discretion. • Critical mission projects are often required to use the documented processes. 2.2.3 Level 3: Institutionalized Process Level 3 is differentiated from level 2 by the adoption of a standard that is required by all project teams. The standard allows for the adaptation of the processes and practices to the particular characteristics of the project. There is no “one size fits all” mentality. There are a few characteristics of Level 3 maturity that apply regardless of the process: • There is a comprehensive defined and documented process in place that is used by all projects. • There is support available to teams needing help with the standard processes. • There is a monitoring and control function in place to assure compli - ance with standard processes. 2.2.4 Level 4: Managed Process Project management and other corporate management systems are integrated. There are metrics in place to compare performance across the project portfolio. Senior management understands its role in managing the project portfolio. There are a few characteristics of level 4 maturity that apply regardless of the process: • The process is integrated into other business processes and practices. • Management decisions on individual projects have an organizational perspective. • Lessons learned and best practices are captured and made available to other projects. 26 Project Management Process Improvement 2.2.5 Level 5: Optimizing Process At level 5 the focus is on improvement of the project management process. To that end, processes are in place to identify and take action on performance issues related to process, and to incorporate best practices and lessons learned as feed - back to project management process improvement. There are a few characteristics of level 5 maturity that apply regardless of the process: • Project performance is collected and used to identify areas for improve - ment initiatives. • There is a program in place to continuously collect and analyze process performance data and use it to improve the process. • Lessons learned and best practices are used to improve the process. 2.3 PMBOK Knowledge Areas and Maturity Profile The Project Management Institute (PMI) has published its standard for project management practice in a document entitled A Guide to the Project Manage- ment Body of Knowledge [3]. The current standard was published in 2000. PMBOK defines the project management life cycle in terms of five phases, or process groups, to use their terminology. They are initiating processes, plan- ning processes, executing processes, controlling processes, and closing processes. Spread across these five process groups are 39 process areas grouped into nine knowledge areas (Figure 2.1), as described in the following sections. For each process there is a capsule description of the characteristics of that process at each maturity level. These descriptions will become the foundation of a survey instrument to assess the actual maturity level of the process and the maturity level of the practice of the process. The survey instrument is discussed in Chapter 3 and an example of an actual survey that was developed for a large retail client is given in the Appendix. This section briefly describes each of the 39 project management processes grouped by knowledge area. Also, there is a more detailed characterization of each process at each maturity level. This information is the background used to develop the survey questions given in the Appendix. 2.3.1 Project Integration Management Project integration management consists of three project management processes: project plan development, project plan execution, and integrated change control. Overview of the Project Management Maturity Model 27 2.3.1.1 Project Plan Development Project plan development incorporates the output from other planning activi - ties, which results in a coherent document that will guide the execution and control of the project. The process of accomplishing this is usually iterative. Iteration arises when the plan moves from generic resources and timelines to specific resources and timelines. Estimation, which is an integral part of the plan, will often evolve from range type estimates to more specific range or even point estimates of duration and cost. For a list of survey questions that applies to this process see pages 171–173 in the Appendix. Project Plan Development—Level 1 Characteristics • Each project manager has his/her own version of the project plan. • A scope statement is prepared at the discretion of the project manager. • A work breakdown structure (WBS) may be part of the project plan. • There may be a work schedule with resource requirements. 28 Project Management Process Improvement Closing Controlling Executing Planning Initiating Initiation Procurement Risk Comm. HR Quality Cost Time Scope Integration Risk planning Risk identification Qualitative risk analysis Quantitative risk analysis Risk resource planning Communications planning Organizational planning Staff acquisition Quality planning Resource planning Cost estimating Cost budgeting Activity definition Activity sequencing Activity duration estimating Schedule development Scope planning Scope definition Plan development Solicitation Source selection Contract administration Information distribution Team development Quality assurance Plan execution Risk monitoring and control Performance reporting Quality control Cost control Schedule control Scope verification Scope change control Integrated change control Contract Close-out Administrative closure Figure 2.1 Processes cross-classified by process group and knowledge area. [...]... Characteristics • Improvement processes are in place to capture best practices and lessons learned and feed them back into project management processes for their improvement • Project performance data is analyzed to understand if and how project management processes are being improved as evidenced by practice improvement • Lessons learned and best practices are used to improve the project plan development process. .. teams 54 Project Management Process Improvement Team Development—Level 5 Characteristics • Feedback from teams who have completed projects is used to improve the process of team development • Lessons learned and best practices are used to improve team develop- ment processes 2.3.7 Project Communications Management Project communications management consists of four project management processes: communications... for management decisions • Lessons learned and best practices are captured and made available to other teams Schedule Control—Level 5 Characteristics • A process is in place to capture schedule performance and improve the process • Lessons learned and best practices are used for schedule control process improvement 2.3.4 Project Cost Management Project cost management consists of four project management. .. Characteristics • Continuous improvement processes are in place to analyze and act upon change control data • Change control data is analyzed to identify trends to improve project planning processes • Lessons learned and best practices are used to improve the integrated change control process 2.3.2 Project Scope Management Project scope management consists of five project management processes: initiation,... Control—Level 5 Characteristics • A process for the continuous improvement of the scope change control process is in place • Lessons learned and best practices are captured, documented, and distributed • Scope change performance is measured as an indication of project performance and effectiveness 2.3.3 Project Time Management Project time management consists of five project management processes: activity definition,... of survey questions that applies to this process see page 182 in the Appendix Activity Duration Estimating—Level 1 Characteristics Activity duration estimating is an informal process 40 Project Management Process Improvement Activity Duration Estimating—Level 2 Characteristics • There is a defined and documented process for activity duration estimating • The process for estimating activity duration... must be integrated into several other processes as pointed out in the project integration management process For a list of survey questions that applies to this process see pages 184–186 in the Appendix Schedule Control—Level 1 Characteristics • Schedules are managed and controlled at the project level using what- ever means they select 42 Project Management Process Improvement • Schedule performance... teams utilize the defined and documented change control processes • Change control processes include scope, cost, and schedule changes • Baselines are established and managed 32 Project Management Process Improvement Integrated Change Control—Level 4 Characteristics • The change control processes are integrated into other organizational control processes • Data across all projects is monitored and controlled... and best practices are used to improve project quality management processes 2.3.5.3 Quality Control The quality control process is the administrative part of quality management The project deliverables and project management process is monitored to determine compliance and to correct any anomalies For a list of survey questions that applies to this process see pages 195–196 in the Appendix Quality Control—Level... close-out process For a list of survey questions that applies to this process see page 177 in the Appendix 36 Project Management Process Improvement Scope Verification—Level 1 Characteristics • There is no defined and documented process in place for scope verification • Scope verification is practiced at the discretion of the project manager Scope Verification—Level 2 Characteristics • A process for . to other projects. 26 Project Management Process Improvement 2. 2.5 Level 5: Optimizing Process At level 5 the focus is on improvement of the project management. the Project Management Maturity Model 25 2. 2 .2 Level 2: Structured Process At level 2 a number of project management processes exist within the organiza - tion