CMMI acreditation - what are the alternatives for accrediting an organisation for their BA skills
All,
I have just been asked to look at getting my team of Business Analysts Accredited by CMMI (Capability Maturity Model Integration). The idea being to show that our processes for Requirements Management are world class.
Does anyone have any experience of CMMI accrediation in the requirements arena? What were the pro's and con's? Do you feel it has made a positive difference? It looks like a heavy weight process but is it value for money?
Also, are there any alternatives out there to CMMI? I know that there are Chartered/Accredited Business Analyst qualifications, such as the one offered by the IIBA, but there are geared at accrediting an individual. What we want to do is show that our processes and organisation as a whole are world class when it comes to Requirements Managment. Does anyone other than CMMI offer this?
All thoughts, opinions and guidance are much appreciated !
Thanks,
Emma
CMMI Accreditation - BA Analyst
Emma, Thank you for your inquiry. The CMMI model was been initiated by Carnegie Mellon's Software Engineering Institute. CMMI is not person (or Business Analyst) based but it is organizational based for those organizations engaged in software engineering. CMMI is an excellent tool for organizations where an organization has the opportunity to focus on a particular module (like Requirements Management) or engage in a maturity baseline (or equivalent) for an array of disciplines through different CMMI maturity levels. If applicable, you may want to look at the SEI's CMMI information that you can download at your leisure without costs. There is also ISO 9001:2000, also organizationally and generically based, for any organization regardless of discipline. The Malcolm Baldridge Quality Award, initiated by the National Institutes of Standards & Technology, is organizationally based and an excellent tool to foster organizational quality. Please contact me should you desire additional information about any of these models. Unfortunately, I am not familiar with a personal-based tool where an individual (rather than an organization) can become accredited or certified in the area of requirements management. Regards, Ed Gardner Cell: 786-566-9746