Linda Lou Crosby
NDTI

“CMMI is about delivering a better overall product to the Fleet,” said Tom Coyle, a NAVAIR (Naval Air Systems Command) Systems Engineer, as he discussed using the benefits of the Software Executive Institute’s (SEI) Capability Maturity Model Integrated (CMMI) to increase a project's chance of success. “The efforts of all people and all aspects of a project become more integrated. This is a part of the continuing software process improvement effort across NAVAIR.”

NAVAIR’s business is advanced tactical aircraft and weapon systems, and the NAVAIR mission is to deliver quality products to the Fleet, on cost, and on schedule. Software development in such a highly technical environment is a complex matter. And the cost, risk and complexity of embedded software in advanced aircraft continue to grow at an exponential rate.

NAVAIR had originally adopted SEI’s Capability Maturity Model (CMM) as a way to improve software engineering across its field activities. Then, SEI folded Software Engineering, Systems Engineering and other disciplines into one model. “It is a natural progression to widen the software approach to the overall process. So CMM became CMMI (integrated). Not only do we want to ensure quality, prevent defects, and identify improvement opportunities for software, but also provide a solid foundation to better support a higher quality product overall, “ added Coyle. “The real value of CMMI is that it brings disciplines other than software into the total equation.”

Coyle is a member of the people, product, process, and resource group, P3R, who work process improvement efforts in order to bring about a higher performing NAVAIR organization. To teach the initial CMMI class at NAVAIR in Patuxent River, MD, Coyle partnered with Bob Page, who had also been working CMMI at NAVAIR on the West Coast.

To introduce the CMMI concept, Coyle and Page decided to first offer a one-day version of the normally three-day class on the East Coast. This gave attendees a taste of what CMMI offered, and an opportunity to tailor their next steps to the needs of a particular project.

Robin Belden, of Veridian, who works with NAVAIR’s 7.2 Information Management Department, took the first CMMI class.

“What I got from this class was a complete understanding of the terminology; how the models, both continuous and staged, were constructed and how to use them, and the differences between the Software CMM model and this new integrated model,” added Belden, “This allowed me to come back to 7.2 and identify what we could implement of CMMI in conjunction with our Software CMM efforts.