Become an SEI-Certified SCAMPI High Maturity Lead Appraiser

SEI-Certified SCAMPI High Maturity Lead Appraisers (SCAMPI HM LAs) lead trained teams of professionals in the appraisal of one or more CMMI process areas (using information collected from presentations, documents, and interviews) to determine an organization's process capability and/or maturity level. A SCAMPI HM LA leads appraisals for organizations aiming to attain a CMMI Level 4 or 5.

Are you ready to lead appraisal efforts for organizations seeking to achieve CMMI Level 4 or 5? Become an SEI-Certified SCAMPI High Maturity Lead Appraiser.

Steps to Earning Your SCAMPI HM LA Certification

1 Meet Qualification Criteria

Before applying to become a SCAMPI HM LA, you must

• Be a current SEI-Certified SCAMPI Lead Appraiser in good standing

• Present evidence of having led at least two CMMI SCAMPI A Appraisals. (Note: CMM appraisal experience will not be accepted to this requirement.)

• Present successful completion of at least one course relevant to CMMI high maturity concepts and practices (e.g., High Maturity with Statistics, Statistical Measurement, and Statistical Process Control). Qualifying courses must have been completed within the last five years.

• Show experience working in a high maturity process improvement environment in one of the following three areas:

  • Building/implementing HM practices or participation on at least one CMMI SCAMPI A Capability Level/Maturity Level 4 and/or 5 Appraisal as a team member or mini-team member
  • Developing/facilitating HM training
  • Statistical/quantitative management or modeling & simulation experience in support of managing/building products.

2 Apply

Complete the application. When your application is received, it will be reviewed for completeness, and you will receive a confirmation of receipt message.

3 Application Evaluation

A review board evaluates your application using established qualification criteria (listed above). If your application meets the qualification criteria, you will receive instructions for scheduling the entry examination.

4 HM LA Entry Examination

Successfully complete the High Maturity Lead Appraiser entry examination. Candidates must demonstrate competency in the maturity practices and process areas. The HM LA examinations will require candidates to have an in-depth understanding of

• the CMMI Model
• quantitative and statistical concepts and practical applications
  
• organizational business objectives and relationships to CMMI practices
  
• differences in ML 2, 3, 4, and 5 process areas
• implications of HM practices for projects and organizations
• elicitation of requirements from sponsor and education of sponsor regarding true weaknesses
• understanding interrelationships between Maturity Levels 2/3 and 4/5.

Recommended Study Materials:

• CMMI V1.3 Constellations
• Course materials from SEI CMMI courses (Introduction to CMMI, Intermediate Concepts of CMMI, and SCAMPI Lead Appraiser Training).
• SCAMPI A V1.3 Method Definition Document
  
• SCAMPI Lead Appraiser Body Of Knowledge, 2007 (CMU/SEI-2007-TR-019) - High Maturity Skills competencies
• CMMI-Guidelines to Process Integration and Product Improvement, 2006, 2nd Edition, Chrissis, Konrad, and Shrum.
• Measuring the Software Process: Statistical Process Control for Software Process Improvement, Addison & Wesley, 1999, Florac and Carleton.
• Understanding Variation: The Key to Managing Chaos, 1999, Wheeler, Donald

Testing can be accomplished via the SEI testing network or in written format at conferences and events. The exam is offered at hundreds of testing locations throughout the world for a fee of $400 USD for the first time and $150 USD for each subsequent retake.

The exam is in a multiple choice format and each candidate will have 2.0 hours to complete the exam. If you do not pass the entry examination on your first attempt, you may retake the examination one additional time within 3 months of the first attempt. Should these two attempts not be successful, you must wait six additional months before submitting a letter to the SEI Certification Program with a request to retake the examination. Permission will need to be granted for subsequent testing. Exam results are valid for a period of 18 months. After 18 months, the examination must be retaken and successfully completed prior to being scheduled for an HM LA Oral examination.

5 Oral Examination

The oral examination is an opportunity for you to demonstrate your interpretative skills of the model and its practices, discuss your professional experiences, and show your understanding of the roles and responsibilities of a High Maturity Lead Appraiser. Candidates must successfully pass an oral examination administered by two designated SCAMPI High Maturity Lead Appraiser examiners.

The oral examination usually requires 2-2.5 hours to complete. Candidates are allowed to take the exam once per exam cycle. The exam covers model and method areas, including

• CMMI High Maturity concepts and process areas
  

• quantitative and statistical interpretations

• organizational business objectives and relation to CMMI high maturity process areas
  

• implications of high maturity practices for projects and organization

• process performance baselines and models

• elicitation of requirements from sponsor and education of sponsor regarding true weaknesses

• personal examples of interpretation applied to high maturity evidence in an appraisal
  

Oral exam grading is based on a weighting system that credits candidates with points based on answers provided. Exams use many types of questions, including short-answer, case-study, open-ended, and scenario-based questions. 

The Oral exam fee is $1,800 USD.

Effective June 1, 2010, candidates are only allowed to take the Oral examination in 3 consecutive exam cycles.  (Note: Candidate must retake the written exam if the written examination will reach its 18 months validity period expiration date prior to taking the Oral exam.) If the candidate does not pass the Oral exam after 3 consecutive attempts, the candidate will not be permitted to take the 4th attempt in the next consecutive cycle. The candidate must wait one exam cycle and demonstrate experience and/or education in CMMI High Maturity concepts and practices in order to receive permission for the 4th and subsequent retakes. Requests to take the 4th and subsequent attempts must be sent to certification-info@sei.cmu.edu.

6 Receive your Certification

Candidates who pass the oral examination will be granted the HM LA certification by the SEI. You will receive a certification diploma and will be listed in the SEI Partner Directory.

Candidates who do not pass the exam may submit an email request to certification-scampihmla@sei.cmu.edu to retake the exam in the next exam cycle.