There are SEI Partner organizations that provide services to help you adopt CMMI, appraise your organization in relation to CMMI, and plan to make improvements. The SEI Partner Directory can help you find the Partner that best meets your needs.

No. Only SEI authorized observers can perform this function for SCAMPI A observations. SCAMPI B&C Team Leaders who have fulfilled the requirements to become observers may apply by sending their request to btl-observer@sei.cmu.edu where it will be evaluated.

No. Only the individual assigned the role of appraisal team leader can get credit even if there is some sharing of responsibilities with another SCAMPI Lead Appraiser or SCAMPI B&C Team Leader who happens to be a team member.

Yes. It is the responsibility of the candidate SCAMPI Lead Appraiser and candidate SCAMPI B&C Team Leader to inform the appraisal sponsor verbally and to record the facts about the observation in the appraisal input.

There are two primary venues in which you can meet and communicate with other CMMI users: conferences and the Web.

CMMI issues have been a focus at events such as

• Software Engineering Process Group (SEPG) conferences in locations including
• • United States
  • Europe
  • Australia
  • Latin America
• the Systems and Software Technology Conference (SSTC)
• the CMMI Technology Conference and User Group

See our upcoming events.

Discussion of CMMI issues on the Web include the following:

• The SEI's Software Engineering Information Repository (SEIR) has over 25,000 registered users and provides a forum for the discussion of software engineering improvement activities, including CMMI.
• The BSCW Shared Workspace is another forum used to contribute and exchange CMMI-related work products and tools.
• The CMMI discussion group on Yahoo! is used to exchange ideas about CMMI-based process improvement.
• CMMI en Francais is a Yahoo! discussion group available to French speaking users.
• CMMI-Turkiye is a Yahoo! discussion group for the Turkish-speaking CMMI community.
• You can also contact individual CMMI experts by finding their contact information at the SEI Directory of Partner Organizations.

Finally, you can ask the SEI questions about CMMI by sending email to cmmi-comments@sei.cmu.edu. Your question will be answered within a few days unless further research is required.

To become an Introduction to CMMI Instructor, you must successfully complete the CMMI Instructor Training course and receive a satisfactory observation report. The observation report consists of a documented evaluation of your performance as an Introduction to CMMI Instructor.

• You must have successfully completed an SEI-authorized offering of a three-day Introduction to CMMI Version 1.2 course--offered by the SEI and SEI Partners
• You must have successfully completed the Intermediate Concepts of CMMI--offered by the SEI only
• Your organization has applied to become an SEI Partner to deliver CMMI Product Suite services, has been accepted, and has signed the applicable Carnegie Mellon University/SEI agreement (for information on how to become an SEI Partner, visit the SEI Partner Network, http://www.sei.cmu.edu/partners/ on the SEI Web site).
• You have successfully completed the application process to become an Introduction to CMMI Instructor, which includes the following:
• • Completion of course registration form
  • Submission of the application for candidate sponsorship form (http://www.sei.cmu.edu/partners/resources/forms)
  • A resume listing teaching and technical experience
  • A signed copy of the SEI Code of Professional Conduct Individual Commitment Form (http://www.sei.cmu.edu/partners/resolurces/forms)

CMMI Version 1.2 Instructor Training is the final course leading to candidacy as an Introduction to CMMI Instructor. After successfully completing this course, the candidate instructor must also be observed, by an authorized SEI Observer, teaching the SEI's Introduction to CMMI V1.2 course. Upon successful completion of the observation, the instructor is then authorized as an Introduction to CMMI Instructor.

More detailed information about training courses is available at http://www.sei.cmu.edu/training.

See http://www.sei.cmu.edu/partners/become/cmmi/ for the most current information on becoming an SEI Partner for CMMI training.

See http://www.sei.cmu.edu/partners/become/scampi/ for the most current information on becoming an SEI Partner for SCAMPI appraisal services.

 Regardless of which process improvement approach you have been using (e.g., Six Sigma, Agile, ISO 9000), CMMI will complement it. Therefore, your investment will not be lost, but will continue to in some way support your adoption of CMMI. If nothing else, the fact that your organization is accustomed to improving their processes and has a culture that supports needed change is an advantage.

It depends. There are many factors involved in establishing a process improvement program, including the readiness of the organization, the existence of effective processes and infrastructure to support a program, and the skills and knowledge of the organization's people. In general, think about process improvement tasks in terms of months and years, not days and weeks.

It is difficult to quantify how many organizations have adopted CMMI because any organization can use CMMI for process improvement without having to register with the SEI or otherwise identify themselves to the public. However, there have been over 55,000 people who have attended Introduction to CMMI training, and CMMI has been adopted in many industries (e.g., software, finance, manufacturing) in countries around the world (e.g., United States, Australia, Japan, Brazil, and Russia).

 To upgrade to CMMI v1.2, organizations that are using CMMI v1.1 first need to understand the changes in CMMI v1.2. For information about these changes, see http://www.sei.cmu.edu/cmmi/tools/dev. If you plan on participating in a v1.2 SCAMPI appraisal or attending future advanced CMMI training, you must register for and complete CMMI Version 1.2 Upgrade Training.

SCAMPI Lead Appraisers, Team Leaders, and Instructors should view the Appraisers and Instructors FAQs for more information about the steps they need to take to be upgrade to CMMI v1.2.

 Whenever there is a new version of CMMI released, visit the CMMI Web site. There will be information available there to help guide you through the upgrade process. The site will point you to published documents and training that is available. The latest versions of CMMI models, the Appraisal Requirements for CMMI, and SCAMPI Method Definition Document are always available on the CMMI Web site.

 The primary benefit of upgrading is that you will get the latest and greatest best practices available. The CMMI Product Team is constantly collecting change requests from users that suggest improvements to the CMMI Product Suite. There also groups within the product team that represent different organizations, industries, and interests and also suggest improvements. By upgrading from one version to the next, you benefit from this continuous improvement of the product suite and can apply it to your organization.

A SCAMPI A appraisal must be set up on the SEI's SCAMPI Appraisal System (SAS) prior to delivery. The information to be reported includes the name of the SEI Partner, name of the Lead Appraiser, name of the organization to be appraised, location, projected onsite date, and names of the team members.

Once the appraisal is complete, the following artifacts of the appraisal must be reported to the SEI in English:

• Appraisal input
• Appraisal plan
• Final findings briefing
• Appraisal Disclosure Statement (ADS)
• Process Appraisal Information System (PAIS) Record of entry form
• Appraisal feedback form

In addition, feedback forms are required from the appraisal team members and the appraisal sponsor.

SCAMPI B and C appraisals are less rigorous and require less setup and reporting. The following artifacts must be reported to the SEI steward in English for both a SCAMPI B and a SCAMPI C:

• Appraisal input
• Appraisal plan
• Final findings briefing
• Appraisal Disclosure Statement (ADS)
• Process Appraisal Information System (PAIS) Record of entry form

These reporting requirements are subject to change. For more information, see http://www.sei.cmu.edu/cmmi/tools/appraisals/sas.cfm.

SEI Partners are qualified DoD, industry, and academic organizations that are licensed by the SEI to help other organizations and individuals adopt new and improved SEI technologies. For more information about the SEI Partner Network, see http://www.sei.cmu.edu/partners/.

SEI Partner organizations provide leadership in helping organizations adopt new SEI software engineering technology. Carnegie Mellon University licenses specific SEI technologies, typically training courses or appraisal services, to SEI Partners. The services that current SEI Partners may now offer include the following:

• Introduction to CMMI training
• SCAMPI appraisal services
• People Capability Maturity Model Lead Assessor training
• Personal Software Process (PSP) and Team Software Process (TSP) Training and Launch Coach Services
• CERT Coordination Center course instruction
• Consulting Skills Workshop training
• Implementing Goal-Driven Software Measurement training
• Introduction to the Capability Maturity Model course instruction
• Software Capability Evaluation Team Training
• Interim Profile appraisal services
• Publications distribution

For more information about the SEI services that these Partner organizations offer, contact them directly. Contact information for all current SEI Partner organizations is on the SEI Web site at http://www.sei.cmu.edu/partners/directory.

The SEI audits all appraisal artifacts provided by SCAMPI Lead Appraisers and SCAMPI B&C Team Leaders. An on-site audit of an appraisal may be initiated by one or more of the following:

• request of the appraisal sponsor
• credible reports of misconduct
• failure to fulfill SCAMPI Lead Appraiser or SCAMPI B&C Team Leader responsibilities
• random selection

Additionally, the SEI will soon verify the results of all appraisals prior to allowing the appraised organization to release the results outside of the appraised organization. Such verification will be accomplished within 30 days of submittal of the results.