Were you ever surprised when you received a final product from a supplier? 

Did it not perform as you expected? Did it cost more than expected? Was it not delivered on time? 

Have you been dissatisfied with a supplier's services? What processes are you improving to help take control of the relationship with your suppliers?

CMMI for Acquisition (CMMI-ACQ) is a best practices model that can help you improve relationships with your suppliers by helping you improve your own processes. It can be used to increase your control of projects, better manage global sourcing of products and services, and more successfully acquire solutions that meet your organization’s needs.

CMMI for Acquisition is based on the CMMI Framework. The CMMI for Acquisition model has 22 process areas: six are specific to acquisition practices and sixteen are shared with other CMMI models.

The six process areas that are specific to acquisition practices are

• Acquisition Requirements Development (ARD)

• Solicitation and Supplier Agreement Development (SSAD)

• Agreement Management (AM)

• Acquisition Technical Management (ATM)

• Acquisition Verification (AVER)

• Acquisition Validation (AVAL)

Additionally, the model includes guidance on

• Acquisition Strategy

• Typical Supplier Deliverables

• Transition to operations and support

• Integrated teams

The sixteen shared process areas include practices for project management, organizational process management, and infrastructure and support.

Contributors to CMMI-ACQ  

The following organizations were major contributors to the sponsorship, design, and development of CMMI for Acquisition:

• General Motors
• Hewlett-Packard
• Office of the U.S. Secretary of Defense
• CMMI Steering Group