Integrating CMMI and Agile Development: Case Studies and Proven Techniques for Faster Performance Improvement

“This book will be a great help to a variety of organizations figuring out how best to implement CMMI, including large and small enterprises, even if their starting point is not ‘Agile.’ All-in-all, this contains ‘pearls of wisdom’ that will make a much-appreciated contribution to the software engineering community.”

– Mike Konrad, Chief Architect, CMMI, Software Engineering Institute; coauthor, CMMI®: Guidelines for Process Integration and Product Improvement, Second Edition

“This book will challenge many of your (mis)understandings about both Agile delivery and CMMI. Paul thoughtfully applies his years of practical experience to help bridge two disparate communities who are working towards the same goal–improving an organization’s IT productivity. It’s about time someone wrote a book like this.”

– Scott W. Ambler, Chief Methodologist for Agile and Lean, IBM Rational; author, Agile Modeling; and coauthor, Enterprise Unified Process

Many organizations that have improved process maturity through Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI®) now also want greater agility. Conversely, many organizations that are succeeding with Agile methods now want the benefits of more mature processes. The solution is to integrate CMMI and Agile. Integrating CMMI® and Agile Development offers broad guidance for melding these process improvement methodologies. It presents six detailed case studies, along with essential real-world lessons, big-picture insights, and mistakes to avoid.

Drawing on decades of process improvement experience, author Paul McMahon explains how combining an Agile approach with the CMMI process improvement framework is the fastest, most effective way to achieve your business objectives. He offers practical, proven techniques for CMMI and Agile integration, including new ways to extend Agile into system engineering and project management and to optimize performance by focusing on your organization’s unique, culture-related weaknesses.

Paul E. McMahon, Principal, PEM Systems, has been an independent consultant since 1997, helping companies increase agility and process maturity. He has taught software engineering at Binghamton University, State University of New York; has conducted workshops on engineering processes and management; and has published more than 35 articles, including several on Agile development. His insights reflect 24 years of engineering and management experience working for companies such as Link Simulation and Lockheed Martin.