Software Engineering Institute

The authors of this report appeared on a panel at SEPG '99 (1999 Software Engineering Process Group Conference) on March 10, 1999, in Atlanta, Georgia. Each panelist is one of the most active lead assessors in the Software Engineering Institute (SEI) Appraiser Program and has conducted and reported on over 5 Capability Maturity Model (CMM) -Based Appraisals for Internal Process Improvement (CBA IPIs) over the past 18 months. In this report, the panelists document their experiences regarding why an organization chooses to have a CBA IPI and what the organization gains from having conducted an assessment. Each author discusses the experiences related to CBA IPIs that he or she has led with a focus on the organizational perspective before, during, and after the assessment. Since a CBA IPI is a major organizational intervention, it is important to know why an organization has an assessment, if it has a positive impact on an organization, and how an organization would characterize the benefits that the assessment provides. What needs to be done during the planning, how the assessment is conducted, and what follows the assessment are all important factors that will affect the benefits that the organization experiences from the assessment.