Jim Cisneros, Vice President of Application Development for ITresources, presented at the 7th Annual Southern California Coalition Technology Conference (SCCTC), in Long Beach, CA on August 11, 2006.  This year's conference theme, "Growing and Strengthening at the Speed of Technology," demonstrated how cutting edge technology tools and techniques can improve overall product development quality and project success.
Mr. Cisneros presented in the Leadership and Professional Development Track in his session titled "Implementing CMMI in a Small Organization".  His presentation included a brief history of the Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI), the 5 different levels of maturity, the benefits realized by implementing CMMI processes and what is needed for a successful CMMI implementation.
Of particular interest were a few industry statistics.  According the 2005 Standish Group Chaos Report:

• 29% of Projects are Successful (On Schedule and On Budget)
• 53% are Challenged (Over Budget, Late and/or without all Required Features)
• 18% are Failures (Cancelled before completion, or Installed and Not Utilized)

The quality improvements experienced by ITresources because of the CMMI processes were also highlighted.  Mr. Cisneros noted that 99% of ITresources projects are completed on schedule, and the typical project budget variance is +/- 3%.  Another intangible CMMI benefit is improved staff mobility.
And according to the Garner Group, CMMI Level 5 Companies average 1 defect per 10 function points.  ITresources metrics show that its processes deliver 1 defect per 100 function points.
Mr. Cisneros ended his presentation with the answer to a question he asked early in the session: “Why do you need brakes on a car?”  The answer was: “So you can drive really FAST!”  This analogy is applicable to IT.  Having strong CMMI processes will allow you to develop software really FAST!