On this page you’ll find a high-level assessment at the CMMI Key Process level of some of the well-known project management processes PRINCE2, PMBOK and Scrum. For good measure, the SmartMethod is added for comparison.

This assessment can of course only be in very general terms and your specific implementation may well score very differently. Only a proper CMMI assessment will tell you the specific practices which need attention either in your methodology and/ or in the application by you and your team. However this table does give a good idea of where the pain points typically are.

To score each of the methodologies, the following ranking system is used, with the associated point score shown in brackets:

►       “--”  not defined / part of the method (0);

►       “~”  not defined, but typically practiced to some degree by individuals (1);

►       “+-”  partly defined, but definitely not meeting all CMMI practices (2);

►       “✓”  fully defined by the method (3).

Comments on some aspects of this table are provided at the end of this page.

General Comments

►       Note that the CMMI is specific to software development projects!  Generic project management methodologies can only span a sub-set of the CMMI processes (PP, PMC, SAM, ISM & RSKM, out of a total of 17).

►       The scope of the PRINCE2 and PMBOK spans first and foremost the workflow of project management. As such they don’t cover the specifics of a “do work” workflow like software development. After all the PRINCE2 and PMBOK can be used to manage any project in any domain (field of work). As such they won’t meet many of the software specific processes and practices necessary to be able to meet time, cost and quality in software development projects.

►       Requirements management is detailed scope management.

PRINCE2:

►       Is strong on governance and documenting this

►       Does not have a good notion of a WBS, like the PMBOK and CMMI have.

►       Is very weak on early involvement of requirements analysis and estimation (leading to poor value business cases!)

►       Is weak on supplier agreement management (procurement / SAM)

►       Mixes pure project management with do-work aspects such as configuration management (CM).

PMBOK:

►       Is not a methodology but a flexible framework, and as such leaves it up to the practitioner what to apply (or not). As a result there is no guarantee that CMMI basics are being applied, as there is no method to enforce it.

►       Is very strong / excellent on the WBS, i.e. scope statement, which ties to financial management, scope and change control.

►       Is very strong on the procurement / sub-contract management (SAM).

►       Because it is generic project management, it rightfully does not address the do‑work aspects of software development, such as configuration management. As such it does not address a host of processes which are software specific, which need to be taken care of by CMMI compliant processes and practices.

Scrum:

►       Scrum is excellent on Requirements gathering (RD, level 3) prioritizing (RQM) and project monitoring and control (they actually use Earned Value, something the PMBOK identifies as best practice project management. In our experience most PMs / PMPs do not use this technique, however most Scrum and XP practitioners do!)

►       For further information see also Scrum, XP, RUP assessed.

SmartMethod:

►       Is not a project management method, but tells the project manager in specific detail what their project management practices should adhere to, in order to behave in a CMMI level 3 fashion, to deliver the software project “as agreed”, on time, to cost.

You’re thoughts on this assessment? Let’s improve it, give us feedback.

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