WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO RIGHT NOW?

Okay, now if you ve been patient enough to read through this introduction, you re going to leap ahead of those who skip it and jump right into the chapter because Table I.1 serves as a roadmap for getting you directly to the information you want or need right now.

Scan the left column of Table I.1 for topics that represent something you want to do or know. Then, follow that row across to the right column, which tells you what you need to learn and where in the book you need to look to find that information.

Table I.1: Where to Go

What is your question? What do you want to achieve?	Go to . . .
My organization is new to CMMI and process improvement. Where do we start?	Chapter 3 ” Managing the Process Improvement Project will help you get started setting process improvement goals. However, since you ll need to know the organization s true starting point, this path will eventually lead you to Chapter 1 ” News Flash! There Is a Level 1!.
We re using CMMI, but we don t seem to be making much progress. What should we do?	Check out Chapter 4 ” Process Improvement Strategies that Work for some different approaches to CMMI-based improvement.
We re never sure who is supposed to do what. How do we figure out what people s jobs are in relation to process improvement?	Defining roles and responsibilities is one of the most underprioritized, yet critical prerequisites to successful CMMI implementation. Read Chapter 2 ” The Role of Roles.
We re thinking about hiring a CMMI consultant to help us out. How can we hire the right people?	Chapter 6 ” Acquiring Process Expertise and Tools can help your organization establish fact-based rationale for bringing in outside expertise and for selecting a consultant that best fits your organization s needs.
People say lots of things about CMMI, but some of it just doesn t sound right. What s true and what s not true about CMMI?	The only thing that is true is what you believe is true. So the real decision is whether you want to base your beliefs on myths or on facts. Take a look at Chapter 8 ” Process Improvement Myths and Methodologies to see of what you re hearing about CMMI-based process improvement is real.
Our organization hasn t yet had a maturity appraisal. Does that mean we re at Maturity Level 0 or 1?	Not necessarily . Your organization could be operating at a CMMI Maturity Level 5, but it just hasn t been measured yet. You wouldn t have to climb Mount Everest to know that it s taller than ten feet. But this isn t really the point. Many organizations are already doing things which they can leverage and reuse in a CMMI-based improvement effort. Go to Chapter 1 ” News Flash! There Is a Level 1!
Creating processes and procedures doesn t seem to be very structured. Are there some lessons to be learned in process definition?	Yes. Chapter 5 ” Five Critical Factors in Successful Process Definition will give you some proven approaches and techniques in this topic which you can apply immediately in your organization s CMMI work.
My management disgusts me! They say they want a maturity level, but they don t really support the process improvement effort. Any ideas?	Yep. Slip this book under their door with a clip marking Chapter 7 ” Effective Change Leadership for Process Improvement. The whole chapter is less than 20 pages long, so even a busy executive with a short attention span can read it.
Any advice on buying a tool to help us create and deploy our processes and procedures?	Yes, don t let anyone sign the purchase order until all the decision makers have read Chapter 6 ” Acquiring Process Expertise and Tools.
We don t want to repeat the mistakes others have made in CMMI implementation.	Good for you! Read the whole book. It is replete with costly mistakes made by other organizations and how to avoid making them again.