AP3M-SW - An Agile Project Management Maturity Model for Software Organizations

摘要

Applying agile methodologies in organizations whose processes are based on maturity models, such as Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) or Organizational Project Management Maturity Model (OPM3) has been the focus of much controversy in the academic and in the software industry environment. The two approaches apparently have some fundamental principles and different bases, but on the other hand, adopting them jointly has increasingly become a reality for software organizations. However, the rush to reach maturity levels within deadlines that are shorter and shorter and the definition of heavy and inflexible processes, result in improvement projects with unique objectives of adherence to such models, often reflected in carrying out unnecessary activities and generating excessive documentation. In this context, agile methodologies are more appealing as they are lighter and this is inevitably related to their apparently offering a faster development at a lower cost of human effort. In this scenario, this paper puts forward a definition of an agile project management maturity model for software development organizations.