1. GENERAL DYNAMICS Communication Systems “Process Maturity: Things that Work” Boston SPIN Panel April 18, 2000 Presenter: Carol Pilch

2. April 18, 2000 2 GENERAL DYNAMICS Communication Systems Background - 1 l General Dynamics Communication Systems ä Systems Integrator ä 2000 employees ä 230 software engineers in Needham/Taunton ä Project size: 1-40 software engineers ä 8 Million lines of developed code ä Commercial-off-the-shelf based systems

3. April 18, 2000 3 GENERAL DYNAMICS Communication Systems Background - 2 l Products/Services ä Network Management ä Network Integration ä Tactical Communication Systems ä Encryption ä Training/Distance Learning

4. April 18, 2000 4 GENERAL DYNAMICS Communication Systems Background - 3 l 15 years of Software Process Improvement ä Corporate Software Steering Committee - 1985 ä Corporate Software Development Process - 1985 ä CMM v1.1 - 1994 ä CMM Level 3

5. April 18, 2000 5 GENERAL DYNAMICS Communication Systems Process Improvements l 1994-1999 ä Organizational software process definition ä Standard software toolset ä Tailorable metrics definition ä Process, tools, and methods training ä Rework reduction initiative l 2000+ ä Improve systems and hardware processes ä Train/institutionalize Level 4/5 practices

6. April 18, 2000 6 GENERAL DYNAMICS Communication Systems Enablers l Demonstrated senior management commitment l Full-time SEPG l Monthly Software Status Reviews l Early use of metrics l Process tailoring guidelines l Software Project Management Course l Assessments and Improvement Plans l Software Quality Assurance

7. April 18, 2000 7 GENERAL DYNAMICS Communication Systems Some Results l Standard process recognized as the way we do business l Measured improvement in productivity and quality l Training valued by management l Personnel move easily among projects Value added -“Not process for process sake”

8. April 18, 2000 8 GENERAL DYNAMICS Communication Systems Project Factors Tailoring guidelines are key: one size does not fit all l large project vs. small project l development vs. maintenance l custom development vs. off-the-shelf l external customer vs. internal customer l deliverable product vs. proof-of-concept

9. April 18, 2000 9 GENERAL DYNAMICS Communication Systems How long did it take? CS Software Process History Timeline CBA IPI Assessments 1985-1989 1990-1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 Corporate Software Steering Committee Corporate Software Development Methodology (“Brown Book”) Affiliated with SEI, in 1986 - Resident Affiliate at SEI 1986-1997 Participation in collective Software Best Practices & original questionnaire March 1988 - SEI-assisted Assessment (W. Humphrey) Member of CMM Advisory Board Sector SEPG/SEG established SEPG at Division Level CS Process Documents Rework Reduction Project Mgmt Training Metrics Refinement Mini Assessment CMM Level 4 Pilot Integrated Eng. Process CMM Level 3

10. April 18, 2000 10 GENERAL DYNAMICS Communication Systems Recommendations l CMM used as a roadmap l CMM training for all levels of management l Periodic software status reviewed by senior management l Dedicated SEPG staffed by experienced software engineers/managers l Independent Software Quality Assurance l Standard software toolset with dedicated support l Early measurement - size, progress, quality l In-house training provided by subject matter experts