Nabil Abdel-Malek This is Me

 Web References

1. 1. What We Do

   www.software.org/pub/whatwedo. - [Cached]

   Published on: 8/2/2001   Last Visited: 2/2/2005

   Nabil Abdel-Malek, Vice President, Process Improvement, JP Morgan

2. 2. Compass International: White Papers: Making A Case For The Capability Maturity Model

   www.compass-analysis.com/inter - [Cached]

   Published on: 7/9/2001   Last Visited: 3/4/2002

   Nabil Abdel-Malek, vice president of PI & CMM initiatives at JP Morgan
   ...
   Abdel-Malek: About two-and-a-half years ago, we were faced with a series of large, complex software development projects- approximately $10 million to $20 million in budget, and about 150 people using a lot of object-oriented techniques. These projects addressed reengineering, back-office applications, and other critical business issues. Management was concerned about the risks involved with projects of such scope, and sought strategies to control the process. We recommended going to CMM level two. Management supported our proposal, and I became the champion. In nine months we were at level two.
   
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   Abdel-Malek: I came to JP Morgan from Northrop Grumman, where I was heavily involved in getting them to level three.
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   Abdel-Malek: CMM is a framework, it doesn't really demand specific methodology or dictate specific processes. It says, if you develop software, this framework will ensure that the quality of the product will be the highest, and that will allow you to plan resources, manage schedules, and then deliver. CMM was originally adopted by big defense contractors working on very large projects, which often failed to meet customer needs. To address this, DOD mandated a high level of maturity to bid on many contracts. In the commercial arena the drivers are to improve productivity, shorten time to market, and have lean and mean processes that can meet business needs. So there's been a shift in interpreting CMM-from satisfying a client mandate to bid on a project, to using it as a framework to speed up and be more robust to respond to business needs and challenges in IT.
   
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   Mazzucco: As Nabil said, the CMM is a framework that can be used to develop any kind of software.
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   Abdel-Malek: At JP Morgan, we don't have a lot of huge projects; most are object- oriented, RAD, and Java applications. We've been able to use CMM in these projects very effectively. In fact, we've had some projects in Latin America involving three people for three months, and we still got some value from CMM. The value is relatively small because, with a small project, you leverage only a small part of the CMM. Many people think of CMM only in terms of individual project management, and that's an important aspect of it at level two. But as you go to levels three, four, and five, organizations are able to leverage a lot of technology, best practices, and techniques, package them, and make them available to the small projects throughout the organization to speed up their development and delivery. In this sense, you can look at CMM in the context of the new buzzword-knowledge management.
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   Abdel-Malek: You have to formulate business strategies, then use the CMM to provide management infrastructure that enables you to meet your challenges. Within that model, you can create innovation in the organization, depending on how you apply the CMM. I have seen organizations use CMM and yet maintain the most rigid and difficult process you've ever seen, and they weren't able to leverage any value out of the model. CMM is a framework, not a solution. If you don't understand how to apply it, you may create some difficulties. But if you use it correctly, you can unleash the innovation and power of the organization. Because it's really based on participation and cooperation.
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   Abdel-Malek: CMM at different levels has different recommendations for measurement. The classic measures that most organizations need to mature involve cost, schedule, and effort-those that allow you to monitor projects closely. As you move on to levels three and four, measurement mechanisms become more sophisticated and you begin to use trend analysis and statistical analysis to measure trends and issues, risk, and risk mitigation. At level four, you start getting into some of the processes that help organizations focus on and eliminate the root causes of problems. So, as you introduce new technology or make a change in organization, you now have hard data to prove that this new technology will increase productivity or help the organization meet its commitments to the business. CMM moves you from a subjective evaluation to relying on hard data and factual data to make decisions. Once management is able to master using statistical data and measures in making decisions, the organization moves much faster and more effectively, and is more precise in its strategies than organizations that rely on subjective decision making.

3. 3. What We Do

   ftp.software.org/pub/whatwedo. - [Cached]

   Published on: 7/27/2001   Last Visited: 7/10/2004

   Nabil Abdel-Malek, Vice President, Process Improvement, JP Morgan