Critical Software Achieves Level 5 in CMMI Certification
Coimbra,
Portugal -
Feb 8, 2010 -
Critical Software announces that it has achieved CMMI Level 5 Certification (Capability Maturity Model Integrator), being now a member of a prestigious elite of organizations that, at a global scale, have obtained the most demanding, recognized and hard to obtain, quality certification in Software Engineering. Critical Software S.A. as become the first Portuguese company to be able to achieve Level 5 in CMMI, after also being the first Portuguese company to achieve level 3 in March, 2006. With CMMI 5's application, Critical Software aims to strongly augment its productivity, greatly optimizing the processes associated with software engineering,, and attain a much higher ability to plan, predict and mitigate risks related with software development.
Recent studies show that companies spend, on average, 65% of their software teams' time solving problems, correcting bugs, or redesigning badly designed functionalities; which, in practice, means that only one third of their Information Systems teams' work is actually directed towards conceiving and constructing the solutions their businesses need.
"With the CMMI5 model, and by applying six-sigma techniques, Critical Software is working towards delivering software that is 99.9997% bug free and to shorten its development lifecycle. The same model and techniques are used to improve the precision and consistence of our predictions in the development of solutions. This is all our clients want to hear: effectiveness, efficiency and planning!" underlines Goncalo Quadros, CEO of the Portuguese company, adding that "achieving CMMI Level 5 is a historical landmark in the road that Critical has been taking".
The CMMI model defines 5 levels of maturity. Some companies, at a worldwide level, have been able to achieve level 3, thus ensuring the homogeneity in practices and "genuine" project management. Nevertheless, to achieve Level 5 "high levels of maturity, grounded in the monitoring of the processes in terms of performance and quality, must be shown. At this level of maturity, all crucial decisions are made based on objective metrics - such metrics reinforce the decisions and permit us to measure, with precision, the degree of risk involved", points out Jose Goncalo Silva, responsible for the Quality Department at Critical Software, adding that "we are ever more dependent on technology, in practically every little step we take in our day-to-day lives; small flaws in a computer system may have disastrous consequences - today, the reliability and robustness of computer solutions are much more than an important criterion for excellence, they are a necessity!"
The CMMI model was developed by the Software Engineering Institute (SEI) of the University of Pittsburgh - an authority and a reference point around the world on the definition and certification of the best practices in software engineering. This model was designed per request of the United States' Department of Defence (DoD) to ensure an effective and continual improvement in software development processes. The rigour and demanding nature of the computer systems at DoD made the need for software with high reliability levels a foremost one, leading to this model being considered decisive in fulfilling DoD's mission. This model differs from the ISO standard, in a fundamental way, for its complexity, demanding nature and the time consuming process that takes to obtain it.
About Critical Software www.criticalsoftware.com
Critical Software is an international company that develops solutions and provides reliable, groundbreaking services and technologies, to support critical systems, oriented to Aeronautics, Space and Defence markets. From Portugal, UK, USA, Brazil, Romania and Mozambique, where Critical Software is present, it follows rigorous processes in quality certification, acting in accordance with CMMI(r) Level Rated 5, ISO 9001:2008 Tick-IT, EN9100:2003 and 9006:2003 as well as with the best practices recommended by ISO 15504, ISO 12207, PMBoK(r), ECSS and NASA-SEL.
Recent studies show that companies spend, on average, 65% of their software teams' time solving problems, correcting bugs, or redesigning badly designed functionalities; which, in practice, means that only one third of their Information Systems teams' work is actually directed towards conceiving and constructing the solutions their businesses need.
"With the CMMI5 model, and by applying six-sigma techniques, Critical Software is working towards delivering software that is 99.9997% bug free and to shorten its development lifecycle. The same model and techniques are used to improve the precision and consistence of our predictions in the development of solutions. This is all our clients want to hear: effectiveness, efficiency and planning!" underlines Goncalo Quadros, CEO of the Portuguese company, adding that "achieving CMMI Level 5 is a historical landmark in the road that Critical has been taking".
The CMMI model defines 5 levels of maturity. Some companies, at a worldwide level, have been able to achieve level 3, thus ensuring the homogeneity in practices and "genuine" project management. Nevertheless, to achieve Level 5 "high levels of maturity, grounded in the monitoring of the processes in terms of performance and quality, must be shown. At this level of maturity, all crucial decisions are made based on objective metrics - such metrics reinforce the decisions and permit us to measure, with precision, the degree of risk involved", points out Jose Goncalo Silva, responsible for the Quality Department at Critical Software, adding that "we are ever more dependent on technology, in practically every little step we take in our day-to-day lives; small flaws in a computer system may have disastrous consequences - today, the reliability and robustness of computer solutions are much more than an important criterion for excellence, they are a necessity!"
The CMMI model was developed by the Software Engineering Institute (SEI) of the University of Pittsburgh - an authority and a reference point around the world on the definition and certification of the best practices in software engineering. This model was designed per request of the United States' Department of Defence (DoD) to ensure an effective and continual improvement in software development processes. The rigour and demanding nature of the computer systems at DoD made the need for software with high reliability levels a foremost one, leading to this model being considered decisive in fulfilling DoD's mission. This model differs from the ISO standard, in a fundamental way, for its complexity, demanding nature and the time consuming process that takes to obtain it.
About Critical Software www.criticalsoftware.com
Critical Software is an international company that develops solutions and provides reliable, groundbreaking services and technologies, to support critical systems, oriented to Aeronautics, Space and Defence markets. From Portugal, UK, USA, Brazil, Romania and Mozambique, where Critical Software is present, it follows rigorous processes in quality certification, acting in accordance with CMMI(r) Level Rated 5, ISO 9001:2008 Tick-IT, EN9100:2003 and 9006:2003 as well as with the best practices recommended by ISO 15504, ISO 12207, PMBoK(r), ECSS and NASA-SEL.
Company Center: CRITICAL Software
