The Role of CMM as a Tool for Detecting, Measuring and Evaluating Performance Change in the Mechanical Design Process

Abstract

This paper reports on follow-up assessments carried out at industrial sites that had been previously benchmarked using a derivation of the Carnegie- Mellon/SEI Systems Engineering Capability Maturity Model® (SE-CMM® ) called the Process Capability Model — Mechanical Design (PCM-MD). Two sites that had been previously assessed were revisited to carry out another assessment of the mechanical design process in use. The results were initially surprising in that it had been expected that key findings from the first batch of assessments would have been implemented as management had indicated when previous assessment results were released. It was found however that due to significant reorganizations at Group and Company levels that the impetus to improve at site level had not occurred to the degree expected. This showed up as stagnation and in some cases a retrograde movement in many of the capability levels measured. The continued development of the assessment method to include assessing people from key functions that interface closely with mechanical engineers has highlighted the communication issues that can arise across interfaces..