The Evaluation of Project Management Performance on Two Software Maintenance Projects Based on a CMMI Framework

As software systems increase in size and complexity, so does the need to predict and control scope, schedule, and costs. The United States General Accountability Office has acknowledged weaknesses in the software acquisition process. Industry data indicates that improving the software development process can have significant effect on a project team's ability to generate products within planned scope, schedule, and cost estimates. This thesis focus is on software maintenance, one phase of the Army's acquisition process, to demonstrate that stronger management practices are needed to make better predictions and assessments in those areas. Two software maintenance projects were evaluated for success in project management performance against CMMI practices. This research results in a set of recommendations and predicted benefits are provided for use by the organization as input to the next process improvement effort.