CMMI for Acquisition — CMMI-ACQ

Overview
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Capability Maturity Model Integration for Acquisition (CMMI-ACQ) is part of the CMMI product family of process maturity models. It is a framework to guide organizations in improving their processes for acquisition.

It helps organizations to characterize the maturity of their guidance to acquisition organizations for initiating and managing the acquisition of products and services. The model focuses on acquirer processes and integrates bodies of knowledge that are essential for successful acquisitions.

CMMI-ACQ acknowledges the nature of the Acquirer / Supplier relationship and gives the Acquiring party the tools to improve their performance to match that of their supplier. In other words it allows the Acquirer to match capabilities with their supplier to help assure the success of the relationship.

CMMI-ACQ
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CMMI-ACQ provides an opportunity for acquisition organizations

• to avoid or eliminate barriers and problems in the acquisition process through improved operational efficiencies
• to initiate and manage a process for acquiring products and services, including solicitations, supplier sourcing, supplier agreement development and award, and supplier capability management
• to utilize a common language for both acquirers and suppliers so that quality solutions are delivered more quickly and at a lower costs with the most appropriate technology

CMMI-ACQ was developed at the Software Engineering Institute (SEI) at Carnegie-Mellon University. It provides guidance for developing or improving processes that meet the business goals of an organization.

CMMI-ACQ is a variant of the existing CMMI-DEV that shares much of the existing model (approximately 70% commonality) but with several critical differences designed to address the role of the Acquiring organization.

CMMI for Acquisition is based on the CMMI Framework. The CMMI for Acquisition model has 22 process areas: six are specific to acquisition practices and sixteen are shared with other CMMI models.

The six process areas that are specific to acquisition are

• Acquisition Requirements Development (ARD) — elicit, develop, and analyze customer and contractual requirements.
• Solicitation and Supplier Agreement Development (SSAD) — prepare a solicitation package, select one or more suppliers to deliver the product or service, and establish and maintain the supplier agreement.
• Agreement Management (AM) — ensure that the supplier and the acquirer perform according to the terms of the supplier agreement.
• Acquisition Technical Management (ATM) — evaluate the supplier’s technical solution and to manage selected interfaces of that solution.
• Acquisition Verification (AVER) — ensure that selected work products meet their specified requirements.
• Acquisition Validation (AVAL) — demonstrate that an acquired product or service fulfills its intended use when placed in its intended environment.

Additionally, the model includes guidance on

• Acquisition Strategy
• Typical Supplier Deliverables
• Transition to operations and support
• Teams and teaming

The sixteen shared process areas include practices for project management, organizational process management, and infrastructure and support.

Key Relationships Among Process Areas — © SEI, Carnegie Mellon Univ.

Process Maturity Assessments
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As a CMMI-model it may also be used as a framework for appraising the process maturity of the organization.

Target Profiles and Equivalent Staging — © SEI, Carnegie Mellon Univ.

Further Readings
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