Financial services group Old Mutual (SA) has spent R10 million to gain software Capability Maturity Model (CMM) Level 3 accreditation. The organisation has to gain another two levels before it sees a real return on investment, it says.
Old Mutual (SA), which develops software products for many of the group's overseas and local subsidiaries, was awarded the accreditation in January.
Devised by the US Software Engineering Institute (SEI), the system's first three levels focus on processes and the output consistency of those processes.
"Levels four and five allow for the measurement of the products, allowing a company to accurately measure its return on investment in implementing the accreditation process and what is actually being produced," says Patrick Kadalie, Old Mutual senior manager of IT risk compliance and governance.
Kadalie says it has been necessary for the company to gain these accreditations, because it needs an international benchmark as it supplies software products to the group's British and Scandinavian subsidiaries.
This year, it will focus more on ensuring its CMM accreditation will be fully integrated with the SEI's newer CMMI accreditation (Capability Maturity Model and Integration) modules that have replaced the original CMM since last year.
"We decided to keep to the original CMM accreditation and finish that before moving to the new system."
Kadalie is unable to say how long it will take Old Mutual to achieve Level 5 accreditation and how much it will cost, but notes the strategy is to ensure it is process-, rather than financial or return on investment-driven.
Select club
At Level 3, Old Mutual belongs to a select club of 320 companies worldwide that have this accreditation.
David Hislop, CEO of Digitalrocketscience and organiser of an upcoming software engineering colloquium, says the accreditation of software developers is essential for companies to gain international stature. However, he notes the cost for many small and medium companies can be prohibitive.
"I would really like to see government come in and find a way to support these accreditation procedures, and at the very least make it less expensive for companies to gain various accreditation," he says.
The Cape Town Software Engineering Colloquium is to be held on 8 May, under the auspices of the Cape IT Initiative.
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