Things they never taught you in CMM school

The authors discuss some of the common mistakes made by organizations in planning and executing process improvement programs. Results are based on surveys and case histories from commercial and defense organizations, as well as the authors' personal experiences, and apply to improvement programs based on any Capability Maturity Model or similar quality standard. Some of these mistakes are due to lack of experience or knowledge; some are the result of cultural "blind spots", a lack of discipline, or optimistically wishing the world did not work the way it actually does. Examples are given, along with practical steps to avoid these pitfalls.