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2-26-06:
State Agencies Improving Project
Management Techniques
AHCCCS First Agency to Achieve
Certification in Quality Assurance
In order to increase
efficiency and reduce risk of project failure, several state agencies
are developing Quality Assurance programs. A Quality Assurance program
is a formal and systematic approach to managing projects with
interlinking steps. When employed, a QA program increases the likelihood
of successful project completion.
“State agencies should embrace a consistent Quality Assurance
methodology to increase project success,” said State CIO Chris
Cummiskey. “Though there may not be a one-size-fits all solution for
Arizona, there are many useful tools available for agencies to consider
as they develop a QA program.”
One example of a Quality Assurance methodology is the Capability
Maturity Model (CMM). Interested in reducing the rate of project failure
and reducing project cost, the Federal Department of Defense funded the
development of CMM at Carnegie Mellon University’s Software Engineering
Institute. CMM has been used extensively for government projects since
the mid-1980s.
The Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS) achieved Level
2 Certification for the CMM in December 2005. The Level 2 certification
indicates that the agency’s business processes are consistent and
replicable from project to project.
According to AHCCCS Chief Information Officer Jim Wang, “AHCCCS chose
CMM because it outlines a consistent process, while still allowing
enough flexibility to meet our needs.” Wang indicated that the need to
establish a quality assurance program arose because of the complexity of
software, the expanded scope of projects and increased customer support
for both the State of Arizona and the State of Hawaii (which AHCCCS also
manages).
Implementing CMM at AHCCCS was not an easy task.
“It took a strong commitment from Director Rodgers and every employee
in the Information Services Division to achieve this certification,”
Wang said. “I’m very proud of the hard work and dedication of the team
at AHCCCS.”
According to Wang,
the steps for success at AHCCCS included:
• A dedicated staff to
implement CMM standards
• Skilled project managers for key projects
• Implementing a change management program
• Formalized status reporting
• Division-wide education for all employees
• Management’s strong support of this effort
Key benefits received because of certification are:
• Consistent status
reporting among all programming groups within AHCCCS
• Repeatable policies and procedures for managing software projects
• A formalized documentation process
• Ability to train project managers within the agency
Though AHCCCS is the first agency to achieve certification, it is not
alone in its efforts to build a Quality Assurance program. ADOT, ADOA,
and several other agencies are in various stages of implementing QA
methodologies.
8-23-05: GITA Sponsored Successful Quality Assurance
Symposium
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