People - Capability Maturity Model

By Dan Zrymiak

Overview:

 

Every employee in a company has an impact on the quality of the product or service.  It is imperative that the level of employee development reflects the quality expectations placed on each and every employee.  Since well-trained and competent employees are a strategic advantage for a company, it is sensible for a company to take a strategic approach to their training activities. 

 

The People Capability Maturity Model (P-CMM) was developed by the Software Engineering Institute (SEI) of Carnegie-Mellon University in Pennsylvania.  The SEI collaborated with representatives from industry, government, military, and academic organizations to develop an evolutionary model intended to develop and optimize employee training and competence in organizations. 

 

 

Maturity Levels:

 

The P-CMM defines success in terms of an organization’s “maturity”.  The structure of the P-CMM demonstrates how an organization can progress sequentially through increasing levels of maturity to a summit of optimal performance.  There are five defined maturity levels in the P-CMM:

 

1.      Initial:

No processes initiated.

 

2.      Repeatable:

Processes focus on establishing basic workforce practices and eliminating problems that hinder work performance.   The intent is to instill basic discipline into workforce activities.

 

3.      Defined:

Processes address organizational issues, as the organization tailors its defined workforce practices to the core competencies required by its business environment.  The intent is to identify primary competencies and align workforce activities with these competencies.

 

4.      Managed:

Processes focus on building competency-based teams and establishing a quantitative understanding of trends in the development of knowledge and skills and in the alignment of performance across different levels of the organization.  The intent is to quantitiatively manage organizational growth in workforce capabilities and establish competency-based teams.

 

5.      Optimizing:

Processes cover issues that both the organization and individuals must address in implementing continuous improvements in their capability.  The intent is to continuously improve methods for developing personal and organizational competence.

 

Themes:

 

There are relationships which link the maturity levels so that progress can occur on a set path.  Through these themes, the implementation of processes at one maturity level can serve as a foundation for practices and capabilities at a higher level.  The Themes of the P-CMM are:

 

1.      Developing Capabilities:

The trend starts with identifying current training needs within a unit, progresses to the identification of core competencies developed by the organization, and evolves to having individuals being able to establish their own program of professional development.

 

2.      Building Teams and Culture:

The trend in building teams and culture begins with establishing basic communication skills, grows to developing a participatory culture, and continues on into formal team-building and continuous improvement of team capabilities.

 

3.      Motivating and Managing Performance:

The trend in motivating and managing performance begins with establishing basic performance management and compensation practices, then improves these practices through adaptation to competency development and team building.  From this level, the trend optimizes by looking for constant sources of innovation.

 

4.      Shaping The Workforce:

The trend in shaping the workforce begins with establishing basic staffing practices, grows to developing plans for workforce development, sets and tracks objectives for competencies in the workforce, and then looks for constant sources of innovation.

 

 

Key Process Areas:

 

Key Process Areas refer to the particular tasks and activities which must be completed in order for an organization to gain maturity and progress towards optimizing their training initiatives.  The following matrix identifies the appropriate Key Process Areas necessary to address each of the four themes of the P-CMM, and allow the organization to mature.

 

Maturity Levels	Process Categories
	THEME 1: Developing Capabilities	THEME 2: Building Teams and Culture	THEME 3: Motivating and managing performance	THEME 4: Shaping the workforce
MATURITY LEVEL 5: Optimizing	Coaching   Personal Competency Development	Continuous Workforce Innovation
MATURITY LEVEL 4: Managed	Mentoring	Team Building	Organizational Performance Alignment   Team-Based Practices	Organizational Competency Management
MATURITY LEVEL 3: Defined	Competency Development   Knowledge and Skills Analysis	Participatory Culture	Competency-Based Practices   Career Development	Workforce Planning
MATURITY LEVEL 2: Repeatable	Training   Communication	Communication	Compensation   Performance Management   Work Environment	Staffing
MATURITY LEVEL 1: Initial

 

Implementation:

 

The implementation of the People Capability Maturity Model (P-CMM) requires support and approval from the different areas of an organization.  This model will not be effective if it is imposed or forced on department.  Since the model is generic in nature, it has to be interpreted and customized in order to make it appropriate to the nature of the company or organization.

 

This model was designed to impart benefits at every maturity level.  It does not benefit an organization to skip a level, or to disregard the processes characteristic of an early maturity level.  The outputs of each level serve as the foundation for the practices of subsequent maturity levels.  This is best described through the four themes of the model.

 

To aid with the interpretation and the implementation of this model in an organization, the P-CMM has identified the following acceptance criteria for each Key Process Area:

-          Goals;

-          Commitments to perform;

-          Abilities to perform;

-          Activities performed;

-          Measurement and analysis

-          Verification of implementation

 

As an example, this is the breakdown for Key Process Area: Training

Goals	Commitments To Perform	Abilities To Perform	Activities Performed	Measurement and Analysis	Verification of Implementation
Training in the critical skills required in each unit is provided.	The organization follows a documented policy for its training activities.	Within each unit, an individual(s) is assigned responsibility for ensuring that training activities are conducted.	Critical skills required for performing critical tasks are identified in each unit.	Measurements are made and used to determine the status of training activities within each unit.	A responsible individual(s) verifies that training activities are conducted according to the unit’s plan and the organization’s documented policies.
Individuals receive timely training that is needed to perform their assignments.	An organizational role(s) is assigned responsibility for assisting and advising units on training activities.	Adequate resources and funding are provided for implementing the planned training activities.	The training needs for each unit are identified.	Unit measures of training status are collected and aggregated at the organizational level.	Executive management periodically reviews the organization’s training activities to determine if they comply with its documented policies.
Training opportunities are made available to all individuals.		Training time is made available to each individual according to the organization’s training policy.	Each unit develops and maintains a plan for satisfying its training needs.
		Individuals responsible for identifying training needs are trained in methods relevant to their responsibilities.	Individuals and/or groups receive the training they need to perform their assigned tasks.
		Individuals developing or providing training have the necessary training and/or experience required to perform their responsibilities.	Relevant training opportunities are identified and made available to support each individual’s development.
			Training is tracked against the unit’s training plan.

 

In order to aid in the implementation and The P-CMM provides similar descriptions for each Key Process Area in a thorough and detailed manner.  The application of this system is intended as a guideline for organizations.

 

The development of employees into productive and strategic assets is a worthwhile initiative that can bestow great rewards for a company or organization.  To achieve these rewards, a company should examine the various processes and activities outlined in the P-CMM, and determine an applicable and appropriate strategy to optimize employee performance.  The P-CMM is free and available over the internet at the following link.

ftp://ftp.sei.cmu.edu/pub/documents/95.reports/pdf/mm002.95.pdf

 

 

Having read through this document several times, I am astonished at the vast potential that organizations have for improvement and optimization.  Standards and practices such as ISO 9001 and Total Quality Management address only the basic features of this employee development program.  As professionals, it is our obligation to familiarize ourselves with the extensive opportunities for expanding the capabilities and performance of our organizations.