Quality Management Activities
Addressing CMM®
Cresco is focusing on establishing procedures that meet CMM® quality standard, and working towards establishing organizational rules to improve software development. As one of the criteria for achieving quality, CMM® was originally introduced by the U.S. Department of Defense as a ranking standard for selecting suppliers, and it has become the classification modal for determining development capacity. It provides an objective standard for self-evaluation of a company’s quality and production processes. The evaluation objectively assesses whether or not an organization’s activities meet the standard, whether systems and rules have been established, and whether the organization is in compliance with the rules. The assessment results are represented by a five-scale rating. For software development, quality in fundamental areas, especially in the design stage, is important.
Because development requires labor, it is necessary to establish rules for procedures and inspection methods in order to prevent mistakes and defects from occurring in each process. The rules are determined by engineers and vary depending on the project, the development environment, or the demands of a particular organization. In addition to establishing company-wide rules throughout Cresco, It is necessary to interpret the rules on a divisional or project basis for specific application to each process.
Achievement of CMM® “Level ３”*２
On December 22, 2005, we received accreditation from a lead assessor for CMM® Level 3 criteria for assessing organizational maturity in software development at the Car Electronics Division of Built-In Software Development Department (now called the Embedded Solution Division). A sincere effort was rewarding.
The division has continuously conducted organizational process improvement activities since August2001.
From December 9 to December 22, we invited an SEI-certified lead assessor to conduct an official assessment of our key process areas, and it was confirmed that all requirements for CMM® Level 3 had been met.
We will continuously improve organizational software development quality, based on CMM® accreditation, and aim at higher levels of achievement by targeting CMMI®, while at the same time constantly delivering improved products and services. Please expect our sincere work on this.
- ＊1: Outline of CMM® (Capability Maturity Modal)
- The Capability Maturity Model for Software (also known as the CMM and SW-CMM®) has been a model used by many organizations to identify best practices useful in helping them increase the maturity of their processes.
In 2000, the SW-CMM was upgraded to CMMI® (Capability Maturity Model Integration).
- ＊２： CMM® Level
- The CMM is organized into five maturity levels and the outline of level 3 that Cresco received is as stated below.
Level 3： ”Defined Level”
The software process for both management and engineering activities is documented, standardized, and integrated into a standard software process for the organization. All projects use an approved, tailored version of the organization’s standard software process for developing and maintaining software.
Also, except for Level 1, each maturity level is decomposed into several key process areas that indicate the areas an organization should focus on to improve its software process. The key process areas at Level 3 address both project and organizational issues, as the organization establishes an infrastructure that institutionalizes effective software engineering and management processes across all projects. They are Organization Process Focus, Organization Process Definition, Training Program, Integrated Software Management, Software Product Engineering, Intergroup Coordination, and Peer Reviews.
Cf1. Capability Maturity Model for Software, Version 1.２
Cf2. Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI®)
ISO9001 Certification Acquired
March 2, 2007 ? The Embedded Solutions Division, Department 4, which specializes in the development of built-in systems, acquired ISO9001:2000(now called the ISO9001:2008) Quality Management System Certification on February 23, 2007 from the JAPAN QUALITY ASSURANCE ORGANIZATION after having satisfied all necessary requirements. From here on, we will continue to strive to improve our quality management system to further enhance customer satisfaction.
