USA Organization Receives Software Engineering Institute’s Highest Rating

USA’s Flight Software Element recently achieved the highest possible level for the software industry’s recognized process integrity standard, the Software Engineering Institute (SEI) Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) Maturity Level (ML) 5 rating.

The group, made up of three directorates – the Primary Avionics Software System, the Flight Software Applications and Tools, and the Shuttle Avionics Integration Laboratory – received this prestigious rating in November 2006 after an 18-month effort. This accomplishment is part of a company-wide initiative to achieve CMMI compliance for all company-managed software groups and is part of USA’s ongoing goal to improve safety and quality.

“In Human Space Flight, there is no room for error,” said USA Flight Software Associate Program Manager Fred Hinson. “The Flight Software Organization has performed at an exceptional level for over 20 years now and was the first ever to receive the SEI Level 5 rating in 1989, as established by the Software Engineering Institute. In its standard reference book, SEI has devoted a chapter to the Flight Software Team and their industry-best practices for software development and testing. This effort resulted in moving the entire organization from the previous CMMI Level 3 directly to SEI’s new highest standard.”

The USA Flight Software Element ML 5 rating was obtained through a formal appraisal using the SEI-defined appraisal method called SCAMPI A. The SCAMPI A method evaluates institutionalization of processes within an organization. In this case, an eight-person cross-company appraisal team led by two external authorized lead appraisers reviewed software engineering processes, examined thousands of pieces of objective evidence, and conducted extensive personnel interviews to affirm ML 5 capable processes within the Flight Software Element.

The CMMI consists of industry-best practices that address the development and maintenance of software products and services from conception through delivery and beyond. The highest ML is earned only by organizations that have processes characterized by continual improvement based on a quantitative measurement. The SEI is a federally funded research and development center operated by Carnegie Mellon University and sponsored by the U.S. Department of Defense. The mission is to advance the state of the practice of software engineering. The CMMI is an industry standard developed by the SEI, members of government, academia, and a diverse population from the software industry. It represents a rigorous model for assessing and improving software processes that results in higher quality and control of software engineering activities.

“Achieving CMMI Level 5 compliance required a significant team effort on the part of our employees,” said Mike McCulley, USA’s Chief Executive Officer. “The standards are rigorous. This improvement will yield greater quality and reliability over the remainder of the Shuttle program and beyond by providing a basis for continually advancing our software engineering capability. The team is congratulated for this considerable achievement.”

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