IT Success!: Towards a New Model for Information Technology

9.7. The role of best-practice methodologies

It would be impossible to talk about a new model for IT without discussing the role of best-practice methodologies like CMMi, CoBIT, ITIL, PMBOK, Prince2 and Six Sigma, to name the most common. The main driver for all of these methodologies is 'process improvement' – or in plain language, using various forms of professionalism to do things better.

The granddaddy of all IT methodologies is of course CMM (Capability Maturity Model) and its famous process maturity levels defined by Watts Humphrey of the Software Engineering Institute (SEI) in 1989 in his ground-breaking book, 'Managing the Software Process'. CMM, which has since been 'upgraded' to CMMi, focuses essentially on the software development process.

The other common methodologies are:

• CoBIT (Control Objectives for Information and Related Technology), with six levels of maturity similar to CMMi, is essentially an audit-oriented set of guidelines for everyday use by both the business and IT, in areas ranging from governance and risk reduction to outsourcing and audits.

• ITIL (IT Infrastructure Library) is a set of best practices for service management and operations, with a focus on IT production and operational quality, supported by a configuration management database (CMDB).

• Prince2 (Projects in Controlled Environments) and PMBOK (Product Management Body of Knowledge) are both process-driven project management methodologies covering the organisation, management and control of projects ...