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Arnold Smith

By bringing his experience in software process improvement to bear, CEM's Arnold Smith has helped the IRS's Business Systems Modernization Office improve its ability to acquire compatible software components on time and within budget.

Software process improvement—the organized effort to translate user needs into software products—is an area Arnold Smith knows well. So when Smith was chosen to lead the Center for Enterprise Modernization (CEM) Process Improvement Team in a joint effort with the IRS's Business System Modernization Office (BSMO) to improve its software acquisition process, he knew fostering cooperation toward a common goal was the key to success.

"Generally, when you start out on a process improvement effort, you don't have the buy-in of most people involved in that project," he said. "As you go along and people begin to see the benefits of doing process improvement, the buy-in starts to grow, the enthusiasm starts to grow, and then you start seeing results."

The effort paid off recently when the Modernization Office became the first civilian federal agency evaluated by the Software Engineering Institute to reach Level 2 of the institute's Software Acquisition Capability Maturity Model. A Level 2 rating, which is highly coveted by government agencies, essentially means an organization has improved its ability to acquire a system that is delivered on time and within budget, and also performs the functions it's designed for.

The IRS's BSMO is one of the few government organizations—and, thus far, the only civilian agency—to achieve Level 2. It comes against a backdrop of greater federal attention to the process of acquisition—in recent years, many organizations have acquired systems that were not only expensive but often overlapped in capability.

"Basically, the problem you get with stovepiped organizations is that everybody wants their own data," Smith said. "Even if it's the same data, they will go out and come up with their own way of acquiring the same data. Now, the focus is on looking at needs from an enterprise point of view, developing a common architecture, and then making sure you work through that architecture to acquire what you need. The Maturity Model helps facilitate attaining those goals."

From the project's outset in late 2001, Smith sought and got the full support of all parties—including BSMO management—in seeing the project through. The support from the top was especially crucial, and it emphasized that process improvement was a top priority for management.

"It's very difficult to do process improvement from the bottom up," he said. "You have to get senior management involved. And they become your sponsors. If you can't get them to champion your cause, then it's hard to get the working troops to follow you. If they don't see their managers on board, they're going to figure it's not an important effort, and if they resist long enough, it'll die." He was able to get not only IRS management engaged, but also that of others involved in the multiyear project, including the prime contractor.

Smith brought to MITRE a good deal of experience in moving software process improvement forward. Before he came to MITRE, he worked at Martin Marietta; there, he helped implement a Total Quality Management system for identifying goals and milestones over a period of years. He also helped the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) set up a team to put process improvement into effect there. Now several groups within the FAA have reached Level 3 on the Maturity Model.

It was during his period as a contractor for the FAA that he learned more about MITRE and its people. That got him interested in working for MITRE.

"I always admired the MITRE employees' professionalism, and I saw the respect that the FAA had for MITRE. I just thought that this would be a great company to work for. So far, it's been great. Sometimes, I've still got to pinch myself and ask, 'Am I really here?''