Appraisal Team Member Qualification Requirements

What are the requirements to be an Appraisal Team Member (ATM) in SCAMPI A appraisal?

I have heard many opinions on ATM qualifications, such as:

1. Not part of process definition
2. Not involved with Process Implementation
3. Not being an SEPG member.

I am unaware of any criteria set by the SEI on this topic.

The ATM qualifications are spelled out in the SCAMPI Method Definition Document (MDD) Section 1.3.2 SELECT TEAM MEMBERS. I have extracted the pertinent text here.

Parameters and Limits
The minimum acceptable team size for a SCAMPI A appraisal is four people (including the appraisal team leader).
All team members must have previously completed the SEI-licensed Introduction to CMMI course.
With regard to engineering field experience, the team (as a group) must have an average of at least 6 years of experience, and the team total must be at least 25 years of experience in each of the disciplines to be covered in the appraisal.
With regard to management experience, the team (as a group) must have a total of at least 10 years of experience, and at least one team member must have at least 6 years of experience as a manager.
The team must, in aggregate, have representative experience in the lifecycles being appraised.

Optional Practices
Although not required in the Parameters and Limits section above, the following are considered recommended best practices and should be employed whenever feasible:

• Each member should have good written and oral communication skills, the ability to facilitate the free flow of communication, and the ability to perform as team players and negotiate consensus.
• At least half of the team members should have participated in a previous process appraisal.
• Team members should be perceived by the appraisal sponsor as credible.

Additional appraisal team member selection considerations include

• Consider the personal characteristics of individual team members (e.g., communication preferences and personality types) and how these characteristics may affect the dynamics of the team.
• Use one or more authorized SCAMPI Lead Appraisers as team members.

And there is one more ATM requirement that is documented in the MDD errata. The Appraisal Sponsor cannot be an Appraisal Team Member.

Interview Questions to Hire a CMMI Expert

We are implementing the CMMI within our organization and are looking to hire someone to help us achieve this goal. We don't necessarily need a certified Lead Appraiser as of yet, but would like to hire someone with CMMI experience and who may beinterested in becoming a Lead Appriaser. I have a couple of internal candidates that are not Lead Appraisers, but have had CMMI experience (according to their resumes anyhow). What would be some good questions to ask them in an interview to gauge how much experience they truly have? I appreciate any help I can get with this.

One word of caution first. It may not be in your best interests to hire someone who wants to become a Lead Appraiser. There usually aren’t enough internal appraisal opportunities for a candidate Lead Appraiser to get the minimum experience or to maintain their Lead Appraiser credentials, so the person would have to look for appraisal work outside of your organization or company.

Here are some questions that I would ask a candidate for a CMMI position:

1. Have you taken the SEI’s 3-day Introduction to CMMI class? If yes, when did you take the class? Who was your instructor?
2. Have you participated as an appraisal team member? If yes, how many times? What were your duties? What was the scope of the appraisal (Maturity Level)? Who was the Lead Appraiser? What would the Lead Appraiser say about your CMMI capabilities and performance on the appraisal team?
3. Have you helped implement the CMMI in an organization?
4. How long have you been working with the CMMI?
5. Please compare and contrast Capability Level vs. Maturity Level
6. What is the only Process Area that can be categorized as Not Applicable? SAM
7. Have you prepared a PIID? If yes, what was the most difficult task and why?
8. How many years of project management experience do you have?
9. How many years of engineering experience do you have?
10. What is your favorite Process Area and why?