CIGNA Unit Attains Software Engineering Institute's Level 2

CIGNA Systems' Production Application Center for system maintenance has attained Level 2 of the Software Engineering Institute's (SEI) Capability Maturity Model. The CMM was created by the SEI to provide organizations with a framework for assessing software process maturity and for guiding process improvement programs.

As of October 1997, only 246 organizations representing fewer than 150 companies around the world could lay claim to having achieved level 2 or higher of the CMM.

"In attaining SEI Level 2, we're guaranteeing our customers that we can meet and even exceed their expectations for high quality results," said Kathy Taylor, CIGNA Systems senior vice president and head of the Production Application Center. "In the production environment, that means we can ensure that CIGNA's systems run effectively on a daily basis and that we meet our commitments in terms of systems being available for critical outputs."

CIGNA embarked on its quest for SEI-based improvement in 1995 when it entered into an agreement with EDS, a world leader in outsourcing, for PAC. "We needed to build a production maintenance center that could lower costs, improve service levels and increase productivity," explained Taylor.

EDS provided CIGNA with methods and training it had used successfully as an outsourcer. Within this model, EDS became a partner, with some revenue incentives at risk based on the success of the Production Application Center. SEI's CMM was chosen as a basis for measuring improvement, and target dates were established for reaching CMM levels 2 and 3.

"The results of our CMM assessment should indicate that software process development and deployment do not need years of frustration and rework to be successful, provided that sponsorship is in place, a framework of trust, accountability and responsibility exist, and that people feel empowered to change themselves," Taylor said.