Harmonizing MPS.BR and CERTICS: A Case Study in a Maturity Level F Organization

Many different Software Process Reference Models (PRM) and standards have been developed in recent years leading several software organizations to the need of process alignment to two or more models or standards, due to legal obligations or market opportunities. How to deploy multiple PRMs within the same organization without parallel processes implementation and rework is a problem still under investigation. The CERTICS is one of those PRMs, created with a specific purpose of assessing whether the software products of a given organization are result of Brazilian national innovation, aiming to allow also benefits in government procurement. The MPS reference model for software (MR-MPS-SW) is other already well-established PRM that has been widely used in Brazil by software organizations. This paper presents an experience of harmonization of these two models and their implementation in a case study in a software organizational unit that already has an official MR-MPS-SW's "F" level seeking a complementary CERTICS certification. The methodological approach starts with a conceptual models comparison based on the literature, and then the harmonization and implementation of the two models in the context of a case study. The results observed in the case study and the successful official CERTICS certification, raised up preliminary indications that the harmonization experience was conducted without generating processes overlapping and applying acceptable organizational effort.