In Vietnam, until now, there are approximately 6 companies, mostly foreign-owned ones, having achieved CMM/CMMi appraisals with maturity level 3 or above, including:
- FCGV (PSV): CMMi v1.1, maturity level 5
- FPT Software: CMMi v1.1, maturity level 5
- Global Cybersoft Vietnam (GCS): CMMi v1.1, maturity level 4
- ELCA: CMMi v1.1, maturity level 3
- TMA Solutions: CMMi v1.1, maturity level 3, currently in the last stage to be appraised for level 4.
- Harvey Nash (Silkroad): CMM, maturity level 3

In addition, there are about 15 organisations implementing the model with maturity level 3 (if not level 4, such as Lac Viet corp.) at this point, and planned to be officially appraised in the first half of 2008.

However, it is easily observable that most of the organisations do not really emphasize on the values that CMMi and other standards/best practices, as the tools, could bring to business development objectives. Of the above companies, quite a few has actually investigated enough budget and effort to practically improve the process so that it will help increasing product quality and productivity attributes. Usually is the target set just to get certificate papers first, as a strategic marketing/ advertising methodology, for which could bring negative effects when the outcomes do not actually meet customers’ quality expectations at the end.

What I want to say is, in fact, what the software outsourcing companies are doing is just not right. To compete against the competitors (in India, China, Phillipine, etc.), while not having any outstanding competencies at all and still getting customers in a very passive way which is unpredictable, incontrollable, and quite risky, trying to get the certificates by any cost is just to put ourselves into higher risky status. Why don’t we just find a way to improve real beneficial process first? Why couldn’t we have a good vision from the very early stage to identify our strengths over them? Why must we have quick fixes while we all know quick fixes always cause side effects?

May you the only one who can find the answer…

Resources: Dac Tin’s blog