Technical Advise Week #15 - In Search of Excellence

Hi all and sorry for the latest of our post. We have been pre-occupied with loads of work and simply didn't realize that time passed us by so quickly.

Over the last several months we have been buried with inquiries from foreign companies asking about certifications and qualifications. When asked why they have such an interest almost all respond by saying that it's the key to getting business. Yet, when we talk with companies here in the U.S. almost all consider them to be but only one of the many factors that will determine whether a contact is awarded or not. Ever since dad entered consulting (before Max & I were born) he has conducted assessments of foreign companies, some dealing with capability (before both CMM & CMMi), others dealing with testing (V&VMMx, TPI) and even corporate viability. He decided more than a year ago to package his assessments into commercial products that could be offered in an affordable and straight forward fashion. Since Max & I are here we provide ongoing support for these endeavors and are now responsible for keeping these current. The GSC (Global Star Certification) is a viability model, it measures how capable a company is of remaining in business (viable). We view the GSC as a augmentation to CMMi and not in competition with. It makes little sense that if a company isn't viable that their capability is of little consequence. Likewise, a incapable company is of little value if it is viable. So we think of these as being hand-in-hand elements. A key difference however is that GSC was specifically developed to assess viability amongst outsources. This means that criteria, including fiscal ratios, have been customized to fit a global community with vary norms of goodness. So, when you look for goodness in a supplier, OR if you are a supplier (outsourcer) looking to get a competitive advantage in the market place look to GSC as a starting point and one that offers high value.

Till next week.... we bid you peace! Mabel & Max