Information Technology and Management 1 (2000) 171–181 171 Evaluating the CMM Level 3 KPA of Intergroup Coordination: A theory-based approach * Kay M. Nelson a , Deb Armstrong b , Mari Buche b and Mehdi Ghods c a David Eccles School of Business, The University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA E-mail: actknebusiness@utah.edu b Division of Accounting and Information Systems, The University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS 66044, USA E-mail: {darmstrong;mbuche}@ukans.edu c The Boeing Company, Seattle, WA 98124, USA E-mail: mehdi.ghods@boeing.com This paper examines the Intergroup Coordination key process area (KPA) for theoretical significance and measurability. The Software Engineering Institute (SEI) has developed a framework called the Capability Maturity Model (CMM) which enables organizations to measure their “maturity” in doing software engineering. The CMM is not theoretically de- rived. It is, however, a result of years of anecdotal evidence collected from practitioners. This paper compares the Intergroup Coordination KPA to the body of literature on coordina- tion and measures it using theoretically derived determinants. These determinants are then evaluated for possible relationships to productivity factors that indicate business process support. Keywords: coordination, software engineering, SEI/CMM, IS productivity 1. Introduction Organizations are constantly looking for ways to decrease information systems (IS) costs, increase the quality of delivered systems, and increase the level of respon- siveness and business process support provided to users. One of the ways of attempt- ing to reach these goals is through software engineering techniques. The Software Engineering Institute (SEI) at Carnegie Mellon University has developed a framework called the Capability Maturity Model (CMM) which enables organizations to measure their “maturity” in doing software engineering [1,2]. While the CMM is not theoreti- cally derived, it is a result of years of anecdotal evidence collected from practitioners. However, many questions remain about the CMM’s contributions to cost reduction, IS team productivity, and business process support [3–6]. This paper describes the experience of a CMM Level 3 IS organization within a large manufacturing firm. Level 3 CMM organizations are described as having defined processes for both management and software engineering activities. These activities are required to be documented, standardized, and integrated into organization-wide * This research is sponsored by The Boeing Company.  Baltzer Science Publishers BV