Automated Comparison of Process Improvement Reference Models Based on Similarity Metrics

Abstract

A variety of reference models such as CMMI, COBIT or ITIL supports IT organizations to improve their processes. Although these process improvement reference models (IRM) cover different domains they also share some similarities. There are organizations that address multiple domains and want to take the guidance of different IRMs. As IRMs overlap in some processes, we present an approach to compare parts of IRMs (the IRMs' procedures) that is based on a common IRM integration model and on similarity metrics. Our approach enables organizations to efficiently adopt and assess multiple IRMs by automatically identifying similarities and specific details of the different IRMs.