BAE SYSTEMS Unit Achieves Significant Industry Rating.

NASHUA, N.H. -- BAE Systems' Information & Electronic Warfare Systems (IEWS) unit received Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) Maturity Level 3 certification by The Systems and Software Consortium Inc. (SCCI), April 15.

The two-week appraisal by a team of nine led by SSCI representatives provided a maturity rating for BAE Systems' systems engineering (SE), software (SW) engineering and program management (PM) organizations.

The comprehensive review of three critical project areas is the most challenging that the Nashua-based defense firm has ever undertaken. The independent appraisal team interviewed more than 80 people and reviewed 2,200 technical and management artifacts at BAE Systems facilities in Nashua, N.H.; Yonkers, N.Y.; Manassas, Va.; Pomona, Calif., and Lansdale, Pa.

John Sheckler, SSCI lead appraiser, said, "BAE Systems has uniquely created and applied an integrated set of practices from the CMMI framework that enable seamless program performance. IEWS has a solid grasp at Level 3 and is well positioned to achieve higher maturity levels."

CMMI was developed by the Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) Software Engineering Institute (SEI) and industry to objectively appraise the full range of an organization's technical and project management capabilities. CMMI is a key discriminator in the defense market.

Galen Ho, BAE Systems President for both IEWS and the Information & Electronic Systems Integration Sector (IESI), said, "This is a tremendous achievement for the enterprise...an important milestone on our continuous improvement journey."

Reaching this CMMI Level establishes the business unit as an industry leader in integrated product development. BAE Systems has committed to the CMMI Integrated Product Development process by transitioning more than $1.3 billion of current business to CMMI's Integrated Product Development Framework.

Jack Dearborn, BAE Systems vice president of Mission Success for both IEWS and the Information & Electronic Systems Integration Sector, said, "This achievement emphasizes IEWS' world-class capabilities to deliver high quality state-of- the-art technical products to our customers."

The BAE Systems unit joins other BAE Systems North America business units who have achieved notable CMMI certification: BAE Systems in Wayne, N.J., received CMMI Level 5 in 2004, and BAE Systems in San Diego, Calif., and Reston, Va., received Level 5 rating in 2003. CMMI has been a North America enterprise wide initiative to drive the company's engineering and program management capability to a world-class maturity level by delivering high-performance in the execution of development programs.

The Department of Defense (DoD) requires increasing maturity from its contractors. For DoD, this means less risk on bids, more predictable performance, and an infrastructure and culture that can continually improve development processes and performance. The SEI standard helps organizations make measured procedural improvements that ensure high quality products, reliably delivered on time and within budget.

BAE Systems is an international company engaged in the development, delivery and support of advanced defense and aerospace systems in the air, on land, at sea and in space. BAE Systems North America is one of America's foremost national security, aerospace and information systems companies.