Challenge of adopting multiple process improvement frameworks

The phenomenon of organisations concurrently implementing multiple process frameworks was highlighted in a recent survey conducted at the Australian Information Technology Service Management Forum. While the survey gathered insights on the status, issues and expectations of organisations implementing the IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL), it was evident from the data collected that many of these organisations are also adopting other frameworks such as Control Objectives for Information and related Technology (CobiT), Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) and ISO 9001 (Quality Management System). Although a few practitioner articles have reported on this phenomenon, no research has been undertaken to determine the extent or motivation of organisations undertaking concurrent implementation of process frameworks and the challenges that they are facing. This paper describes the processes included in ITIL, CobiT, CMMI and ISO 9001 and their increasing international diffusion throughout the Information Technology community. The possible motivation, significance and implications of this practice of multiple process frameworks adoption is explored based on the survey results and a case study. In highlighting the dearth of research to date, future research is called upon to provide theoretical support for the models, to explore the impact on worker morale and productivity, to assist managers to sequence process implementation, and to evaluate cost effectiveness