Capability Maturity Model

The CMM is a process model based on software best-practices effective in large-scale,

multi-person projects.

Maturity model

The Capability Maturity Model (CMM) is a way to develop and refine an organization's
processes. The first CMM was for the purpose of developing and refining software
development processes. A maturity model is a structured collection of elements that
describe characteristics of effective processes. A maturity model provides:
• a place to start
• the benefit of a community’s prior experiences
• a common language and a shared vision
• a framework for prioritizing actions
• a way to define what improvement means for your organization.

A maturity model can be used as a benchmark for assessing different organizations for
equivalent comparison. The model describes the maturity of the company based upon the
project the company is handling and the related clients.

Structure of CMM

The CMM involves the following aspects:

Maturity Levels: It is a layered framework providing a progression to the discipline

needed to engage in continuous improvement (It is important to state here that an
organization develops the ability to assess the impact of a new practice, technology, or
tool on their activity. Hence it is not a matter of adopting these, rather it is a matter of
determining how innovative efforts influence existing practices. This really empowers
projects, teams, and organizations by giving them the foundation to support reasoned
choice.)

Key Process Areas: A Key Process Area (KPA) identifies a cluster of related activities
that, when performed collectively, achieve a set of goals considered important.

Goals: The goals of a key process area summarize the states that must exist for that key
process area to have been implemented in an effective and lasting way. The extent to
which the goals have been accomplished is an indicator of how much capability the
organization has established at that maturity level. The goals signify the scope,
boundaries, and intent of each key process area.

Common Features: Common features include practices that implement and

institutionalize a key process area. These five types of common features include:
Commitment to Perform, Ability to Perform, Activities Performed, Measurement and
Analysis, and Verifying Implementation.
Key Practices: The key practices describe the elements of infrastructure and practice that
contribute most effectively to the implementation and institutionalization of the key
process areas.

Levels of the CMM

There are five levels of the CMM. According to the SEI,

"Predictability, effectiveness, and control of an organization's software processes are

believed to improve as the organization moves up these five levels. While not rigorous,
the empirical evidence to date supports this belief."

Level 1 - Initial
At maturity level 1, processes are usually ad hoc, and the organization usually does not
provide a stable environment. Success in these organizations depends on the competence
and heroics of the people in the organization, and not on the use of proven processes. In
spite of this ad hoc, chaotic environment, maturity level 1 organizations often produce
products and services that work; however, they frequently exceed the budget and
schedule of their projects.

Maturity level 1 organizations are characterized by a tendency to over commit, abandon

processes in the time of crisis, and not be able to repeat their past successes again.
Level 1 software project success depends on having high quality people.

Level 2 - Repeatable [Managed]

At maturity level 2, software development successes are repeatable. The processes may
not repeat for all the projects in the organization. The organization may use some basic
project management to track cost and schedule.
Process discipline helps ensure that existing practices are retained during times of stress.
When these practices are in place, projects are performed and managed according to their
documented plans.
Project status and the delivery of services are visible to management at defined points
(for example, at major milestones and at the completion of major tasks).
Basic project management processes are established to track cost, schedule, and
functionality. The minimum process discipline is in place to repeat earlier successes on
projects with similar applications and scope. There is still a significant risk of exceeding
cost and time estimates.

Level 3 - Defined
The organization’s set of standard processes, which are the basis for level 3, are
established and improved over time. These standard processes are used to establish
consistency across the organization. Projects establish their defined processes by the
organization’s set of standard processes according to tailoring guidelines.
The organization’s management establishes process objectives based on the
organization’s set of standard processes and ensures that these objectives are
appropriately addressed.
A critical distinction between level 2 and level 3 is the scope of standards, process
descriptions, and procedures. At level 2, the standards, process descriptions, and
procedures may be quite different in each specific instance of the process (for example,
on a particular project). At level 3, the standards, process descriptions, and procedures for
a project are tailored from the organization’s set of standard processes to suit a particular
project or organizational unit.
Effective project management system is implemented with the help of good project
management software.

Level 4 - Quantitatively Managed

Using precise measurements, management can effectively control the software
development effort. In particular, management can identify ways to adjust and adapt the
process to particular projects without measurable losses of quality or deviations from
specifications. Organizations at this level set quantitative quality goals for both software
process and software maintenance. Subprocesses are selected that significantly contribute
to overall process performance. These selected subprocesses are controlled using
statistical and other quantitative techniques. A critical distinction between maturity level
3 and maturity level 4 is the predictability of process performance. At maturity level 4,
the performance of processes is controlled using statistical and other quantitative
techniques, and is quantitatively predictable. At maturity level 3, processes are only
qualitatively predictable.

Level 5 - Optimizing
Maturity level 5 focuses on continually improving process performance through both
incremental and innovative technological improvements. Quantitative process-
improvement objectives for the organization are established, continually revised to reflect
changing business objectives, and used as criteria in managing process improvement. The
effects of deployed process improvements are measured and evaluated against the
quantitative process-improvement objectives. Both the defined processes and the
organization’s set of standard processes are targets of measurable improvement activities.
Process improvements to address common causes of process variation and measurably
improve the organization’s processes are identified, evaluated, and deployed.
Optimizing processes that are nimble, adaptable and innovative depends on the
participation of an empowered workforce aligned with the business values and objectives
of the organization. The organization’s ability to rapidly respond to changes and
opportunities is enhanced by finding ways to accelerate and share learning.
A critical distinction between maturity level 4 and maturity level 5 is the type of process
variation addressed. At maturity level 4, processes are concerned with addressing special
causes of process variation and providing statistical predictability of the results. Though
processes may produce predictable results, the results may be insufficient to achieve the
established objectives. At maturity level 5, processes are concerned with addressing
common causes of process variation and changing the process (that is, shifting the mean
of the process performance) to improve process performance (while maintaining
statistical probability) to achieve the established quantitative process-improvement
objectives.
Capability Maturity Model Integration

CMMI comes with two different representations--staged and continuous. The staged
representation, which groups process areas into five maturity levels, was also used in the
ancestor Software CMM. The continuous representation, which was used in the ancestor
EIA 731, defines capability levels. The differences in the representations are solely
organizational; the content is equivalent. Both can be used to achieve level ratings
because of Equivalent Staging.