What’s the Capability Maturity Model?

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The Capability Maturity Model (CMM) was developed by Carnegie Mellon University in the 1980s to help the US government ensure that software development contractors had adequate processes to successfully deliver projects. CMM now provides organizations with a method to evaluate and improve their processes. Similar models originated from the CMM.

CMM describes a structure of five levels of maturity of an organization’s processes. The entry level is the lowest level of maturity. When an organization’s processes are level one, projects receive little planning. Key disciplines may not be included when needed and the product is not optimized. The process is unpredictable and changeable, and project results are highly dependent on the talents and skills of the development personnel.

The second level of the CMM is known as the repeatable level, where some policies have been established and managed for the development of the project. Unauthorized changes are checked. Successful practices from previous projects have been identified and are being repeated.

In the third, or defined level, the overall process is documented and sub-processes are incorporated in a logical way. At this level, processes help development personnel and management to improve. Processes can be customized to fit the specific requirements of a particular project. Analysis of inputs, outputs and reviews can be included and the roles and responsibilities of team members are well understood.

The fourth level is called the managed level. In this level, processes have had metrics developed and are being measured. Greater design control is achieved, variations in process results are reduced, and variations remain within an acceptable range. If results are out of range, they are identified and corrective action is taken.

At the top, the most mature level is the fifth level. At this level of optimization, the organization as a whole focuses on continuous improvement of its processes. The goal is to prevent defects. Defect data is captured and analyzed, and processes are reviewed to reduce the defect rate. Lessons learned are also captured and carried over.
Along with process maturity levels, CMM also incorporates many other concepts. One concept is that of key process areas (KPAs), which are related activities that achieve critical objectives. Other concepts include the use of objectives, which document the scope, boundaries and intent in relation to KPAs. Common Features, another CMM concept, are organizational process practices that incorporate KPAs.

Although CMM was initially developed for the software development process, it is commonly used to improve many types of processes. It is still prevalent in information technology management, especially in the provision of information technology services and hardware management. In many organizations, the use of the CMM for software development has been replaced by the Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMi) program. CMMi was developed to better integrate the use of multiple templates into a global framework.

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