Capability Maturity Model

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Capability Maturity Model

The Capability Maturity Model (CMM) is a widely accepted set of guidelines for developing high-performance software organizations. Different sources give different answers to where it was originally developed. Some say the CMM model was developed by the Software Engineering Institute at Carnegie-Mellon University and others credit it to Watts Humphrey and his colleagues at IBM. The CMM describes an evolutionary improvement path from an immature process to a mature, disciplined process. This model, although developed for software development, can be useful for the development of any type of new product as well. The CMM model is divided into five levels of maturity to describe the product development process. The five product development process levels of the CMM are:
Initial Level (immature): The process is unpredictable and poorly controlled. At the initial level, an organization typically does not provide a stable environment for developing new products. When an organization is having problems with their management practices, the benefits of good product development practices are hurt by ineffective planning, reaction-driven commitment systems, process short-cuts and their associated risks, late involvement of key disciplines, and little focus on optimizing the product for its life cycle. The development process is unpredictable and unstable because the process is constantly changed or modified as the work progresses or varies from one project to another. Performance depends on the capabilities of individuals or teams and varies with their skills, knowledge, and motivations.
Repeatable Level: Projects can repeat previously mastered tasks. At the repeatable level, there are established policies for managing a development project and procedures to implement the policies. Since the processes for development projects are established, it allows organizations to repeat successful practices develop...