Software capability maturity model

It has long been accepted that continuous process improvement is based on many small evolutionary steps rather than larger revolutionary innovations. The Capability Maturity Model CMM provides a framework for organizing these evolutionary steps into five maturity levels that lay successive foundations for continuous process improvement.

This methodology is at the heart of most management systems which are designed to improve the quality of the development and delivery of all products and services.

They also help an organization prioritise its improvement efforts. A maturity level is a well-defined evolutionary plateau toward achieving a mature software process. Each maturity level comprises a set of process goals that, when satisfied, stabilize an important component of the process.

Achieving each level of maturity framework establishes a different component in the software process, resulting in an increase in the process capability of the organization. The software process is characterized as ad hoc, and occasionally even chaotic. Few processes are defined, and success depends on individual effort and heroics.

Basic project management processes are established to track cost, schedule, and functionality. The necessary process discipline is in place to repeat earlier successes on projects with similar applications. The software process for both management and engineering activities is documented, standardized, and integrated into all processes for the organization. This model describes a strategy for software process improvement that should be followed by moving through 5 different levels.

Each level of maturity shows a process capability level. It only helps if it is put into place early in the software development process. It has no formal theoretical basis and in fact is based on the experience of very knowledgeable people. It does not have good empirical support and this same empirical support could also be constructed to support other models. Conceptually, key process areas form the basis for management control of the software project and establish a context in which technical methods are applied, work products like models, documents, data, reports, etc.

Skip to content. Change Language. Related Articles. Introduction of Software Engineering. Software Engineering Institute. Capability Maturity Model for Software Version 1. Publisher: Software Engineering Institute. Abstract In November , the Software Engineering Institute SEI with assistance from the Mitre began developing a process maturity framework that would assist organizations in improving their software process.