The Capability Maturity Model

The Capability Maturity Model

1. Original CMM was a roadmap of best practices in software engineering accompanied with the best practices in project and organizational management required to sustain them.

   • Consequently the CMM was a staged roadmap for enterprise transformation that focused on software and application development organizations

2. Level of maturity and progression

   • Level 1: Initial
     • No well defined processes
   • Level 2: Repeatable basic approach
     • Begins by focusing on the documentation and the redesign of major core business processes.
   • Level 3: Defined systems approach
     • Begins to tie all the processes in the organization together to produce value for customers and key stakeholders
       • This is the point at which the organization generates a business process architecture that provides everyone with a good overview of the major processes and relationships that define the organization.
   • Level 4: Managed Continuous Improvement
     • Extend the business system with enterprise-wide process measurement systems and, eventually, move to a process governance system that assigns managers responsibility for each major process in the process architecture
   • Level5: Best in class
     • Organizations have to change their ideas of 4 management again to empower employees

3. The capability maturity model describes organizational progression where more maturity implies greater capability in meeting quality, cost and schedule requirements.