Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) is a process improvement approach whose goal is to help organizations improve their performance. CMMI can be used to guide process improvement across a project, a division, or an entire organization. Currently supported is CMMI Version 1.3.
CMMI in software engineering and organizational development is a process improvement approach that provides organizations with the essential elements for effective process improvement. CMMI is registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office by Carnegie Mellon University.
According to the Software Engineering Institute (SEI, 2008), CMMI helps “integrate traditionally separate organizational functions, set process improvement goals and priorities, provide guidance for quality processes, and provide a point of reference for appraising current processes.
Overview
CMMI currently addresses three areas of interest:
- Product and service development — CMMI for Development (CMMI-DEV),
- Service establishment, management, and delivery — CMMI for Services (CMMI-SVC), and
- Product and service acquisition — CMMI for Acquisition (CMMI-ACQ).
CMMI was developed by a group of experts from industry, government, and the Software Engineering Institute (SEI) at Carnegie Mellon University. CMMI models provide guidance for developing or improving processes that meet the business goals of an organization. A CMMI model may also be used as a framework for appraising the process maturity of the organization.
CMMI originated in software engineering but has been highly generalised over the years to embrace other areas of interest, such as the development of hardware products, the delivery of all kinds of services, and the acquisition of products and services. The word “software” does not appear in definitions of CMMI. This generalization of improvement concepts makes CMMI extremely abstract. It is not as specific to software engineering as its predecessor, the Software CMM (CMM, see below).
History
CMMI was developed by the CMMI project, which aimed to improve the usability of maturity models by integrating many different models into one framework. The project consisted of members of industry, government and the Carnegie Mellon Software Engineering Institute (SEI). The main sponsors included the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) and the National Defense Industrial Association.
CMMI is the successor of the capability maturity model (CMM) or Software CMM. The CMM was developed from 1987 until 1997. In 2002, CMMI Version 1.1 was released, Version 1.2 followed in August 2006, and CMMI Version 1.3 in November 2010. Some of the major changes in CMMI V1.3 are the support of Agile Software Development , improvements to high maturity practices and alignment of the representation (staged and continuous) .
CMMI topics
CMMI representation
CMMI exists in two representations: continuous and staged. The continuous representation is designed to allow the user to focus on the specific processes that are considered important for the organization’s immediate business objectives, or those to which the organization assigns a high degree of risks. The staged representation is designed to provide a standard sequence of improvements, and can serve as a basis for comparing the maturity of different projects and organizations. The staged representation also provides for an easy migration from the SW-CMM to CMMI.
CMMI model framework
Depending on the CMMI areas of interest (acquisition, services, development) used, the process areas it contains will vary. Process areas are the areas that will be covered by the organization’s processes. The table below lists the process areas that are present in all CMMI areas of interest in CMMI Version 1.3. This collection of sixteen process areas is called the CMMI core process areas.
| Abbreviation | Name | Area | Maturity Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| CAR | Causal Analysis and Resolution | Support | 5 |
| CM | Configuration Management | Support | 2 |
| DAR | Decision Analysis and Resolution | Support | 3 |
| IPM | Integrated Project Management | Project Management | 3 |
| MA | Measurement and Analysis | Support | 2 |
| OPD | Organizational Process Definition | Process Management | 3 |
| OPF | Organizational Process Focus | Process Management | 3 |
| OPM | Organizational Performance Management | Process Management | 5 |
| OPP | Organizational Process Performance | Process Management | 4 |
| OT | Organizational Training | Process Management | 3 |
| PMC | Project Monitoring and Control | Project Management | 2 |
| PP | Project Planning | Project Management | 2 |
| PPQA | Process and Product Quality Assurance | Support | 2 |
| QPM | Quantitative Project Management | Project Management | 4 |
| REQM | Requirements Management | Project Management | 2 |
| RSKM | Risk Management | Project Management | 3 |
Maturity levels in CMMI for development
There are five maturity levels. However, maturity level ratings are awarded for levels 2 through 5. The process areas below and their maturity levels are listed for the CMMI for Development model:
Maturity Level 2 – Managed
- CM – Configuration Management
- MA – Measurement and Analysis
- PMC – Project Monitoring and Control
- PP – Project Planning
- PPQA – Process and Product Quality Assurance
- REQM – Requirements Management
- SAM – Supplier Agreement Management
Maturity Level 3 – Defined
- DAR – Decision Analysis and Resolution
- IPM – Integrated Project Management
- OPD – Organizational Process Definition
- OPF – Organizational Process Focus
- OT – Organizational Training
- PI – Product Integration
- RD – Requirements Development.
- RSKM – Risk Management.
- TS – Technical Solution.
- VAL – Validation.
- VER – Verification.
Maturity Level 4 – Quantitatively Managed
- OPP – Organizational Process Performance
- QPM – Quantitative Project Management
Maturity Level 5 – Optimizing
- CAR – Causal Analysis and Resolution
- OPM – Organizational Performance Management
Maturity levels in CMMI for services
The process areas below and their maturity levels are listed for the CMMI for Services model:
Maturity Level 2 – Managed
- CM – Configuration Management
- MA – Measurement and Analysis
- PPQA – Process and Product Quality Assurance
- REQM – Requirements Management
- SAM – Supplier Agreement Management
- SD – Service Delivery
- WMC – Work Monitoring and Control
- WP – Work Planning
Maturity Level 3 – Defined
- CAM – Capacity and Availability Management
- DAR – Decision Analysis and Resolution
- IRP – Incident Resolution and Prevention
- IWM – Integrated Work Management
- OPD – Organizational Process Definition
- OPF – Organizational Process Focus
- OT – Organizational Training
- RSKM – Risk Management
- SCON – Service Continuity
- SSD – Service System Development
- SST – Service System Transition
- STSM – Strategic Service Management
Maturity Level 4 – Quantitatively Managed
- OPP – Organizational Process Performance
- QWM – Quantitative Work Management
Maturity Level 5 – Optimizing
- CAR – Causal Analysis and Resolution
- OPM – Organizational Performance Management
Maturity levels in CMMI for acquisition
The process areas below and their maturity levels are listed for the CMMI for Acquisition model:
Maturity Level 2 – Managed
- AM – Agreement Management
- ARD – Acquisition Requirements Development
- CM – Configuration Management
- MA – Measurement and Analysis
- PMC – Project Monitoring and Control
- PP – Project Planning
- PPQA – Process and Product Quality Assurance
- REQM – Requirements Management
- SSAD – Solicitation and Supplier Agreement Development
Maturity Level 3 – Defined
- ATM – Acquisition Technical Management
- AVAL – Acquisition Validation
- AVER – Acquisition Verification
- DAR – Decision Analysis and Resolution
- IPM – Integrated Project Management
- OPD – Organizational Process Definition
- OPF – Organizational Process Focus
- OT – Organizational Training
- RSKM – Risk Management
Maturity Level 4 – Quantitatively Managed
- OPP – Organizational Process Performance
- QPM – Quantitative Project Management
Maturity Level 5 – Optimizing
- CAR – Causal Analysis and Resolution
- OPM – Organizational Performance Management
CMMI Models
CMMI best practices are published in documents called models, each of which addresses a different area of interest. The current release, CMMI Version 1.3, provides models for three areas of interest: development, acquisition, and services.
- CMMI for Development (CMMI-DEV), v1.3 was released in November 2010. It addresses product and service development processes.
- CMMI for Acquisition (CMMI-ACQ), v1.3 was released in November 2010. It addresses supply chain management, acquisition, and outsourcing processes in government and industry.
- CMMI for Services (CMMI-SVC), v1.3 was released in November 2010. It addresses guidance for delivering services within an organization and to external customers.
Regardless of which model an organization chooses, CMMI best practices should be adapted by an organization according to its business objectives.
Appraisal
An organization cannot be certified in CMMI; instead, an organization is appraised. Depending on the type of appraisal, the organization can be awarded a maturity level rating (1-5) or a capability level achievement profile.
Many organizations find value in measuring their progress by conducting an appraisal. Appraisals are typically conducted for one or more of the following reasons:
- To determine how well the organization’s processes compare to CMMI best practices, and to identify areas where improvement can be made
- To inform external customers and suppliers of how well the organization’s processes compare to CMMI best practices
- To meet the contractual requirements of one or more customers
Appraisals of organizations using a CMMI model must conform to the requirements defined in the Appraisal Requirements for CMMI (ARC) document. There are three classes of appraisals, A, B and C, which focus on identifying improvement opportunities and comparing the organization’s processes to CMMI best practices. Of these, class A appraisal is the most formal and is the only one that can result in a level rating. Appraisal teams use a CMMI model and ARC-conformant appraisal method to guide their evaluation of the organization and their reporting of conclusions. The appraisal results can then be used (e.g., by a process group) to plan improvements for the organization.
The Standard CMMI Appraisal Method for Process Improvement (SCAMPI) is an appraisal method that meets all of the ARC requirements.[9] Results of an SCAMPI appraisal may be published (if the appraised organization approves) on the CMMI Web site of the SEI: Published SCAMPI Appraisal Results. SCAMPI also supports the conduct of ISO/IEC 15504, also known as SPICE (Software Process Improvement and Capability Determination), assessments etc.
Achieving CMMI Compliance
The traditional approach that organizations often adopt to achieve compliance with CMMI models involves the establishment of an Engineering Process Group (EPG) and Process Action Teams (PATs). This approach requires that members of the EPG and PATs be trained in the CMMI, that an informal (SCAMPI C) appraisal be performed, and that process areas be prioritized for improvement. More modern approaches that involve the deployment of commercially available, CMMI-compliant processes, can significantly reduce the time to achieve compliance. SEI has maintained statistics on the “time to move up” for organizations adopting the earlier Software CMM as well as CMMI. These statistics indicate that, since 1987, the median times to move from Level 1 to Level 2 is 23 months, and from Level 2 to Level 3 is an additional 20 months. These statistics have not been updated for the CMMI.
The Software Engineering Institute’s (SEI) Team Software Process methodology and the use of CMMI models can be used to raise the maturity level. A new product called Accelerated Improvement Method (AIM) combines the use of CMMI and the TSP.
Applications
The SEI published that 60 organizations measured increases of performance in the categories of cost, schedule, productivity, quality and customer satisfaction. The median increase in performance varied between 14% (customer satisfaction) and 62% (productivity). However, the CMMI model mostly deals with what processes should be implemented, and not so much with howthey can be implemented. These results do not guarantee that applying CMMI will increase performance in every organization. A small company with few resources may be less likely to benefit from CMMI; this view is supported by the process maturity profile (page 10). Of the small organizations (<25 employees), 70.5% are assessed at level 2: Managed, while 52.8% of the organizations with 1001–2000 employees are rated at the highest level (5: Optimizing).
Interestingly, Turner & Jain (2002) argue that although it is obvious there are large differences between CMMI and agile methods, both approaches have much in common. They believe neither way is the ‘right’ way to develop software, but that there are phases in a project where one of the two is better suited. They suggest one should combine the different fragments of the methods into a new hybrid method. Sutherland et al. (2007) assert that a combination of Scrum and CMMI brings more adaptability and predictability than either one alone. David J. Anderson (2005) gives hints on how to interpret CMMI in an agile manner. Other viewpoints about using CMMI and Agile development are available on the SEI website.
CMMI Roadmaps , which are a goal-driven approach to selecting and deploying relevant process areas from the CMMI-DEV model, can provide guidance and focus for effective CMMI adoption. There are several CMMI roadmaps for the continuous representation, each with a specific set of improvement goals. Examples are the CMMI Project Roadmap, CMMI Product and Product Integration Roadmaps and the CMMI Process and Measurements Roadmaps. These roadmaps combine the strengths of both the staged and the continuous representations.
The combination of the project management technique earned value management (EVM) with CMMI has been described (Solomon, 2002). To conclude with a similar use of CMMI, Extreme Programming (XP), a software engineering method, has been evaluated with CMM/CMMI (Nawrocki et al., 2002). For example, the XP requirements management approach, which relies on oral communication, was evaluated as not compliant with CMMI.
CMMI can be appraised using two different approaches: staged and continuous. The staged approach yields appraisal results as one of five maturity levels. The continuous approach yields one of six capability levels. The differences in these approaches are felt only in the appraisal; the best practices are equivalent and result in equivalent process improvement results.
