Capability Maturity Model (CMM)

An Capability Maturity Model (CMM) is a maturity model for capability maturity levels of different organizational capabilities (within an organizational discipline).

• Context:
  • It can (typically) apply to Organizational Processes.
  • It can (typically) provides a framework for identifying, understanding, and improving the processes that are used to create products and services.
  • It can (typically) be divided into levels of maturity, such as: Initial, Repeatable, Defined, Managed, and Optimizing.
  • ...
  • It can describe how well (the behaviors, practices and processes of) an organization can reliably and sustainably produce required outcomes.
  • …
• Example(s):
  • CMM 1986, initial development, when the U.S. Department of Defense funded research at the Software Engineering Institute​:contentReference[oaicite:0]{index=0}.
  • CMM 1988, formalized by Watts Humphrey, based on earlier work by Philip B. Crosby​:contentReference[oaicite:1]{index=1}.
  • CMM Version 1.1, 1993, first complete release of the model for software process evaluation​:contentReference[oaicite:2]{index=2}.
  • CMM 1994, published as a comprehensive guidebook by Mark C. Paulk, Charles V. Weber, and colleagues​:contentReference[oaicite:3]{index=3}.
  • CMMI 2006, the transition to Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI), which incorporated other maturity models​:contentReference[oaicite:4]{index=4}.
  • CMMI Version 2.0, 2021, released by ISACA to expand the focus on agile methodologies and updated frameworks​:contentReference[oaicite:5]{index=5}.
  • CMMI Version 3.0, 2023, latest iteration with enhancements to process architecture and industry applicability​:contentReference[oaicite:6]{index=6}.
  • …
• Counter-Example(s):
  • DevOps Capability Maturity Model.
  • Data Management Maturity Model.
  • Project Management Maturity Model.
  • Open Information Security Maturity Model.
  • Legal Operations Maturity Model.
• See: Process Improvement, Process Management, Software Engineering, Project Management.

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References

2024

• Perplexity.com
  • The Capability Maturity Model (CMM) was originally developed in 1986 by the Software Engineering Institute (SEI) at Carnegie Mellon University [1]. It provides a framework for evaluating and improving organizational processes across five maturity levels.
  • Five Maturity Levels

1. Initial - Processes are ad hoc and chaotic
2. Repeatable - Basic project management processes are established
3. Defined - Processes are documented, standardized, and integrated
4. Managed - Detailed metrics are collected and processes are quantitatively understood
5. Optimizing - Continuous process improvement is enabled

• • Key Characteristics

- Focuses on incremental, evolutionary steps rather than revolutionary changes[3]
- Provides a scale for measuring process maturity and evaluating process capability[3]
- Helps organizations prioritize improvement efforts[3]
- Each level builds on the previous level's foundation[1]

• • Applications: While originally developed for software development, CMM has been applied to various organizational processes and capabilities across industries[1][2]. It provides a roadmap for process improvement and a way to benchmark organizational maturity.
  • Evolution to CMMI

- Addressing additional business areas beyond software
- Offering both staged (like CMM) and continuous representations
- Incorporating Agile principles and focusing more on business objectives

• • Citations:

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capability_Maturity_Model
[2] https://plextrac.com/blog/capability-maturity-model-cmm/
[3] https://www.itgovernance.asia/capability-maturity-model
[4] https://www.itgovernance.co.uk/capability-maturity-model
[5] https://www.techtarget.com/searchsoftwarequality/definition/Capability-Maturity-Model
[6] https://cmmiinstitute.com
[7] https://www.acc.com/sites/default/files/resources/upload/MM2.0-Booklet-DIGITAL%20Final.pdf
[8] https://www.wolterskluwer.com/-/media/project/wolterskluwer/oneweb/www/grc/files/pdf/elm-solutions/infographics/elm-infographic-2020-acc-legal-operations-maturity-benchmarking-report-highlights.pdf?hash=F2ED3775A6E9E30B6CFD1EDF02207CF3&rev=b93dd006d56843c68d09bb1baac3b4df

2023

• (Wikipedia, 2023) ⇒ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capability_Maturity_Model Retrieved:2023-6-5.
  • The Capability Maturity Model (CMM) is a development model created in 1986 after a study of data collected from organizations that contracted with the U.S. Department of Defense, who funded the research. The term "maturity" relates to the degree of formality and optimization of processes, from ad hoc practices, to formally defined steps, to managed result metrics, to active optimization of the processes.

    The model's aim is to improve existing software development processes, but it can also be applied to other processes.

    In 2006, the Software Engineering Institute at Carnegie Mellon University developed the Capability Maturity Model Integration, which has largely superseded the CMM and addresses some of its drawbacks.

2017a

• (Wikipedia, 2017) ⇒ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/maturity_model Retrieved:2017-3-31.
  • Maturity is a measurement of the ability of an organisation for continuous improvement in a particular discipline (as defined in O-ISM3). The higher the maturity, the higher will be the chances that incidents or errors will lead to improvements either in the quality or in the use of the resources of the discipline as implemented by the organisation. Most maturity models assess qualitatively people/culture, processes/structures, and objects/technology. Two approaches for implementing maturity models exist. With a top-down approach, such as proposed by Becker et al., a fixed number of maturity stages or levels is specified first and further corroborated with characteristics (typically in form of specific assessment items) that support the initial assumptions about how maturity evolves. When using a bottom-up approach, such as suggested by Lahrmann et al., distinct characteristics or assessment items are determined first and clustered in a second step into maturity levels to induce a more general view of the different steps of maturity evolution. Topics that are covered in maturity models include:

2017b

• (Wikipedia, 2017) ⇒ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capability_Maturity_Model#Maturity_model Retrieved:2017-3-31.
  • A maturity model can be viewed as a set of structured levels that describe how well the behaviors, practices and processes of an organization can reliably and sustainably produce required outcomes.

    A maturity model can be used as a benchmark for comparison and as an aid to understanding - for example, for comparative assessment of different organizations where there is something in common that can be used as a basis for comparison. In the case of the CMM, for example, the basis for comparison would be the organizations' software development processes.

2017c

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capability_Maturity_Model#Levels
  • There are five levels defined along the continuum of the model and, according to the SEI: "Predictability, effectiveness, and control of an organization's software processes are believed to improve as the organization moves up these five levels. While not rigorous, the empirical evidence to date supports this belief".
    1. Initial (chaotic, ad hoc, individual heroics) - the starting point for use of a new or undocumented repeat process.
    2. Repeatable - the process is at least documented sufficiently such that repeating the same steps may be attempted.
    3. Defined - the process is defined/confirmed as a standard business process
    4. Capable - the process is quantitatively managed in accordance with agreed-upon metrics.
    5. Efficient - process management includes deliberate process optimization/improvement.

2007

• (Crawfordent, 2007) ⇒ J. K . Crawfordent. (2007). “Project Management Maturity Model.” Boca Raton, FL: Auerbach Publications,

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