Capability Maturity Model – CMM
CMM is a methodology, it describes the essential elements of an effective software process. It is an evolutionary model. It is basically used in the corporations to improve the software process and make advancement in software engineering, system engineering, risk management, business processes etc. The five levels of CMM are:
1) Initial: In this, the processes are at their initial stage, they are not sufficiently defined. It is the starting point for a process. At this level, it is the characteristics of the processes at this stage that they are in a state of dynamic change. An unstable environment is provided in this stage to the processes.
2) Repeatable: Some processes are repeatable with consistent results. These ensure that the existing processes are maintained during the times of stress.
3) Defined: At this level, the standard processes are established, they are documented and are subject to some improvement over time. These kind of processes provide consistency and improves the performance across the organization. Greater attention is given to integration, standardization and documentation.
4) Managed: At this level the process capability is established. Management can effectively control the AS-IS process using process metrics. The management also identify ways so as to adjust and adapt the processes without deviating from the specifications.
5) Optimizing: At this level, the main concern is to improve the performance of process through incremental changes and improvements. Improvement is done by monitoring the feedbac of the current process and introducing better innovative process to serve the organizational needs in a better way.
There are Capability Maturity Models for non software processes as well such as BPM i.e. Business Process Management. Originally CMM was used as a tool to evaluate the performance of contractors but now it has widely been accepted as a general model to calculate the maturity of a process. It was promoted and developed by SEI i.e. Software Engineering Institute. It is quite similar to ISO 9001, which is one of the ISO 9000 series of standards specified by the International Standards Organization. The thoght behind this methodology was that the organizations must be able to absorb and carry its own software applications.
Written by: Matt
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