CMMI

In its research to help organizations to develop and maintain quality

products and services, the Software Engineering Institute (SEI) has found

several dimensions that an organization can focus on to improve its

business. Figure 1.1 illustrates the three critical dimensions that

organizations typically focus on: people, procedures and methods, and

tools and equipment.

Procedures and methods

defining the relationship of

tasks

Tools and

equipment

People

with skills,

training, and

motivation

A

B

C

D

PROCESS

Figure 1.1: The Three Critical Dimensions

What holds everything together? It is the processes used in your

organization. Processes allow you to align the way you do business. They

allow you to address scalability and provide a way to incorporate knowledge

of how to do things better. Processes allow you to leverage your resources

and to examine business trends.

This is not to say that people and technology are not important. We are

living in a world where technology is changing at an incredible speed.

Similarly, people typically work for many companies throughout their

careers. We live in a dynamic world. A focus on process provides the

infrastructure and stability necessary to deal with an ever-changing world

and to maximize the productivity of people and the use of technology to be

competitive.

Manufacturing has long recognized the importance of process effectiveness

and efficiency. Today, many organizations in manufacturing and service

industries recognize the importance of quality processes. Process helps an

organization’s workforce to meet business objectives by helping them to

work smarter, not harder, and with improved consistency. Effective

processes also provide a vehicle for introducing and using new technology

in a way that best meets the business objectives of the organization.

A Capability Maturity Model® (CMM®), including CMMI, is a simplified representation of the world. CMMs contain the essential elements of effective processes. These elements are based on the concepts developed by Crosby, Deming, Juran, and Humphrey.

In the 1930s, Walter Shewhart began work in process improvement with his principles of statistical quality control [Shewhart 1931]. These principles were refined by W. Edwards Deming [Deming 1986], Phillip Crosby [Crosby 1979], and Joseph Juran [Juran 1988]. Watts Humphrey, Ron Radice, and others extended these principles further and began applying them to software in their work at IBM (International Business Machines) and the SEI [Humphrey 1989]. Humphrey’s book, Managing the Software Process, provides a description of the basic principles and concepts on which many of the Capability Maturity Models® (CMMs®) are based.

The SEI has taken the process management premise, “the quality of a system or product is highly influenced by the quality of the process used to develop and maintain it,” and defined CMMs that embody this premise. The belief in this premise is seen worldwide in quality movements, as evidenced by the International Organization for Standardization/International Electrotechnical Commission (ISO/IEC) body of standards.

CMMs focus on improving processes in an organization. They contain the essential elements of effective processes for one or more disciplines and describe an evolutionary improvement path from ad hoc, immature processes to disciplined, mature processes with improved quality and effectiveness.

Like other CMMs, CMMI models provide guidance to use when developing processes. CMMI models are not processes or process descriptions. The actual processes used in an organization depend

...