| Author: | Watts Humphrey | |
| Used For: | Incremental Process Improvement |
Overview
The Capability Maturity Model (CCM) was first defined in 1989 in the book “Managing Software Processes” by Watts Humphrey. It was originally developed by the US Department of Defence to gauge whether government contractors were able to successfully complete software projects. Its core theory is based on the premise that high quality software can only be produced by high quality processes. In theory, this allows developers to repeat their successes and to avoid repeating their failures.
This concept of assessing an organisation’s maturity on a specific capability can be applied in any area of a business where processes are required to mature over time.
Basic Principles of the CMM
There are five stages to the Capability Maturity Model. These are:
- Stage 1: During theInitialstage processes are ad-hoc, inconsistent and even chaotic. There are very few formal processes and success is based upon individual effort. This is the starting point of defining processes.
- Stage 2: During the Repeatable stage basic and consisted processes are established. The processes are repeated for similar projects.
- Stage 3: During the Defined stage all process are well defined, documented, standardized and integrated usually into software for the entire organization. Consistent practices are in place.
- Stage 4: During the Managed stage, strategic analysis is performed through data collected on the quality of processes. Software and processes are clearly quantified.
- Stage 5: During the Optimizing stage pro-active process improvement is implemented through qualitative feedback. This helps in developing new ideas and technologies.
Limitations of the CMM
The model was developed to evaluate the capability of government contractors to develop software. In real life however, well documented processes and procedures do not necessary create successful software projects.
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