To build this process infrastructure, organizations producing software need ways to appraise their ability to perform their software process successfully. They also need guidance to improve their process capability. Customers, such as the Department of Defense (DoD), need ways to evaluate more effectively an organization's capability to perform successfully on software engineering contracts. Prime contractors need ways to evaluate the capability of potential subcontractors.
To help organizations and customers like the DoD and prime contractors, the Software Engineering Institute (SEI) has developed the Capability Maturity Model for Software (CMM), that delineates the characteristics of a mature, capable software process. The progression from an immature, unrepeatable software process to a mature, well-managed software process also is described in terms of maturity levels in the model.
The CMM can be used for:
The key practices of the CMM are expressed in terms of what is expected to be the normal practices of organizations that work on large, government contracts. In any context in which the CMM is applied, a reasonable interpretation of how the practices would be applied should be used. Guidelines on interpreting the CMM are contained in Chapter 4 of this document. The CMM must be appropriately interpreted when the business environment of the organization differs significantly from that of a large contracting organization. The role of professional judgment in making informed use of the CMM must be recognized.
This document can be used in several ways:
"Key Practices of the Capability Maturity Model, Version 1.1," contains the key practices that correspond to the key process areas at each maturity level of the CMM and information to help interpret the key practices.
The maturity questionnaire and other process products are derived from the key practices of the Capability Maturity Model. Other SEI process products that support software process improvement, software process assessment, and software capability evaluation include training courses, handbooks, and site visit guides.
In the appendices are a list of the references cited in this document, a glossary of terms used in this document, an abridgment of the key practices, the change history for this document, and an index of terms contained in this document.
If you are already familiar with the CMM and how it is structured, you may want to go directly to the fourth chapter for advice on how to interpret the key practices.