Software Engineering | Capability
maturity model (CMM)
Difficulty Level : Medium
Last Updated : 05 Jul, 2021
CMM was developed by the Software Engineering Institute (SEI) at
Carnegie Mellon University in 1987.
It is not a software process model. It is a framework which is used to
analyse the approach and techniques followed by any organization
to develop software products.
It also provides guidelines to further enhance the maturity of the
process used to develop those software products.
It is based on profound feedback and development practices
adopted by the most successful organizations worldwide.
This model describes a strategy for software process improvement
that should be followed by moving through 5 different levels.
Each level of maturity shows a process capability level. All the levels
except level-1 are further described by Key Process Areas (KPA’s).
Key Process Areas (KPA’s):
Each of these KPA’s defines the basic requirements that should be met
by a software process in order to satisfy the KPA and achieve that level
of maturity.
Conceptually, key process areas form the basis for management
control of the software project and establish a context in which
technical methods are applied, work products like models, documents,
data, reports, etc. are produced, milestones are established, quality is
ensured and change is properly managed.
The 5 levels of CMM are as follows:
Level-1: Initial –
No KPA’s defined.
Processes followed are adhoc and immature and are not well
defined.
Unstable environment for software development.
No basis for predicting product quality, time for completion, etc.
Level-2: Repeatable –
Focuses on establishing basic project management policies.
Experience with earlier projects is used for managing new similar
natured projects.
Project Planning- It includes defining resources required, goals,
constraints, etc. for the project. It presents a detailed plan to be
followed systematically for successful completion of a good quality
software.
Configuration Management- The focus is on maintaining the
performance of the software product, including all its components,
for the entire lifecycle.
Requirements Management- It includes the management of
customer reviews and feedback which result in some changes in the
requirement set. It also consists of accommodation of those
modified requirements.
Subcontract Management- It focuses on the effective management
of qualified software contractors i.e. it manages the parts of the
software which are developed by third parties.
Software Quality Assurance- It guarantees a good quality software
product by following certain rules and quality standard guidelines
while development.
Level-3: Defined –
At this level, documentation of the standard guidelines and
procedures takes place.
It is a well defined integrated set of project specific software
engineering and management processes.
Peer Reviews- In this method, defects are removed by using a
number of review methods like walkthroughs, inspections, buddy
checks, etc.
Intergroup Coordination- It consists of planned interactions between
different development teams to ensure efficient and proper
fulfilment of customer needs.
Organization Process Definition- It’s key focus is on the development
and maintenance of the standard development processes.
Organization Process Focus- It includes activities and practices that
should be followed to improve the process capabilities of an
organization.
Training Programs- It focuses on the enhancement of knowledge
and skills of the team members including the developers and
ensuring an increase in work efficiency.
Level-4: Managed –
At this stage, quantitative quality goals are set for the organization
for software products as well as software processes.
The measurements made help the organization to predict the
product and process quality within some limits defined
quantitatively.
Software Quality Management- It includes the establishment of
plans and strategies to develop a quantitative analysis and
understanding of the product’s quality.
Quantitative Management- It focuses on controlling the project
performance in a quantitative manner.
Level-5: Optimizing –
This is the highest level of process maturity in CMM and focuses on
continuous process improvement in the organization using
quantitative feedback.
Use of new tools, techniques and evaluation of software processes is
done to prevent recurrence of known defects.
Process Change Management- Its focus is on the continuous
improvement of organization’s software processes to improve
productivity, quality and cycle time for the software product.
Technology Change Management- It consists of identification and
use of new technologies to improve product quality and decrease
the product development time.
Defect Prevention- It focuses on identification of causes of defects
and to prevent them from recurring in future projects by improving
project defined process.
