Overview To CMMI v1.3

 

What is CMMI?

CMMI^® (Capability Maturity Model^® Integration) is a process improvement maturity model for the development of products and services. It consists of best practices that address development and maintenance activities that cover the product lifecycle from conception through delivery and maintenance. 

The purpose of CMMI is to help organizations improve their development and maintenance processes for both products and services.

  

Characteristics

-          Consists of 5 Maturity* levels

-          Levels 2 to 5 have Process Areas (PAs)

-          Fulfillment of ALL PAs at a particular level leads to that organization being assessed at that level “at that point of time”

-          The Process Areas (PAs) can be grouped into the following four categories to understand their interactions and links with one another regardless of their defined level:

§  Process Management(Refer to the 5 PAs in this category, in the picture given below)

§  Project Management(Refer to the 6 PAs in this category, in the picture given below)

§  Engineering(Refer to the 6 PAs in this category, in the picture given below)

§  Support(Refer to the 5 PAs in this category, in the picture given below)

-          Each process area is defined by a set of goals and practices. There are two categories of goals and practices:

§  Generic Goals (GG) and Generic Practices (GP): They are part of every process area.

§  Specific Goals (SG) and Specific Practices (SP): They are specific to a given process area.

 

 

 

 

Specific Goals:

 

A specific goal describes the unique characteristics that must be present to satisfy the process area. A specific goal is a required model Component and is used in appraisals to help determine whether a process area is satisfied. For example, a specific goal from the Configuration Management process area is “Integrity of baselines is established and maintained.” Only the statement of the specific goal is a required model component.

 

Generic Goals:

 

Generic goals are called “generic” because the same goal statement applies to multiple process areas. A generic goal describes the characteristics that must be present to institutionalize processes that implement a process area. A generic goal is a required model component and is used in appraisals to determine whether a process area is satisfied. An example of a generic goal is “The process is institutionalized as a defined process.” Only the statement of the generic goal is a required model component.

 

Specific Practices:

 

A specific practice is the description of an activity that is considered important in achieving the associated specific goal. The specific practices describe the activities that are expected to result in achievement of the specific goals of a process area. A specific practice is an expected model component. For example, a specific practice from the Project Monitoring and Control process area is “Monitor commitments against those identified in the project plan.” Only the statement of the specific practice is an expected model component.

 

Generic Practices:

Generic practices are called “generic” because the same practice applies to multiple process areas. The generic practices associated with a generic goal describe the activities that are considered important in achieving the generic goal and contribute to the institutionalization of the processes associated with a process area. A generic practice is an expected model component. For example, a generic practice for the generic goal “The process is institutionalized as a managed process” is “Provide adequate resources for performing the process, developing the work products, and providing the services of the process.” Only the statement of the generic practice is an expected model component.

 

 

Example Work Products:

The example work products section lists sample outputs from a specific practice. An example work product is an informative model component. For instance, an example work product for the specific practice “Monitor Project Planning Parameters” in the Project Monitoring and Control process area is “Records of significant deviations.”

 

Sub practices:

A sub practice is a detailed description that provides guidance for interpreting and implementing a specific or generic practice. Sub practices can be worded as if prescriptive, but they are actually an informative component meant only to provide ideas that may be useful for process improvement. For example, a sub practices for the specific practice “Take Corrective Action” in the Project Monitoring and Control process area is “Determine and document the appropriate actions needed to address identified issues.”

 

Generic Practice Elaborations:

Generic practice elaborations appear after generic practices to provide guidance on how the generic practices can be applied uniquely to process areas. A generic practice elaboration is an informative model component. For example, a generic practice elaboration after the generic practice “Establish and maintain an organizational policy for planning and performing the process” for the Project Planning process area is “This policy establishes organizational expectations for estimating the planning parameters, making internal and external commitments, and developing the plan for managing the project.”